As the tech industry continues to evolve and shape the future, the presence and contributions of women in this field are becoming increasingly vital. Women in tech are breaking barriers, challenging stereotypes, and driving innovation. Their unique perspectives and skills enrich the industry and pave the way for a more diverse and inclusive technological landscape, proving that investing in women in tech is a strategic decision with far-reaching consequences.
Today, we spotlight two women whose curiosity and passion for technology continue to birth greatness. Damisi Busari is the Founder and CEO of Sendsprint, Africans, and the Diaspora’s solution to international remittance services. A tech company entirely focused on fostering connectedness and commerce for Africans on both sides of the diaspora divide. Odunayo Eweniyi is a Co-founder and COO of PiggyVest, the first-ever online app for personal savings and investment in West Africa.
In our sit-down with Busari and Eweniyi, they discuss their passion for technology, the journey to Sendsprint and Piggyvest, challenges, and achievements–including an exclusive announcement that will change the face of international payments.
Where does your passion for technology come from in a society where tech is seen as a more masculine field?
Busari: I’m very fortunate with my background. My parents indulged every curiosity that I had when I was very young. I remember first wanting to be an astronaut, and then, because I love to talk, I wanted to be a lawyer. My mom took me to court to observe what was going on in the courts. She allowed me to speak with the judge, introduced me to lawyer friends, and nurtured that curiosity. She did the same thing when I also wanted to be a doctor. My dad is big on gadgets, so he would stock up the house with whatever cool gadgets he could find so there were always computer games, and we had access to technology. My first gaming console was a Nintendo, so I wanted to study something with computers for my degree, and I did. My first degree was in Information Technology and Business Information Systems from Middlesex London, and my second was in Human-Computer Interaction and Ergonomics.
Similarly, Eweniyi stated that her family contributed substantially to the person she is today.
Eweniyi: I am the daughter of two professors and have three siblings. We grew up as a super intimate family, and my parents were highly encouraging of anything we chose to do, allowing us freedom of expression. So, the training wasn’t directed toward a particular career path but toward becoming well-rounded adults. I went to secondary school and then University, but when I told my parents I didn’t want to further my education, there was a bit of tension, but ultimately, they supported me.
It’s refreshing to see parents support self-chosen career paths. Can you describe your career journey?
Busari: After my degree, I started consulting at Deloitte, and quickly, I realised that wasn’t for me. So, I began my career in Design Research because I was interested in understanding the subtle opinions that we had about mobile apps that we were using and technology products people interact with. All that was helping me and the companies I worked with better understand how we relate to technology.
When I moved to Nigeria, I continued doing the same thing until I started my career in payment lending at Carbon. I moved into a pure payments company that Access Bank ultimately acquired, and then I moved to Flutterwave, where I spent a significant amount of my career before leaving in 2021. I left Flutterwave, where I was heading strategy and other efforts, because I felt like there were other exciting things that I wanted to explore that leaned on my background in human’s direct relationship with technology, and I wanted to explore that curiosity.
Eweniyi: I studied Computer Engineering at Covenant University, and right out of that, I went into starting companies. I graduated from University and came to Lagos to interview for a job. On my way back, I entered the estate where I was staying and saw Somto, my co-founder. He leaned out the window and said, “Hey, I didn’t know you lived in this estate.” He invited me in, introduced me to the people there, and asked me to join them. I got to work as the social media manager and eventually as a general operations person, and we started PushCV together.
How did your passion and professional background translate into creating the companies you run now?
Busari: During the lockdown, no one wanted to accept cash because we were all scared of the virus, so digital payments boomed. The same thing happened with cross-border space. People had to send money home frequently, so they engaged with cross-border remittance services. Those who rarely had to experience them became aware of how expensive cross-border services could be, and seeing all those conversations evolve was very interesting for me.
As a product person with a background in design, I always lead with what technology can do to solve problems. So, I built a remittance product that responds to people’s needs, and that’s how my team and I came up with Sendsprint.
Eweniyi: At first, we had PushCV and a few other startups, but then someone shared on Twitter a picture of a wooden box where she’d saved 1,000 Naira every day for 365 days, then she broke the box and shared that on social media. It went viral, and my co-founder brought it to our group chat and said he thinks there’s a way we could make it digital. So, we went to work. Two weeks later, we had an MVP (minimum viable product), and we released it. That’s how PiggyVest was born. In terms of my role, I’ve always been responsible for operations in all of our companies, and it’s the same with PiggyVest.
