Ms. Elizabeth Rossiello

A female fintech founder/CEO leading one of the fastest-growing and truly pan-African fintechs. AZA Finance is a global fintech that is accelerating economic growth in Africa through its best-in-class foreign exchange, payments, settlement and treasury services. Elizabeth founded AZA Finance in 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya as BitPesa; AZA Finance has since expanded to offer a full suite of FX and payments services across all major African and G20 currencies, powered by its proprietary fintech platforms. To date, AZA Finance has managed more than $2 billion in global transactions for SMEs, global organisations and companies from more than 115 countries. Its incredible mission and growth was recognized by Fast Company in 2021 as a Global Top 10 Most Innovative Company. Elizabeth, and AZA Finance, strongly advocate for the promotion of monetary policy sovereignty in African economies and the reduction of reliance on the US dollar across Africa. Elizabeth is committed to expanding access to financial technologies and global markets. Elizabeth co-chairs the World Economic Forum’s Council on Blockchain in service of this vision, in addition to sitting on the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Global Advisory Board. She was recently named as a 2021 Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst. She served as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer for 2019 and participated as a member of the Digital Currency Governance Consortium. Elizabeth holds an M.A. in International Business and Finance from Columbia University.