Eddie, Paul Ndichu step aside from Wapi Pay to allow probe
Brothers Eddie and Paul Ndichu.
What you need to know:
- The move will allow an investigation into their conduct, the board said.
The board of Wapi Pay has announced that brothers Eddie and Paul Ndichu have stepped aside from their CEO and Executive roles respectively.
The move will allow an investigation into their conduct at Ole Sereni Hotel where the duo were involved in an altercation.
"The board commits to conclude on this matter within the next 30 days," the statement issued on Tuesday evening said.
In Eddie's place, Elizabeth Kariuki, the current chief operating officer, will take up the CEO role temporarily.
An initial statement by the firm, issued just hours before, sought to absolve the brothers of any wrongdoing in the incident depicted in a video that went viral on social media. The duo said they were trying to break up a fight, and hinted that the clip did not relay the whole story.
In a personal signed statement, Eddie said he had taken time off to reflect on this "embarrassing and unfortunate" situation.
Investor steps back
Japanese venture capital firm Kepple Africa Ventures announced Tuesday that it would “relinquish all the rights of our investment stake” in the twins' Kenyan fintech startup, Wapi Pay.
The value of Kepple Africa Ventures’ investment in the twins' company is not clear, but the firm is one of Wapi Pay's key backers. Others are EchoVC and China-based global fund MSA Capital, as well as other angel investors.
In August this year, Wapi Pay, which also has operations in Singapore, raised $2.2 million (about Sh250 million) pre-seed funding round from investors to help it engage regulators in seeking licencing across Africa and drive the firm's expansion.
Founded in 2019, Wapi Pay, which has offices in Nairobi, Singapore and Tianjin (China), delivers platform-to-platform integrations, global accounts and virtual wallets to enable convenient payments.
