Oli welcome to our Sikoia Unified Interview series. You've held product and data science roles at NayaOne spanning areas like tech marketplace development and AI/ML solutions. Can you start by sharing a bit about your background and what drew you to the intersection of FinTech and data?

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Thank you for having me! My background originally lies in the data science realm. I started off in the insurance sector, consulting for insurance companies and creating models to aid their processes and support innovation. When I joined NayaOne, my focus shifted towards working with and generating synthetic data. This technology allows for the sharing of sensitive data in a way that looks real but isn't, ensuring privacy and security. 

Working with synthetic data naturally led me to engage more with technology companies. As we facilitated evaluations by leveraging synthetic data, I started understanding the needs and innovations within the fintech ecosystem at a granular level. This interaction highlighted the crucial role that data gives to third parties and the value that accessing production-like data drives for fintech solutions.

Moreover, our main client base at NayaOne comprises large financial institutions. These institutions use our technology to test and validate fintech solutions. This intersection of understanding data science, enabling fintechs and technology providers, and collaborating with financial institutions has brought me to where I am today, working closely across these sectors to drive innovation and enabling bank-fintech partnerships. 

That's super exciting. As you mentioned, NayaOne aims to foster an ecosystem of innovation for financial services and support bank-fintech partnerships through its digital sandbox platform. Given your interactions with both FinTechs and banks, what are some of the key trends and market forces driving the need for this type of collaborative ecosystem?

We're in a fortunate position where our direction is largely influenced by what the banks are interested in at any given moment. This means we work on the most exciting proof-of-concept projects, whether they're external-facing tools or internal improvements. Successfully launching these projects can be transformative for the organisation. 

From this collaboration, we observe macro trends across the industry. There are always a few significant ones: a constant push to reduce costs, an ongoing focus on enhancing customer experience, and improve deposit growth. These areas generate numerous ideas that take various shapes and forms but align with these overarching goals.

One major trend, that's not surprising to anyone, is the rise of generative AI and AI technologies. These tools are higher risk, but their potential is well recognised. The sandbox environment we provide offers a safe space for experimenting with these innovative technologies.

If you're looking at the uptake and utilisation of the platform, do you see that any products are performing better? For example, is there a preference for testing AI products in the sandbox, or is it more spread out?

It's pretty spread out, but you're right. About a year ago, there was a significant focus on Web3 utilisation, which somewhat overshadowed AI. However, we're now seeing a resurgence in Web3. Digital assets and tokenisation use cases are coming back, and this trend runs parallel with the types of companies that large organisations are keen to test. Essentially, whatever the market is currently calling for, the companies that fit those needs are the ones generating the most excitement. Other areas of constant innovation include payments and fraud detection technology providers.

Absolutely. You've already touched on this, but customer onboarding and verification processes remain significant pain points for banks and FinTech’s due to extensive KYC requirements. What gaps do you see in current solutions that partners, like Sikoia, are aiming to address with innovation?

Yeah, customer onboarding and verification have two main challenges. On one side, there's the need to reduce the cost of customer acquisition. On the other, there's a very low tolerance for fraud. The simplest way to eliminate fraud is to onboard no customers, which isn't very sustainable.

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The gaps we see involve creating comprehensive, end-to-end solutions that balance these competing needs appropriately. This balance varies by organisation, depending on their risk appetite, regulations, and customer base—whether they are doing KYC or KYB. Ultimately, having a robust data layer, effective technology, and the ability to balance these factors is critical. 

Great insight. As you mentioned, innovations are moving forward, but regulations continue to add layers of complexity. With the introduction of open banking a few years ago, how do you think open banking and data sharing have enabled new partnership models? Additionally, how does NayaOne's marketplace approach help FinTechs and incumbents navigate the open finance ecosystem?

Open banking has allowed banks to launch new solutions to capture more wallet share by leveraging transaction data. NayaOne helps validate these solutions within a digital sandbox environment. We use synthetic or pseudo-anonymised data to simulate different scenarios without needing customer consent initially. This secure testing space helps validate solutions quickly and effectively, which would otherwise require numerous sign off and vendor onboarding steps. 

Exactly. Implementing these solutions without a sandbox takes significant time and poses internal risks. Sikoia recently became a partner of NayaOne’s Tech Marketplace. Could you expand on the value of this sandbox approach for financial innovation and explain what the marketplace aims to achieve for those unfamiliar with it?

NayaOne was founded to streamline the process of evaluating new vendors for large financial organisations. Traditionally, this process could take up to 18 months, involving business buy-in, procurement, and data sign off, which often leads to loss of momentum. Our tech marketplace compresses this timeline by enabling secure, isolated testing environments where banks can quickly validate technology providers. This approach reduces 80% time and costs for both financial institutions and FinTechs. We have pre-connected vendors in our digital sandbox, allowing banks to start testing immediately with readily available APIs and data. This efficiency helps drive down evaluation times and costs for all parties involved.

