In June, Leatherback, the Nigerian cross-border fintech as soon as mired in fraud investigations, unveiled new executives in posters styled like Marvel character reveals. The flashy announcement got here 9 months after the corporate’s founder exited amid cofounder misalignment and marks a brand new chapter for a startup attempting to reassert itself after a turbulent stretch.
After being cleared of wrongdoing by Nigeria’s Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) and the conclusion of its courtroom case, Leatherback has a brand new management group. Ochebhoya Ekpete now serves as CEO, joined by Usman Amusat as vp of product and operations and Mayowa Afe-Ogundele as CTO. Collectively, they bring about 35 years of collective expertise and a brand new course for the corporate.
The brand new executives, who should stabilise Leatherback’s group and develop its income, at the moment are steering its pivot towards enterprise infrastructure. The fintech is shifting its focus from a consumer-facing app to the monetary plumbing behind cross-border transactions, leveraging its licences within the UK and Canada, in addition to partnerships in different markets, to supply over 180 currencies and energy the rails that transfer cash for others.
“Leatherback ought to be a serious infrastructure participant in digital funds and international banking,” Ekpete advised TechCabal. “We wish to energy different fintechs, corporates, and choose retail clients.”
They need to additionally enhance the fintech’s compliance and resilience because it scales and improves its 75% transaction margin, which Ekpete credited to Leatherback’s in-house core banking system and fee ledger.
“Within the UK, we’re regulated by the Monetary Conduct Authority (FCA), and what we’re doing right this moment is take that very strict regulatory framework and apply it throughout all the markets the place we function,” stated Ekpete. “The place we discover markets which have a stronger regulation, we are going to undertake the stronger one.”
Ekpete claims that the startup is “self-sustaining” and may cowl its bills with income, declining to share whether or not the corporate is worthwhile. The corporate makes cash from transaction charges and FX conversion charges from its banking facet, and assortment charges, payout charges, and onboarding charges for high-risk clients on the fee facet.
Inside the corporate, the reset has additionally meant a cultural rewrite. Leatherback’s over 60 staff just lately accomplished a retreat the place the brand new management group shared the startup’s new course and launched a share choice plan for workers. The chief group additionally launched time beyond regulation pay and performance-linked compensation to extend workers morale.
Why they joined Leatherback
Steering a six-year-old firm by way of a turnaround comes with inevitable challenges, and every government at Leatherback has been tasked with a definite mandate to make its resurgence stick. For Amusat, the top of product, the quick precedence is stabilising the product organisation by plugging gaps by way of unbiased UX analysis, optimising current fee rails, increasing supplier networks, and strengthening redundancy to construct resilience.
However stabilisation alone shouldn’t be sufficient. Leatherback should rapidly develop income. Amusat can be liable for proving out the enterprise mannequin, restoring income on a sustainable progress trajectory.
“Final 12 months’s occasions had been unlucky, however they by no means modified how I evaluated the enterprise,” stated Amusat, who beforehand held roles at Flutterwave, Smile Id, and Dot. When contemplating Leatherback, he turned to buyer critiques in app shops, which pointed to product and operational points relatively than systemic ones. “Most complaints had been about delays in accessing overseas financial institution accounts, not cash disappearing. That advised me the issues had been solvable.”
For Afe-Ogundele, the EFCC investigation by no means formed his view of Leatherback. Clients by no means misplaced deposits, he stated, which meant the enterprise fundamentals remained intact. In his eyes, the corporate had already made sensible infrastructure bets earlier than his arrival. His activity is to enhance how Leatherback pushes new updates to its software program and instill engineering self-discipline.
Okpete’s expertise at fee giants like Cellulant, Interswitch, and Stripe satisfied him that Leatherback might assist African companies accumulate and make overseas funds. With Leatherback’s in-house core banking and funds ledger giving it management over high quality and pricing, he believes the fintech can win over enterprise shoppers and help wholesome margins.
Whereas the founder, Ibrahim Ibitade, left over misalignment with Dayo Amzat, the managing director of Zedcrest, Leatherback’s largest investor, Ekpete is adamant that historical past is not going to repeat itself.
“Alignment is vital, and since I joined, we now have been totally aligned on technique,” he stated. “Disagreements on execution occur, however we resolve them by way of structured discussions. In 4 to 5 months, we now have had no main conflicts.”
Leatherback’s infrastructure pivot
For the brand new executives, retail is effective for liquidity and Leatherback’s model, however not the expansion engine. “Our technique is near 70–30 in favour of enterprise,” stated Amusat. “Companies and API shoppers are what preserve the lights on.”
Nigeria’s remittance market is crowded, with fintechs jostling for retail customers by competing on pace and pricing to win market share. 2024 was top-of-the-line years for worldwide cash switch operators (remittance firms) as they collectively processed $1.49 billion greater than in 2023 within the first 9 months.
Leatherback is opting out of that knife struggle and plans to promote shovels throughout this gold rush for Nigerian remittance firms. The fintech will nonetheless run retail remittance merchandise, however the group is evident that enterprises and mid-market shoppers are the precedence. Its pivot will put it in competitors with bigger fintechs like Flutterwave, however Leatherback desires to distinguish itself by providing extra currencies than rivals like Aza Finance.
“We wish to be the primary to supply multi-currency accounts throughout extra markets than anybody else, with deep Western banking integrations and international partnerships,” Amusat advised TechCabal. “One entry account will give customers financial institution accounts within the US, UK, Canada, and Europe.”
The vital query is whether or not the brand new focus can translate into market share. Offering infrastructure is enticing in concept, however execution requires regulatory wins and accomplice integrations which might be notoriously gradual. Leatherback already has two licences exterior Nigeria, within the UK and Canada. However it should want extra licenses or partnerships to legally provide these currencies to Africa’s high-risk markets.
“Proper now, we’re constructing the rails earlier than chasing quantity,” Ekpete stated. “If we scale with out that, we’re again to sq. one.”
What the longer term holds for Leatherback
5 years from now, Leatherback’s management has set an audacious objective to generate $450 million in annual income and seize 5% of Africa’s remittance flows. It’s a lofty goal for a corporation nonetheless rebuilding its fame, however one which the executives consider is inside attain.
To get there, Afe-Ogundele outlined a product roadmap that blends retail and enterprise priorities. The corporate plans to roll out a pockets system for immediate buyer entry, refresh its cellular app for retail customers, and simplify company onboarding. On the infrastructure facet, Leatherback will add extra fee rails and currencies, allow monetary establishments to difficulty accounts by way of its platform, and strengthen open banking integrations within the UK and different markets. For companies, new fee hyperlinks will make collections easier and extra seamless.
The brand new group insists the worst is behind them. They need Leatherback to be seen as a client model and indispensable as monetary plumbing. Of their telling, if clients barely discover the corporate—as a result of the cash merely strikes sooner throughout borders— that might be success.
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