Iyinoluwa Aboyeji owned 17% of the startup
Former CEO of Flutterwave, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji has said he no longer owns any shares in Africa’s most valuable startup, which he co-founded in 2016 – a revelation that many would find rather shocking.
In a response to David Hundeyin’s recent investigative article alleging fraud, sexual harassment and insider trading in Flutterwave, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji told TechCabal that he sold his shares after Flutterwave raised $170 million in a Series D round that pushed the company to a unicorn. He owned 17% of the company.
He said however that he was not forced to sell his shares and neither was he forced to sell at a predetermined price. In any case, he sold to a third party and not to GB.
“How can someone force me to do that (sell my shares)? I didn’t sell my shares to GB [Agboola]. I sold my shares to a third party. I fully exited Flutterwave at the $1 billion valuation round last year,” he said.
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Why he exited Flutterwave
Iyin also told TechCabal that contrary to David’s report that he was fired, he actually resigned. According to his story, he offered to resign in about six months’ time to allow for a smooth transition, but the board asked him to do it sooner. So, he exited in two weeks instead. So, whether he was fired or resigned depends on whose account you are listening to.
Read also, I personally incorporated Flutterwave in 2016 – Iyin Aboyeji
He however explained to TechCabal that the main reason he parted ways with the startup was ideological differences, disclosing that he and co-founder Gbenga Agboola has started to spar on how best to run the company.
“It’s very simple. GB [Agboola] and I started butting heads,” Aboyeji said. “He wanted input on things that I felt were my responsibilities, and he didn’t want input on things he felt were his responsibilities. And I said there can’t be two captains of this ship.”
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Gbenga Agboola allegedly conned him of more shares
So, Iyin admitted that co-founder Gbenga Agboola allegedly conned him of more shares using a fictitious co-founder named Greg, who would eventually turn out to be Gbenga. He told TechCabal that the agreement between the co-founders was that Agboola would hold some shares in trust for the fictitious Greg.
“When I joined the company, I was told there’s a chief technology officer named Greg, who’s from MIT, whom I’d meet someday. It never happened,” Aboyeji said. “After a while, it became clear what had happened. By that time, it didn’t matter. We [Aboyeji and third co-founder Adeleke Adekoya] had already signed agreements, and I decided to just move on.”