Oneal Bhambani, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Flutterwave, Africa’s payments company, announced his resignation on Tuesday, leaving the company in a state of uncertainty and raising questions about its planned Initial Public Offering (IPO).
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Bhambani, who joined the company in May 2022, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity in a LinkedIn post but did not provide specific reasons for his departure.
“Last week, I made the difficult decision to end my tenure at the company,” he said.
Bhambani’s arrival at Flutterwave was seen as a strategic move to stabilise the company, which had been grappling with allegations of financial improprieties and employee mistreatment.
His extensive background, including previous roles at American Express and Kabbage, had initially instilled confidence in the company’s ability to navigate challenging times, especially following Flutterwave’s legal troubles in Kenya and the need to obtain necessary licensing.
Announcing his appointment at the time, Olugbenga 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.”
However, the departure of Bhambani, alongside two other finance executives, Rebecca Mendel and Oscar Lan, who also joined Flutterwave from Kabbage, adds to the uncertainty surrounding the company’s future, particularly regarding its plans to go public.
Some industry experts suggest that the resignations could potentially disrupt Flutterwave’s plans for public listing, as the company may need to reevaluate its financial strategies and leadership structure.
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The company, valued at $3 billion and supported by investors like Tiger Global, has not experienced such a significant executive departure since the departure of its co-founder and former CEO, Iyin Aboyeji, in 2018.
