Collaboration gone wrong: Designer accused of theft for launching a product he was brought on to assist with
Uche Nwaigwe, a product designer, has been accused of theft by Bunmi Bakare for launching Maipa, a platform to enhance the gifting experience, he was brought on to provide design support for.
Two days ago, Nigerian product designer Uche Nwaigwe announced the launch of Maipa, an AI-powered gifting platform, which, according to him, “marks a major milestone on our journey to redefine the gifting experience with AI-powered recommendations and seamless vendor integration.”
However, the launch of Maipa has been thwarted after an allegation of theft was brought forward by another product designer—Bunmi Bakare, who claims Maipa was originally conceptualised by her and her husband. “It’s shocking to see someone launch a project that isn’t theirs to begin with,” Bakare wrote in a LinkedIn post.
According to Bakare, Maipa, which was a place holder to mean My Personal Assistant, was conceptualised and developed by her and her husband with the goal of revolutionising the way people give and receive gifts. “We wanted to create a seamless, personalised gifting experience that will amplify the joy of both giving and receiving while helping people keep tabs on important dates and be reminded about it,” she wrote. “We owned the idea and led the project, bringing in collaborators along the way since we couldn't do everything ourselves.”
Speaking on how Nwaigwe got to know about Maipa, Bakare said he was brought on to assist on the project by a senior designer they chose to partner with. “While we appreciated their contributions, their involvement was limited to the first iteration of the project since I was also a designer and was fine tuning my skills,” she wrote.
According to her, after Nwaigwe’s initial involvement, she and 2 other friends decided to evolve the project “with my vision due to the indepth research done leading to more being required,” she shared. “The project was then significantly enhanced with new depth and features totally different from the initial iteration which we carried the senior designer along on and told we would get back once we were done so he could also check and give insights (not wanting their own ideas clash with the new iteration until it was implemented).”
She said it came as a surprise to her that Nwaigwe is launching the initial iteration of the project without their consent or acknowledgment of its true ownership. “This is not only misleading but a violation of the trust and collaboration we initially extended,” she added.
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To back up her claim, Bakare shared screenshots of the project’s origin, timeline of events showing when Nwaigwe was brought onboard and added to a group by the senior designer, ownership evidence showing when Nwaigwe was introduced to the project owner—her husband—as an assistant on the project, and a slide showing Nwaigwe’s contribution as a designer on the project.
According to her, they agreed to bring Nwaigwe on because the senior designer they were partnering with, who is a friend of theirs, told them Nwaigwe is a mentee who he would like to continue helping by bringing him on. “We don’t know the agreement between them both and honestly just trusted our friend’s judgement then since it’s his field,” she noted.
Bakare said all attempt to reach Nwaigwe before bringing the matter public proved unsuccessful. “Uche Nwaigwe you’ve refused to pick up calls or provide any justification for your actions, leaving me with no choice but to bring this to the public.”
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Nwaigwe responds to the allegations
In response to the allegation, Nwaigwe has taken down the initial post announcing Maipa’s launch, the website, and all social media accounts associated with the project. According to him, he did this “as a gesture of goodwill” and as a way to “protect his reputation and avoid further conflict.”
In a statement released by Nwaigwe, he wrote, “In light of recent claims and allegations made about the Maipa project, I feel it is important to provide clarity and address the situation directly. Transparency and integrity have always been core to my work, and I aim to uphold these values even in the face of challenges.”
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While acknowledging that Maipa was not his idea originally and that he was invited as a collaborator, he claimed the idea did not have a tangible direction at the time he was brought on. “I was brought on as a designer by a senior colleague – Funmbi and to work with Segun – to contribute my skills to a concept that, at the time, lacked tangible direction,” wrote Nwaigwe.
According to him, he took the project seriously and designed everything from scratch to finish. “This was an opportunity I took seriously, dedicating time, creativity, and expertise to refine and develop the project from a raw idea into a complete design system. I designed everything from scratch to finish,” he wrote.
Nwaigwe claimed that he wasn't paid completely for the project and didn’t work with Bakare who brought forward the allegations. “I wasn't paid completely for this project for over how many months now, and the people I worked with are those aforementioned. I don't know any Bunmi Bakare before now, and she needs to get her facts well,” he shared.
According to him, his role on the project involved designing the low-fidelity wireframes to the full design mockups. “Every aspect of the Maipa app’s visual and functional identity was designed by me,” he wrote. “Features such as distinct user flows for gifters and vendors, delivery integrations, and overall system refinements were ideated and executed solely by me.”
He added, “There were no prior designs, prototypes, or actionable deliverables when I started. My contributions took the project from concept to execution.”
In response to the allegation that he misrepresented the project’s origins or ownership, he wrote, “I was hired to design the project, and I delivered on that mandate,” adding that his involvement went beyond what was initially scoped, “as I significantly expanded the project’s vision, functionality, and design.”
“I have not stolen or misrepresented anyone’s intellectual property,” he shared. “It is disheartening to be publicly accused of theft and fraud, especially when my work speaks for itself.”
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Nwaigwe said he will not release the design files, “as these are my original creations, since there are now false claims that I didn't do this,” he wrote. “I designed this from the start to the current phase.”
This situation has highlighted the importance of clear contracts and defined scopes of work in collaborative efforts, says Nwaigwe. “I worked on this without any paperwork. Moving forward, I will ensure all agreements are formalised to protect myself and my work,” he shared.
