By Rarzack Olaegbe
Jesus wept. That is human. That is an ordinary act. Babies cry daily. Adults also weep. They are all responding to stimuli. Death. Loss. Happiness. All of these can cause you to weep. So, to show he possessed an extraordinary power, Jesus did the impossible. He walked on water. Jesus walked on w-a-t-e-r! That is not a child’s play. It is not human nature. It is supernatural. To test his super naturalness, one of his disciples asked if he could meet him midway.
Yes. Come over. He commanded him. So, Peter stepped out of the boat. He stepped on the sea. Like a boat, he floated on the water. Like Jesus, this disciple, too, walked on water. He was the second man to walk on water. The feeling was surreal. He enjoyed the ride. Until he took a slide. He took his gaze off Jesus. He was afraid. Then, in a flash, oh my, he was sinking! What would happen? The sea was turbulent. The sea would swallow him. Before his words could take form, Jesus reached out. He saved him.
On the one hand
I am not sure who will save Greg. He is a co-founder of Flutterwave. He is in the midst of the unfolding saga. According to one of the co-founders, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, the CEO, Gbenga Agboola created a ghost co-founder identity. He created Greg “to give himself more shares in the company’s early days”. Aboyeji said the co-founders agreed that Agboola would hold some shares in trust for the fictitious Greg.
When Aboyeji joined Flutterwave, Agboola told him there was a chief technology officer. His name is Greg. He claimed Greg was from MIT. “You would meet him someday”. But Aboyeji did not meet Greg. Greg did not meet Aboyeji. Why is that so? Greg does not exist. Greg is the creature of Agboola. This was clear to other co-founders. But by that time “it didn’t matter”. Then, Aboyeji and the third co-founder, Adeleke Adekoya, had already signed the agreements.
Before we move on, how did Flutterwave get this ghost story? In “how you can set up the highest-valued Fintech startup, ” I wrote that the CEO of Flutterwave, Gbenga Agboola and co did not envisage that the company will become a unicorn in a short time. It has been named one of the highest-valued fintech companies in the world. This is after it hit the $3 billion market valuation. It recently raised $250 million. But, it did not start as a unicorn.
Flutterwave facilitates cross-border payments transactions in Africa…It does this through one Application Programming Interface (API). It processes 200 million transactions worth over $16 billion. It serves more than 900,000 businesses. It has raised an additional $250 billion. Fintech has parts. Fintech has paths. Fintech has a pact.
Through this feat, Flutterwave has already walked on water. It has performed the impossible. But I did not know it had a pact with a ghost. Aboyeji had addressed some allegations made against Agboola. The media is awash with the story of Agboola’s dealings. No need to regurgitate it. Aboyeji had distanced himself. He would not touch Agboola. He does not own Flutterwave.
On the other hand
Led by Agboola, Flutterwave has grown to become a beacon of success in the African tech ecosystem. Agboola is not just a successful entrepreneur. Businessinsider.com says he is a notable investor in the African startup space. He is a brilliant man. He has worked in partnership with African financial institutions. He has simplified payment solutions for global merchants. He has footprints in Google. PayPal. And Standard Bank.
But the ghost of Greg is following him. That is why Agboola often changed his first name to Greg. He has done this when he was communicating with external parties. Aboyeji is aware. He said this happened when Agboola – who was popular as an Access Bank staff member – needed to engage other banks on behalf of Flutterwave. “That was the context to which I understood him using Greg”. Otherwise, as a result of the hostility among banks, other banks can say you are from Access Bank. We will not use you. He will say we are not Access Bank. We’re Flutterwave,” Aboyeji said.
Aboyeji left Flutterwave because he had differing opinions with Agboola. He explained that Agboola dabbled into how he used to work. But Agboola will not accept recommendations. Not from Aboyeji. Not from anyone. Particularly, if the subject matter was under his care. “I said there can’t be two captains in this ship.” Aboyeji exited the ship. His exit followed due process. He has no stake in Flutterwave. He has sold his shares. He has moved on.
The SEC is investigating Flutterwave and its investors. A legal brief by Orrick.com, shows Flutterwave had 85 investors. Some of them may not be qualified to be investors under US law. The SEC will determine that. Flutterwave has two offices. One in Nigeria. One in San Francisco, USA. It was registered as a Nigerian and US-based payments company.
Pillsburylaw.com shows that to invest in a startup in the US, you must be any of these. A resident. An international investor. A close family. A friend. Or an employee of the founders. The SEC was concerned about whether Flutterwave followed the due process to ensure investors were accredited. The company profiled the investors, Aboyeji said.
On this side
Agboola is a serial entrepreneur. He has two successful startups. He had once told aspiring entrepreneurs that “it is important for people to understand their goals, their path, and why that path is important and stay true to that path. Many approaches work. But only if you stay true to your conviction.”
Did he stay true to his conviction?
Greg would know, Big-mummy.
How will the co-founders hack it?
They may walk on water. One Jagban is also trying to walk on water.
