Solace Kidisil, Group COO of Nsano: “The difference between traditional finance and fintech is the questions we ask”

Solace Kidisil has a crucial role. As the Group Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Nsano, she oversees business and technical operations that stretch across 30 African countries. Every day, businesses and people across the continent rely on its unified digital payment system.

Over the past decade, Solace has managed various aspects of technology systems ranging from telecommunications to banking interfaces and fintech infrastructure. It’s a far cry from her electrical engineer training, and Solace says she only “stumbled into fintech” after realising the importance of mobile payments – and how disjointed the current, competing systems were.

Today, Solace is group operations lead across a portfolio of brands and is in a unique position to see not only the bigger picture but also to help stimulate change. Not only in technologies, but in people’s attitudes. And she very kindly shares those insights here.

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Could you please introduce yourself to our audience and share how you ended up working in fintech?

I am Solace Kidisil, currently the Group COO of Nsano. I stumbled into fintech ten years ago before the term was coined. I was working then in telecommunications and worked on a related project that was to be piloted as a play in the mobile money space.

A few months later whilst working with an edtech, I realised how critical payments were to the sales operations team. Mobile money then was in the nascent stages which meant there was a huge gap in the ecosystem. With this in mind, joining Nsano was a no-brainer as it was clear to me the problem we would be solving by aggregating all the players in the space and making their services available via a single API.

What do you think traditional finance and banking companies can learn from disruptors in the fintech space?

I think the difference between traditional finance and fintech is the questions we ask. Since most of my work entails working with banks, I have seen first-hand that the approach to solutions design is largely led by “What are we allowed to do?” instead of “What is the best we can do with what we have?”

It is understandable due to the different approaches to risk and the impacts of regulation. However traditional players would benefit from adopting the fintech approach to product design, customer segmentation and value questions.

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In what ways is artificial intelligence impacting the fintech sector?

Artificial intelligence opens a list of opportunities and presents significant threats to operating and business models in our sector. It offers the opportunity to reduce operational costs through automation and new business models for fintechs with access to huge data volumes.

Despite those advantages, AI could be a double-edged sword by disrupting existing business models and distribution channels. Fintechs must learn to adapt and pivot when necessary. Nsano is doing this by improving on our smart USSD [Unstructured Supplementary Service Data used by GSM networks, similar to SMS] stack that transforms static USSD technology into dynamic responsive technology.

What are some of the biggest regulatory challenges affecting the fintech sector?

The biggest regulatory challenges in the next decade are the higher barriers to entry and the cost of compliance. For new startups, this increases significantly the cost of entry and roll out reducing the success of bootstrapping where there is a general lack of funding across Africa.

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Which geographical hubs around the world are leading the charge when it comes to fintech innovation?

Geographical hubs have championed innovation in different ways. These are largely dependent on available technology, regulatory framework and market dynamics. I believe India and China are inspirational markets due to the resilience shown and the pace of growth in innovation in step with a maturing market. Tencent, Alibaba and Reliance among others are fantastic fruits of a supportive and innovative ecosystem.

What advice do you have for aspiring professionals wanting to work in fintech?

Professionals transitioning to fintech must be prepared to be results-driven problem solvers. In early-stage fintechs, they must be generalists with the ability to play multiple hats and experience lateral growth. However, as the business matures, professionals with all have to be specialists increasing expertise and value creation for the fast-paced business of fintech. Assessing the stage in the life of a fintech and how relevant your skill set will be is essential to a successful career in the industry.

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