Kippa, a popular Nigerian fintech company has reportedly lost 30 Million to an internal fraud.
When Kippa could no longer keep up, it stopped all Kippa Pay operations in November 2023 and laid off some of its staff afterward. While all of this was going on, the fraudulent activity didn’t come to the open until 4 months later.
The fraudulent activities were reportedly discovered amidst heightened customer withdrawals triggered by the company’s shutdown. A senior manager (whose name has been withheld) took advantage of this opportunity and illicitly withdrew substantial amounts without using a Point of Sale (PoS) system.
In November 2023, when the discrepancy was noticed, Kippa launched an internal investigation that revealed the atrocities of the manager and this had him arrested. However, sources have claimed that the accused has been granted bail and released.
When Kippa pay operations stopped in November, some employees were laid off, about 40 of them, and the tech company promised to roll in severance packages to cushion the effect of the decision. As it stands, Kippa has withheld its promise; the company had promised that the employees who got fired would have a one-month net salary but nothing has been done. Speculations are that this might be a result of the huge financial loss that had just happened to the company.
Kippa used to do well with Kippa Pay until it began to have issues, putting over 500,000 small businesses on the line. Also, the company complained that Naira was doing terribly and this hugely impacted their business.
The tech company was launched in 2021 by Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph, Duke Ekezie, and Jephthah Uche to provide financial management services and a payment platform for small businesses. A few months after Kippa launched, it announced a US$ 3.2 million pre-seed funding round and also launched Kippa Pay which has now closed down.
Kippa officials have refrained from providing additional comments due to ongoing legal proceedings. Nonetheless, the company is examining its internal controls and security measures to avoid similar incidents. The company said it has intensified its dedication to protecting user funds and ensuring transparency for the benefit of all.
