15 Visionaries Leading Africa's Fintech Revolution

We're excited to introduce you to 15 pioneers, leaders and innovators whose work is reshaping Africa's burgeoning fintech landscape!

These visionary leaders are at the forefront, transforming financial services across the continent, and as a result, have earned their place in the 100 Most Influential African Leaders in Technology & Telecommunications 2023 Report.

Join us as we explore the journeys and achievements of these fintech trailblazers, each playing a vital role in shaping the future of finance in Africa.

TAYO OVIOSU

Founder & CEO, Paga

Tayo is the founder & Group CEO of Paga, a mobile payment company, building an ecosystem to enable people digitally send and receive money as well as creating simple financial access for everyone. Paga is the leading mobile money service in Nigeria, its first market.

Tayo’s work at Paga has been recognized globally - in 2014 CNBC selected Tayo as the Entrepreneur of the Year West Africa, and in 2015 the African Leadership Network selected Paga as the outstanding growing company of the year in Africa. Tayo is an Endeavor Entrepreneur and a member of the Young Presidents Organization.

ODUNAYO EWENIYI

Co-Founder/COO, Piggyvest

Odunayo Eweniyi is the co-founder & Chief Operations Officer of PiggyVest, Nigeria's largest digital and investment platform. She previously co-founded pushcv.com, one of the largest job sites in Africa with the largest database of pre-screened candidates. She has 7 years experience in Business Analysis and Operations. She’s an award-winning fintech entrepreneur working for DEI in fintech and technology as a whole.

As the COO of Piggyvest, she oversees the company’s entire operation which cuts across Finance, Investment Management, People Operations, Investor relations, Fundraising and related subcategories.

WIZA JALAKASI

VP, Global Merchant Business, Chipper Cash

Wiza Jalakasi is an international business development expert specialising in the setup and operations of high-performance technology startups across Africa. His career experience spans 13 years and 16 African countries, founding and building tech startups across industry verticals in the B2B and B2C space.

Wiza holds an honours degree in Information Systems Technology from the United States International University, and is also a Technical Partner at Rally Cap Ventures, a global collective combining capital, operating expertise and networks into a collaborative investment community targeting emerging markets.

OLUGBENGA AGBOOLA

Founder & CEO, Flutterwave

Olugbenga GB Agboola is the Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, an organization committed to growing businesses in emerging economies. A serial entrepreneur with two exits under his belt, he has over 15 years of experience in building scalable financial technology firms.

GB has been instrumental in leading the development of Fintech solutions for several organizations and financial institutions such as PayPal, Standard Bank and Google. He has been named African Leadership Magazine's Young Business Leader of The Year (2020). GB has been recognized by Fortune Magazine's prestigious 40 under 40 list and Time Magazine’s 2021 Next 100 list.

FEHINTOLU OLAOGUN

CEO & Co-Founder, CredPal

Fehintolu is a serial entrepreneur with over 13 years of experience in results-driven leadership.

He has a history of designing and creating best-in-class business solutions.

Before co-founding CredPal in 2018, he was co-founder and CEO of Exolve Technologies, a first-rate technology corporation that provides enterprise solutions to governments and establishments across Africa. He also founded Tutor NG, an online system that provided tools and resources for engaging and teaching learners anytime and anywhere.

CHILUFYA MUTALE

Co-Founder & CEO, PremierCredit

Chilufya Mutale, an award-winning entrepreneur is the Co-Founder and CEO of PremierCredit, an online microlending and investment platform operating in Southern Africa.

She is recognized as one of the 100 Women creating a better Africa by contributing to the achievement of one or more of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, recognized as one of the 50 people to connect with in Africa by the Tony Elumelu Foundation that highlights and projects entrepreneurs across the continent whose businesses are making a positive impact. She is also recognized as one of the 5 women breaking barriers in Africa’s Fintech industry.

TOYOSI ODUKOYA

Head of Business Intelligence, Mastercard Foundation

Toyosi Odukoya is a strategy, innovation, and digital transformation leader with experience applying insights and analytics to ensure organizations harness their competitive advantage to drive growth and impact. She has a strong track record of successfully developing, launching, and scaling business transformation functions in the telecommunications, FMCG, and international development sectors.

She currently leads Business Intelligence Operations for the Mastercard Foundation across Africa and Canada. Before her current role, Toyosi was Digital Transformation Director for Coca-Cola, West & Central Africa and previously worked as Senior Manager, Business Intelligence for MTN Nigeria.

