Popat held executive positions at Citi including CFO for Middle East and Africa and Global Equities Sales and Trading. He will oversee Flutterwave’s corporate finance functions. 

With two decades of experience in global financial services across different markets, Popat will be instrumental in driving Flutterwave’s next phase of growth and financial sustainability, the company said in a statement.

“I have a deep understanding of the operating environment in Africa and complexity of operating an emerging market business and I plan to bring my experience in growing Flutterwave, while optimising our business model for sustained profitability,” Popat said.

The ex-Citi CFO replaces Bhambani who resigned just 18 months after joining the fintech startup. In March 2024, Flutterwave’s chief operating officer, Bode Abifarin left the company after six years of leading its operations. These high-profit exits had raised questions about the company’s much-talked-about IPO plans.

Popat’s hiring comes months after the company rethought its product strategy to focus on enterprise and remittance. In March 2024, it shut down the struggling Barter, a virtual card and international payments service it launched in 2017. In 2023, it relaunched its international remittances product, Send App, and launched other offerings to help local businesses swap international currencies.

“As our new CFO,  his work will be adding value to our customers – both enterprise merchants and retail remittance customers, as well as the African fintech ecosystem,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave CEO.

“We are extremely distressed by the video of Tigran in court yesterday. This video is just a snapshot of Tigran’s current reality. His health is rapidly declining and we are deeply concerned about the long-term consequences of this unjust detention,” a Binance spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Nigeria does not need to keep Tigran in order for us to settle any alleged past issues. We continue to implore the Government of Nigeria to let Tigran return home and let us continue in our engagements.”

Gambrayan, a US citizen who is remanded in Kuje prison, faces money laundering charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside Binance, which the company denies.

His lawyers filed a new bail application citing his deteriorating health condition. But the EFCC counsel opposed the application based his medical records. The court will rule on the bail application on September 4.

The detention of Gambaryan and his escaped colleague Najeem Arjawalla was part of the Nigerian government’s crackdown on cryptocurrency despite the Central Bank lifting a three-year ban on crypto-related banking transactions.

Gambaryan’s continued detention has raised serious questions about Nigeria’s hard stance on crypto. Months after authorities blamed Binance for currency volatility, the naira has fallen sharply but the Binance executive remains in detention. In June, two US lawmakers called for his immediate release after visiting him in Kuje prison, heightening political pressure surrounding his trial in Nigeria.

Sixteen American lawmakers also accused Nigerian authorities of holding the American citizen hostage. On June 6, Axios reported that a group of former prosecutors and federal agents wrote to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, urging him to “step up” efforts to secure Gambaryan’s release.

“The referenced Approvals-in-Principle are a precursor to the grant of full registration by the SEC and are meant to ensure that appropriate protection and transparency is in place in respect of each product or service,” the SEC said in a statement on Thursday.

The two companies will operate under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP) introduced in July 2024. ARIP was created to onboard crypto exchanges which had commenced operations before the SEC released rules on virtual asset service providers in May 2022. 

“The license admits the startups into the SEC’s accelerated regulatory incubator which allows us to study them and fashion rules [to guide their operations],” SEC Director General Emomotimi Agama said on a call with TechCabal.

“Millions of Nigerian crypto enthusiasts and users deserve safe and moderated local venues for managing and trading crypto-assets, and this is an overdue step to sanitise the space for the benefit of the economy, in line with global expectations,” Busha CEO Michael Adeyeri wrote on X.

Quidax also confirmed it has received the provisional licence.

This ends months of uncertainty about the regulator’s stance on issuing crypto licences. Last week, several publications claimed that the SEC approved a provisional licence to a major crypto platform—a claim the regulator denied. In January 2024, TechCabal reported that at least two crypto exchanges were in talks with the SEC over a crypto licence after the Central Bank lifted a two-year ban on crypto-related banking transactions.

It will also signal a major policy turnaround for crypto exchanges that have faced increased scrutiny from Nigerian regulators since February 2024. The SEC has talked up banning P2P trading which Nigerian authorities blame for the volatility in the FX market. In May 2024, the SEC DG met with crypto industry players and reiterated the need for crypto exchanges to delist naira from P2P trading. 

Chang will join the company’s board on September 17. She served as the global head of driver and courier operations at ride-hailing giant Uber and had stints at McKinsey & Company and the Department of Homeland Security.

“I am deeply grateful for the privilege to lead Andela. It’s rare to find a mission-driven company that also has the potential to create a category-defining business. I’m inspired by the way Jeremy has led Andela to this point, and I appreciate the trust he and the Board now put in me to carry forward its mission,” said Chang. 

