Adedeji Olowe

Creating a digital lending platform to democratize credit in Nigeria is only one of the ways I have used technology to initiate transformation in the past. While there remain an unfulfilled N10 trillion gap and 36.6m financially excluded people, I am using my current position as a venture capitalist to drive the ecosystem of startups, policies, partners, etc. to bridge this gap, because I strongly believe that technology is the only pathway for Africa’s economic transformation. Navigating legacy infrastructure minefields while delivering transformation is what I have done extensively in organizations like UBA and Fidelity Bank, which led to revenue from digital banking forming a significant portion of profit and positively changing the positioning of these banks. I look back on my time with SystemSpecs, where I worked with a large commercial bank to create the fastest USSD based credit in Africa irrespective of the domicile bank, and I am honored and challenged – digital transformation in Africa has come a long way, but a lot is still to be done. Also, under my belt, is the development of Open Banking in Nigeria - an API standard that would significantly transform how banking is done in Nigeria and Africa. I lead the team that is creating the platform and evangelizing its benefits (to the unconverted). When completed, it would reduce barriers to innovation and help fintechs get products to market faster. In this system, banks and fintechs are the players, everyone is a winner. In my parallel life, I write, or better still rant, about diverse subjects including science and science fiction, technology, medical engineering (a passion), and of course, digital payments. Most importantly, I talk about life and making the best out of it for professional excellence. Since writing can be hard, when I’m not banging away at the keyboard, I’m probably mentoring (and badgering) younger friends on how to improve their professional lives.