Africa’s fintech company Flutterwave acquired Mono, a Nigeria-based open banking startup in an all-stock deal worth between $25M to $40M.

The transaction unites two of the top fintech infrastructure firms in Africa. One of the largest payment networks on the region is run by Flutterwave, and Mono, often referred to as the “Plaid for Africa,” has developed APIs that let companies access financial information, start payments, and validate clients.

Tiger Global, General Catalyst, and Target Global are among the investors who have contributed roughly $17.5 million to Mono. All its investors were able to at least recover their capital due to the acquisition, according to sources close to the transaction, with some early supporters seeing returns of up to 20 times.

According to a statement from the companies, Mono will still function as a stand-alone product.

Like Plaid, Mono was founded in 2020 and employs APIs that let customers agree to share their bank information, giving financial institutions the ability to examine income, spending trends, and repayment capability.

In African markets, where credit bureaus are still scarce and fintechs, particularly lenders, frequently rely on consumers’ bank transaction histories to evaluate creditworthiness, the company tackles the lack of uniform access to bank data.

Nearly all Nigerian digital lenders now depend on Mono’s infrastructure, according to CEO Abdulhamid Hassan. According to the firm, over eight million bank account linkages, roughly 12% of Nigeria’s banked population, have been powered.

Additionally, it says it has processed millions of direct bank transfers and provided lending companies with 100 billion financial data points. Visa-backed Moniepoint and GIC-backed PalmPay are among the clients.

The agreement strengthens Flutterwave’s vertical integration, which facilitates local and international payments in over 30 African nations. The business can now provide onboarding and identification checks, data-driven risk assessment, bank account verification, and one-time or regular bank payments all under one roof.