Your journey to creating your company shows great intentionality in providing financial solutions to financial problems. How would you describe your services from inception to date?
Eweniyi: Piggyvest’s flagship wallet, Piggybank, is the initial idea, which has evolved in a way that’s more growth than anything. Our best line idea in 2016 still exists in that exact format inside the app today. 2016, it was the entire company, but today, it’s just a feature. Users can now save and earn interest on their money through the Piggybank feature and invest in pre-vetted investment opportunities. The app can be found on the Play Store and Apple App Store.
Busari: Sendsprint, the simple money transfer product that we had in 2021, still exists, but the evolution of Sendsprint reflects an understanding of the nuances of our customers. Our mobile app for individuals in the US, UK, and Canada includes a gifting product that allows Africans to send love beyond cash through vouchers for healthcare, groceries, spa experiences, etc. The app can be found in the Apple App Store, Play Store, and web versions. There’s also a Business product for Business owners in Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa), which allows them to receive payments for their products from their customers in the diaspora, and there’s a new product coming soon.
How do you stay updated in the fast-evolving space world of technology?
Busari: Getting caught up in technology changes is easy for many tech workers. But we never lose sight of the fact that we run service businesses. The 55-year-old woman who uses Sendsprint would not care if we developed an AI service. She cares that the product never gets compromised and that money gets to the recipients within the stipulated time frame, so we’re focused on tightening our service delivery promise.
We’re keeping sight of that individual customer because they’re the ones that make other people and businesses know about us, so we can now provide those services to businesses.
Eweniyi: The very existence of Piggyvest is innovative, seeing as we were the first to do this, and we always try to stay ahead, especially with some of the most creative minds in the tech space. Piggyvest’s non-negotiables are quality customer service and consistency. I will add that Piggyvest is a company built to serve its users. More than anything, we project consistency to our users and everyone looking at the company we are building. It’s a long journey, and we are only at the beginning of it. Ultimately, we want to develop a consistent, reliable digital financial company for Nigerians.
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In prioritising quality customer service, how do you ensure the security of your customers?
Busari: My background is in payments, and before I started my company, I led one of the largest payment companies in Africa. Understanding the requirements of security is effectively my bread and butter. If you go to our website, you will see our references to our PCI DSS Level 1 Certification, which takes a rigorous security auditing process. This way, we ensure that every transaction we support is safe.
We also protect our program from bad actors who try to get access to your product, steal cards, or use our platform to claim to be who they’re not. We do everything from identity verification to real-time selfies, so security is something that we always keep in sight.
Eweniyi: The best way to illustrate that is that early this year, we won the Most Data-Compliant Fintech Company award from the Nigerian Data Protection Agency. Anything that has to do with protecting our users is our priority.
What challenges have you faced running tech companies, and how do you navigate them?
Busari: Finding talent as a remote company despite the lockdown was challenging, and it still is now. Quite a few people still prefer to go into the office. It’s also been an issue learning different markets because we’re present in quite a few markets, and we like to reflect on the nuances of the reality of our users across various countries.
We’ve had times where we disappointed our customers, and transactions that we expected to be processed quickly were not. Still, the beauty of how I have chosen to handle this is to deal with it and move on but spend some time understanding why that situation happened or what we must do to ensure it doesn’t happen.
Eweniyi: Honestly, there are always challenges. We are a company building in one of the most active social media times ever. That means we must be acutely conscious of our work and perceived reputation in this social media space. It takes one person to say something, and everyone runs with it, so we ensure everyone understands how important it is to protect our reputation.
Then, there’s also the ongoing challenge of building in Nigeria, an incredible land of opportunities, but it’s also challenging. There are economic challenges, regulatory challenges, and all of that you have to work around day in and day out because Nigeria still possesses the ability to shock you sometimes.
On challenges, would you say being female executives in a male-dominated field has caused challenges or setbacks?
Busari: My femininity has never been a personal issue. However, my approach to work has always raised eyebrows. Often, I want to choose my words carefully, making me seem stereotypical. Women are expected to be friendly, sweet, and able to roll with the punches and finish the work. Sometimes, I need to be accommodating, and other times, I need to be stern, so my career trajectory has been figuring out how to balance both.
One thing about being underestimated is that it’s my choice to either rise to it or sidestep it. Unfortunately, as women, we will continue to find instances where we’re reminded of our womanness, and people will try to use that as a crunch. Still, as a female CEO, I already know my stuff, and I won’t let anyone toss me around.
