Flutterwave, one of Africa's leading payments companies, has announced the appointment of Morounke Olufemi as its new Global Chief Financial Officer. Olufemi has led the company's finance operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa since June 2025. She succeeds Mitesh Popat, who is stepping down after two years in the global finance role to pursue a new entrepreneurial venture.
A Planned Leadership Transition
Flutterwave described the change as a planned leadership transition that reflects strategic continuity and organizational maturity. Olufemi worked closely with Popat on financial strategy before assuming her expanded responsibilities. Popat will remain connected to Flutterwave as a strategic adviser while co-founding a new venture focused on converting telecommunications infrastructure into digital capabilities for commercial brands.
Profile of the New Global CFO
Olufemi brings roughly 24 years of international financial services experience to the global CFO position. She previously served as Group Chief Financial Officer at Access Holdings, where she managed finance operations across commercial banking, payments, consumer lending, asset management, and insurance. Her earlier career includes investment banking at Lehman Brothers Europe and senior executive finance positions at AXA XL and Old Mutual.
Proven Record in Capital and M&A
At Access Holdings, she led initiatives that included raising $300 million in Additional Tier 1 capital in 2023 and completing a rights issuance program for bank recapitalization in 2024. She also led complex mergers and acquisitions that created the second-largest pension fund administrator in the Nigerian pensions industry. She holds an MBA in Finance from Durham University Business School and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Financial Discipline Under Popat
Popat joined Flutterwave in 2024 after serving as Citi's Chief Financial Officer for the Middle East and Africa. During his tenure, he focused on strengthening internal controls, financial reporting, and unit economics across the business. Flutterwave's leadership credited him with establishing a disciplined financial foundation designed to support sustainable long-term profitability and scalable global growth.
Focus on Sustainable Growth
Olufemi stated that the company's financial trajectory remains firmly on course, with a focus on capital discipline, margin growth, and sustainable profitability. She also emphasized giving global finance leaders control over their working capital, multi-currency liquidity, and stablecoin settlement. Her elevation consolidates Flutterwave's financial management under an executive with deep experience in institutional banking and African corporate governance.
Succession and Strategic Expansion
The appointment underscores Flutterwave's commitment to internal talent development and succession planning as the company evolves into a deeper financial operating system connecting Africa to the global economy. Flutterwave has strengthened its financial foundation through late-stage funding rounds and strategic investments such as the acquisition of open-banking firm Mono. The company remains focused on expanding digital payment processing rails across emerging and international markets while supporting both fiat and digital assets.
Flutterwave, headquartered in Lagos and San Francisco, is positioning itself for its next phase of global expansion under Olufemi's financial leadership. Her track record in capital raising, recapitalization, and mergers and acquisitions supports the company's ambition to connect Africa to the global economy with both fiat and digital assets. The transition also reflects an internal succession strategy designed to preserve long-term financial governance and stakeholder value.