The Accidental Fintech Career: From Malawi to Scaling Chipper Cash & Ebanx | Wiza Jalakasi

How do you build an "accidental" career in fintech? Wiza Jalakasi, famously known as "the African fintech guy" and now Director of African Expansion at Ebanx, joins Samora Kariuki to trace his remarkable journey.It's a story that begins with selling games on floppy disks in Malawi, moves through a failed startup, and lands him at the center of scaling both Africa's Talking and Chipper Cash during their hyper-growth phases. Wiza shares the unique "cheat code" that let him spot Chipper's rise, the hard lessons from his first failure, and the self-awareness that has guided his career.This entire journey culminates in his current work at Ebanx, where he's solving one of the most complex, invisible problems in global tech: how do the world's largest companies collect local payments in Africa, and more importantly, how do they compliantly get their money out in USD?In this episode, you’ll learn:How Wiza's early hustles (like selling games on floppy disks) and a failed startup built the foundation for his fintech career.The "cheat code" at Africa's Talking that let him spot Chipper Cash's explosive growth before anyone else.The core problem: Why global brands can't just "plug into" M-Pesa or OPay themselves.The harsh reality of global priorities: why a 2% payment optimization in the US can be worth more than launching in all of Nigeria.The invisible hurdles of cross-border payments: breaking down the hidden pillars of local licensing, tax compliance, and especially treasury (getting USD out).Why Africa's "prepaid psychology" clashes with the subscription models that power the global internet, and how Ebanx solves it.A $10M startup idea Wiza would build today: chargeback automation for African PSPs.