Tayo Oviosu, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the mobile payments company Paga, took to Twitter, yesterday, to share his entrepreneurial experience.
In a question and answer session he created as part of the company’s ten anniversary celebration, Mr Oviosu answered many finance and entrepreneurship-related questions that were asked by his followers.
On succeeding in a market many fear to venture
Tayo Ovisou said it has not been easy running his business because the market is already saturated with many operators. However, the fact that he has remained relevant ten years after starting the business, is something he is very grateful for. He also stated that he is fortunate to have the best team members.
He added that working with Cisco also taught him how a smaller company can actually out-execute larger companies with serious dedication.
I also think my experience at @cisco corporate development taught me how a small team, smaller company, can out-execute a large company. Companies always worried about BIG Cisco. But internally we always had huge respect for smaller focused companies.#AskTayo
— Tayo Oviosu (@oviosu) April 4, 2019
On whether he previous knowledge on finance/banking sector prior to founding Paga
Mr Oviosu said he never had any prior experience in banking and finance prior to founding the company. When asked if he had earlier worked with any financial institution, he said no.According to him, he was only able to learn from various people. He also had meetings which helped him understand the sector.
About raising Paga’s first finance
In Oviosu’s perspective, raising fiance for a business is never an easy thing to do. He realised this after starting his company in 2009. Consequently, he had to come to terms with the reality and face it.
He recounted how his uncle introduced him to a wealthy Nigerian businessman when he needed to raise N1m for his company. He also noted the need to improve one’s network, as well as knowing the right time to make use of one’s network of people.
Here is Part 3 of a 5 part series to share some of the stories and lessons from my entrepreneurial journey over the past 10 years with Paga @mypaga
Part 3: "Raising Paga's First Financing"https://t.co/IddK3wvjVZ
— Tayo Oviosu (@oviosu) April 4, 2019
How the idea for Paga came about
When asked how the idea to create a financial solution like Paga came to him, Tayo said he never planned to be in the fintech business until he found out that there was a problem with transactions. He felt the need to solve the problem and that led to founding of Paga.
Paul, I didn't start out wanting to be in "fintech" – I wanted to solve a problem I had – carrying cash around with me – then I realized billions have the same problem. My advice is to focus on solving problems a lot of people have. #AskTayo
— Tayo Oviosu (@oviosu) April 4, 2019
