The Pulse Glide Ponzi Scheme that swindled hundreds in Eswatini
By Inhlase Reporter
Part 1
Beneath the promise of eco-friendly transport investment, Pulse Glide operates a sophisticated pyramid scheme that has lured hundreds of emaSwati into investing their life savings—costing them their hard-earned money.
It arrived in Eswatini cloaked in green — the promise of a cleaner, high-tech future powered by electric scooters. But behind the eco-friendly pitch and glossy marketing, Pulse Glide was never about sustainable transport. It was about recruitment, crypto, and deception.
Hundreds of emaSwati now face the devastating truth: they have been scammed.
An undercover investigation by Inhlase reveals that Pulse Glide, a supposed global electric scooter sharing company, is in fact a well-disguised pyramid scheme. Operating under the illusion of green technology and financial inclusion, the scheme has left at least 588 emaSwati defrauded of over E4.6 million—their life savings gone in a trail of digital smoke.
Pulse Glide brands itself as a cutting-edge company focused on shared scooter technology. According to its website: “Pulse Glide is a company focusing on shared power scooter technology. It was founded in 2022 and focuses on product research and development and innovation… More than 7 million users in over 30 countries have used Pulse Glide shared scooters.”
But while the company speaks of innovation and sustainability, it doesn’t reveal where it is registered or where its scooters operate. In fact, attempts to click rental locations on the website redirect users to the homepage—no real information, just a digital hall of mirrors.
In Zoom presentations attended by Inhlase’s undercover journalists, Pulse Glide recruiters—mostly South African-based agents—focused not on scooter usage, but on investment “levels,” guaranteed returns, and team-building incentives.
In theory, investors were buying into a global scooter rental business. For a minimum of E8,000, you were told you owned six scooters being rented out in the U.S. at $2.40/hour. You’d supposedly earn $14.40/day by “activating” them for 5 hours on weekdays.
But in practice, there were no scooters in sight—only digital dashboards, Telegram groups, and crypto wallets.The real income came from new recruits. The more people you brought in, the higher your returns. Recruit enough Level 4s and you earned “Welfare Group” bonuses of up to $300. Those who didn’t recruit were told to “upgrade” or risk falling behind.
“The money left the country through FNB and went to Binance wallets,” one victim told Inhlase. “Everything felt like a game until it was too late.”
FSRA warning ignored
In March 2025, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) issued a public warning: “Pulse Glide… uses unauthorized agents to promote its businesses in Eswatini without a license from FSRA. The said entity does business illegally within the borders of the Kingdom.”
But the scheme was already in full swing. Flashy WhatsApp statuses, Zoom calls, and promises of passive income had already seduced civil servants, pensioners, and struggling families.
Nolwazi Dlamini, a public employee, joined after being referred by her uncle—who had already sunk E50,000 into the venture.
“I borrowed more to climb levels,” she said. “I thought I could make it back. I only recovered about E20,000. I even brought my retired mother in.”
On May 11, 2025, daily payouts stopped. By May 14, Pulse Glide claimed its accounts had been frozen due to receiving “illegal funds” and required all partners to deposit 48.9 USDT (~E900) for identity verification before withdrawals could resume.
“This is classic emotional manipulation,” warned a member of an investor WhatsApp group. “They’re asking us to pay more to access money that doesn’t exist.”
Pulse Glide’s excuse was eerily similar to other Ponzi tactics—stall, shift blame, and extract one last round of cash before vanishing.
Tech Façade, legal loopholes
Pulse Glide’s South African recruiter, in a session monitored by Inhlase, flaunted a U.S. registration in Colorado (No. 20241299171). But as one financial expert explained, “Anyone can register a business in the U.S. online in 15 minutes. That doesn’t make it legitimate.”
There were no licenses, no physical scooters in Eswatini, and no verifiable rental operations. Just a maze of crypto transactions, digital dashboards, and faith-based recruiting.
Victims were even pushed to buy a RedDot Pay card for $100 to access earnings if they couldn’t use Binance—adding more financial hurdles to an already broken system.
Amid the wreckage, some victims are now voicing their pain—and lessons.
Others are still reeling from debts they can’t repay. Dlamini is one of them as she admitted.
This isn’t Eswatini’s first brush with Ponzi-style deception. Victims of Pulse Glide say it mirrors past schemes like SukkeOntime, which used photocopier rentals to swindle over E34 million, and Berry, a fast-talking tech scam that disappeared overnight.
Each time, the formula is the same:
- Vague or non-existent product
- Unrealistic daily returns
- Heavy reliance on recruitment
- Emotional manipulation to extract more money
Voices of the victims
Many victims are now speaking out.
User 1: “Sesikhalile kwanele. We’ve cried enough. Now we soldier on. Please don’t die young; God still loves you.”
User 2: “This was a scam disguised as green energy and partnership. Let us be wiser next time.”
User 3: “The company still pretends the scooters are being rented. But no withdrawals go through. It’s over.”
Some are now stuck with debts after borrowing to invest. Others fear they’ll never recover their savings.
User 4: “I think it is time as I have people who came here through my invitation to give a word of advice on what befall us in our investment, it is hard to believe but again we are too young to die because of this, let us allow ourselves to let go of this and continue loving one another, don’t blame yourself for trying to better your life and for those you brought in here, at times some will even pay for their relatives to come as we all believed it was a life changing opportunity, to the Zikalala twins who brought me here, ngitsi ncesini bosisi and I thank you kutsi nami nangikhumbula in this ngenhloso yekutsi siphumelele sonkhe mane kwasala, so please heal and forgive yourselves boKhuzeni, cc Fundie it is in my prayers that you find comfort from the Lord and allow yourself to total healing and as you know deep in your heart that you had no intentions of scamming people but changing lives. In my closing, let us not be fooled by Bailey they have done a lot of damage to us to continue scamming us more, how can you come and tell us that those who have paid will be given another link to join another group, please guy’s we are not young anymore to be fooled here, hold your funds and never cry again, the best thing to do now is to wipe away our tears from crying and continue focusing on the best of your future……life is a journey. It calls one to be strong when such things happen.”
User 5: “A question to my leaders is: How does this affect a new member who was not even a partner during the mess? Please have mercy. We plead for mercy. They haven’t even accumulated the 48.”
Pulse Glide didn’t just steal money but trust, dreams, and security. It weaponised the language of progress and partnership to exploit the most vulnerable.
It’s time to question any “investment” that prioritises recruitment over transparency, technology over accountability, and crypto over regulation.
If it sounds too good to be true—it probably is.
*Nolwazi Dlamini not her real name
