Quartz reports that a year after raising a $10m Series A round, the leading Nigerian fintech company Flutterwave announced an extension of its Series A which brings its total funding beyond the $20m target.
Unfortunately, the celebration will be bittersweet: its high-profile CEO, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, unexpectedly announced his resignation from the company — his second exit from a company he co-founded in less than 5 years.
Aboyeji, undoubtedly one of the biggest names in Nigeria’s tech-iverse, will exit the role a little over 2 years after he co-founded the payment solutions startup.
His unexpected departure mirrors his 2016 exit from Andela — a company that trains software developers in Africa and pairs them with tech companies — 2 months after the company’s $24m series B led by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Flutterwave, one of the most well-regarded startups of Africa’s fintech space, has quickly become a leading player in online payments, processing 60m transactions worth over $2B from global companies like Uber, Booking.com, and more.
So, what’s next?
Aboyeji has been a serial entrepreneur since he was at university, so it’s fair to assume this won’t be the last of him.
It’s been amazing working with @theflutterwave team to build another great African company and I’m excited for the future under its new leadership under @TechProd_Arch pic.twitter.com/8tTK8oOBWK
— Iyinoluwa Aboyeji (@iaboyeji) October 15, 2018
In a farewell message via Twitter, the 27-year-old says he will now spend his time to “pursue family goals” and plans to consult local startups.
Olugbenga Agboola (also a co-founder of Flutterwave) will replace Aboyeji as CEO.
SOURCE: The Hustle Newsletter