In a rare intra-African crypto acquisition, Nigerian crypto startup Roqqu has acquired Flitaa, another crypto exchange with operations in Nigeria and Kenya, marking its entry into East Africa’s growing digital asset market. The company did not disclose the value of the all-cash deal.
The acquisition, which Roqqu claims has received regulatory approval, allows the company to bypass Kenya’s slow-moving crypto licencing process and sidestep the hurdles that competitors like Busha and Luno have faced. It also signals a strategic shift as Roqqu deepens its African footprint beyond Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, and builds a case for crypto consolidation across the continent.
“We’re not just building to expand to Europe,” Ayo Shonibare, Roqqu’s chief marketing officer, said. “We also want to expand into our home base [Africa], so it only makes sense that in our quest for this expansion, we also expand into our own home territory.”
As part of the acquisition, Flitaa will continue to operate independently using Roqqu’s infrastructure, but its leadership and staff have exited the company, with severance packages provided. Great Onomor, a director at Roqqu, will head Flitaa’s operations and serve as its CEO.
The integration gives Flitaa users access to Roqqu’s broader services while stabilising the Kenyan startup’s operations, which had suffered from limited funding, weak infrastructure, and a narrow product offering. The combined entity now positions Roqqu for deeper expansion into Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
“We want to stabilise the operations of Flitaa and make sure they are as strong as Roqqu’s,” said Shonibare. “Our goal is to ensure that existing and new users enjoy the same experience across both platforms.”
Flitaa’s existing groundwork in Kenya made the acquisition valuable for Roqqu. The crypto startup had already set up local operations, giving Roqqu an immediate entry into the Kenyan market without the friction of building from scratch. Shonibare noted that Flitaa had fulfilled Kenya’s regulatory requirements before the acquisition.
“Flitaa had already figured it out in Kenya,” he explained. “Rather than go through the entire hassle of setting up from scratch, we saw value in their groundwork, especially their plans to expand into Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania. They had already set up the operational processes in these countries.”
Founded in 2021, Flitaa built its presence by listing lesser-traded cryptocurrency tokens. The startup grew to 72,544 users—with most of its operations in Kenya—and processed around 560,000 transactions monthly, according to internal figures. Its key advantage lay in its deep M-PESA integration and local traction in Kenya’s $100 million crypto market. This M-PESA integration allowed customers to easily buy, sell, and convert their crypto assets to Kenyan Shillings.
Joseph Mutati served as Flitaa’s country manager in Kenya, helping to deepen the startup’s traction in the country. He also led the startup’s engagement with regulators and local partners.
While Flitaa lacked intellectual property (IP) and regulatory licences and suffered poor app reviews, its user base and compliance posture made it a valuable off-ramp for Roqqu. M-PESA access is particularly important in Kenya, where banks are currently barred from providing services to crypto companies.
Two investment analysts who spoke to estimated the value of the deal to be between $85,000 and $350,000, citing Flitaa’s small user base and the limited spending power of its African customers, which kept its revenue potential low.
Joseph Mutati did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the valuation.
Roqqu declined to disclose the value of the deal.
Why this matters
Roqqu’s acquisition of Flitaa is the first publicly disclosed intra-African consolidation in the crypto sector. The deal signals a maturity milestone for the continent’s crypto ecosystem. It also indicates a growing urgency among African crypto startups to accelerate cross-border expansion while regulatory frameworks across several parts of the continent remain in flux.
By acquiring a locally embedded platform, Roqqu enters Kenya without having to wait for formal licencing under the country’s pending Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) framework, which is still under review by a multi-agency task force.
This move echoes similar urgency seen in 2023 when Blockfinex acquired Nigerian startup Fluidcoins in a cross-market transaction. That deal came close to an intra-African milestone but didn’t quite qualify, as Blockfinex is headquartered in the UAE despite its founder, Danny Oyekan, being Nigerian.
The deal also signals to other African crypto companies that regional merger and acquisition (M&A) is now a viable growth strategy, not just a survival tactic.
Roqqu marches inwards
Roqqu, founded in 2019, has not raised any external funding and financed the Flitaa acquisition through internal cash flow.
Its presence in Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa has allowed the company to build a pan-African user base. In South Africa, Roqqu has received regulatory approval to offer crypto services but has yet to secure a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licence. In Nigeria, it remains one of the most widely used crypto exchanges.
The company also holds a virtual currency licence in Europe, allowing it to operate across 28 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA).
With this acquisition, Roqqu is now turning its focus back to the continent. The company is looking to expand deeper into East Africa, using Flitaa’s operational groundwork as a launchpad.
“Our plan is to deepen Roqqu’s footprints across the African continent,” said Benjamin Onomor, Roqqu CEO. “We want to help millions of people engage with this Web3 economy for the benefit of the continent and everyone in it.”
The entry of bigger players into Kenya signals growing interest in the country’s crypto economy. With stronger education and hiring ramp-ups expected soon, Kenya’s crypto adoption could increase in the coming years, opening the market for more competition.
Roqqu expects the competition to intensify, with deep-pocketed foreign crypto companies such as Binance, Bitget, OKX, Huobi, and Paxful also playing in the market. Clearer crypto regulatory frameworks across East Africa will help Roqqu consolidate its pan-African presence.
“This is our first acquisition, but it will be the first of many to come,” said Shonibare.
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