Former vice president at Mastercard, Nile Younis, has left the international conglomerate to join cross-border payment startup, Klasha, as chief commercial officer (CCO).
Younis is joining Klasha to build out its commercial infrastructure so more international businesses can access the African market via Klasha. Younis’s 10–year experience at Mastercard will be leveraged to provide a seamless cross-border experience for African consumers.
Younis’s addition to the Klasha team follows the company’s announcement of a $4.5 million seed round backed by Amex Ventures and Global Ventures. In his new role, Younis will create and implement Klasha’s commercialisation plan, which will include structuring and expanding the organisation to drive essential market adoption of the company’s products and services.
Joining Klasha with fresh perspectives and cultural diversity, he will also ensure flexibility in the execution procedures, be responsible for profitable revenue growth, and collaborate with the team to realise Klasha’s primary objective of closing the e-commerce gap between Africa and the rest of the world.
Jess Anuna, CEO and founder of Klasha, said in a statement shared with TechCabal, “Nile’s experience will add immediate upstream and downstream value to Klasha as we bullishly scale the business this year.” She added that Younis’s background would be valuable for building the infrastructure needed to provide a seamless cross-border experience for African customers.
In a press statement shared with TechCabal, Younis commented that by 2025 half of the world’s working population will live and work in Africa and hopes that Klasha can provide value by leveraging the vast opportunities available in the African e-commerce sector.
