Eke Urum, Risevest CEO steps down over misconduct allegation

Risevest, Nigeria-based dollar investment fintech, has recommended that its founder and Chief Executive Officer, step down from his role due to an ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual and non-sexual impropriety.

A statement from the company said the allegations range from abuse of power to sexual impropriety.

“We are committed to getting to the root of the matter and have launched a formal investigation to achieve this. The situation is being handled with utmost transparency through an independent panel with no affiliation to employees of Risevest.

The firm said an independent investigation panel was set up by Risevest’s investors to look extensively into the allegations, listing the the members include: Tomi Davies of TVC Labs as Chairperson; dunoluwa Longe of TLP Advisory as Legal Adviser and, Toun Tunde-Anjous of The People Practice as People and Culture Adviser.

It added, “The current Head of Operations, Tony Odiba, who has been with Risevest since its inception, has been leading the company as the interim CEO, while Otasowie Evbuomwan still leads Risevest’s United States Operations. Risevest as a company has zero-tolerance for abuse, harassment, and misconduct and is committed to establishing the truth of this matter while also reviewing policies to ensure a safer workplace.

“Risevest’s operations and investment processes do not rely on any single individual and are completely unaffected by any of these circumstances. Our team continues to manage all investments and operations as usual.”