For decades, Uganda’s financial system revolved around banks. It is little wonder that people had no choice but to endure long queues to pay school fees, make cash deposits, or withdraw money. Then came mobile money and telecom-led fintechs, which changed the game. Paying school fees became easier, and the services on offer continued to evolve to meet users at their point of need. This sparked a battle for customers and market share, one that continues to be reflected in profits reported with each financial year.
Dara Assim-Ita, Senior Product Designer at Paystack, says in Nigeria, the dynamic is far more nuanced than a simple fintech-versus-bank narrative. From where she sits, it is more collaboration than confrontation.
‘Nigeria’s financial services ecosystem has also developed through a lot of collaboration between banks, fintechs, switches, regulators and other licensed players. A good example is payments. Nigeria has one of the most active real-time payments ecosystems in Africa. NIBSS (Nigeria’s Central Switch) Instant Payments processed nearly 11 billion transactions in 2024, up from about five billion in 2022, and NIBSS itself is owned by all licensed banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria. The infrastructure that has enabled a lot of fintech innovation is deeply connected to the banking system,’ she says.
The data tells a similar story, as Nigerian bank deposits grew by 24 percent in 2025, even as fintech transaction volumes hit record highs. Both occurred simultaneously because they are not really competing for the same thing.
‘Fintechs brought a large portion of economic activity that was already happening in markets, small businesses and informal trade into a system where it could be tracked, settled and built upon. That formalisation benefits the whole ecosystem, including banks,’ she says.
Merchants do not think in terms of ‘bank versus fintech’; they simply want money to move reliably.
Therefore, the question that matters is how to make that process better for the businesses at the centre of it all. Nigeria still has a $32b small and medium business (SMB) credit gap that neither banks nor fintechs have fully solved on their own.
‘The way to navigate this is not to position ourselves against banks, but to stay focused on the role we play in the ecosystem. For instance, Paystack’s job is to provide reliable payments infrastructure that helps businesses accept payments, move money and build better financial experiences for their customers. In many cases, that means working with banks and other regulated financial institutions, not replacing them,’ she discloses.
Consequently, the real opportunity lies in building a stronger, safer and more inclusive financial system, where each player contributes what they do best. ‘We circumnavigate that by being collaborative, deeply compliant, and very clear about the value we add to businesses and consumers.’
Financing
Reaching this point has not been easy for fintechs, as funding remains one of the biggest challenges they face. For Paystack, the journey happened in stages. In the early days, the company raised venture capital from investors who believed in the scale of the opportunity and the quality of the team.
‘Paystack was part of Y Combinator in 2016, and in 2018 we raised an $8m Series A round led by Stripe, with participation from Visa, Tencent, Y Combinator and other investors. That brought our total investment to a little over $10m then,’ she says.
In 2020, Paystack was acquired by Stripe, giving the company the opportunity to continue building from Africa with stronger global support, while maintaining its independence and continuing to serve businesses across the continent. Some innovators, however, become overly dependent on funding, even though it is intended primarily to help businesses start and scale. Moving beyond that requires a focus on sustainability, which is built on a strong business foundation.
From west to east
East Africa’s fintech sector continues to grow, but the region has yet to see a significant influx of West African fintech players. That said, some companies have made the move, while others, such as Paystack, are already operating in Kenya, plus Chipper Cash, which was built with an explicitly pan-African ambition.
‘The bigger point is not ambition or interest but that African fintech expansion isn’t plug-and-play. West Africa and East Africa are both very dynamic, but with different market structures,’ Assim-Ita says.
Her argument is that in Nigeria and much of West Africa, fintech innovation has largely developed around bank accounts, cards, bank transfers and merchant payments. On the other hand, in East Africa, particularly in markets such as Kenya and Uganda, mobile money has been central to how people and businesses move money.
‘Therefore, a fintech entering East Africa has to understand different customer behaviour, different rails, different partnerships and often a different regulatory path,’ she explains.
In that sense, the barriers are not merely geographical. They are regulatory, infrastructural and cultural, requiring a deep understanding of local dynamics and the ability to adapt accordingly.
AI in fintech
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising many industries and is becoming increasingly important within fintech. Yet it can only help financial technology companies do three things better: understand risk, improve customer experience and help businesses make faster, smarter decisions. Assim-Ita nevertheless says AI can help fintechs detect unusual patterns, strengthen fraud monitoring and support compliance teams with better signals.
‘That matters because, as digital transactions grow, trust and safety become even more important,’ she says.
AI also makes financial tools easier to use. With AI, a small business owner can ask simple questions, identify trends, understand revenue patterns and make decisions more quickly.
‘That’s mainly why Paystack rebuilt its dashboard with an AI-native command centre,’ she says.
The Paystack Dashboard is one of the most important tools used daily by Paystack merchants. Through it, they monitor payments, track revenue, manage customers, review settlements, investigate failed transactions, handle disputes and gain insights into business performance.
Joining fintech
Before joining Paystack, Assim-Ita worked as a consultant for several banks through a marketing agency. A friend later introduced her to Paystack’s former head of design, which proved to be a turning point.
‘Honestly, I wasn’t actively looking to work in fintech at the time. From the outside, I thought the space was a bit boring and that there wasn’t much new to build,’ she says.
That perception changed quickly after joining Paystack. She realised there was still so much to solve, particularly in the areas of payments, financial management, data interpretation and business growth.
‘Most of the most important problems in fintech aren’t always visible from the outside, but once you see them up close, you understand how much work is still worth doing,’ she says with a smile.
Assim-Ita has particularly enjoyed working at the intersection of product, design and engineering.
‘I’m less interested in design as just one lane, and more interested in how those disciplines come together to solve real problems for businesses,’ she says.
While Assim-Ita represents some of the women who have entered the technology sector, she is quick to acknowledge that her experience may not have been as difficult as that of many others.
‘Therefore, I’m careful not to speak as if I fought through obstacles that I didn’t personally experience in the same way other women may have. I know many women have had to work much harder to be seen, trusted or taken seriously in technical spaces,’ she says.
She stresses the importance of having supportive bosses, friends and colleagues who believe in you, mention your name in the right rooms and open doors that you might not otherwise have entered.
Assim-Ita encourages aspiring professionals to learn enough technical language to work alongside engineers as peers. That is not because they need to become engineers themselves, but because it helps them collaborate effectively and ensures that nothing gets lost in translation.
‘The barrier is smaller than it looks from the outside. Fintech needs people who can understand users, simplify complexity and build trust. Those skills matter a lot,’ she says.