JESS ANUNA

Founder and CEO, Klasha

Jess Anuna is the Founder and CEO of Klasha, a San Francisco and Lagos-based technology company transforming cross-border African commerce.

Jess founded Klasha to make consumer goods and services more accessible, online, in Africa. Klasha benefits both consumers wanting to make international payments from Africa, and merchants wanting to sell into Africa.

Jess has grown Klasha rapidly and attracted the support of a diverse, international investor base including Amex Ventures – in its first investment in Africa; leading MENA VC firm – Global Ventures; and New York VC fund – Greycroft.

LAVINA RAMKISSOON

Advisor, African Union

An AI leader standing for the unification of the African tech space. She is a conscious tech proponent with expertise in psychology, technology and economics and their integration into AI, blockchain and ethics. A tech catalyst that has served as chairperson, director and founder across multiple industries, sectors, and technologies - aiming to unlock the potential of the African arena. Humanizing technology and actively serving as a growth enabler for tech talent across the globe.

MIRANDA PERUMAL

Founder & CEO, Scale

Miranda describes herself as a 'female payments ninja', whose work is dedicated to building relationships that inspire and effect change, in Africa, for Africa by an African.

She left her role as Senior Director, head of Digital Partnerships, Fintech & Ventures, SSA at Visa to launch Scale: Africa's first fintech agency.

Scale is focused on solving African Fintech challenges, that enable scale through technology, expertise in open loop payments and digital media that educates African consumers.

She also volunteers at the Women Arise Foundation and Tears Foundation.

CLARA WANJIKU ODERO

CEO & Co-Founder, Credrails

Clara is a seasoned fintech executive, who has served as the Africa and Middle East Head for major payment networks including Flutterwave, Rapyd, and Nium.

She specializes in business development and expansion in emerging and high-growth markets. She has a strong track record of developing new businesses, building genuine relationships with key stakeholders, and strategizing market entry.

Clara co-founded and launched Credrails to make it possible for fintech companies to build apps for 50+ countries through a single API access and become the infrastructure API for Africa.

FAITH PELLA

Head of MFS - Corporates, Partnerships & Government, Millicom

Faith Pella is an accomplished fintech and digital transformation enthusiast, with over 14 years' experience. She's the Head of Corporate, Partnerships & Government at Tigo Pesa, the co-founder of an Agritech startup and a Board member of the Tanzania Startup Association.

She is certified by Harvard University under a HarvardX fintech programme and has achieved a Certificate in Digital Strategies for Business at Columbia Business School.

She aspires to enhance the social and economic impact for youth and women in Africa through technological innovation.

RANA ABDEL LATIF

Senior Principal, Nclude

Rana Abdel Latif is currently a Senior Principal responsible for the deployment of the newly launched Nclude Fintech Fund investing in fintech and fintech-enabled startups in Egypt.

Before this, Rana was a Principal at Qalaa Holdings (formerly Citadel Capital), an African leader in infrastructure and energy. Earlier in her career, she also worked at Beltone Asset Management as a banking Analyst for North Africa and Levant, and an Analyst for the equity capital market division at ABN Amro Rothschild in London.

Rana also serves as a Board Member in Falak Startups and is a mentor to tech-enabled startups enrolled in the Cairo Angels / EG Bank MINT Accelerator in Egypt.

PATRICIA MUGABE

Head of Digital Transformation, Innovation & Product Development, BancABC Zimbabwe

Patricia is the Head of Digital Transformation, Innovation and Product Development at BancABC Zimbabwe.

Her career began in the USA as a financial analyst following her undergraduate studies. She holds a BSc Finance from Northwest Missouri State University in the U.S and a Master of Finance – Financial Engineering Degree from the University of Hong Kong.

She has also completed the University of Stellenbosch's Management Development Program and a Disruption Strategy programme with Harvard Business School Online.

Patricia is currently Board Member for ABC Loans Private Limited and previously of Thrive Microfinance.

SITOYO LOPOKOIYIT

Managing Director, M-PESA Africa

Sitoyo is a mobile financial services expert, with extensive experience managing mobile money in two of the largest markets in the world (Kenya & Tanzania).

His current roles are CEO of M-PESA Africa and Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom PLC.

Sitoyo has delivered major innovations that have revolutionized the global mobile money space and driven financial inclusion, such as the world’s first contextual over draft facility dubbed- Fuliza, Mshwari a savings and loan proposition, M-PESA Global Payments, and partnerships with global players such Paypal, google, Visa and Ant Financial.

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