Olugbenga Agboola, co-founder and CEO of fintech startup Flutterwave, has made a major purchase of a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom home in Miami Beach for $7.1 million.
The property was previously owned by the Boschetti Group, a real estate developer that purchased the land for $1.2 million in 2021 and built the home last year.
Despite being a non-waterfront property, the home was priced at a premium, reflecting the recent trend of high demand and real estate prices in South Florida.
The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the migration of wealthy individuals and families to the area, boosting demand for historically less expensive properties off the coast.
Agboola, a Nigerian-born entrepreneur, founded Flutterwave in 2016 with the aim of improving the payments infrastructure for global banks and businesses.
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Since then, the fintech has raised $474.5 million in funding and reached a $3 billion valuation last year.
Agboola’s contributions to technological advancement were recognized when he was awarded the Nigerian National Medal of Honor for Officer of the Order of the Niger in October 2022.
However, Flutterwave has recently faced security and regulatory compliance challenges. This week, hackers allegedly transferred more than $4 million from Flutterwave accounts in Nigeria.
The company’s lawyer reported the incident to the authorities, and Flutterwave attempted to freeze the accounts containing the stolen funds.
While Flutterwave denied reports that it had been hacked and that users had lost their funds, the incident was a reminder of the importance of strong security measures for fintech companies.
Additionally, Flutterwave faced regulatory hurdles in Kenya, its second largest market after Nigeria. The country’s central bank ordered local banks to cut ties with Flutterwave in July 2022, citing the company’s lack of a license and frozen accounts due to anti-money laundering laws.
