INTELLIGENCE · PERSON DOSSIER
UPDATED 2026-08-13Olugbenga Agboola
Founders & CEOs
Flutterwave · Nigeria
Personal investment vehicle
Berrywood Capital
Reported employee share purchases
Berrywood Capital bought shares from departing Flutterwave employees
Venture studio
Go Time AI
Identity & Ownership
Full name
Olugbenga Agboola
Listed as Olugbenga Agboola in Fortune's 2020 40 Under 40 (Finance) and in TIME's TIME100 Next 2021.
Known as
GB
Universally referred to as 'GB' in company communications and in press coverage; CNN styles him Olugbenga 'GB' Agboola.
Current role
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Flutterwave
Co-founder and CEO. Semafor described him in June 2026 as leading a company operating across 35 African countries.
Nationality
Nigerian
Nigerian; conferred the national honour Officer of the Order of the Niger in October 2022, an award reserved for Nigerian citizens and honorary recipients.
Age
Born c. 1984-85
Derived: Fortune gave his age as 35 on its 2020 40 Under 40 list, published August 2020. No public record of an exact date of birth was located.
Based
San Francisco, United States
CNN in October 2024: 'Based in San Francisco but still heavily focused on the African market.' TIME's 2021 profile had placed him in Washington, DC.
Company headquarters
San Francisco and Lagos
TIME described Flutterwave as headquartered in San Francisco and Lagos, Nigeria. Y Combinator's company page lists Lagos as headquarters.
Years in payments
About 20 years, self-stated
His own claim, at Money20/20 Europe in June 2026: 'I've been in payments for about 20 years now.'
Personal Wealth & Holdings
Personal investment vehicle
Berrywood Capital
Rest of World identified Berrywood Capital as Agboola's personal investment vehicle and reported he had invested in more than 25 startups through it. Berrywood is also named among the investors in Flutterwave's own 2021 Series C (as Early Capital Berrywood).
Reported employee share purchases
Berrywood Capital bought shares from departing Flutterwave employees
Rest of World reported, citing two sources in the Nigerian investment community, that shares sold by departing employees were purchased through Berrywood Capital. It reported buyback offers of $3.50 a share against prices of $20 to $52.45 in fundraising rounds. Agboola denied any financial impropriety or conflict of interest, and said the company followed all legal processes including board approval where required.
Venture studio
Go Time AI
An accelerator he launched to back African startups building AI products, offering up to $200,000 and mentorship. Flutterwave remains a private company and Agboola's personal shareholding in it has not been publicly disclosed; no verified net-worth figure was located.
Background
MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management
Stated in Fortune's 2020 40 Under 40 profile. Published accounts of his education differ — see the following row.
MIT; Wharton School; University of Westminster; Columbia Business School Advanced Management Programme
From the speaker biography published by the Milken Institute for its 2024 Middle East and Africa Summit. The Milken Institute states that speakers supply their own biographies and that these are not independently verified. Wikipedia's account differs again, listing Obafemi Awolowo University and an MBA from Oxford's Said Business School. Fintechly has not independently verified any of these.
Application engineer, PayPal
Stated in Fortune's 2020 40 Under 40 profile of Agboola.
Product manager, Google Wallet
Stated in Fortune's 2020 40 Under 40 profile of Agboola.
Worked at Access Bank Plc before and around Flutterwave's founding
Rest of World reported that Agboola was employed at Access Bank while Flutterwave was being built. He addressed this directly in his April 2022 email to staff, denying he had started the company behind his employer's back and saying his then-employer was aware.
Standard Bank; Royal Bank of Scotland; Africa Fintech Foundry
Listed in his own speaker biography published by the Milken Institute, which notes speaker biographies are not independently verified. The same biography describes him as a serial entrepreneur 'with two exits under his belt' and over 18 years in financial technology.
Y Combinator, Summer 2016 batch
Flutterwave's Y Combinator company page lists the Summer 2016 batch and names Adeleke Adekoya and Olugbenga GB Agboola as founders.
One of Africa's most-profiled fintech founders
Named to Fortune's 40 Under 40 in finance (2020) and TIME's TIME100 Next (2021); conferred a Nigerian national honour in 2022; named to Endeavor's Outliers class for a sixth consecutive year in 2026.
Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), 2022
Conferred by President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2022 in recognition of contributions to technology, innovation and economic development.
Notable Coverage
23 items
Agboola says Flutterwave is buying a bank in East Africa
Ripple takes an equity stake, valuing Flutterwave at about $3.3bn
Agboola sets out a 'financial operating system' plan at Money20/20 Europe
Flutterwave passes a billion transactions and $40bn in lifetime payments
Flutterwave takes a Nigerian microfinance banking licence
Flutterwave acquires open-banking provider Mono
Flutterwave adds 20 more US money transmitter licences
Agboola makes the listing conditional on profitability
Agboola gives his first major interview since the 2022 allegations
Reports of a security breach at Flutterwave are denied by the company
Flutterwave said it had detected and blocked unauthorised activity on one platform used by a small subset of customers, reported the offenders to the security agencies, and that no customer funds or data were compromised. Outcome: the Federal High Court declined to grant the police ex parte motion, holding that the banks had to be heard. Agboola told CNN the company had 'invested heavily in ensuring the highest level of security' and pointed to its work with Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Flutterwave publicly declares itself cleared in Kenya
Kenyan High Court closes the final case, criticising the Assets Recovery Agency
Flutterwave said: 'Flutterwave welcomes the recent court ruling that vindicates our company from any wrongdoing. The court's decision affirms our steadfast commitment to ethical business practices and upholding the highest standards of integrity.'
First Kenyan forfeiture suit against Flutterwave withdrawn
Flutterwave had denied money laundering and fraud throughout.
Central Bank of Nigeria grants Flutterwave a switching and processing licence
Central Bank of Kenya says Flutterwave is not licensed to operate in the country
Flutterwave said it had entered Kenya through partnerships with banks and mobile operators licensed by the central bank, had applied for a Payment Service Provider licence in 2019 and remained 'in constant engagement with the Central Bank of Kenya to ensure that we provide all the requirements'. It added: 'We are committed to operating within the stipulated laws, regulations and industry standards in Kenya.'
Kenyan court freezes Sh6.2bn across 62 accounts linked to Flutterwave
Flutterwave denied wrongdoing throughout and said it was committed to operating within Kenyan law and regulation. Outcome: the freeze was lifted and both agency suits were later withdrawn — see the February and November 2023 entries.
Reporting alleges self-dealing in employee share buybacks and workplace misconduct
In an email to staff on 20 April 2022, Agboola said: 'The allegations of financial impropriety, conflict of interest and sexual harassment have been proved false or have already been reported, investigated and addressed.' He said the company had followed all legal processes and procedures including board approval where needed, and denied starting Flutterwave without his employer's knowledge. He did not address the 'Greg' allocation in that email. Co-founder Iyinoluwa Aboyeji said the co-founders' agreement was that Agboola would hold some shares in trust for 'Greg', and disputed that the ownership structure was complicated, saying he himself had negotiated and received 15% of the equity on a vesting schedule. No regulator has announced a finding against Agboola arising from these allegations.
Former employee publishes bullying and harassment allegations against Agboola
A Flutterwave spokesperson said: 'Many of the claims that have been recently made are false, recycled, or have been previously addressed.' Flutterwave also said it had tried to resolve the complaint amicably and had a zero-tolerance stance on bullying. Outcome: Odero sued in Kenya over reputational damage and emotional distress and was awarded $2,500; CNN reported in October 2024 that her appeal seeking $900,000 failed and the original award stood.