The Founder & Chair of the Executive Board of the European Women Payments Network (EWPN), spoke with Efma’s Boris Plantier about how her Kenyan upbringing has deeply influenced her career path and leadership style.
Tell me a little about your background.
I am a jack of all trades. I do so many things and I am also involved in so many initiatives. I do this intentionally because I can and have the capacity. I am an accountant by profession, though I only really practiced the first few years and stopped. I found accounting very boring, so I decided to pivot.
I am originally from Kenya and moved to the Netherlands 12 years ago. I was born and raised in a typical African village communal family; where the kids belonged to the community and everyone was the other person's keeper and family. The community took care of one another. We shared the little we had. If one lacked flour, they could walk to the neighbors and get a portion of flour. If they lacked milk or sugar or salt, or even such a simple thing like fire, the community always shared. The Ubuntu way of living was so ingrained in us and is/was what makes us. This is something that drives everything I do in life. The importance and power of a community is what drives my passion.
Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I took over my paternal grandfather's entrepreneurship genes combined with my maternal grandmother's genes of wanting to help everyone and trying to solve everyone's problems. My entrepreneurship journey started when I was in primary school, where we used to skip school so we could harvest fruits to sell to fellow students. I always could find things to sell.
This saw me start my first company in 2005- Jumboservers: a website design, search engine optimization website and email hosting company, that specialized in helping small businesses utilize internet-based technologies to grow their businesses. We did this for a very small and affordable fee, because in that period these services were too highly priced for SMEs to afford. With zero training in any technology, I taught myself web design, hosting, support, etc. and had the opportunity to combine entrepreneurship with helping people.
Fast forward to 2009, where I accidentally got into Fintech & Payments when I moved to the Netherlands. I fell madly in love with the combination of technology and financial services and the magic that happens when the two marry. I worked for one the largest global processors for six years supporting acquirers and issuers before moving to a merchant acquirer for four years.
In 2018, I made the decision to leave corporate life so I can focus on my initiatives that allowed me to combine my expertise and my passion: use technology to bring people together, create impact, help people and change the lives of people while doing things that matter. By doing so, I am now able to focus on all my initiatives including;
- European Women Payments Network (EWPN) - a not-for-profit that brings champions for diversity and inclusion in fintech and payments. A community for women by women.
- African Women in Fintech & Payments (AWFP) - the African sister company of EWPN.
- Beyond Innocence Foundation (BIF) - a not-for-profit that is constructing a rescue center for sexually abused minors in Kenya.
- Dali Spaces - a community and co-working space for female entrepreneurs
- African Female Founders & Innovators (AFFI) - an online and offline community for African Female Founders and entrepreneurs
There is an African proverb that sums this so well: ''If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” By having the charm of bringing people together and creating tribes, I, we, are able to go far by doing many things together as a community.
