Ep.7: Standard Bank – Solving for Scale, Inclusion & Investment with Kwanele Onyango

🎧 Welcome to Scrums.com's FinTech Arena!

 

A podcast dedicated to FinTech leaders who want to stay ahead in the fast-evolving industry. In each 30-minute episode, we uncover actionable insights and strategies from top innovators in the world of finance and technology.

 

🎙 Episode Guest: Kwanele Onyango — Executive: Telecoms & Fintech at Standard Bank Group

Roles: Sector specialist, fintech strategist, and legal-finance crossover leader

Expertise: Fintech expansion, cross-border strategy, tech sector specialization

Fun Fact: Kwanele once practiced law in London before pivoting into fintech strategy and is deeply passionate about tech-driven inclusion in emerging markets.

🌟 Key Topics Covered

TMT & Sector Strategy at Standard Bank: Kwanele details how the bank’s sector-based model brings deep specialization to telecoms, media, and tech (TMT) clients. Her team supports everything from telcos and data centers to high-growth fintechs through capital, partnership, and strategic counsel.

Beyond the Big Four: While South Africa and Kenya are often spotlighted, Kwanele emphasizes that Egypt and Nigeria are powerhouses too—highlighting payment innovation, lending platforms, and upcoming open banking reforms that will reshape Africa’s fintech infrastructure. Cross-

Continental Deals: A landmark transaction: Standard Bank co-funded Intersect’s acquisition of Europe-based Moderum—showcasing how African fintechs can blend local tech talent with global revenue opportunities.

It’s a compelling model: low-cost, high-skill South African teams driving growth abroad.

What Investors Want: Post-2020, investor focus has shifted from hype to fundamentals: scalable models, stable management, hard currency revenues, and sector alignment. Kwanele outlines how "backing the jockey" (i.e., betting on the right team) is key to long-term returns.

Solving Africa’s Hard Problems: Success in African fintech often comes from solving real-world challenges—like smartphone access (e.g., M-Kopa), last-mile infrastructure, or micro-lending models tailored to informal earners. Kwanele shares how these business models yield not only impact but also solid financial returns.

AI’s Real Role in African Fintech: From alternative credit scoring to fraud detection, AI is already embedded in fintech workflows. But African markets demand contextual innovation—accounting for inconsistent ID systems, infrastructure limitations, and hybrid physical-digital models.

Investor’s Guide to Africa: Africa is not a monolith. Fintech investors must zoom in on specific regions, build partnerships, and understand the physical + digital blend unique to African markets. As regulators open up national payment systems, now is a strategic moment to enter.

🚀 Key Lessons for FinTech Leaders

✅ Specialize & Solve: The best returns in African fintech come from solving real problems—access, affordability, infrastructure—and aligning capital to fit regional realities.

✅ Talent + Strategy Wins: Back visionary teams with strong execution chops and local-market fluency.

✅ Cross-Border Potential: African fintechs are scaling across borders—into both neighboring markets and global corridors.

✅ The AI Edge: Credit, security, and user personalization are all being enhanced by AI—but deployment must be market-specific.

✅ Don’t Generalize Africa: Understand regional nuances, from Egypt’s payments ecosystem to Nigeria’s open banking moves.

🎯 Actionable Takeaways

If you're investing in African fintech, think regionally, not continentally.

Partner with banks like Standard Bank that live and breathe your sector.

Design for resilience—market shifts, regulation, and infrastructure constraints are the norm.

Use AI to unlock scale, but localize for fragmented realities.

Back founders solving hard problems—real utility drives sustainable growth.

📖 Kwanele’s FinTech Insight

"If you're solving a real-world problem in Africa, chances are you're also building a very solid business. Accessibility, infrastructure, education—these aren’t just gaps; they’re growth markets."

🔗 Stay ahead in fintech, digital infrastructure, and tech finance. Visit www.scrums.com for expert insights on Africa’s fintech and innovation ecosystem.

📌 Chapters

00:00 – Welcome & Kwanele’s Journey from Law to Fintech

01:14 – What is TMT & Why Sector Expertise Matters

03:22 – Fintech Hubs Beyond SA & Kenya: Spotlight on Egypt & Nigeria

06:12 – Cross-Border Growth: The Intersect x Moderum Deal

08:40 – What Investors Want: Scalable, Profitable, Passionate Founders

13:37 – Fintech for Good: Solving Accessibility & Infrastructure Gaps

16:57 – Leapfrogging & Local Innovation

18:06 – Real AI Use Cases in African Fintech

21:38 – Why Now is the Time to Invest in African Fintech

29:11 – Kwanele’s Book Pick: Brotherless Night

 

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