Nigerian Crypto Exchange Roqqu Acquires Kenya’s Flitaa to Enter East African Market

Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange Roqqu has announced its acquisition of Flitaa, a Kenya-based crypto startup, in a strategic move to expand its operations into East Africa. The deal, confirmed by a report from TechCabal, gives Roqqu an immediate footprint in the Kenyan fintech market and marks the company’s first major entry into the region.

Flitaa, founded in 2019, offers simplified crypto buying and selling services and has built a customer base across Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania. While the financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, Roqqu has stated that Flitaa’s operations will be integrated into its own platform.

This acquisition aligns with Roqqu’s long-term vision of becoming a pan-African crypto platform. The company, which has been operating since 2019 without raising external capital, also claims to have received regulatory approval to operate in Kenya, though specific details of the license were not immediately available for independent verification. This move follows Roqqu’s 2022 acquisition of a virtual currency license in the European Economic Area, signaling its broader ambitions for both regional and international expansion.

Roqqu’s acquisition of Flitaa is part of a wider trend of Nigerian technology startups expanding into East Africa, a region known for its high mobile money penetration and increasingly open regulatory environments.

Other recent examples include:

• Fincra, a payment infrastructure startup, which obtained a license from the Bank of Tanzania in June 2025.
• Grey, a cross-border payments firm, which established its East African hub in Kenya following a seed funding round.
• Risevest, an investment platform, which has also explored acquisitions as a path into the Kenyan market.

By acquiring an existing local player like Flitaa, Roqqu aims to bypass the often lengthy and complex process of building a customer base and navigating regulatory frameworks from scratch.

This development comes at a time of tightened funding conditions for African startups. In March 2025, total startup funding on the continent fell to a multi-year low of $50 million. However, Nigeria and Kenya collectively accounted for nearly half of that total, underscoring their continued importance as the continent’s leading tech hubs.

As venture capital becomes more selective, intra-African consolidation, particularly in competitive sectors like fintech and crypto, is expected to accelerate. Roqqu’s acquisition of Flitaa is a prime example of this trend, as established startups look to M&A as a capital-efficient strategy for growth and market entry.