• Easy Bank positions itself as a digital intermediary to simplify access to credit and banking products

• The platform aggregates offers from partner banks and negotiates better financing terms for users

• Founder Mohamed Khelifi leverages banking experience to streamline customer financing journeys

Mohamed Khelifi operates as a Tunisian fintech entrepreneur focused on improving access to financial services. He co-founded and leads Easy Bank as chief executive officer.

Khelifi leverages digital tools to redesign the financing journey for individuals, which often remains constrained by complex administrative procedures.

Easy Bank, founded in 2023, positions itself as a banking and financial intermediation company rather than a traditional bank. The company aims to make banking services simpler, faster and more transparent for individuals.

The platform centralizes multiple services related to credit applications and banking guidance. It connects users with a network of partner banks, allowing each customer to access several financing offers without contacting institutions individually.

Moreover, Easy Bank negotiates more favorable financing conditions for its clients when possible, particularly in terms of costs.

At the same time, the platform directs users toward banks and products that match their profiles. It assesses factors such as loan type, repayment capacity and personal situation to optimize recommendations.

In addition, Easy Bank provides complementary services, including identity verification, profile analysis and simplified access to certain bancassurance products. The company delivers these services through agreements with partner banks and insurance firms.

Mohamed Khelifi also co-founded X-Mall, a virtual shopping center launched in 2023 for employees of large companies. The platform offers payment facilities of up to twelve months, with repayments directly deducted from salaries.

This initiative complements his broader strategy to expand access to financial solutions through digital ecosystems.

Mohamed Khelifi graduated from IHEC Sousse in 2006 with a degree in finance and actuarial science. He also earned a master’s degree in risk management and insurance from ESC Tunis in 2007.

He started his career in 2007 as an account manager at Société Générale Group. He then joined Tunis International Bank in 2008 in a similar role.

In 2010, he moved to Zitouna Bank, where he served as branch manager. From 2022 to 2023, he held the same position at Bank ABC Tunisia before launching his fintech ventures.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• PayBox Global provides payment and financial management tools for individuals and businesses across Africa.

• The platform offers mobile banking, invoicing, and payment solutions tailored to SMEs and freelancers.

• Founder Philip Boye-Doku aims to improve financial access and efficiency through integrated digital services.

Philip Boye-Doku is positioning technology to streamline payments and improve financial management across Africa. He co-founded and leads PayBox Global, a platform designed to serve both individuals and businesses.

The company launched in 2021 and offers a suite of tools that simplify daily financial operations. The platform adopts an intuitive approach and targets a broad user base, including consumers and professionals.

PayBox Global offers PayBox Buddy as one of its flagship products. The mobile application allows users to send and receive money while tracking their finances in real time.

The app provides a free bank account in Ghana. It also enables users to monitor spending, manage payments, and access real-time transaction insights.

The platform also targets freelancers, merchants, and small businesses with dedicated financial management tools. Users can create electronic invoices, generate payment links, and manage dedicated business accounts.

PayBox Global also provides mobile point-of-sale solutions for in-person transactions. These features aim to simplify cash flow management and accelerate payment collection.

Moreover, the platform enables the integration of financial services into third-party digital products. This capability facilitates cross-border payments and supports money transfers across multiple African markets.

Philip Boye-Doku graduated from Ashesi University with a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems in 2013. He joined First Capital Plus in the same year as an application developer.

He later served as Management Information Systems Manager at Ashesi University from 2015 to 2020. He then transitioned into entrepreneurship and co-founded PayBox Global.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• Shema Steve develops a community-based fintech modelto expand access to savings and credit.

• His company Exuus offers the “Save” platform, targeting users excluded from traditional banking.

• The solution combines group savings, instant loans and alternative credit scoringto drive financial inclusion.

Shema Steve, a Rwandan technology entrepreneur, has positioned himself as a key player in digital financial services. He founded and leads Exuus, a company specializing in fintech solutions and software development. 

Founded in 2014, Exuus developed Save, a digital platform designed for underserved populations. The application allows users to save money, access credit and manage daily financial transactions within savings groups. The platform relies on trust-based networks, including families, neighbors and colleagues. This structure provides a more reliable alternative to informal financial practices.

The use of Save requires users to form savings groups. Members define shared financial goals, contribute regularly and support each other. Trained agents can assist these groups. Each user can join multiple groups simultaneously. The system aggregates all commitments to assess loan eligibility and build a credit profile.

The platform allows users to request loans directly through the application. The system provides near-instant approval and disbursement. Loans can originate from the group, personal networks or financial partners. User behavior, including savings discipline, repayment punctuality and penalty management, feeds into individual and group credit scores. This model creates an alternative to traditional credit assessment systems.

