Flutterwave's COO Steps Down

Flutterwave’s chief operating officer, Bode Abifarin, has stepped down and left the largest fintech company in Africa. She left the company after a series of achievements for six years in the company.

Bode Abifarin Steps Down As COO Of Flutterwave

Bode Abifarin was working at KPMG Nigeria before moving to Flutterwave. She worked at KPMG for 15 years and made a courageous decision to work as the FinTech chief operating officer in 2018.

She played an important role in helping to advance the company, including improving its internal processes.

With her expertise she culminated a significant milestone in March 2021 when the company announced a groundbreaking $170 million Series C funding round, catapulting its valuation beyond the billion-dollar mark.

“Since our inception, Bode has been the heartbeat of our operations, infusing her passion and dedication into every aspect at Flutterwave,” Gbenga Agboola, Flutterwave’s CEO, said in a LinkedIn post. She will “continue to nurture new businesses” and “focus on building, teaching and education,” after leaving Flutterwave.

What Abifani Plans To Do Now

She is a professional with the right knowledge. According to her LinkedIn post, she intends to make use of her expertise and skills to empower others.

“In this next phase, I will be sharing a lot more using my voice and my pen. I will continue to nurture new businesses and focus on building, teaching, and education. There are a lot more things in the pipeline and I’ll inform you as we go. Thank you for staying with me and being part of my journey,” she shares in a LinkedIn post.

History Of Professionals Departing From Flutterwave

Abifarin leaving Flutterwave comes after the departures of Oneal Bhambani, the former CFO, Oscar Lan, former Global Head of Strategic Finance and FP&A, and Rebecca Mendel, Controller, in November 2023. They had been with Flutterwave for about a year and a half.

It’s not clear what the reason behind their departure is, but it could be for various reasons such as career opportunities, growth, or personal decisions. Nevertheless, these departures will affect the company.

Most of these departures occurred when the FinTech company went under scrutiny. This was an effect of a report released on a fraud investigation in 2017. This was reported by David Hundeyin.

Conclusion

There were other reports of more fraud allegations in May 2022. It’s probably why these departures seem suspicious to the people.

To face these challenges, Flutterwave had hired Bhambani as CFO. And with great surprise, it wasn’t long before he also left the company.

The FinTech company can be seen focusing on restrategising its product strategy. It recently closed down one of its payment platforms, Barter, and has decided to focus on its international remittance product, Send App. The app has been contributing to the growth and development of the company in international communities.