Eddie Ndichu has stepped down from the Board of Association of Fintechs in Kenya after a video went viral on social media that exposed him assaulting unknown women.
It was an altercation at a city hotel on October 17 in Nairobi, which according to Fintechs Board, the allegations leveled against Ndichu are subject to public discourse, particularly on social media platforms.
“On the 19th of October the Board convened a special meeting during which Mr. Ndichu stepped down as a board member pending formal investigation into the matter,” reads a statement from AFIK.
The association condemned the recent incident, maintaining grounds that “it regrets the current circumstances and does not in any way condone gender-based-violence or violence of any kind.
Eddie has been a leader in transforming how digital services are delivered in Africa over the last 12 years for regional, global banks and internet companies.
He has previously worked as Managing director & leader with Opera Software,KCB and Standard Chartered.
Wapi Pay massive loss
Eddie Ndichu and his brother Paul Ndichu are counting losses after one of the investors in their company Wapi Pay withdrew their funding.
Paul is brother to Eddie and are both co-founders of Wapi.
Wapi Pay investors Kepple Africa Venture revealed that they will withdraw their funding from the tech firm after its co-founders, the Ndichu brothers, were accused of assaulting women in Nairobi.
Kepple Africa Ventures said it is relinquishing all rights in its investment stake in a Nairobi-based Technology and payments firm.
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About a week ago, Wapi Pay had raised in excess of Ksh.240 million in a recent fund drive.
The fundraising was led by EchoVC & China-based global fund MSA Capital, which has also invested in other Asian unicorns, including NIO and Meituan. Kepple Africa Ventures also took part in this investment.
Kepple Africa Ventures co-founder Ryosuke Yamawaki made the announcement a day after the alleged video went viral.
“‘In light of the alleged assault on women by the founders of our portfolio company Wapi Pay, we Kepple Africa Ventures hereby announce that we have zero tolerance on such conduct and announce that we will relinquish all the rights of our investment stake in Wapi Pay,” said Kepple Africa in a statement.
It was not clear whether the firm was relinquishing the rights to participate in the funding round or relinquishing the rights to an existing stake in the start-up.
In a reply Tuesday, Wapi Pay said it is built on practices and culture of respect to employees and customers and does not promote any form of discrimination or encourage any form of gender-based violence saying the incident has been reported to the police and the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for further resolution.
Kepple Africa Ventures has so far invested in 96 start-ups across 11 countries in Africa.
After the incident, Paul and Eddie have distanced themselves from the assault allegations saying the viral video does not correctly show what transpired.
“We are aware of a video and news story circulating on social media regarding an altercation with Eddie and Paul Ndichu, the company’s (Wapi Pay) co-founders on Saturday night.
“We found the story distasteful and troubling and want to firmly state that any type of behaviour involving violence against women does not reflect our values nor does it reflect those of Eddie and Paul.
