Onyeka Akumah Steps Down as Crowdyvest Transitions into Fintech Platform

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Crowdyvest, the investment arm of Farmcrowdy Group, has announced that it is transitioning from its crowdfunding model to a go-to digital wealth management and savings platform like PiggyVest.

The announcement comes along with additional investment and a change in leadership as its CEO, Onyeka Akumah will be stepping down. Tope Omotolani who is currently the Managing Director and also a co-founder, will become the new Chief Executive Officer of the startup with immediate effect.

From Left; Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer, Crowdyvest, Akindele Phillips, Co-Founder, and Chief Operations Officer, Crowdyvest, Temitope Omotolani, Managing Director, Farmcrowdy, Kenneth Obiajulu, Founder and CEO, Crowdyvest, Onyeka Akumah, and Co-Founder and VP, Data and intelligence, Crowdyvest, Ifeanyi Anazodo.

She will be charged with fully transitioning the platform from its previous crowdfunding model into a fintech company that can make strides in the growing industry.

As part of the transition, Crowdyvest will also be fully exiting EMFATO Holdings.

According to Onyeka Akumah, his decision to step down was sparked by the new investment in the company. He explained that the invest gives the startup a good footing to expand.

“I have taken this decision to step down as the CEO of Crowdyvest as a result of the new investment in the company which gives it good footing for scale. Today, Crowdyvest is exiting fully from EMFATO Holdings and we are very happy about the new investors led by Tope, and excited to see how Tope will lead this business to new heights.”

Talking about his next steps, Onyeka revealed that he will now focus more on leading Farmcrowdy and Plentywaka as CEO of both companies into new markets in 2021.

From crowdfunding to digital savings

Founded in 2019 by Onyeka Akumah and four other Co-Founders, Crowdyvest was created to provide all-in-one financial solutions for individuals and businesses to achieve short or long-term goals while facilitating impactful growth in line with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Fintech company went live in beta-stage in August 2019 but launched fully as a crowdfunding platform in January 2020 where its users and sponsors can sponsor high-impact opportunities that yield good benefits through its pooled sponsorships and individual projects.

As a crowdfunding platform, Crowdyvest was able to create an impact by funding 24 projects across various sectors including Agriculture, Real Estate and Transportation.

It also worked with 9 project partners, has operated in 17 states with over 10,000+ active sponsors, over 90,000+ total users, and over 8,000 Monthly Active Users.

After over one year of operations, the company is taking a big leap by transitioning fully into a digital savings company.

The savings platform will give savings options to over 10,000 subscribed members on its platform. Unlike PiggyVest and Cowrywise, the Crowdyvest Savings platform will have closed membership.

According to the company, there’s a variety of plans that will help its members build a savings culture based entirely on their pace, so they can reach their life goals faster.

This savings platform has four products (Flex Savings, Vault Savings, Pace Savings and Flex Dollar Savings) that are properly tailored to fit all categories of individuals, including the Millenials, Gen Z, Gen X, and Baby Boomers.

According to the company, every saver enjoys the benefits of good interest rates from 12.5% to 15%, zero bank charges, plans tailored for everyone, and effective and prompt customer service.

Onyeka believes that under Tope’s leadership, the company can become one of the leading wealth management companies in Nigeria within the next 3-5 years.

Tope is a strong and amazing leader and I see her leading Crowdyvest to become one of the leading wealth management companies in Nigeria within the next 3-5 years. I wish her and the team all the best and will continue to advise them on their journey when needed’’.

Onyeka Akumah

Meet Tope Omotolani, Crowdyvest new CEO

Before co-founding Crowdyvest, Tope Omotolani has founded and co-founded several startups the most popular of which is Farmcrowdy limited.

Tope holds a B.Sc in Economics from the University of Lagos and a certificate in Agricultural Business and Management from the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University.

Tope Omotolani, CEO Crowdyvest

She began her career as an entrepreneur, starting businesses like Gifted hands Makeup services, Finifini Cleaning Services and Ojawara in the space of 12 years.

In 2016 she launched in the big leagues, co-founding Farmcrowdy with the likes of Onyeka Akumah and assuming the position of VP Operations. Two years later she transitioned into Chief Operations Officer, planning and directing all aspects of all Farmcrowdy’s operational policies, objectives, initiatives.

In August 2019, she cofounded Emfato Holdings, a company powering collaborative development in Africa with technology. Shortly after, Tope cofounded Crowdyvest as a portfolio company under Emfato Holdings.

Prior to her latest appointment as the CEO of the company, Tope held the position of Managing Director for more than a year.

Speaking on her appointment, she expressed that it was an honour to be able to lead the team to the next level and the next chapter of the business.

“It’s an honour and a privilege for me to be able to lead the team to the next level and the next chapter of the business. Onyeka founded this company on the ethos of integrity and strong customer satisfaction and I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead this technology company into its next chapter.”

Tope Omotolani, CEO Crowdyvest

She added that the goal and focus of Crowdyvest are to help lots of people become financially free through the products it creates on the platform.

In Summary

Tope’s appointment as Crowdyvest CEO is a welcome development as she joins the wave of female leaders emerging from across the generations.

However, Onyeka’s explanation of stepping down because of a new investment poses more questions than answers. Why the change in CEO? Why does Crowdyvest have to pull out of Emfato? Were those conditions given by the investors?

There is also Onyeka’s comment about the new investors led by Tope. This could mean that Tope is one of the new investors. While these questions remain unanswered, the most important fact is Crowdyvest is now competing in the same market with well-established operators like Piggyvest and Cowrywise. How well they deal with these strong competitors remains to be seen.

https://technext.ng/2019/07/30/farmcrowdy-launches-crowdyvest-expand-business-provide-impact-driven-opportunities-sponsors/

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