Flutterwave’s GB Agboola bets on stablecoins to power Africa’s next fintech boom

Flutterwave founder and chief executive Olugbenga “GB” Agboola used the stage at Money 20/20 Middle East and the Fluidity 2025 summit in Riyadh to outline his company’s push to make stablecoins a foundation of payments across Africa.

Speaking in a session titled “Youth, Mobile & Money: Africa’s Billion-Dollar Fintech Opportunity,” Agboola argued that Africa’s growing and tech-savvy youth population will shape the next phase of global finance. “Africa’s youth are early adopters, digital natives, and entrepreneurial by nature,” he said, adding that their embrace of mobile money has already propelled more than $1 trillion in transaction value in 2024 and is now accelerating the use of stablecoins.

Linking demographics to a payments shift

Agboola told audiences in Riyadh that the continent’s economic growth is directly tied to its young population and their capacity to drive new payment models.

He pointed to the rapid uptake of mobile-based finance in Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia and Kenya as evidence that African consumers are ready for the next evolution in payments. Stablecoins, he said, are becoming the natural next step, enabling faster, cheaper and more predictable cross-border transactions.

“Africa’s youth dividend must be supported by all stakeholders,” he said during a panel on public-private partnerships that included Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the director general of Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency.

Building infrastructure for “tomorrow’s money”

Flutterwave, already one of Africa’s leading payment technology companies, is positioning itself as the key infrastructure provider for stablecoin-based transactions.

Agboola previewed upcoming features on the Flutterwave Dashboard, designed to help businesses move money across borders more efficiently, and highlighted updates to the Send App by Flutterwave that aim to simplify remittances.

The company is also strengthening partnerships, building on its inaugural membership in the Circle Payments Network for USDC and its collaboration with Global Remit for stablecoin conversion.

Participation in a G20 roundtable on cross-border payments and a fintech panel moderated by Nicole Valentine of the Milken Institute underscored Flutterwave’s intent to shape policy and promote technologies that expand equitable access to finance.

A vision for seamless cross-border commerce

Agboola said the company’s focus on stablecoins is meant to cut friction for small businesses and entrepreneurs, improve payment speed and transparency, and make remittance flows more reliable for families across the continent.

“For us, the next phase of fintech in Africa is enabling businesses and consumers to transact in stablecoins seamlessly,” he told attendees, framing the effort as critical to driving growth in trade between Africa and the Gulf region.

Industry analysts say Flutterwave’s pivot reflects a wider shift among African payment companies seeking to bridge legacy banking systems and blockchain-based networks. The test, they add, will be whether regulatory frameworks in key African markets keep pace with the innovation.

As Agboola put it, “We are building Africa’s largest infrastructure for tomorrow’s money.”

For now, the company’s Riyadh showcase suggests that Flutterwave is betting that the continent’s young, mobile-first population will continue to drive demand for faster, borderless digital payments.