Across West Africa, the growth of the fintech industry is being shaped not just by startups but also by women leading infrastructure, payments, policy, and expansion across the ecosystem.
From global card networks to local payment rails, here are ten (10) women who hold positions that influence how money moves across the region.
1. Aminata Kane (SVP & Head of West and Central Africa, Visa)
Educated at HEC Paris and the MIT Sloan School of Management. Aminata Kane began her career at Goldman Sachs before moving to McKinsey & Company.
Before joining Visa, she served as CEO of Orange Sierra Leone in 2018, where she led the launch of mobile money microcredit at 33. She later became the regional CEO of Orange Money Group, overseeing fintech operations across 17 countries.
In September 2024, Kane was appointed Senior Vice President and Head of Visa’s West and Central Africa region. Based in Abidjan, she oversees operations across 23 markets, including Lagos, Accra, and Kinshasa. She also plays a key role in driving Visa’s $1 billion investment commitment to Africa by 2027, focused on interoperability and SME support.
Her recognitions include Africa CEO of the Year (2020) by AfricaCom/AfricaTech Festival, Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and one of the 100 Most Influential African Women CEOs by Africa.com and Harvard University.
2. Odunayo Eweniyi (Co-founder & COO, PiggyVest)
A first-class Computer Engineering graduate from Covenant University, Odunayo Eweniyi co-founded PushCV before launching PiggyVest in 2016.
As co-founder and COO, she has played a central role in building PiggyVest into one of Nigeria’s leading savings and investment platforms. Under her operational leadership, the company has grown to over 4.5 million users and helped Nigerians save billions of naira annually.
Beyond PiggyVest, Eweniyi co-founded FirstCheck Africa, an angel fund focused on backing women-led startups with early-stage capital.
Victoria Fakiya – Senior Writer
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3. Kemi Okunsanya (CEO, Hydrogen)
Kemi Okunsanya, who studied computer science and engineering at Enugu State University, currently serves as CEO of Hydrogen Payment Services Company Limited.
With over two decades of experience across oil and gas, banking, and remittances, she has held leadership roles at Zenith Bank, MoneyGram (Head of Anglophone Africa), and Visa (VP & General Manager for West Africa). She also facilitated the launch of Visa on mobile in Ghana and its expansion into Nigeria.
At Hydrogen, she is building a major payments network. Under her leadership, the company processed over ₦42 trillion in two years. In 2023 alone, it processed ₦15 trillion in transactions and launched products like Instant Pay and POS terminals for over 20,000 merchants.
4. Clara B. Arthur (CEO, GhIPSS)
Clara B. Arthur is the CEO of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in law and history and a master’s in finance and administration from the University of West London, with over 20 years of experience in financial services.
Her career includes roles as Head of ATM and Card Technology at Ecobank Group and Head of E-banking and IT Business at Fidelity Bank Ghana. She has also consulted for the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) as a remittance expert and advised CGAP on payment systems and financial inclusion.
At GhIPSS, Arthur oversees critical national infrastructure, including GhIPSS Instant Pay and mobile money interoperability. Her influence lies in setting the technical standards that enable fintech operations across Ghana.
5. Amandine Lobelle (COO, Paystack / The Stripe Group Africa)
Amandine Lobelle began her career in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at Morgan Stanley before moving into venture capital at the IFC (World Bank Group).
She joined Paystack before its acquisition by Stripe and played a key role in the $200M+ deal. Today, she leads core business functions across finance, legal, compliance, and sales.
Lobelle is central to Paystack’s operational strategy and expansion, particularly as the company evolves beyond payments into new sectors. Her influence lies in execution and scaling across international markets.
6. Folasade Femi-Lawal (Country Manager, Mastercard)
Folasade Femi-Lawal has over 30 years of experience across banking, telecommunications, and consulting. She was appointed Country Manager and Area Business Head for West Africa at Mastercard in early 2024.
She previously spent a decade at FirstBank Nigeria as Head of Card and Messaging Business before moving to Mastercard to lead regional strategy.
Lawal holds a B.Sc. in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University and an MBA from Texila American University. She is also a fellow of ICAN and the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
In her current role, she oversees partnerships that enable banks and fintechs to issue cards and process international payments. She is also a strong advocate for financial inclusion, particularly for rural women, drawing from her experience on a UNICEF-partnered project in Northern Nigeria.
In 2025, she was recognised as Fintech CEO of the Year by the African Global Economic Forum and the MSME Finance Awards, and was featured in Forbes as one of 12 women shaping Nigeria’s financial inclusion.
7. Carine Coura Sène (Wave)
Carine Coura Sène is the Regional Director for Wave Mobile Money in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region, overseeing operations across Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Burkina Faso.
A trained software engineer, she earned her Master’s in Engineering from Polytech’Lille in France and spent over a decade in the French insurance and tech sectors before returning to Senegal.
She joined Wave in 2018 as Director of Business Development, became General Manager for Senegal in 2020, and later assumed her current regional role.
Under her leadership, Wave scaled rapidly and became Francophone West Africa’s first unicorn, expanding access to financial services across the region.
8. Eduofon Japhet (Managing Director, Squad / HabariPay)
Eduofon Japhet leads HabariPay, the fintech arm of Guaranty Trust Holding Company, where she oversees its flagship product, Squad.
She studied Computer Science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and built her early career across First Atlantic Bank, MTN Nigeria, and GTBank.
HabariPay initially launched as a super app in 2018 but, under her leadership, pivoted in 2022 to focus on payment infrastructure and digital financial services.
That shift has driven significant growth. By mid-2025, the company reported a 12-fold increase in profit over three years, reaching ₦4.02 billion in H1 2025.
9. Uche Uzoebo (MD, SANEF)
Uche Uzoebo was appointed Managing Director and CEO of the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF) in February 2025.
Before this, she spent 15 years at Diamond Bank (later acquired by Access Bank), where she served as Group Head of Agency and Merchant Services. She joined SANEF in 2019 as Chief Distribution and Stakeholder Engagement Officer.
By the time she became CEO, she had helped scale Nigeria’s agent banking network to over 2 million access points.
She also recently formalised a partnership with Women’s World Banking to expand agent banking in Northern Nigeria.
10. Camelia Ganga (Moniepoint)
Camelia Ganga is the Chief Growth Officer at Moniepoint Group, where she leads the company’s expansion and market penetration strategy.
Before Moniepoint, she held leadership roles at Glovo as Senior Growth & Marketing Director for Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, where she led expansion into over 20 markets. She also served as Senior Vice President of Growth at Rain.
Her earlier career includes roles at IKEA Group, Fashion Days Group, and NEPI Rockcastle.
With over 15 years of experience across the UK, Europe, and emerging markets, she joined Moniepoint early, bringing expertise in scaling high-growth businesses across retail, e-commerce, and technology.
At Moniepoint, she is responsible for the growth strategy that has made its POS terminals widely used across Nigerian markets.
