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E-Financial

Bhambani, Flutterwave CFO Resigns amidst $50m IPO Plans

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Oneal Bhambani
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Oneal Bhambani, chief financial officer (CFO) at Flutterwave, has resigned, just over a year after joining the Africa’s leading payments company.

Bhambani, Flutterwave CFO Resigns amidst $50m IPO Plans

Bhambani, took to his LinkedIn to make the announcement public, saying “I wish everyone at Flutterwave the best and I will be rooting for you. Last week, I made the difficult decision to end my tenure at the company.”

His resignation is coming as the fintech company plans a $50 million investment in Kenya.

Bhambani joined Flutterwave after serving as CFO for American fintech Kabbage.

He was at Kabbage, a lending company, when it was acquired by American Express.

Post acquisition, he stayed on as an executive. He left American Express to join Flutterwave at a time when the company was facing fraud allegations in Kenya and battling court cases.

Flutterwave in Kenya has undergone what its Co-founder terms as ‘a baptism of fire”.

Alleged accusations of money laundering led the corruption watchdog, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), to shut down several of its bank accounts in the country.

The development saw the state freeze over USD 52 million of Flutterwave’s funds. However, the case was withdrawn and Flutterwave was granted access to its accounts on this occasion.

This year, a group of 2,468 Nigerian  Nationals obtained a court order to have 45 Flutterwave accounts in Kenya frozen alongside 10 Mobile Money Wallets.

The Nigerians claimed the pan African start-up was the vehicle used to defraud them of $12.04 million.

Bhambani’s time at the payments company was also marked by expansion into Rwanda as a licensed remittance company.

After making his resignation public, he has not announced his next move yet.

In the interim, Israel Koledowo, head of Finance for Africa, will serve as the Flutterwave’s CFO.

The company is set to begin a global search for a new CFO.

Meanwhile, despite, its troubles in Kenya, Flutterwave  plans a $50 million (Ksh7.3 billion) investment in Kenya.

Bhambani has quit as at crucial phase as the firm pushes for a payments and remittances licence in Kenya.

In September, Olugbenga Agboola, the company’s chief executive and co-founder confirmed that Flutterwave has received first-name approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

“We are looking at investing not less than $50 million. We are employing people. We are getting a new office and scaling up our infrastructure. There is a lot to do in Kenya,” said Mr Agboola.

Optimistic on receiving a payments and remittance licence from the regulator, Flutterwave has been hiring more staff to prepare the ground.

The firm has snapped up top talent from other fintech’s like Chipper Cash and tech companies including Safaricom and Microsoft. It is building a team while planning to set up a physical premise in the country.

Securing approval in Kenya will expand Flutterwave’s presence into additional African markets, including Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Cameroon, where the company already offers payment infrastructure solutions for merchants and service providers.

Bhambani, who previously served in the same role at American Express and Kabbage, joined Flutterwave in June 2022—a few months after the company secured a $250 million Series D at a valuation of over $3 billion.

Announcing his appointment at the time, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, founder and CEO of Flutterwave, said: “His track record of operating finance to enable scale and innovation with listed company standard financial controls will help us accelerate our growth as we continue to meet the needs of our expanding global customer base.”

Given that his appointment occurred a few months after the company had been accused of financial misconduct, some analysts contended that Bhambani’s hiring was imperative.

They argued that since the scandal primarily centred on financial issues, an experienced CFO could have either prevented or more effectively controlled the problems.

Earlier this year, allegations of financial misconduct against Flutterwave in Kenya were dismissed. Subsequently, the fintech company has initiated a series of strategic hires to facilitate its expansion in the East African nation.

Moreover, it has unveiled intentions to invest $50 million in the country. In August, Flutterwave received name approval from the Central Bank of Kenya, a significant step towards obtaining its remittance and payment licenses.

In August, Flutterwave partnered with IndusInd, the sixth largest bank in India by assets, to expand its remittance product, Send App to the South Asian country. Before the expansion announcement, Agboola said that it was moving forward with plans for an initial public offering (IPO), which it first publicly indicated in 2022.

“The timing of the listing will be determined by many factors.

Currently, we’re dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. Like any company in our position, we consider multiple strategic opportunities. I can’t share any details regarding listing venues,” Agboola said.

 

Flutterwave processes over 500,000 daily payments and operates across 34 African countries, accepting payments in more than 30 different currencies.

The platform offers a wide array of payment options, exceeding 15, and it receives over 20 million API calls each day.

Additionally, as of February 2022, Flutterwave’s e-commerce solution amassed a network of more than 30,000 merchants.

Their rapidly growing product, Flutterwave Send, which debuted in December 2021, processed 4,729 transactions amounting to $3.6 million in its first full month of operation.

This product attracted customers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria.

By March 2021, Flutterwave had processed 140 million transactions totaling over $9 billion. By February 2022, the number of transactions processed had surged by more than 40%, reaching 200 million transactions, with the transaction value soaring by 78% to $16 billion.

During the same period, the number of businesses utilising Flutterwave’s diverse payment methods globally tripled, growing from 290,000 to 900,000, according to Contrary Research.

