Just in: Flutterwave Shuts Down Disha Temporarily

Disha is a non-code platform where creatives can market their services. In 2021, Flutterwaves purchased it. The platform lets creatives display and market their digital products, make portfolios on one page websites, and get paid by people all over the world. 

Disha Takes A Break

Regretfully, this startup will soon be taking a break; the break will begin on March 31, 2024.

Together with Rufus Oyemade, Evans Akanno founded the business, which now has up to 100,000 regular users of its platform. The company decided to “reassess its goals and realign its mission to better serve the creative community” as the reason for the operations halt.

Disha said in a statement on X, “We find joy in providing you with tools that help you advance your craft, and this pause is critical in helping us rethink our focus.

This is the second time that Disha has temporarily stopped operations. 

Did the Fintech Disappoint Flutterwave?

Disha declared in February 2021 that it would shut down by December 2022, citing “shortfalls with the platform’s vision,” a mere two years after Evans Akanno, Rufus Oyemade, and Blessing Abeng, the platform’s co-founders, launched it. 

But in October 2021, Flutterwave stepped in and bought Disha in a confidential transaction. When Disha was acquired, it was a bootstrapped startup that had amassed over 20,000 users and boasted a monthly growth rate of about 100%.

The acquisition fortified Disha’s payment infrastructure while also increasing Flutterwave’s footprint in the profitable $100 billion creator economy. This improvement made it possible to transact in 34 countries and in more than 150 currencies.

Flutterwave had high expectations for Disha, but it seems like the platform hasn’t lived up to them, so it needs to be reevaluated.

The fintech is not the first product owned by Flutterwave to be “halted temporarily.” Due to issues with chargeback fraud at its partner company, Union54, Flutterwave suspended its virtual dollar card service, Barter by Flutterwave, early in 2022.

Disha’s Statement On The Closure

Disha has stressed that the closure is only temporary, but it hasn’t given a precise date for when it will reopen. In a formal statement, Disha reaffirmed its dedication to offering resources that advance artistic pursuits and stressed the significance of this break in assisting the business in reevaluating its priorities.

Users’ access to their accounts and stored data on Disha will be temporarily restricted due to the upcoming shutdown. Disha’s tools are used by over 100,000 creators, including writers, artists, influencers, content producers, and designers, to manage their online presence. 

Existing subscription fees will be reimbursed to users who transfer their files and data to other platforms before the closure on March 31.