CEO and founder of fintech startup, SendSprint, Damisi Busari, tells AMAKA how black women can find smooth passage into the tech space. The product developer is a perfect blend of grit and glamour with an unflinching resolve to see every venture she handles succeed. She is ever-ready to lend a helping hand to those seeking a pathway into the world of tech.
Busari has demonstrable competence in a broad range of business functions. Her experience in tech cuts across working as a redress case handler for Deloitte, design researcher for the Telegraph Media Group and UX designer for One Finance & Investment. She also held key positions like product manager, strategy manager, global head, customer experience, and head of commercial alliances and strategy at fintech company Flutterwave. However, the techpreneur's drive to use technology to solve problems and her first-hand knowledge of the challenges of sending money to Africa led her to launch a payment solution in February 2022.
During her undergraduate studies, a course introduced her to the concept of design thinking and helped her appreciate the real-world application of the numerous ideas in her head. By this time, she was not particularly interested in writing code, but Busari had developed a keen interest in the human side of technology and how consumers' use of phones and other devices impact them.
Surprisingly, she didn't do anything related to tech with her first degree but went straight into consulting at Deloitte. However, she soon discovered it wasn't a perfect fit for her.
She then embarked on a new adventurous journey to obtain a master's in human-computer interaction and organisations, figuring out the psychology behind designs and understanding how to make technology products usable.
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Busari, who's worked in tech for a little under 10 years, believes that the 'barrier discussion' is more of an overblown narrative and doesn't reflect current realities. According to her, the anecdote has almost created a reality.
While acknowledging that issues of poverty (inability to afford a laptop) can be a limiting factor, countermeasures like holding conversations that lift the hood over what tech really is would help people match their curiosity to the existing gaps in the tech world.
According to her, knowing how to write code is not a core requirement for working in tech. "If you have zero interest in writing code but care about solving problems using technology, then yes, there's probably an opportunity for you in a technology company; not everyone that works in a technology company writes code."
She revealed that there are so many entry points into tech; if spinning words is your strength, then there’s a space for you as a UX writer, and customer care professionals are also needed to engage clients in a technology company. According to her, everyone should match their strength with available roles.
Working with firms in London
Busari has fond memories of working as a design researcher at the Telegraph in the UK, where she investigated the influence fonts can have on a user's readability on a website or mobile device.
After a long time in the diaspora, she moved back to Nigeria, where she worked at some start-ups, including payment giant, Flutterwave. She spent the longest stint of her career at the company, spanning over 7 years. This experience was pivotal in her understanding of payment infrastructure, global payments and what powers it, and the true costs involved. It also opened her eyes to opportunities to provide a better consumer experience.
On nurturing curiosity
Busari revealed that the intentional choice to explore one’s curiosity allows you to find what you genuinely like. She bemoaned the Nigerian educational system, which doesn't encourage any form of inquisitiveness. In fact, some lecturers expect students to regurgitate exactly what they were taught in class without any additions or subtraction.
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Motivation to start Sendsprint
The techprenuer said her drive to float a payment solution company was derived from a first-hand experience with the problem of sending money back home.
"It's very expensive to send money to Africa, and the transaction in the past wasn't real-time (takes about 3-5 days), but it doesn't have to be that expensive. Sending money to Africa from any corridor in the world continues to be the most expensive and sometimes costs up to 12% of the value of the transaction. It's almost like the world is punishing you for wanting to care about the people you left at home."
Busari recalled a tricky experience with her aunt. She disclosed that sending her aunt money would be a problem because the aunt would feel she was trying to make a ‘status statement’ with it. On the other hand, if she gives her too little money, it will be termed insulting. To navigate this, Busari never gave her aunt money but instead bought her gifts, which she appreciates but costs more.
"The gifting solution is completely missing from the remittance discussion. This means that the only connection most Africans in the diaspora have with those back home is money, which makes the relationship incredibly transactional."
Her solution, SendSprint, that provides a cost-effective and simple money transfer experience for Africans in the diaspora in addition to the gifting solution.
"Apart from dwindling global economics, Africans living abroad are sandwiched between two lives; one in the diaspora and also trying to play a part in the country they left behind. Finding a way to help the Africans in the diaspora connect with home is essentially why Sendsprint exists."
What makes SendSprint unique
Having a close touch with the problem and providing an alternative that costs less, in addition to the gifting solution, are some factors that differentiate SendSprint from other payment solutions.
"Money is a sensitive topic with most Africans: when you don't want to send someone money, you buy something for them."
Sendsprint is a money transfer and smart gifting platform that expands the definition of what remittance means today. With its super speed and $5 flat rate, users can send money and gifts to their loved ones in Nigeria and South Africa from UK and Canada.
What next after SendSprint
Damisi said she is focused on giving her all to solve the African remittance problem, noting that after she is satisfied that the problem has been fixed, she will embark on another challenging adventure.
On Regulatory Problems
Asked about regulatory concerns, she revealed that SendSprint has been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and cleared to operate. The tech guru explained that the regulator's job is to protect citizens and secure their money.
She added that innovators must keep regulatory agencies abreast about the latest developments so that both parties can sync. However, Busari stated that the problem between regulators and evolving technologies firms in Nigeria is simply that of communication.
"Regulation plays catch up with innovation, and it's the job of innovators to keep regulators informed and help them understand what's going on."