• 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

• Zulu Tech, founded in 2020, delivers customized digital solutions to organizations across sectors.
• The company developed platforms in education, home services, health tech and international money transfers.
• Founder Kena Girma previously worked with Dowell Research UK and several technology firms as a software developer.

Kena Girma works as an Ethiopian software engineer and technology entrepreneur. He founded and leads Zulu Tech, a company that specializes in designing customized digital solutions for organizations.

Zulu Tech, which Girma established in 2020, supports companies in achieving project objectives through disciplined execution and strict adherence to deadlines. The company adapts each solution to specific client requirements and provides website and application design and development services, as well as digital advisory and consulting support.

Moreover, the company maintains project performance after deployment by delivering maintenance and support services that keep applications updated and operational.

Among its deployed solutions, Zulu Tech developed “Zulu Learn,” an artificial intelligence-based learning platform that helps high school students improve academic performance and prepare for national examinations with confidence. The company also created “HandyMan,” an all-in-one service platform that connects users with qualified professionals for home maintenance, repairs and a broad range of on-demand services.

In addition, Zulu Tech launched “HakimHub,” a web and mobile health application that uses advanced language models to transform how users access medical advice. The company also introduced “Hakim Express,” an application that enables users to conduct international money transfers with real-time exchange rates and secure payment processing.

Kena Girma earned a degree in computer science from Addis Ababa University. He joined Dowell Research UK, a London-based research firm, as a mobile application developer. He later worked as a freelance software developer for technology companies including Eskalate, Glamiris and hozma.tech.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• Nigerian entrepreneur Chibuotu Amadi co-founded Paycrest to bridge cryptocurrencies and local fiat payments.

• Paycrest enables instant crypto-to-fiat transactions using a liquidity provider network with reduced costs.

• Amadi brings experience from Web3, fintech, and decentralized health platforms to the payment infrastructure.

Chibuotu Amadi is a Nigerian entrepreneur and software engineer. He co-founded and leads Paycrest as chief executive officer. Paycrest operates a payment infrastructure that seeks to make cryptocurrency transactions as simple and accessible as traditional payments for individuals and businesses worldwide.

Founded in 2024, Paycrest targets financial inclusion by enabling seamless payments between digital currencies and local fiat money. The company aims to lower transaction costs, simplify processes, and remove frictions linked to daily cryptocurrency use.

Paycrest offers open tools that allow users to send or receive payments in cryptocurrencies while settling or collecting local currency through standard bank accounts and wallets. Behind the platform, a network of liquidity providers converts value instantly between digital assets and traditional currencies at reduced cost. The tools target individuals, online merchants, enterprises, and decentralized finance projects.

Amadi has built multiple ventures over the past decade. In 2014, he founded SMSLeak, a Nigerian bulk SMS company that provides large-scale messaging solutions for advertising, sales promotions, product launches, and customer engagement.

In 2018, he co-founded Cura Network and served as chief technology officer until 2022. The company develops a decentralized global healthcare system that connects entities to collaborate and share data to promote, restore, and maintain health.

Amadi graduated from the University of Benin in Nigeria, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering in 2016. He completed a software engineering internship at the Manipal Institute of Technology in India in 2015.

In 2019, Amadi joined Indian financial firm Inkredo as a full-stack developer. At the same time, he worked at Smarter.Codes, a software development company. In 2020, he joined U.S.-based ConsenSys, which provides tools for building Web3 solutions. From 2021 to 2023, he held a similar role at Gitcoin, a U.S. organization that funds community-driven projects.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de BERRY QUENUM

• Nigerian startup Timon offers an all-in-one financial app for travelers, students, and remote workers living across borders.
• The platform provides multi-currency wallets, global payment cards, eSIM services, and money transfers in over 100 countries.
• The mobile app has surpassed 50,000 downloads on Android since its 2023 launch.

Timon operates as a digital solution developed by a Nigerian startup. The company designed the product for frequent travelers, international students, remote workers, and users who adopt a borderless lifestyle. Founders Oluwatomi Olarinde and Chizaram Ucheaga launched the startup in 2023.

At the core of Timon’s offering, a mobile application combines multiple financial services. The app allows users to create and manage multi-currency wallets, including naira and U.S. dollars. The platform also provides physical and virtual payment cards that users can access in more than 100 countries. In addition, the app integrates complementary services such as international eSIMs and money transfers. Timon offers the application on iOS and Android, where downloads have exceeded 50,000, according to Google Play Store data.

“We comply with local and international financial regulations, use advanced fraud prevention systems, and apply industry-standard encryption to protect your funds and personal information at all times,” the startup said.

Through the mobile platform, users can pay online or in stores, plan trips, activate cards instantly, and convert stablecoins into spendable currencies. Timon targets a seamless user experience through transparent fees, rapid service deployment, and an interface designed for globally mobile African users and diaspora communities.

By combining financial management, global connectivity, and universal payment cards, the Nigerian fintech positions itself as a digital financial passport for 21st-century travelers, digital nomads, and mobile professionals.

This article was initially published in French by Adoni Conrad Quenum

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum

• Nigerian entrepreneur Sunday Paul Adah co-founded and leads Radius, a cross-border payments platform for international students.
• Radius enables same-day payments for tuition, visas, exams, and housing while avoiding traditional international transfer constraints.
• The platform launched in 2022 and operates with real-time tracking and competitive exchange rates.

Sunday Paul Adah, a Nigerian entrepreneur based in Boise, United States, co-founded and leads Radius, formerly known as Pay4Me App, a payment platform designed to simplify financial procedures for international students who must pay fees to foreign schools, institutions, or organizations.

Founded in 2022, Radius enables users to pay tuition, visa fees, examination costs, and housing expenses while avoiding constraints linked to traditional international bank transfers. The mobile application allows users to execute same-day payments and monitor transactions in real time, which increases transparency and reduces uncertainty.

The platform integrates currency management tools that offer competitive exchange rates, which remain critical for cross-border payments. Radius also emphasizes a user-friendly interface and provides 24/7 customer support to assist students throughout every step of their education-related financial processes.

In parallel, Sunday Paul Adah founded Across The Horizon in 2015, a study-abroad consulting firm that supports African students and families in identifying affordable international education opportunities. He also founded Scholarships Africa in 2020, a platform dedicated to identifying and applying for international scholarship programs.

Sunday Paul Adah earned a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies from Boise State University in 2021. He also holds a master’s degree in public administration, government, and politics from Grand Canyon University, obtained in 2023, as well as a master’s degree in entrepreneurship from the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, completed in 2025.

This article was initially published in French by Melchior Koba

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de BERRY QUENUM