Senior citizens hit hard in ₦400 million scam

Jambo,

Victoria from Techpoint here,

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

Senior citizens hit hard in ₦400 million scam
Nigerian edtech Edukoya shuts down
Flutterwave IPO could boost Nigeria’s Stock Exchange

Senior citizens hit hard in ₦400 million scam

crypto scam — Hacker photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com

Fraudsters in Nigeria managed to steal about ₦400 million ($294,000) in 2024 using fake identities, according to the latest report from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). They mostly targeted senior citizens, using their stolen details to open bank accounts and move the stolen money.

One of the major fraud cases involved an individual from Asia who used their own selfie for verification while operating accounts in at least three Nigerian banks. Their location was traced to Hong Kong, but the report didn’t reveal which banks were involved.

In another case, a fraudster opened a corporate account for an oil and gas company using fake documents and a randomly picked company number from the Internet. On the same day the account was opened, it received a whopping ₦335 million ($246,000) from fraudulent activities, which was quickly moved to illegal Bureau De Change (BDC) operators. Thankfully, law enforcement managed to recover the entire amount, and an account officer was caught with incriminating documents.

The fraud didn’t stop there. Over ₦1 billion ($735,000) was moved through just two accounts, both registered using BVNs created for minors by compromised bank staff. One of these accounts, supposedly for an enterprise, received ₦495.3 million ($364,000) before it was completely drained. The second, linked to a bakery, saw ₦507 million ($373,000) move in and out just as fast.

Authorities are now investigating, and the bank agent involved has been reported to law enforcement. There’s also an ongoing discussion with the bank in question to figure out how its staff played a role in the scam.

NIBSS regularly tracks fraud attempts and successful scams across the banking industry, compiling reports to help prevent future incidents. Since it connects banks, mobile money operators, and other financial services, it plays a key role in monitoring and exposing fraud within the Nigerian financial system.

Nigerian edtech Edukoya shuts down

Edukoya, the Nigerian edtech startup that once raised Africa’s largest pre-seed funding of $3.5 million, has shut down. The company told stakeholders it was due to issues like poor Internet access, limited devices, and low disposable income. Basically, the market just wasn’t ready.

They admitted scaling their real-time learning model was harder than expected. Rather than keep burning cash trying to force growth, they decided to shut things down and return money to investors.

Edukoya started in 2021 with big plans to revolutionise online learning in Africa. The founder, Honey Ogundeyi, was inspired by her struggles with Nigeria’s education system. Studying in the UK made her realise how broken things were back home.

Even though they made some impact — 80,000 students, 15 million answered questions, thousands of live classes — it wasn’t enough to make the business sustainable. There were also rumours of a pivot to fintech, but Edukoya denied it, saying their Koya App was a separate project.

They did try to stay afloat by looking into partnerships, mergers, and even tweaking their business model, but nothing worked. In the end, they decided it was better to close shop while they still had money left rather than go broke trying to scale in a tough market.

Flutterwave IPO could boost Nigeria’s Stock Exchange

Flutterwave might be considering going public on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), and the company’s top executives, led by CEO Olugbenga Agboola, recently met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discuss the possibility. While nothing has been confirmed, the visit has sparked fresh speculation about an IPO for Nigeria’s highest-valued fintech startup.

Gbenga Magbagbeola, MD of Sycamore Investment and Asset Management Ltd, thinks it makes perfect sense. “We’ve seen banks raise hundreds of billions in the past year, so why not Flutterwave?” he told Techpoint Africa. However, Flutterwave’s management hasn’t given any more details, leaving everyone guessing.

This isn’t the first time the idea of a local listing has come up. Agboola was previously asked about it during an event hosted by Chapel Hill Denham and the NGX, but he remained cautious about committing to anything. With all the buzz around a possible IPO, the big question remains: What are the best exit strategies for Flutterwave?

In Africa’s startup and venture capital space, the conversation around exits is getting louder. Investors are looking for ways to cash out and see returns on their money. The lack of major exits is a real concern. Paystack’s 2020 acquisition by Stripe is still the go-to example, and that was over four years ago. While it was a huge milestone, the ecosystem needs more high-profile exits to boost investor confidence.

This is why Flutterwave’s IPO matters. Even though Agboola has played down the idea of going public anytime soon, saying profitability is the main focus, many believe an IPO could provide the kind of liquidity and returns investors are now demanding.

So, is a local listing realistic? What challenges could Flutterwave face? Would a dual listing be a better option? And what can they learn from Jumia’s experience? Chimgozirim dives into all of this in his latest piece, check it out here.

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