Team
Our team brings together experience across investing, operating, research, and product. We work across San Francisco, Paris, and Lagos, backing founders early with a combination of conviction, context, and long-term partnership.
Core team
General Partner
Stephen has spent over a decade investing in African technology, with a portfolio that includes companies such as Andela, NALA, and Terra Industries. He brings deep founder relationships, a long view on African markets, and a strong instinct for where important systems become enduring companies. Before DFS, he worked at the Gates Foundation covering fintech and other emerging technologies. He holds a BA and MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.
General Partner
Jake brings deep research and economic perspective to the firm. Before DFS, he led research and emerging technologies work within the fintech team at the Gates Foundation, where he worked on major projects in financial inclusion. Earlier in his career, he was an economist at the World Bank. At DFS, he helps connect structural shifts in markets and institutions to where technology can matter most. He holds a PhD in Economics from UC Santa Cruz and a BS in Physics from MIT.
Partner, Head of Entrepreneur Support
Joseph brings the perspective of a founder, operator, and product builder. He was part of the founding team at Moniepoint and has helped build products and companies across banking, payments, and software. As a Y Combinator founder himself, he brings a firsthand understanding of the intensity and ambiguity of early-stage company-building. At DFS, he works closely with founders on product, execution, and the realities of building from the inside.
Research Lead
Veethi leads DFS's research agenda, designing studies and synthesizing findings that inform both our investment thesis and our published work. She brings rigorous quantitative and qualitative methods to questions about digital commerce, fintech adoption, and the lived experience of consumers in emerging markets.
Senior Research Analyst
Leila supports the research team across market analysis, primary data collection, and synthesis of findings on digital financial services and commerce trends. Her work bridges academic rigor and practical investor insight.
Network
We work with a network of practitioners who bring deep domain expertise across financial services, policy, and technology across Africa and beyond.
Buhle Golsar
Former CEO, Jumo
Nazu Muinde
Director, Strategy for Open Banking Europe, Mastercard
Billy Owino
Former CEO, TransUnion Kenya
Arunjay Katakam
Financial Inclusion Expert; Author, The Power of Micromoney Transfers
Osarumen Osamuyi
Technology & Media Analyst; Former African Messaging Platforms Lead, Meta
Sandisiwe Ncube
Development Economist
Nasir Ingawa
Public Policy Specialist; Former Financial Inclusion Lead, Kaduna State Government
Saude Amina Atoyebi
Public Sector Expert; Board of Directors, EFInA; Former Deputy Chief of Staff, Kaduna State
Dr. Swati Mehta Dhawan
Expert, Financial Inclusion
Sephora Tshiyombo
Expert, Digital Financial Services
Sharon Kinyanjui
Payments Specialist; Former Head of EMEA, WorldRemit
Rafael Mazer
Former Director, Consumer Protection, Innovations for Poverty Action
Irma Grunding
Statistician; Head of Survey Design for 40+ nationally representative surveys
We're always interested in connecting with researchers, operators, and builders who care about the same problems we do.