Eweniyi: I’ll say this because I have two male co-founders. I’ve been lucky and super privileged to be part of the founding team and have supporters who will go ahead of me and speak whenever I’m not in the room and also hold up what I’m saying. As you know, they support me with everything, not just their presence and their words, and they haven’t let people second guess me, so I have more privilege than most.
Of course, there have been microaggressions; people say what they want and what they want to act, but those are surface-level things in the grand scheme. Sexism affects people and holds back careers in debilitating ways. I’ve gotten primarily surface-level sexism, the ones that you can just look at and snicker. On a profound level, I have to thank the support system, and that’s why it’s been important to me to work at Piggyvest and make Piggyvest a place where women can work comfortably and be appreciated. Anyone can get promoted, recognised, and sanctioned if they do the wrong thing, but we ensure that your gender is never the reason for anything.
What’s an important lesson you’ve learned that you apply to your life and career?
Busari: Something that has been a mantra in recent years has been the importance of giving grace to myself and others. I have learned that people are people beyond the jobs that they do. That someone works in customer success doesn’t mean they’re not a mom to three children. So, you must give people grace and understand they’re human beings, too. Let them deal with life and then come back to work.
Because I’ve learned to give people grace, I can now be kinder to myself when I’m sick and can’t get work done. I don’t beat myself up with guilt for not being able to get on my laptop. So, learning to give grace to people has made me kinder to myself, which makes me a better team leader.
Eweniyi: There’s something that my dad used to tell me, “Aim very high, work very hard, care very deeply.” That is what I live by.
That’s awesome! Your values genuinely speak of your quality of leadership. So, what’s next for you in the tech space?
Busari: I’m happy we’re having this conversation because we will announce a new product that will be launching in the US soon. The US is an exciting market from a regulatory standpoint. There are 50 states with different regulators. So, suppose you want to run a licensed remittance. In that case, you must constantly review the requirements of 50 regulators and honour the capital requirements of those 50 regulators, which is very expensive to run.
We have acquired money transmitter licenses in those states and are excited about launching our “Remittance as a Service” product. This would allow fintechs worldwide to leverage our licenses to operate in the US by becoming agents of Sendsprint.
Sendsprint is intentional about growth. We have raised funding in the past and are still open to financing and investments.
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Eweniyi: The focus is on growing Piggyvest. That means adding more features to further the vision for the product, which is to give people the power to control their finances better. We started with micro-savings and then branched into micro-investments, so we’ll look at other aspects of financial services
Also, stepping out and creating FirstCheck Africa was essential to ensure there was more of me in the ecosystem. It is a tech company I launched with Eloho Omame, and it’s mostly about holding the door open for women founders. My co-founder, Eloho, has worked in venture capital for a bit, and I’ve been a founder for about eight years, so we want to help companies with female founders or at least one female co-founder.
Congratulations on your wins! It’s awe-inspiring to see women doing so well in the tech space. How do you balance work-life when running a business in this demanding field?
Busari: A lot of responsibility comes with being a leader, so I still don’t have that balance. Still, I have been very intentional about prioritising a specific routine involving stepping out of my comfort zone and interacting with people– I have lunch with friends and games night. I don’t always have the time to go, but it’s great that it’s on my calendar, right? Everything has to do with intentionality, and the same intention I bring to my work is what I get to my social interests.
Eweniyi: I love my job but have yet to find a balance. I suck at balance. Some days, I’m excellent at doing my work and stopping at 5 pm, and then I watch TV or hang out with my friends, but on some other days, I’m hunched over my desk for 12 hours straight. It’s cool, though, and I don’t mind it that much. When I need to take a break, I will, but as for balance, I have no idea how to do that.
Do you have any last words or advice for tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs looking to start their businesses?
Busari: Do it with someone if you can.
Eweniyi: Just start!
These women have shown deep devotion to fostering seamless financial operations for Africans and the diaspora. Busari has proven her commitment to leading Sendsprint and ensuring its success. Undoubtedly, the blend of her passion for technology and curiosity will continue to birth excellent greatness. Eweniyi has also expressed deep devotion to fostering better financial services in the digital space. Her love for investing in female-founded startups will help promote female involvement in the tech space.
It’s time to break down barriers, create a more inclusive environment, and unleash the collective power of people to shape the future of technology. Industry leaders, policymakers, and educators are crucial in prioritising gender diversity and inclusion in the tech sector. Let’s work together to break down barriers, invest in women’s talent, and empower women to unlock the full potential of the tech industry for the benefit of all.
