Born and educated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he turned to information technology early on. Today, he develops digital solutions tailored to local economic realities.

Yannick Zagabe (photo), a Congolese computer scientist and tech entrepreneur, is the CEO and head of artificial intelligence at Netikash. His startup's mission is to "contribute to building a digital economy in the Democratic Republic of Congo and across Central Africa."

Founded in 2017, Netikash is a fintech company that provides digital tools for businesses to manage their commercial and financial operations. Its main product, Netikash Pay, is a digital wallet allowing users to transfer money, make online purchases, and combine multiple mobile money accounts into one interface.

The company also developed Netikash Payme, a service for online sales that enables users to create custom payment pages to generate income. For businesses with subscription models, Netikash Subscribe simplifies subscription management and allows companies to create shareable dedicated pages for recurring revenue.

Netikash POS, the startup's newest innovation, transforms a smartphone into a smart payment terminal compatible with various digital wallets.

Zagabe earned a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from the Protestant University of Lubumbashi in 2012. He completed a business and entrepreneurship program at Skyline College in the United States in 2017.

Before his current role, he worked as a network engineer at Minerals and Metals Group, a mining sector company, from 2010 to 2016.

By Melchior Koba,

Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji