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Elizabeth Rossiello

CEO & Founder, AZA Finance

Search every verified Elizabeth Rossiello interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a January 2026 interview on the BOLD Talks series, Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO and founder of Aza Finance, discussed the challenges and evolution of fintech and cross-border payments in Africa. She stated that the biggest problem her company faced was regulation, saying they were "about 10 years too early" when they entered the market in 2013 with BitPasa. Rossiello noted that regulators and banks made operations difficult, and she observed that momentum is only now building as "Trump and global G8 currencies" and large banks move into the space. She also described her early work as a microfinance analyst, where she spoke with bank owners who discussed "overindebtedness" and predatory loans from donors, which she called "messed up." Rossiello, who described herself as "an American that lives abroad," characterized 2025 as "wild" globally. When asked about the word "bold," she said she tries to live her life "without fear, with bravery, and unafraid to do something different," adding that change requires stepping "away from the pack."

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Notable quotes

“And I was really struggling because I was there on the ground working with the the CEOs, the treasurers and CFOs of these institutions. And they have, you know, washer women, fisher women, farming communities, really like the people of the earth like really trying to make something happen, saving $100, $200. They have like the most precious funds and they're taking predatory loans.”

“And then when I started talking to the the bank owners, micro finance bank owners, all they talked about was overindnessedness and how they were taking these loans from donors, right? these like you know aid foundations were giving them loans at 12 14 16% and their currency was sliding because these donors were giving it to them in euro and dollar and then I started to feel really political about it ... I was like, t”

“The biggest problem was regulation. We were about 10 years too early. And you know, we came into the market in 2013 with Bit Pasa. That was wild. You know, nobody was using Bitcoin then. ... So regulators made it really difficult for us. banks made it difficult for us and then when regulations started to come out uh you know you had a lot of new entrance but still it's still happening there I think only now with Trum”

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