Flutterwave, the Nigeria-based payments technology company, has announced a new collaboration with PayPal. 

This will enable PayPal users worldwide to pay businesses and service providers on the continent through Flutterwave’s platform, connecting them to more than 377 million PayPal account holders globally.

Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flutterwave, said on the company’s website, “We are excited to bring PayPal’s fully integrated services to businesses across Africa. The collaboration reinforces our vision of creating a seamless digital payments system for Africa’s business communities that can now transact with international consumers.”

The service, now live, will be operational across 50 African countries and worldwide. To make transactions, customers will need to sign up to Flutterwave to access PayPal to make, receive and withdraw payments.

This collaboration means African merchants and SMEs can now receive payments from Paypal users worldwide, resulting in more income for African creators and merchants.

According to Statista, the total value of e-commerce in Africa was $16.5 billion in 2017 and expected to reach $29 billion by 2022. 

Since its launch, Flutterwave has processed over 140 million transactions worth over $9 billion worldwide. After closing a $170 million funding round and reaching a valuation, it achieved unicorn status, reaching a valuation pegged over $1 billion, the largest amount ever secured by an African tech startup.

In Q4 of 2020, PayPal recorded 377 million active registered accounts globally as digital payments became more viable during the lockdowns.