In addition to savings and credit, Save enables users to transfer money and pay bills. The platform supports payments for utilities and subscription services. It also allows users to create virtual cards for secure online purchases. The service remains accessible via a mobile application or through a USSD code (*777#). This feature ensures access for users without smartphones or internet connectivity.

Shema Stevegraduated from the National University of Rwandain 2014 with a degree in environmental management. He served on the advisory board of Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates between 2020 and 2022.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• South African entrepreneur Zale Hechterleads CliqTech, a firm that provides digital will and estate-planning solutionsfor banks and insurers.
• CliqTech integrates digital estate planning tools directly into financial systemsto help institutions protect client assets and expand services.
• The platform enables fully digital creation, management, and storage of wills, while providing analytics and performance monitoring tools.

South African entrepreneur Zale Hechter co-founded and leads CliqTech as chief executive officer.

CliqTech, founded in 2019, develops technology that integrates estate-planning services into financial systems. The company collaborates with banks, insurers, and financial service providers. These partnerships allow institutions to incorporate succession planning tools directly into their platforms.

The platform enables users to create, manage, and store wills entirely online. The system provides a streamlined and intuitive experience for both internal teams and end clients. In addition, the platform includes monitoring and support tools. Dashboards and calculators allow users to analyze and better understand their wealth and estate situations.

CliqTech integrates its technology into banking and insurance systems through a simplified process. The company enables rapid deployment and ensures compatibility with existing infrastructure. Once institutions implement the platform, teams can monitor performance in real time. This capability allows companies to adjust their commercial and operational strategies more efficiently.

CliqTech positions its products around three strategic objectives for financial institutions. First, the platform helps institutions increase sales by responding more precisely to client needs. Second, the platform improves internal operational efficiency. Third, the platform strengthens the long-term value generated by each customer relationship.

The company therefore transforms will and succession management into a measurable growth driver. At the same time, the system helps families protect assets and manage inheritance planning more effectively.

Zale Hechter graduated from the University of Port Elizabeth in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Hechter later obtained a master’s degree in biokinetics and sports medicine from Nelson Mandela University in 2003.

Hechter worked as a marketing manager at Varsity College between 2002 and 2005. Hechter later joined Bloomberg Medical Group as a consultant. He became commercial director of BMG Orthopaedic Solutions in 2015. The company distributes orthopedic products in South Africa.

Hechter later served as chief executive officer of MZC Holdings between 2018 and 2020. The company develops innovative solutions to address socio-economic challenges in South Africa.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• South African entrepreneur Thalia Pillayfounded Orca Fraud in 2024to help banks and fintech firms combat digital payment fraud in emerging markets.
• The platform integrates real-time fraud detection directly into payment flows, enabling institutions to block suspicious transactions before completion.
• Orca Fraud raised $2.35 million on March 8to expand real-time monitoring and anti-fraud intelligence across Africa and other emerging markets.

South African engineer and entrepreneur Thalia Pillay serves as chief executive officer of Orca Fraud. Pillay founded the company in 2024 with Carla Wilby to develop solutions that protect digital payment ecosystems in emerging markets.

Orca Fraud designs tools that help banks and fintech companies make payment operations safer and easier to manage. The company aims to reduce fraud-related losses while avoiding unnecessary disruptions for legitimate users. The approach seeks to strengthen trust in digital payment systems.

Orca Fraud integrates its technology directly into real-time payment flows. The platform supports several stages of the transaction process. The system analyzes user onboarding, transaction authorization, merchant monitoring, and fraud case management.

Instead of reviewing transactions after completion, the platform assists decision-making while money moves through the system. This capability allows financial institutions to block suspicious operations before they finalize transactions.

Orca Fraud built its technology around early anomaly detection. The platform identifies behavioral changes that may signal emerging fraud threats. The system monitors multiple types of fraud that affect digital payment ecosystems.

These threats include account takeover, investment scams, SIM-swap fraud, and money muling, a practice in which criminals use third-party accounts to transfer illicit funds.

Orca Fraud announced on Sunday, March 8 that the company raised $2.35 millionin funding. The company plans to use the capital to strengthen real-time transaction monitoring and expand anti-fraud intelligence capabilities across Africa and other emerging markets.

Thalia Pillay graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in mechatronic engineering, robotics, and automation. Pillay began her career in 2016 at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in the United States, where she served as treasurer.

Pillay joined financial services company Investec in London in 2019 as a software developer. Pillay later joined South African company Aerobotics in 2021 as a software engineer. Aerobotics helps fruit producers forecast yields through image analysis that measures fruit size, color, and quality.

