CEO & Co-Founder, Kuda Bank
Search every verified Babs Ogundeyi interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Babs Ogundeyi, founder and group CEO of Kuda, has described the digital-only bank as a full-service financial institution focused on Africa, offering services such as P2P transfers, debit cards, and fractional shares. He has stated that the company's mission is to make financial services more accessible, affordable, and rewarding for Africans, and that Kuda has grown to over seven million customers, with 90% based in Nigeria. Ogundeyi has said that the company is shifting its focus from aggressive growth to operational stability and sustainability, including a greater emphasis on credit products for salary earners and expanding business banking offerings. Ogundeyi has commented on the broader tech ecosystem, predicting that 2024 would see fewer tech companies, ideally due to mergers and acquisitions rather than shutdowns)Skip. He has noted a shift in operator mindset toward profitability and sustainability, and has said that AI will be used for concrete use cases such as customer service to improve unit economics. Ogundeyi has also remarked that Nigeria's regulator has become more open to crypto, which he said would allow for greater innovation. He has stated that he does not focus on unicorn valuations, but rather on building a sustainable business that serves customers effectively.
“Kuda is a full-service digital-only bank, Africa-focused, providing banking services to Africans in Africa and beyond — we offer P2P transfers, debit cards, fractional shares; basically everything people expect from neobanks but tailored to an African audience.”
“Banking and financial services in general felt like a preserve of a niche, privileged audience — meanwhile the majority of potential customers don't have the same affluence but collectively they could make for a very lucrative financial institution.”
“We tested demand with a faceless website offering loans and within three months 60,000 unique people tried to take a loan — proving demand even though we had no money to lend or a license; we then flipped to a savings product and partnered with a bank.”
“I sold a piece of land to buy a microfinance bank and used its license — changing the name to Kuda — because acquiring a bank was the fastest way to be regulated and start trading.”
“We have over six million customers doing about $4.5 billion in transaction value every month; our next phase is making the business sustainable — focus on monetization, building products that generate exponential revenue and improving unit economics and profitability.”
“Building a neobank in Africa is different — you must solve infrastructure problems like card delivery and addressing, and credit markets often carry much higher interest rates than in developed markets, which changes both operational approach and revenue opportunities.”
“It's better to go the road with others — you can't be good at everything; early team members demonstrate true belief by sacrificing secure jobs, taking pay cuts and equity, and showing dedication through long hours and commitment.”
“Courage can be developed through preparation — doing research on the idea, market and existing players gives you the conviction and 'naive' courage needed to carry on through challenges.”
“As we've scaled — six million customers and around 500 staff — we must institutionalize processes and run the company as a proper institution while retaining a startup mentality of speed and agility.”
“I wanted something that would match up with what is the best around the world.”
“Mindset — my parents were like no, everybody was against it. I was doubting myself, you know, am I crazy? I spoke to some people in the startup world and they said to me, 'yes you're crazy,' but you kind of have to be crazy; if it's that obvious it wouldn't be an opportunity.”
“Anybody that believes that, has faith, can be really successful — you need a bit of luck. I'm not sitting here saying I'm such a genius; you need some luck, but you need to put yourself in the position to take advantage of luck.”
“The statistic speaks for themselves. We saw an opportunity to do something quite special in terms of making financial services more accessible to an African audience.”
“Ethos was really to create a financial institution that could offer financial services that was both accessible and also affordable.”
“Financial inclusion is a start to helping towards reduction of poverty. I don't think it reduces poverty in itself, but if you're not financially included then it makes it even more difficult to come out of poverty.”
Babs Ogundeyi (https://www.linkedin.com/in/babsogundeyi/) is the Founder and CEO of Kuda (https://www.kuda.com/) , a fintech ...
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