The marketplace is great, especially for larger enterprises and banks where direct implementation timelines can be very long and painful for both sides. From an incumbent perspective, what are the key benefits and risks to consider when evaluating partnership opportunities with fintech providers through platforms like NayaOne?

The primary benefits are reducing costs and time. Another key advantage is the ability to validate what you're doing upfront. For example, you might be concerned about a complex integration; our platform helps de-risk that process, ensuring you can implement quickly after procurement. You might also question the accuracy of an AI model. While sales teams may promise a lot, it's crucial to validate those claims. Our platform allows you to confirm a 80% reduction in processing time, for instance.

When evaluating these opportunities, it's essential to have clear business outcomes and success metrics. Additionally, adopting a mindset that ‘values failing fast’ is crucial. If a vendor isn't a good fit, you've only spent a few weeks, not another 16 months. This approach ensures that even if the idea is good but ahead of its time, you can quickly move on without significant loss.

Great points, and I agree that turning risks into opportunities is key. These processes can indeed be lengthy, so ensuring alignment on both sides is crucial for potential partnerships. Looking ahead, what future innovations and capabilities would you like to see FinTechs develop on NayaOne's marketplace to enhance services like customer onboarding and verification?

It's challenging to pinpoint, as there are many excellent companies covering almost the entire value chain. However, I get most excited about onboarding solutions designed for bank adoption. For example, fully automated KYC checks are fantastic for reducing time, but large organisations often require human-in-the-loop checks for certain confidence levels.

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Ensuring that solutions incorporate both automation and necessary human oversight is crucial. The goal is to edge towards as much automation as possible while maintaining low risk. Banks need assurance that AI won't fail, and having a balanced approach is essential.

That's a great approach. Especially for larger enterprises and banks, direct implementation timelines can be very long and painful. From an incumbent perspective, what are the key benefits and risks to be aware of when evaluating partnership opportunities with FinTech providers through platforms like NayaOne?

The main benefits are reducing costs and time. Another advantage is validating what you're doing upfront. For instance, you might be concerned about a complex integration; our platform helps de-risk that process, ensuring you can implement quickly after procurement. You might also question the accuracy of an AI model. While sales teams may promise a lot, it's crucial to validate those claims. Our platform allows you to confirm a 80% reduction in processing time, for example.

When evaluating these opportunities, it's essential to have clear business outcomes and success metrics. Additionally, adopting a mindset that values failing fast is crucial. If a vendor isn't a good fit, you've only spent a few weeks, not another 16 months. This approach ensures that even if the idea is good but ahead of its time, you can quickly move on without significant loss.

Absolutely. And I think, as you said, Sikoia is working on automating key parts of these processes. While we still need human interaction at times, it's essential to automate where possible. Depending on the company, this automation can cover a smaller or larger scope. 

Exactly. One thing I remember you’re working on is automated income verification. It’s fantastic if you can automatically determine an income, report it to the individual, and ask for their agreement. If they disagree, they'll inform you quickly. At that point, human intervention might be needed to resolve discrepancies. There are many solutions and methods to make this process work.

Absolutely. Internally, we use a system where certain issues flagged for review are passed on for human inspection. I assume different innovations in the marketplace have varied processes for addressing these needs. With AI being a tool still under development, seeing how it is implemented is fascinating. Shifting gears, looking back at your career, what recommendations would you have for professionals seeking to build cross-functional experience?

Building cross-functional capabilities often means being willing to say yes to new opportunities. Working in a scaling company like NayaOne, I’ve had the chance to wear many hats. This experience has allowed me to take on various roles, learn quickly, and make a difference. You will make mistakes, but that's part of the learning process.

Absolutely. Many of us start with a clear career path, only to end up somewhere completely different. What advice would you give your younger self or others starting out in fintech?

The earlier points are valid, but I'd add the importance of moving fast. Be willing to try new things, accept failures, and pivot quickly. In a smaller company, this agility is crucial. If an initiative works, double down on it. If it doesn’t, move on to the next idea. Constantly trying new initiatives is key to keeping things moving forward.

So, it comes down to daring to start, stopping if it doesn’t work, and then regrouping and moving in another direction. 

Exactly. Always aim for the same goal, but be flexible in your approach.

That wraps up the interview nicely. It’s similar to using the NayaOne tech marketplace—quickly testing new solutions and moving on if they don’t work, saving valuable time. 

A lovely parallel. I agree. 

Well, that's great. Oli, thank you so much for taking part. It's been wonderful having you.

It’s been lovely being here. Thanks for having me.

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