 

 

 

 

 


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E-Financial

UBA Expands to More African Cities, Stamps Footprint  in Saudi Arabia

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United Bank for Africa (UBA) has announced strategic expansion into more African countries even as it plans to open a new office in Saudi Arabia, marking a significant milestone in its mission to connect Africa with key global markets.

UBA Expands to More African Cities, Stamps Footprint  in Saudi Arabia

Oliver Alawuba, GMD/CEO, UBA group,

This emerged during the Group’s Half Year Business Review held at its global headquarters in Lagos, where Oliver Alawuba, group managing director/CEO, UBA group, met with senior executives overseeing UBA’s 24-country footprint.

The meeting reaffirmed the bank’s pan-African strategy while outlining bold new steps into global markets.

Alawuba highlighted UBA’s continued growth outside Nigeria, with more than 51.7% of Group revenues now generated from its ex-Nigerian operations.

He described the Saudi expansion as a move that positions UBA to support cross-border trade, attract investment flows, and better serve the African diaspora.

“UBA’s vision is clear—we are building a truly global institution anchored in Africa, but serving customers across continents. Our entry into Saudi Arabia signals confidence in new opportunities and commitment to supporting economic connectivity between Africa and the Middle East,” he said.

The Saudi expansion adds to UBA’s international presence, which currently includes the United Kingdom, United States, France, and the United Arab Emirates. Alawuba also disclosed that the bank is upgrading its operating licence in France to further strengthen its European operations.

“In Europe, UBA has operations in the United Kingdom and is upgrading its licence in France, expanding its capacity to serve cross-border trade, investment flows, and the African diaspora, complementing our over 40-year presence in New York,” Alawuba noted.

Since launching its pan-African journey with an entry into Ghana in 2004, UBA has expanded rapidly across 20 African countries, establishing itself as a leading driver of financial inclusion, innovation, and regional integration.

 

 

 

 

 

 


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E-Financial

Ecobank Plans to Raise $250m Capital Through Private Placement

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Ecobank Transnational Incorporated announced its plan to raise up to $250m in Additional Tier 1 capital through a private placement of contingent convertible notes.

In a statement filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited recently, the capital raise was approved by shareholders at the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting held in Lomé, Togo. The private placement offer was launched on July 9 and will run for ten days.

“Following the approval of the shareholders at its Extraordinary General Meeting held on May 28, 2025, in Lomé, Togo, to raise up to $250m in additional Tier 1 capital qualifying instruments via a private placement of contingent convertible notes, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated announces the launch of the AT1 effective July 9, 2025, for ten days. Renaissance Capital Africa has been appointed as the transaction adviser to ETI.”

The move is an initiative aimed at strengthening Ecobank’s capital adequacy, enhancing financial resilience, and supporting its long-term growth ambitions across its diversified pan-African banking platform.

Additionally, Madibinet Cisse, Ecobank’s Company Secretary, said, “This proposed capital raise represents a critical step in our efforts to fortify the bank’s financial foundation and support sustainable growth across Africa.”

It would be recalled that Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the parent company of the Ecobank Group, has raised an additional $125m through a Eurobond tap, bringing the total size of its 2029 notes to $525m.

 


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E-Financial

EFCC Recovers Funds Lost to CBEX Fraud

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Ola Olukoyede, chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has announced that the body has recovered lost funds from the CBEX fraud scheme.

EFCC Recovers Funds Lost to CBEX Fraud

Olukoyede did not announce the amount recovered, but he assured Nigerians that the EFCC is taking action against the promoters of the scheme.

The EFCC Chairman emphasised that the suspects found are facing prosecution.

“We have found a lot of people culpable. Those who promoted that scheme are within our jurisdiction and have been arrested. So, at this moment, they are being prosecuted. And we can also say that money has been recovered, even though the process is still ongoing for us to finally forfeit it,” he said.

Olukoyede also urged Nigerians to exercise caution when investing their resources into online platforms.

“Ponzi schemes remain one of the most pervasive threats facing unsuspecting investors. The CBEX case is a clear example. We all remember the outcry that followed the collapse of the scheme, but these unfortunate situations are preventable. Nigerians must begin to conduct due diligence before committing their resources to such platforms,” Olukoyede said.

He also stressed that the body remains committed to fishing out the culprits and recovering the lost funds.

“It was only when the bubble burst that people wanted EFCC to perform magic and recover their money. In the case we investigated in Lagos, which we dubbed Operation Flush, we arrested a large number of foreigners involved in various cybercrimes, including CBEX. I want Nigerians to know that as of today, we have secured close to 150 convictions. Some of them are already serving their jail terms. And when they are through with that, we are going to send them back to where they came from. So we are monitoring them,” he added.

He urged the public to stay vigilant, assuring them that the body will see the case to the end.

“We are no longer the EFCC that drops cases halfway. Whatever we start, we will finish. Nigerians should trust us and believe in our capacity to do justice. Some of these cases are complex and may require cross-border investigations, but we are up to the task,” he said.


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