Ola Oyetayo of Verto: Building a Profitable Cross-Border Fintech for Emerging Markets

Episode overview:

In this conversation, Verto co-founder and CEO Ola Oyetayo shares the journey of building a cross-border payments platform that tackles the unique challenges African businesses face when making international transactions.

Since graduating from Y Combinator in 2019, Verto has established itself as what Oyetayo describes as a profitable and cashflow positive fintech serving multiple African markets. Incidentally, the company recently made headlines after winning the prestigious $1 million Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech.

He discusses his team's pragmatic approach to addressing payment barriers in emerging markets, why traditional financial institutions have failed to serve these regions effectively, and how technology can disrupt traditional banking networks that have historically excluded certain markets.

Andile Masuku engages Oyetayo on the evolution of fintech in Africa, the role of privilege and networks in business success, and the future potential of stablecoins to revolutionise cross-border payments in ways that might prove more transformative for emerging markets than developed ones.

Key topics:

- Verto's position in the cross-border payments landscape

- The strategic decision to focus on B2B rather than consumer payments

- The untapped $286 billion trade flow between Africa and China

- Why 96-97% of business cross-border payments still go through traditional banks

- The innovator's dilemma Verto faces with the rise of stablecoins

Notable points: