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TechInAfrica — Nigerian mobile payment company, Paga hired a new chief financial officer. The company announced that it has hired Ian Cleverly, who previously served the same role at Maistro Plc, a business-to-business marketplace for online procurement service, as its Group chief financial officer (CFO).
Paga is said to be one of Nigeria’s prominent payment platforms. The company recently reported having processed more than 35.5 million transactions worth 694 billion (roughly $2.3 billion) for the first time in a year.
Founded by Tayo Oviosu in 2009, the company has secured $35 million to date, including $10 million series B2 led by Global Innovation Fund announced in September 2018.
The capital was raised for international expansion into countries like Ethiopia, Mexico, and the Philippines, according to Oviosu. With the experience Cleverly has, it seems hiring a CFO has been part of Paga’s expansion plan of making 1 billion people access and use money.
On his appointment, Cleverly said, “I am delighted to have joined Paga at an exciting time as the company scales and gathers momentum for its next phase of international expansion. I look forward to playing a key role in its growth and value creation, and I believe my experience will be additive to the team as we implement and execute our growth strategy.”
Cleverly’s career spans 20 years with industry experience in senior financial and operational management roles in telecommunications, FMCG, and mobile payments across. Before Maistro Plc, he was Cable & Wireless Communications, Jamaica’s CFO and executive director; and Hutchison 3G Ireland’s CFO.
As CFO, Cleverly will be responsible for Paga’s Finance, Risk, Compliance, and Internal Audit function across all countries including future markets.
Looking at Cleverly’s resume, this is perceived as a good strategy by the payment company. This hiring sparks a trend of local startups targeting for foreign executives in order to raise funds or scale globally.
Source: techpoint.africa