Her appointment comes as the ten-year-old company seeks to snag a bigger piece of the global talent market. Andela, which started by training African software developers for jobs at US companies and elsewhere, has grown into a talent marketplace. It became a unicorn in 2021 after raising a $200 million Series E funding round led by SoftBank. The same year, the company expanded to Latin and South America.

In 2023, Andela acquired Qualified, an assessment platform that certifies top engineering talents, for an undisclosed amount.

“After ten years, I’m deeply proud of the change we’ve helped to catalyze. That said, it’s clear that global hiring is at the beginning of a complete digital transformation, and Carrol is the perfect leader both for Andela’s next stage of growth and to help usher in the era of talent marketplaces,” said Johnson.

Founded in 2014, Andela grew to become a premier source for talented developers in Africa thanks to its curriculum and training methodology. The company claims to have trained more than 110,000 tech talents in Africa and helped talented individuals from over 135 countries build world class careers.

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The investigation into Fidelity Bank began in April 2023 after one customer claimed the bank used their personal information to open an account without consent.

“The Commission reviewed the data processing platforms of Fidelity Bank and found that in certain critical cases, the Bank processes personal data without informed consent of data subjects,” the NDPC said on Wednesday.

It also claimed Fidelity relied on non-compliant third-party data processors to process customers’ data in violation of the 2023 Nigeria Data Protection Act.

Fidelity Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

The regulator said it initially asked the bank to pay a remedial fee in December 2023 and claimed the bank failed to honour repeated warnings.

“The commission gave several opportunities for full accountability for over one year – taking into account the need to encourage compliance as a culture.  However, Fidelity Bank did not provide requisite, satisfactory remedial plan,” it said.

In July 2024, Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the NDPC fined Whatsapp $200 million after a three-year investigation into the company’s privacy policy.

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“Approval is yet to be given to anyone,” SEC Director General Emomotimi Agama told TechCabal via text.

The move suggests a major policy turnaround from the SEC which has talked up banning P2P trading which Nigerian authorities blame for the volatility in the FX market. In May 2024, the SEC DG met with crypto industry players and reiterated the need for crypto exchanges to delist naira from P2P trading. 

In January 2024, TechCabal reported that at least two crypto exchanges—Quidax and Luno—were in talks with the SEC over a crypto licence after the Central Bank lifted a two-year ban on crypto-related banking transactions. Both companies declined to comment at the time. 

Since February 2024, crypto exchanges have faced increased scrutiny from Nigerian regulators. The government accused crypto traders of using P2P trading to manipulate the naira. Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) also classified crypto trading as a national security issue.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has been at the center of a regulatory clampdown in Nigeria with the company facing money laundering challenges and one of its executives detained. Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso claimed $26 billion in untraceable transactions were processed by Binance. 

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In 2023, American Express cards were launched in Nigeria through a partnership with Access Bank, and by May 2024, AMEX had launched four new credit cards in Nigeria. 

The company has also partnered with payment processors and banks on the continent, where cash is still the preferred payment method, according to one Bloomberg report.

With the new partnership, Flutterwave merchants will unlock a new customer base of American Express card users in Africa and around the world. It will also give shoppers more payment options when dealing with Flutterwave merchants. 

“This is one of our initiatives to ensure that more people across the world can pay using Flutterwave in Africa. We understand the value of providing shoppers with payment methods that work for them, as well as helping businesses to expand their customer bases, Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave CEO said.

Flutterwave will later extend the service to merchants in its other African markets—including Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Uganda.

“The collaboration is a win-win because it also increases the number of places where our Card Members can use their Cards in Nigeria,” said Briana Wilsey, Vice President and General Manager of Global Network Services EMEA at American Express.

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According to the Central Bank, national banks like Union Bank are required to maintain a minimum CAR of 10%. According to Fitch estimates, Union Bank reported 16% CAR in Q3 2023, above its threshold. 

Fitch lowered Union Bank’s long-term issuer default ratings (IDR) from ‘B-‘ to to ‘CCC’. It also downgraded the bank’s national long-term rating. However, it removed Union Bank from negative watch.

The credit rating agency warned that an extension of the breach in CAR requirements could lead to a further downgrade in the bank’s viability ratings, which measure an entity’s relative ability to meet financial commitments.

The new credit ratings will pressure Union Bank’s new leadership to strengthen the focus on buffering its capital base to tolerate naira depreciation and credit losses. The bank’s recovery will depend on internal capital generation and execution of an agreed-upon recapitalisation plan pending its merger with Titan Trust Bank. 

In January 2024, the CBN dissolved Union Bank’s leadership and appointed a new CEO due to regulatory infringements, corporate governance breaches, and involvement in activities that threatened its financial stability. 

Union Bank did not respond to a request for comments.

Nigeria’s second-oldest lender faces significant risks due to its lending practices. Single-borrower and industry concentrations accounted for 63% of its gross loans in 2023, Fitch said. The foreign loans–half of the gross loans–have also inflated due to naira devaluation. The bank’s gross loans grew 38.1% to ₦1.4 trillion compared to ₦.1.0 trillion in 2022, according to its latest unaudited financial report.

In the nine months of 2023, Union Bank’s gross earnings grew 120% to ₦ 309.1 billion due to lending and currency devaluation gains. Its profit before tax saw a significant 461% jump to ₦102.3 billion compared to the previous year.

Union Bank came under pressure in December 2023 after a probe into the activities of the CBN under former Governor Godwin Emefiele alleged that the bank’s 2022 acquisition by Titan Trust Bank was funded by “ill-gotten wealth.”

The report claimed Emefiele acquired Union Bank of Nigeria for Titan Trust Bank Limited through proxies. Titan Bank denied the allegations.

The report alleged that the ex-central banker used two Dubai-based companies, Luxis International DMCC and Magna International DMCC, to set up Titan Bank. In 2021, Titan Bank sought the CBN’s no objection to its proposed consolidation with Union Bank. It first acquired 91.5% of Union Bank’s shares and completed the takeover by 2022.

The lender extended the deadline for its public offer from August 14 to August 23 after securing approval from the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

The extension will “provide shareholders with ample opportunity to subscribe to their rights.” Access Holdings is offering 17.7 billion new ordinary shares at ₦19.75 each. The bank will use the funding to pursue its global ambitions.

“During the extended period of the Issue, dealings by the Company’s insiders on the Company’s shares will continue to be strictly limited to participation in the Rights Issue as earlier approved by the Exchange in respect of the Non-Dealing Period on the Company’s Audited Interim Financial Statements for the Period Ended June 30, 2024, until 24 hours after the publication of the Interim Financial Statements,” it added.

The extension comes 24 hours after Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s largest bank by market capitalization, flagged off a combined offer to raise ₦290 billion ($182 million) in line with new capital requirements of Nigeria’s Central Bank. Fidelity Bank, a tier-2 commercial bank, and GTCO, a Nigerian financial services group valued at ₦1.39 trillion, closed their public offers on August 12.

On July 9, Access Holdings told shareholders and regulators that it seeks to “become the world’s first truly African global brand in the financial sector.” In two decades, Access Holdings grew aggressively from a mid-sized lender to the biggest banks on the continent through strategic acquisitions. The lender now operates in 18 countries.

It will invest 65% of the raised capital to grow its loan book, spend 20% to upgrade its infrastructure and the remaining 20% will be used to set up new branches across the country.

Zenith Bank is offering 5.2 billion shares at ₦36.00 per share to existing shareholders and 2.7 billion shares at ₦36.50 to the general public. The offer opened on August 1 and will close on September 9, 2024.

For Zenith Bank, which became a publicly traded company in 2004 and now holds a market cap of ₦1.9 trillion, the appeal for its shares is the history of maximizing shareholder value.

“We paid a dividend of ₦4 per share–the highest paid by any bank in Nigeria. The trend has been sustained for the last five years. We paid the shares from organic profits without FX revaluation gains. Zenith Bank’s offer is investors’ delight,” Adaora Umeoji, Zenith Bank’s Group MD/CEO, said during her presentation.

Zenith Bank also mentioned its growth over the decades from a mid-size lender to the largest tier-1 bank by market value. Its corporate banking arm contributes 58% to the group’s revenue, while the retail segment accounts for 42%.

“All the subsidiaries are making almost 20% profits and contributing to group profits,” Umeoji said.

What will Zenith use the money for?

35% of the total capital raised—₦99 billion— will be used to fund the strategic expansion of the banking business with a plan to expand footprints in West Africa and set up shop in Paris, the French capital to consolidate Francophone expansion. The

With 33 million customers, Zenith Bank will focus on the retail and SME segments. 45% of the total capital raised—₦128 billion—will be used for working capital to serve both segments. The remaining 20% of the proceeds₦57 billion—will be invested in IT infrastructure.