Flutterwave has recruited several executives straight out of the Wall Street community in recent weeks. This is where his future is at stake. The fintech installed in Nigeria counts list on the New York Stock Exchange to continue its growth and seek new capital, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Bloomberg recently.
In 7 weeks, African startups raised as much as in all of 2019.
130 financing transactions have injected $1 billion into the ecosystem.
2022 objective: $7.3 billion (estimates @MaxBayen / The Big Deal) #Startup
— Hadrian Augusto (@HadrianAugusto) February 27, 2022
Poaching at American Express and Goldman Sachs
Flutterwave has poached former Goldman Sachs head Gurbhej Dhillon (who has been in investment banking for 17 years) and former American Express vice president Oneal Bhamban as its new chief financial officer. Profiles and key positions to enable a smooth operation. Or at least, with as few problems as possible. Because the Nigerien startup is going through a complicated period, with a undermined reputation.
The setbacks are numerous, especially around its co-founder Olugbenga Agboola. Of its inappropriate behavior with collaborators, the man would also have mounted Flutterwave on a completely illegal funding base, with assets of Access Bank. He and his partner were working there when Flutterwave launched in 2016.
In addition to the movements of militants against the behavior of the CEO with the women of the company, several former employees attacked Flutterwave in justice for lack of remuneration. Gbemisola Ajayi, who worked at the startup until 2020, alleged that Flutterwave did not pay him the stock compensation provided for in his contract. He was therefore suing the company for $800,000amount of capital that he could have stored with his shares in the company.
On the podium, 2 nuggets raised +$100m: @instadeepai & @theflutterwave
Flutterwave, a payment fintech launched in Nigeria, has become the highest valued startup in Africa
— Hadrian Augusto (@HadrianAugusto) February 27, 2022
IPO cancellations in 2022
These pans are the subject of investigations, especially in the United States while the startup has set up its headquarters in California. The allegations multiplied at the beginning of the year and whether in its accounts or at the level of its public relations, Flutterwave is in difficulty to be able to go public in good and due form. “With all of this, I don’t believe the international public markets are ready for a Flutterwave IPO”exclaimed an African lawyer and investor, interviewed by Bloomberg.
If the company manages to manage on these different points, once on the stock market, the biped could however lose its footing in view of the gloom of the markets – in which most companies decide to deprogram their listing operation, as this was the case in January with WeTransfer. Flutterwave is therefore weakened on all sides. In Kenya, regulators are also attacking the services of the company which they believe are operating without a license for a payment activity.
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“Going to public markets is as much a public relations and marketing exercise as it is fundraising. And at the moment, the image of Flutterwave is damaged”said a source close to the matter wishing to remain anonymous. “They need to fix these issues”she added.