Pillay joined fintech company Stitch in 2022 as a software engineer. Stitch promoted Pillay to engineering team lead in 2023. Pillay later co-founded Orca Fraud to focus on payment security technologies for emerging markets.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• Boubacar Roger Thiam founded Techbridge Capital in 2025 to bridge technology and private equity.

• The firm develops software solutions and AI tools, including Blabladoc, to enhance data-driven investment management.

• Thiam previously held roles at CACEIS, BlackRock and SWEN Capital Partners.

Boubacar Roger Thiam is a Senegalese expert in financial data and information systems applied to asset management. He founded Techbridge Capital, a consulting firm that helps financial institutions and technology companies fully leverage their IT tools to optimize investment management.

Founded in 2025, Techbridge Capital positions itself as a bridge between technology and private equity. The firm primarily targets investment funds and companies specializing in digital solutions. It seeks to connect technological innovation with financial performance by emphasizing data quality, responsive management oversight and the creation of measurable gains for clients.

The firm structures its activities around the design, deployment and operation of software solutions dedicated to investment professions. It conducts diagnostics, designs system architectures, organizes tool deployment, defines data governance rules, automates specific processes and supports teams in adopting new practices.

Beyond advisory services, Techbridge Capital also develops proprietary innovative solutions. One of its flagship products is Blabladoc, an artificial intelligence-based tool designed to convert documents into actionable information. The solution extracts data reliably, classifies content, performs advanced searches across large document volumes and conducts systematic quality controls.

Thiam graduated from Paris Dauphine University in 2013 with a master’s degree in computer science and finance. He also earned a financial engineering degree in the same year from CY Tech in France.

He began his professional career in 2011 as a data engineering intern at ALALOOP, a French company specializing in IT performance monitoring and reporting. He joined CACEIS, a banking group, the following year as a financial engineer.

Between 2013 and 2023, he worked as a senior consultant at BlackRock, an asset manager and technology provider. From 2016 to 2025, he worked at SWEN Capital Partners, where he successively served as financial data scientist, partner and Director of Financial Engineering and Information Systems.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• Nigerian entrepreneur Oluwatomi Ayorinde founded Timon in 2025 to combine payments and mobile connectivity in one travel-focused platform.

• The app offers physical and virtual cards usable in more than 100 countries and integrates eSIM connectivity and cross-border transfers in over 16 countries.

• Ayorinde previously founded CrowdForce and held roles at Appzone Group, SAP and PayForce by FairMoney.

Oluwatomi Ayorinde is a Nigerian fintech entrepreneur. He founded and leads Timon, a travel services platform designed to help travelers pay and stay connected more easily worldwide.

Founded in 2025, Timon operates as a financial platform tailored to travelers and digital nomads. The company seeks to simplify payments and digital connectivity during international travel. The platform integrates several essential services into a single application.

The application provides physical and virtual payment cards that users can access in more than 100 countries. The cards are compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Users can complete purchases directly from their phones or other connected devices. Timon also integrates mobile connectivity solutions through eSIM technology. In addition, the platform enables users to transfer money to banks and electronic wallets in more than 16 countries.

Ayorinde launched his first start-up in 2006. He named the company VELImage International and focused it on technology solutions development. He served as chief technology officer for two years. In 2018, he founded CrowdForce, a crowdsourcing platform targeting emerging markets. He led CrowdForce as chief executive officer until 2023.

Ayorinde graduated from Covenant University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems. He began his professional career the same year as Head of Retail Banking Development at Appzone Group, a payment infrastructure company.

In 2011, he joined SAP, a global enterprise software and artificial intelligence company. He served first as an integration development consultant and later as a business process consultant. Between 2023 and 2024, he served as chief executive officer of PayForce by FairMoney, a company providing banking solutions dedicated to businesses.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• PAL operates as a Côte d’Ivoire-based fintech founded in 2021 that enables multi-currency payments and transfers across African countries.

• The company provides instant transfers to mobile wallets, bank accounts and merchant wallets through a centralized multi-currency account.

• PAL offers online foreign exchange services and unsecured short-term liquidity support to businesses and independent workers.

Dady Emmanuel Ulrich Ismael is a Beninese-Ghanaian serial technology entrepreneur. He co-founded and leads PAL as chief executive officer. The startup operates from Côte d’Ivoire and facilitates money transfers and payments for businesses and independent workers.

PAL launched in 2021 as a fintech platform targeting African companies, money transfer operators and payment providers. The company enables clients to send, receive and convert funds across multiple African countries. The solution also serves freelancers and mobile money agents who require rapid liquidity for daily operations.

