• Ola Oyetayo, co-founder and CEO of fintech firm Verto, helps companies manage international payments and currency exchange.

• Verto’s B2B platform enables businesses to hold, convert, and settle transactions in multiple currencies across 190 countries.

• The London-based company serves over 1,000 clients, including SMEs, startups, and large corporations.

Ola Oyetayo, a Nigerian accountant and entrepreneur, is the co-founder and CEO of Verto, a financial technology company that simplifies international payments for businesses.

Founded in 2017, Verto operates a B2B cross-border payment and foreign exchange platform. It provides infrastructure for companies to convert, hold, receive, and settle transactions in multiple currencies. Based in London, the company focuses primarily on emerging markets, with a strong emphasis on Africa.

Verto facilitates money transfers between companies and their international partners by simplifying global payments. It offers multi-currency business accounts with IBANs adapted to different markets, along with tools to compare rates, identify liquidity sources, and manage currency risk.

The platform supports payments to and from more than 190 countries and serves over 1,000 clients, ranging from startups and small businesses to large corporations. Together, they convert millions of dollars each year through Verto’s infrastructure.

Oyetayo brings more than fifteen years of experience in finance. He began his career with an internship at Carphone Warehouse, a subsidiary of the European technology group Currys. In 2008, he joined American Express as a financial analyst, then moved to Barclays Corporate Banking in 2010 as an assistant vice president. In 2013, he joined the treasury team at Lloyds Banking Group. From 2016 to March 2025, he served as a director at Arbitrage Capital, a UK-based investment firm.

• Senegalese computer scientist Yacine Sarr founded WER, a digital health operator improving access to care in Africa.

• The platform combines a rechargeable health account, a digital card, and a unified medical record for better patient management.

• Sarr has received multiple innovation awards, including the 2025 Nana Anè XV African Women’s Excellence Prize.

Yacine Sarr, a Senegalese computer scientist and tech entrepreneur, is the founder and manager of WER, a digital health operator aiming to modernize access to healthcare across Africa.

Launched in 2023, WER offers a digital platform featuring a rechargeable health account and a digital card that allow users to prepay for consultations, medicines, and medical services while ensuring expense tracking and continuity of care. The platform also integrates a unified digital medical record, accessible and updated at each visit, along with a geolocation tool that directs users to nearby healthcare providers.

WER is developed by Fiditech, an IT agency led by Yacine Sarr, which designs digital tools such as websites and mobile applications and provides IT services and hardware solutions.

Sarr holds a master’s degree in mathematics and computer science from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, earned in 2017. She began her career in 2013 at Orange as a technical support specialist and later served as an IT consultant at the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) between 2016 and 2021.

Her achievements have earned her several distinctions. In 2023, she won the first prize for innovation at the Dakar Innovation Days and was named a laureate of the African Women of the Future (AWF) program. In August 2025, she received the Nana Anè XV African Women’s Excellence Award at the International Women’s Entrepreneurship Fair in Lomé, Togo.

• Madagascar launched the first cohort of the Skills4Job program to equip young people with key digital skills.

• The initiative, aligned with the 2023–2028 Digital Strategic Plan, started with 51 participants in Toamasina.

• The government aims to train 40,000 people by 2028 as part of broader efforts to reduce youth unemployment.

The Malagasy government launched on Thursday, October 2, the first cohort of the “Skills4Job” program, designed to equip young people with essential digital skills and improve their readiness for the labor market. The program began with 51 participants in the port city of Toamasina and will gradually expand nationwide.

According to Stéphanie Delmotte, Minister of Digital Development, Posts, and Telecommunications, the free training provides participants with the tools needed to face the challenges of tomorrow’s digital economy.

This initiative aligns with the country’s Digital Strategic Plan (PSN) 2023–2028, which aims to make Madagascar a key player in Africa’s digital economy through advances in telecommunications, e-government, and digital inclusion. The World Bank estimates that about 230 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030 as the continent continues its digital transformation.

In September, the Minister of Technical Education and Vocational Training, Marie Marcelline Rasoloarisoa, announced plans to train 40,000 people in digital skills by 2028. Earlier, in February 2024, Madagascar signed a partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates to train one million young people in new technologies.

Youth employment remains a major concern in Madagascar. According to Afrobarometer, more than four in ten Malagasy aged 18 to 35 were unemployed and actively seeking work in 2024. The study identified lack of adequate training or preparation (30%), lack of experience (27%), and mismatch between school qualifications and market needs (16%) as key barriers to employment.

• Senegal’s Ministry of Education launched PLANETE 3, a digital platform to modernize school management.

• The system offers real-time monitoring of attendance, grades, and student performance, with UNICEF’s support.

• The initiative is part of a CFA130 billion ($233 million) national digital education strategy for 2025–2029.

Senegal’s Ministry of Education officially launched “PLANETE 3” on Friday, October 3, a digital platform designed to modernize the management of schools and educational institutions. Developed by local engineers, the system aims to end the fragmentation and isolation of the country’s education network.

“PLANETE 3 is not just a technological upgrade. It represents a fundamental shift and marks the irreversible transition toward a more connected, participatory, and dynamic educational community,” said Education Minister Moustapha Guirassy during the launch ceremony in Dakar.

The platform provides each education stakeholder with a personalized interface. It includes features for real-time tracking of attendance, grades, and report cards, as well as remote learning tools for struggling students, developed with UNICEF’s support. Intelligent dashboards will also allow education officials, including the minister, to monitor the entire system nationwide.

The initiative is part of the National Digital Strategy for Education 2025–2029, unveiled in January with an estimated budget of CFA130 billion (about $233 million). The strategy seeks to modernize Senegal’s schools and improve their appeal. It also follows the launch of a large-scale program to train 105,000 teachers in digital tools and artificial intelligence to support the country’s educational transformation.

For teachers, PLANETE 3 is expected to reduce administrative burdens, freeing more time for innovation in the classroom. Parents will gain real-time visibility through instant notifications, while students will receive more personalized support, especially those facing academic challenges. For administrators, the tool provides a powerful decision-making and management instrument, helping to build a more efficient and inclusive education system.

However, several challenges remain to ensure the platform’s success. Connectivity issues, limited computer access in some schools, and potential overload during peak usage periods will need to be addressed to guarantee smooth and equitable implementation across the country.