Driving Digital Growth in Africa: From Vision to Execution

November 13, 2025 Matteo Rizzi Breaking Banks 0:38:20 Comments Off on Driving Digital Growth in Africa: From Vision to Execution

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In This Episode

Today on Breaking Banks we feature the newest addition to the Provoke.fm family, Breaking Banks Africa.

In this episode Breaking Banks Africa Host and Executive Producer Matteo Rizzi sits down with Sandra Yao, Ecobank‘s Group Head: Cross Border Remittance, Payments & BaaS (Fintech). With 20 years of experience driving fintech and payment innovation across Africa, Sandra brings a unique “builder’s mindset” into one of the continent’s largest financial institutions, operating in 39 markets.

From pioneering mobile money to tackling fragmented infrastructure and regulatory environments, Sandra shares how interoperability, accessibility, and digital transformation are reshaping the future of payments in emerging economies. Additionally, Sandra reveals how Ecobank is empowering young African talent, forming major tech partnerships (including Google), and creating API-first solutions to help fintech founders scale across borders.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone passionate about Africa’s digital growth story, inclusive innovation, and hearing about those turning vision into execution—from Nairobi to the world.

Author, Co-Founder of FTS Group, BBE Executive Producer
About the Author
Matteo Rizzi is an unconventional entrepreneur with two decades of experience in Financial Services, constantly referred amongst the top executives in the industry. He spent 13 years at SWIFT - where he co-founded Innotribe, the innovation arm of the cooperative, launching the first global startup challenge. Since 2013, he has had a FinTech Investor and/or Venture Partner role with global VCs and CVCs (20+ deals, 5 exits). In 2015, he co-founded FinTechStage (FTSGroup.eu) - a platform for Investors and Innovators to boost FinTech innovation globally. In 2019, Matteo founded Timepledge a global initiative to foster financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. In 2025, Matteo aligned FTS and Timepledge’s into a single mission and founded the African Talent Academy. In 2019, he also launched Breaking Banks Europe (as the Executive Producer) and in 2025 the spin-off Breaking Banks Africa. In 2023, he was appointed Senior Advisor for Elevandi (MAS) now GFTN.com. He is the author of "The FinTech Revolution" and "Talents & Rebels" and is fluent in 5 languages. X:https://twitter.com/matteorizzi Website: https://matteorizzi.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matteorizziofficial Linkedln:https://www.linkedin.com/in/matteorizzi/ Provoke: https://provoke.fm/author/matteo/
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