PAL provides users with a multi-currency account and wallet that allows them to hold several African currencies in a single interface. Users can send funds instantly from this wallet to mobile money accounts, bank accounts or merchant wallets. The PAL account functions as a central hub where clients receive, store, convert and redistribute funds without relying exclusively on traditional banking channels.

In addition, the platform offers an online foreign exchange service that it describes as fast and competitively priced. The service facilitates currency exchanges between African currencies and supports cross-border trade flows.

When clients face cash flow constraints, PAL provides immediate funding without requiring collateral. The company positions this service as a tool to ensure business continuity and operational stability.

Beyond PAL, Dady Emmanuel Ulrich Ismael serves as co-chief executive officer of Noworri, a fintech solution that connects buyers and sellers of cryptocurrencies.

He founded his first company, Bourseafrique, in 2016 and led it until 2019. The platform sought to democratize investment and extend access to individuals without bank accounts.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management from University of Abomey-Calavi in 2014. He completed an internship as an accounting assistant at School of African Heritage in 2016.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• Sympl offers interest-free “buy now, pay later” services across a wide merchant network.
• The fintech allows customers to split payments without traditional banking procedures.
• Founder Mohamed El-Shabrawy El-Feky brings experience from Bank Audi, Mashreq Bank and EFG Hermes.

Mohamed El‑Shabrawy El‑Feky is positioning installment payments as a mainstream purchasing habit in Egypt through his fintech venture Sympl.

El-Shabrawy El-Feky co-founded Sympl and serves as chief executive officer. The startup offers a “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) solution that allows customers to split purchases into multiple installments without additional fees or interest.

Founded in 2021, Sympl targets both individual consumers and businesses. The company aims to simplify purchasing decisions and widen access to products and services without relying on traditional banking channels.

The platform operates through a staggered payment system. Customers divide the purchase amount into several installments. At checkout, customers select Sympl without submitting a formal credit application or providing extensive documentation.

Sympl spreads payments over a defined period with weekly, biweekly or monthly installments. The company states that it charges no interest, which means customers repay only the original purchase price without additional financial costs.

The platform provides a payment simulator that estimates installment plans based on the selected amount and duration. The simulator displays the number of payments and the frequency of deductions. The company notes that actual amounts may vary slightly, which indicates some adjustment margin around the projected figures.

El-Shabrawy El-Feky graduated from Cairo University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in urban planning and landscape design. He earned a master’s degree in marketing in 2006 from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport.

He began his career in 2002 at Fiat Professional as a marketing manager. He joined Bank Audi in 2007 and held roles including sales team leader, sales supervisor, assistant sales manager and product manager until 2013. He then moved to Mashreq Bank as product manager before returning to Bank Audi in 2015 as segment head director.

In 2017, he joined EFG Hermes as head of product development. He moved in 2018 to valU, where he served first as commercial director and later as chief executive officer before launching Sympl.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• South African entrepreneur Bonga Lamula co-founded Beqy.ai to automate corporate financial management.
• Founded in 2023, Beqy.ai uses artificial intelligence to centralize accounting, reporting, and financial forecasting.
• The platform targets executives and finance professionals seeking real-time, reliable financial data for faster decision-making.

Bonga Lamula is a South African entrepreneur and an expert in artificial intelligence and digital transformation. He serves as co-founder and chief executive officer of Beqy.ai, an online platform that helps companies manage their finances by automating accounting processes and financial monitoring.

Founded in 2023, Beqy.ai aims to transform how companies track revenues, expenses, and forecasts. The platform seeks to provide executives and finance professionals with continuous access to reliable data in order to support rapid decision-making and reduce risks linked to weak financial visibility.

Beqy.ai centralizes several core functions within a single interface, including transaction tracking, report preparation, analysis, and forecasting. The platform automates the production of monthly financial reports and key performance indicators, which reduces manual workloads and limits human error.

The solution also offers dashboards that allow companies to visualize performance, identify trends, and quickly detect risk signals such as rising costs or declining cash flow. The platform integrates analytical tools that help users understand changes in revenues, expenses, loan repayments, and other significant financial movements.

Bonga Lamula earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce in 2013 and a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2014 from the University of Zululand. He later obtained a master’s degree in finance in 2023 from Corvinus University of Budapest.

He completed a risk analyst internship in 2015 at the South African Reserve Bank. He then joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch in South Africa in 2016 as an investment strategist.

From 2017 to 2020, he worked at Anheuser-Busch InBev, where he successively held roles as supply projects specialist, Africa procurement manager, and digital transformation manager. From 2022 to 2024, he served as digital transformation manager at Tesco Business Solutions in Budapest.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum