Flutterwave has used the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York to push a clear message: African businesses cannot scale globally without stronger financial infrastructure. The company hosted a closed-door executive roundtable on September 23 with Invest Africa, under the theme “Africa Forward: Investing in the Next Decade of Growth.” The session came as Flutterwave marks its 10th anniversary.
Who Was in the Room
Nigerian government figures were prominent. Vice President Kashim Shettima was represented by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President. Taiwo Oyedele, listed as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, also attended, alongside Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Lateef Kayode Are.
On the private side were executives and investors from organisations including Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Absa Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, Africa50, 500 Global, Chapel Hill Denham and Flour Mills of Nigeria.
From Processing Payments to Building Infrastructure
Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola framed the first decade as proof that African technology can work and scale. The next ten years, he argued, depend on deeper infrastructure that lets African businesses operate and compete across borders. He named three priorities: simpler cross-border money movement, wider access to liquidity and capital, and trusted digital systems that enterprises can rely on as they expand.
Separately, Agboola said the company is building a multi-rail platform that combines fiat payments, bank transfers, cards, mobile money, stablecoins and blockchain networks in one system.
The Barriers Holding Businesses Back
Participants identified three obstacles to regional and global expansion: fragmented regulation, scarce growth capital and friction in moving money across borders. They also stressed that solutions must reflect Africa’s uneven infrastructure, differences in talent availability and varied operating conditions across markets.
Practical Fixes on the Table
The conversation moved beyond diagnosis. Participants explored stablecoin rails, institutional banking utilities and shared fraud prevention networks. They also discussed patient capital, meaning long-term funding that gives growing companies room to scale, and closer public-private partnerships.
A Joint Commitment
The session ended with a shared pledge from government and business leaders. They committed to expanding cross-border infrastructure, mobilising expansion capital and building the financial rails African commerce needs to compete globally. The roundtable was closed to the press, and no timelines, funding figures or binding policy commitments were made public.
Why It Matters for Nigeria’s Fintech Sector
The presence of state governors, federal representatives and global financiers suggests that payments infrastructure is now treated as an economic priority, not only a tech story. Stablecoin rails and cross-border settlement are also likely to draw regulatory attention as they move from pilots to core infrastructure. Whether the commitments turn into concrete policy or investment will be the real test.