Flutterwave CEO Joins Semafor Silicon Valley Founders Council

In Short

Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, has joined Semafor’s Silicon Valley & The World Founders Council. The group brings tech leaders and policymakers together to discuss AI and other major technology shifts.

What Happened

Semafor named Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola to the Founders Council of Silicon Valley & The World.

The council is part of a multi-year Semafor initiative designed to connect people building new technology with government officials shaping rules around it. In practice, it is a forum for policy conversations, relationship building, and influence, not a regulator.

Semafor says the council is co-chaired by Sam Altman (OpenAI), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Lisa Su (AMD), Ruth Porat (Alphabet and Google), and Divesh Makan (ICONIQ Capital). Agboola joins an expanded advisory board of more than 50 people.

Semafor did not share how often the council will meet, or whether it has formal decision-making power.

Why It Matters

For African tech, this is a visibility and access moment. Global debates on AI policy often happen without African operators in the room, even though African fintech and digital infrastructure are growing fast.

For Flutterwave, the appointment could strengthen ties with global tech and finance networks that influence regulation, standards, and partnerships. That matters as payments companies move into more regulated areas like banking, digital assets, and cross-border settlement.

Agboola has signaled he wants to bring a continent-level perspective to the council. He also already holds other roles, including vice chair of the U.S.-Africa Business Center board at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Flutterwave started as a payment gateway, meaning a tool that helps businesses accept card and bank payments online. It now positions itself as broader financial infrastructure across 34 African countries, and it runs Send App for diaspora remittances (money sent home by people living abroad).