Lagos: TECHz Magazine – News Desk
African fintech giant Flutterwave has officially announced the appointment of Morounke Olufemi as its new Global Chief Financial Officer. The leadership change marks a significant milestone as the payments unicorn enters its next phase of global expansion and deepens its push into digital assets.
Olufemi succeeds Mitesh Popat, who is stepping down from his day-to-day responsibilities after two years to co-found Next Communications – a new enterprise focused on transforming telecom infrastructure into digital capabilities for modern brands. Popat will continue to serve Flutterwave as a strategic adviser.
Olufemi’s elevation to the global role represents a planned transition. She joined Flutterwave in June 2025, serving as the CFO for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Over the past year, she has worked closely with Popat, overseeing financial operations across more than 30 countries. Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola expressed strong confidence in the transition, noting her effective leadership of the company’s EMEA financial operations and her proven track record at one of Africa’s largest financial institutions. Agboola also praised Popat for building a disciplined financial foundation and setting the company up for long-term profitability.
Bringing over 24 years of experience across finance, strategy, and investment banking, Olufemi previously served as the Group Chief Financial Officer at Access Holdings Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest financial services conglomerates. During her tenure at Access Holdings, she navigated high-stakes financial engineering, which included spearheading the mobilization of $300 million in Additional Tier 1 capital in 2023.
She also led a major rights issuance and bank recapitalization drive in 2024 to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new regulatory requirements, and orchestrated M&A transactions that created the second-largest pension fund administrator in Nigeria. Her pedigree traces back to the analytical desks of Lehman Brothers Investment Bank Europe and AXA XL, alongside key leadership roles at Old Mutual West Africa. Olufemi holds a BSc in Economics from City, University of London, and an MBA in Finance from Durham University Business School, and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
The leadership shift signals Flutterwave’s calculated pivot toward institutional capital rigor, margin preservation, and long-term enterprise sustainability. As the company seeks to become a comprehensive financial operating system linking Africa to global markets, Olufemi’s priorities will focus heavily on bridging fiat transactions with digital asset settlements.
Olufemi stated the company will continue executing its strategy with a focus on capital discipline, margin growth, and sustainable profitability, while giving global finance leaders control over their working capital alongside access to multi-currency liquidity and stablecoin settlement. By placing a banking veteran with deep recapitalization and regulatory experience at the helm of its finances, Flutterwave aims to reassure both global investors and regulators that its rapid growth is backed by rock-solid institutional governance.
