African fintech startup, Flutterwave, has hired six executives to strengthen leadership in risk, compliance, and global partnerships as the company rapidly expands.
Among the professionals hired by Flutterwave is Chief Risk Officer, Amaresh Mohan. Mohan previously held senior roles managing risk at PayPal, Stripe, Citibank and other major financial institutions. The startup also hired Amanda Ortega, a banking compliance veteran, to oversee US regulatory standards as Head of Compliance.
The Fintech company also hired Stephen Cheng as Executive Vice President (EVP) of Global Expansion – from American Express. Cheng has over 20 years experience forming partnerships and licensing deals to enter new markets worldwide.
The African unicorn also added a VP of Risk Management and VP of Risk and Compliance Operations to its risk team.
“This wealth of global experience will help us maintain sustainable growth and provide excellent payment services across the world,” CEO Olugbenga Agboola, said.
The series of high-profile hires comes shortly after Flutterwave’s Chief Financial Officer and two other finance executives departed the company. Insiders saw the shakeup as a roadblock to the startup’s planned IPO. However, industry experts now see this revamped executive register as a strategic move to address any regulatory hurdles on Flutterwave’s path to becoming Africa’s first major fintech listing on the NASDAQ.
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In recent years, Flutterwave has been steadily pushing for expansions – securing licenses to operate in Egypt, India, Malawi, Rwanda and most recently the US, where it now has money transmitter clearance in 13 states. The startup also saw its valuation soar to over $3 billion in March 2022 amidst Africa’s tech funding boom.
All has not been smooth for Flutterwave as the company had its share of legal troubles in Kenya earlier this year, including allegations of money laundering. Those cases were dismissed by Kenya’s Asset Recovery Agency last month.
As Flutterwave continues its push for expansion and improved services, the company’s breadth of services, including payments processing, consumer wallets and business banking services, could make it Africa’s biggest fintech export to date.