• Fintech startup Katutu Pay, founded by Beninese entrepreneur Yaovi Ghislain Siate, simplifies financial operations for individuals and freelancers across Africa.
• The UK-based platform offers users unique prepaid virtual cards for secure online transactions and instant, fee-free user-to-user transfers.
• Siate maintains parallel roles as Principal IT Consultant for APEC Congo and as a full-stack developer, demonstrating broad technical engagement across the continent.

Katutu Pay, a UK-based company founded in 2022 by Yaovi Ghislain Siate, operates a platform that acts as an intermediary. The company partners with licensed banks and providers to offer payment services and prepaid cards. The application allows its users to generate a unique virtual prepaid card for every online transaction, enhancing security.

Katutu Pay also authorizes instant, fee-free transfers between platform users. Furthermore, it provides the ability to top up mobile credits for users or third parties across mobile operators. The platform manages payments for utility bills, including water, electricity, and Internet. For freelancers and small entrepreneurs, Katutu Pay offers a professional invoice creation tool based on customizable templates.

Siate previously founded Caddieverse, a pan-African marketplace dedicated solely to digital products. This decentralized social-commerce network enables creators, trainers, and digital entrepreneurs to sell, buy, and share content like e-books, software, training courses, or graphic templates.

He also developed Smart QR Link, an integrated solution for professionals to create, share, and manage their digital identity. The tool combines digital business cards, dynamic QR codes, and mini-showcase websites to strengthen users’ online visibility.

Siate maintains concurrent professional commitments alongside his entrepreneurial activities. He works as Principal IT Consultant for the Professional Association of Credit Institutions of Congo (APEC Congo). He also serves as a full-stack developer at Websoft-Enterprise Engineering, a Beninese digital services firm, and as an IT consultant for Banque Postale du Congo.

Siate graduated from the Haute École de Commerce et de Management (HECM) in Benin. He earned a professional license in IT system technology in 2014. Between 2014 and 2015, he worked as a web developer at Head Lines, a firm specializing in IT engineering and communication.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum