African payments giant Flutterwave has appointed Mitesh Popat as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), following a nine-month vacancy after former CFO Oneal Bhambani resigned. Popat brings with him over two decades of global financial experience, having held executive roles at Citi, including CFO for the Middle East and Africa and Global Equities Sales and Trading.
Popat will be responsible for overseeing Flutterwave’s corporate finance functions as the company enters its next phase of growth and works towards financial sustainability. His experience in managing financial operations in emerging markets like Africa is expected to be instrumental in Flutterwave’s future development. Commenting on his new role, Popat stated, “I have a deep understanding of the operating environment in Africa and the 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.“
This appointment follows a period of notable executive exits from Flutterwave, including the departure of Bode Abifarin, Chief Operating Officer, in March 2024, after six years with the company. These exits sparked speculation about the company’s much-anticipated IPO plans. Flutterwave has shifted its strategy in recent months, focusing on enterprise and remittance services, while shutting down its virtual card service, Barter, which struggled to meet expectations since its 2017 launch.
Under its revised strategy, Flutterwave relaunched its Send App, an international remittance product, and introduced other offerings aimed at helping businesses manage international currency swaps.
According to Flutterwave’s CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, Popat’s financial leadership will be pivotal in adding value to the company’s enterprise merchants and retail remittance customers, as well as contributing to the broader African fintech ecosystem.
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