In Ghana so far, the most dominant presence of the Tingo brand has been its office block that is located on the Lagos Avenue Road at East Legon, Accra.
The unmistakable green branded building, with the bold orange and blue logo of ‘Tingo Mobile’ welcomes visitors to its office blocks, but a big red flag has been raised about the business, as well as about its owner, Nigerian Dozy Mmobuosi.
From investigations undertaken by Hindenburg Research; a U.S. investment research firm with a focus on activist short-selling, it narrowed down all the details and footprints of this supposedly genuine business linked to the man described as a billionaire Africa tech entrepreneur.
Tingo: The Nigerian empire that is non-existent:
According to independent investigations conducted by Hindenburg Research into the operations of Dozy Mmobuosi and his larger Tingo Group Inc, it showed that all the luxurious and seemingly-grand business of this Nigerian entrepreneur were mostly fraudulent.
For instance, Hindenburg found that the claim made by Dozy that “In 2002, he led the design and launch of Nigeria’s first SMS Banking Solution (Flashmecash),” was a pure lie.
“Dozy is regularly described by the media as a billionaire and made waves earlier this year when he attempted to acquire the now-Premier League soccer team Sheffield United.
“We’ve identified major red flags with Dozy’s background. For starters, he appears to have fabricated his biographical claim to have developed the first mobile payment app in Nigeria. We contacted the app’s actual creator, who called Dozy’s claims ‘a pure lie,’” the report said.
Hindenburg Research also found out that contrary to claims that Dozy had received a PhD from a Malaysian university in 2007, the school has no record of him in its system.
“Dozy claimed to have received a PhD in rural advancement from a Malaysian university in 2007. We contacted the school to verify the degree. They wrote back saying no one by his name was found in their verification system,” they stated on their website, hindenburgresearch.com.
Dozy Mmobuosi has also been linked to a number of things such as having been arrested and faced an 8-count indictment over issuance of bad checks, according to the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He later settled the case in arbitration, the report added.
Photoshopped Tingo Airline:
The researchers also recalled how, in 2019, Dozy claimed to have launched “Tingo Airlines.”
This information was broadcasted across social media, with the company encouraging customers to “fly with Tingo Airlines today.”
It would later be uncovered, by the media, that Tingo photoshopped its logo onto pictures of airplanes.
“Dozy later admitted to never owning any aircraft,” it added.
The Ghana case relating to Tingo:
While it has been earlier stated that Tingo Group Inc’s presence in Ghana is through its introduction of Tingo Mobile, that is not all.
A report by globenewswire.com, and dated November 10, 2022, stated that “Tingo, Inc, OTC Markets (TMNA) (‘Tingo’ or the ‘Company’) announced that Tingo Mobile PLC (‘Tingo Mobile’) has today opened a head office in Accra, Ghana and has launched nationwide operations. Tingo Mobile’s business in Ghana is held through a wholly owned subsidiary, Tingo Mobile Ghana Ltd (‘Tingo Ghana’).”
The report continued that “Ghana is regarded as a hugely important market for Tingo Mobile and its Pan-African expansion strategy, not least because of its strong and well-developed agricultural sector, as well as its considerable and thriving export market in non-staple products.”
Hindenburg Research also explained that according to Tingo, its operations would bring in a huge employment boom to Ghana although no such record of the company was found in Ghana’s communications database.
“A Ghana expansion effort would enrol 2-4 million members by February 2023. This would represent 9%-18% market share in the country within months of launch. We found zero records pertaining to Tingo Mobile through Ghana’s communication regulator,” it stated.
Again, that was not all that was found.
Hindenburg Research said that it took the pains of verifying the claims made by Tingo in Ghana and came out with a shocking finding.
“We tried to contact Tingo’s Ghana support in late May (2023) to buy a phone. The email bounced back and no one picked up the phone despite numerous attempts.
“We visited Tingo’s Ghana office location in late May 2023. We saw 2 cars in the parking lot and no customers. When we tried to enrol in a plan and buy a phone, we were told the location wasn’t operational yet.”
Conclusion by Hindenburg:
“We think Tingo is a brazen fraud that should serve as a humiliating embarrassment for all involved.
“Tingo is a word in the Pascuense language of Easter Island meaning, “to borrow objects from a friend’s house, one by one, until there’s nothing left.”
Read more details in the tweet below:
