Shaik - CTO

Technology executive driving financial innovation

25+ YEARS OF LEADERSHIP

🇺🇸 New Jersey, USA 🇬🇧 London, UK 🇲🇾 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 🇦🇪 Dubai, UAE 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany 🇲🇿 Maputo, Mozambique 🇹🇿 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Chief Technology Officer and Technology Executive with 25+ years of experience driving technology strategy, digital transformation, innovation, and enterprise modernization across Banking, FinTech, Digital Payments, Mobile Money, Insurance, and Financial Services. Throughout my career, I have successfully transformed technology organizations into strategic business enablers by aligning innovation, operations, cybersecurity, governance, and digital capabilities with business objectives, regulatory requirements, and long-term growth strategies.

My experience spans Digital Banking Platforms, Mobile Money Wallets, Payment Gateways, Merchant Ecosystems, Super Apps, Lending Platforms, Insurance Systems, Enterprise Integration Platforms, Open Banking APIs, Cloud Transformation, Cybersecurity, Data Platforms, Artificial Intelligence, and large-scale financial technology ecosystems. I have led the development, modernization, stabilization, and scaling of mission-critical platforms serving millions of customers, agents, merchants, and enterprise users across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

As a Board-facing technology leader, I work closely with Boards, CEOs, Regulators, Auditors, Investors, and Executive Leadership Teams to define technology vision, enterprise architecture, governance frameworks, cybersecurity strategies, digital transformation roadmaps, investment priorities, risk management approaches, and innovation agendas. I have successfully led multi-million-dollar technology portfolios, enterprise-wide modernization programs, operational turnaround initiatives, platform stabilization efforts, and strategic vendor partnerships that delivered measurable business outcomes, accelerated digital adoption, strengthened regulatory compliance, enhanced operational resilience, and enabled sustainable business growth.

My leadership experience includes driving the transformation of digital payment ecosystems, mobile money platforms, digital banking solutions, insurance technology platforms, and financial inclusion initiatives. I have successfully led the design and implementation of Digital Banking Platforms, Mobile Wallets, Payment Gateways, Merchant Acquiring Solutions, Agency Banking, Cross-Border Payments, Lending Platforms, Insurance Systems, Digital KYC, Video KYC, AI-powered Credit Engines, Decision Engines, Enterprise Data Platforms, Customer Self-Service Ecosystems, and API-driven digital platforms.

I possess extensive expertise in Enterprise Architecture, Cloud & Infrastructure Strategy, Cybersecurity, DevSecOps, Software Engineering, Technology Operations, NOC & SOC Management, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Technology Governance, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, Vendor Management, and Large-Scale Transformation Program Delivery. I have built and led high-performing technology organizations comprising software engineering, infrastructure, cybersecurity, architecture, DevOps, QA, product delivery, and operations teams while managing multi-million-dollar budgets and complex technology ecosystems.

I have successfully led organizations through governance, quality, security, and compliance initiatives aligned with ISO standards, audit and regulatory frameworks, cybersecurity assessments, operational resilience programs, and CMMI maturity practices. My experience includes establishing governance structures, strengthening internal controls, improving audit readiness, standardizing delivery processes, implementing risk management frameworks, and driving continuous improvement initiatives that enhanced operational excellence and organizational maturity.

I am passionate about leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI, Machine Learning, Intelligent Automation, Data Analytics, and Emerging Technologies to improve customer experience, strengthen fraud prevention, optimize risk management, automate operations, accelerate innovation, and unlock new business opportunities. My focus is on transforming technology into a strategic growth engine that enables financial inclusion, operational excellence, customer trust, regulatory compliance, and long-term enterprise value creation.

My mission is to build secure, scalable, resilient, AI-powered, and future-ready technology organizations that drive business growth, support digital economies, accelerate innovation, strengthen governance, and create lasting impact through visionary leadership, execution excellence, and continuous transformation.

End-to-End Technology Value Chain

My expertise spans the entire technology lifecycle—from establishing board-level IT strategy and enterprise architecture to overseeing rigorous software engineering, managing complex infrastructure operations, and ensuring uncompromising cybersecurity and regulatory compliance across global markets.

Core domain expertise

Digital Banking Platforms

Architecting and scaling comprehensive core banking replacements and modern digital-first banking solutions.

Mobile Money Wallets

Designing closed and open-loop mobile wallet ecosystems for financial inclusion and seamless peer-to-peer transfers.

Payment Gateways

Building high-throughput, low-latency payment processing engines with multi-currency and cross-border capabilities.

Major Ecosystems

Successfully delivered and scaled flagship regional FinTech platforms including AzamPesa, AzamPay, and AnnapurnaPay.

Cybersecurity & Compliance

End-to-end security governance: VAPT, PCI-DSS, SOC2, AML/KYC, AWS GuardDuty/WAF. Reduced incidents by 30%.

Agency Banking & Interoperability

Building agent network platforms, merchant acquiring, QR payments, and cross-system interoperability frameworks.

Insurance Technology

Architecting InsurTech platforms covering digital policy issuance, claims automation, and embedded insurance within FinTech ecosystems.

Financial Services & NBFC

Leading end-to-end technology for NBFCs, MFIs, and financial services firms including lending platforms, credit engines, and regulatory reporting.

AI/ML Credit & Decision Engines

Designing AI/ML-powered Credit Engines and Decision Engines for critical underwriting in Finance & Insurance — enabling fast, accurate, data-driven loan approvals and risk assessments for SME, MSME, and MFI businesses at scale.

Digital eKYC & eSign

Implementing Digital eKYC, Video KYC, CKYC, eSign, and e-Stamping solutions enabling fully paperless customer onboarding, regulatory compliance, and seamless digital journeys across lending and insurance.

Business Impact Highlights

Delivering measurable, quantifiable results at the intersection of technology, finance, and innovation.

10x

Transaction Scale

Engineered high-throughput payment platforms scaling to 1000+ TPS, handling explosive transaction growth across multiple markets without performance degradation or downtime.

99.99%

Platform Uptime

Maintained continuous availability for mission-critical digital banking, payment, and mobile money services through active-active DR architecture, Blue-Green deployments, and 24x7 NOC operations.

Regulatory Audits Passed

Successfully led organizations through Big 4 audits achieving full compliance with PCI-DSS, SOC2, AML/KYC, GDPR, and Central Bank regulatory frameworks — establishing strong governance, internal controls, and audit-ready technology operations.

40%

Faster Deployments via AI & DevOps

Accelerated engineering delivery by 40% through CI/CD pipelines, test automation, container orchestration, and DevSecOps practices — augmented by AI tools including GitHub Copilot, Postman AI, New Relic AI, and Appknox to improve code quality, API testing, observability, and security scanning.

1000+

TPS Platform Capacity

Architected and delivered high-throughput payment platforms targeting 1000+ transactions per second with zero-downtime via Blue-Green deployments, active-active DR architecture, Kafka, RabbitMQ, and HAProxy — ensuring resilience, fault tolerance, and scalability across multi-country operations.

$M+

Technology Budgets Managed

Successfully presented and secured multi-million-dollar technology infrastructure and cybersecurity investment strategies at Board level — aligning technology investments directly with business growth objectives and market expansion priorities.

Career Journey

Work Experience

Chief Technology OfficerAug 2025 – Present

AzamPesa / AzamPay — Bakhresa Group · Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Driving evolution of AzamPesa into a One-Stop Digital Super App — wallet, merchant ecosystem, payment gateway, interoperability & digital financial services across Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda & Uganda.
Defined platform scalability roadmap targeting 1000+ TPS with zero-downtime via Blue-Green deployment and active-active DR architecture aligned with Central Bank requirements.
Established enterprise-wide technology strategy covering infrastructure, network, cybersecurity, software engineering, QA, and 24x7 NOC operations for a regulated Electronic Money Institution (EMI).
Strengthened infrastructure: VM clusters, Kafka, RabbitMQ, HAProxy; asynchronous microservices architecture improving platform performance and fault tolerance.
Implemented DevSecOps model integrating security scanning, code review & compliance validation within CI/CD; introduced QA automation and production release quality gates.
Designed third-tier Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity framework; automated reconciliation, settlement, transaction monitoring & fraud management.
Presented multi-million-dollar infrastructure & cybersecurity investment strategy to Board — secured full approval.
Led end-to-end architecture: Mobile Wallet, Payment Gateway, Merchant Payments, Agent Banking, Super App, Agent App & Enterprise Payment Gateway.
Managed multi-million-dollar technology budget and vendor ecosystem across multi-country operations.
Built and led cross-functional teams across infrastructure, network, cybersecurity, development, QA & NOC — Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda & Uganda.
Established engineering governance: coding standards, QA practices, release management, and production deployment controls.
Designed centralized monitoring across infrastructure, applications, network, and security layers using ELK, Grafana & Prometheus.
Implemented settlement automation, real-time fraud detection, and daily reconciliation pipelines reducing financial discrepancies.
Established highly resilient infrastructure architecture with clustered high availability, zero-downtime deployment, and automated failover mechanisms.
Designed enterprise network architecture with ISP redundancy, traffic load balancing, and secure connectivity for mission-critical payment platforms.
Implemented robust cybersecurity governance including VAPT programs, vulnerability scanning, fraud monitoring, and secure SDLC practices.
Led internal and external audit readiness including Central Bank compliance, security audits, and operational risk assessments.
Directed end-to-end software development lifecycle including architecture, development, QA automation, and release governance.
Established QA frameworks including automated testing, performance testing, and production release quality gates.
Built customer support and agent support applications improving operational efficiency and customer experience.
Led integration with banks, MNOs, payment switches, TIPS, card networks, and third-party ecosystems.
Established platform observability using New Relic, centralized logging, proactive monitoring, and automated incident response.

Head Software R&D / CTOMay 2025 – Jul 2025

Maximo Group · Maputo, Mozambique

Led bank technology modernization aligned with Central Bank policies — eKYC, open banking APIs, real-time payments, digital identity.
Established in-house software development function for digital banking products and mobile onboarding systems.
Oversaw hybrid infrastructure: on-premises data center + secure cloud for data sovereignty & regulatory compliance.
Rolled out enterprise DevOps, CI/CD, container orchestration; enhanced IAM, SIEM & endpoint protection posture.
Led integration with banks, MNOs, payment switches, TIPS, card networks; established observability with New Relic.
Developed a comprehensive IT governance framework, defining organization IT policies and embedding regulatory compliance, risk management, and audit readiness into the technology delivery lifecycle.
Actively coordinated with internal audit, compliance, and risk functions to ensure regulatory audit readiness and adherence to frameworks.
Led the enhancement of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCP/DR) strategies ensuring continuity of critical services in line with regulatory resilience expectations.
Managed key technology vendor relationships and service contracts, ensuring third-party compliance, cost efficiency, and secure integration with internal systems.
Facilitated cross-functional collaboration with regulators, internal stakeholders, and fintech partners to support innovation while maintaining regulatory alignment.
Engaged with strategic technology vendors to evaluate and implement HR & Payroll and CRM platform solutions, enabling rapid deployment for workforce management and customer engagement.

FinTech Head IT — AVPDec 2020 – Apr 2025

Annapurna Finance

Built AnnapurnaPay (UPI Super App) — live on Play Store, driving 54% of total customer collections for lending & payments.
Led UPI, BBPS, eNACH, eMandate, Digital KYC, CKYC, TPAP/UPI Plug-In with NPCI & NSDL e-stamping, ensuring RBI compliance.
Designed digital lending platform (STP/Customer Self Journey) — automated loan application, approval & disbursement for MSME & MFI including Digital JIT Product.
Implemented AI/ML credit engine & decision engine; built AFPLOne internal staff super app for loan processing, payments & HR.
End-to-end AWS cloud: EC2, S3, IAM, Network Firewall, Container Security, Security Hub, Inspector, GuardDuty & WAF.
Led WhatsApp AI bots for automated loan processing, payment transactions & customer support.
Passed Big 4 audits: PCI-DSS, SOC2, AML/KYC, and GDPR compliance.
Implemented Bank Statement Analysis, e-Sign, e-Stamping, eNach, eMandate/UPI Mandate, NEFT, RTGS & CKYC integrations.
Led TPAP & UPI Plug-In with NPCI; collaborated with NSDL for secure e-stamping solutions.
Developed Group Lending Model (GLM) digital workflow automating field-officer disbursements for 500k+ MFI customers.
Managed cross-functional teams of 100+ across engineering, QA, DevOps, compliance, and product for all digital initiatives.
Implemented Digital JIT Product for MFI customers and STP/Customer Self-Journey for MSME loan automation end-to-end.
Directed IT operations for FinTech solutions, ensuring full adherence to RBI regulations and successfully passing internal and external audits with Big 4 audit firms.

Senior Project Manager – Head ITJun 2015 – Sep 2020

Jayam Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Delivered ERP (LOS, LMS, Digital Payments) for 23+ banking, fintech, NBFC & MFI clients.
Managed 60+ cross-functional teams through full SDLC; improved time-to-market by 25% via Agile.
Managed project scope, budgets, and timelines — delivering projects on time and within budget while optimizing processes for efficiency.
Established strong client relationships through regular communication, requirements gathering, and consultative problem-solving — resulting in repeat business and high customer satisfaction.
Managed risk assessment and issue resolution, proactively identifying and addressing technical, regulatory, and financial project risks to minimize delays and cost overruns.
Supervised and mentored junior project managers, fostering a high-performance culture and improving project delivery outcomes across the team.
Optimized databases to improve performance; created reporting (AS) for critical reports like PAR, Outstanding, and LIVE dashboards; delivered Mobile APP for collection and lead generation.

Senior PM – IT Head Offshore DeliveryApr 2013 – May 2015

GfK

Led 150+ engineers across UK, US, Malaysia, Czech Republic & Germany; delivered GfK.com, GfKConnect & C3PO.
Cleared CMMI Level audits with Big 4 firms; led CRM, Datamart & SAP integration using BizTalk; managed full SDLC of multiple concurrent projects using Waterfall & Agile frameworks.
Collaborated with senior leadership to define and implement long-term technology strategies, aligning offshore teams with company goals.
Identified opportunities to improve customer experience and grow business from inception to fruition — developing market share, brand, and profits.
Assisted in planning and setting up shared services processes and transformation operations using offshore delivery procedures.

Project Manager – SW/ITJun 2004 – Mar 2013

Kantar ITP – TNS · Growth: Team Lead (2004–07) → PM (2008–13)

Led CRM Web portal for Kantar and facilitated development of system requirements and use cases (Visio); managed production servers (application and database) through the full deployment lifecycle.
Developed Project Charter, Scope, SOW, Project Plan, Risk Register, Change Requests (CR), and Stakeholder Status Reports.
Maintained project reviews, technical designs, and functional design documents based on client meetings and CRs.
Collected sign-offs from clients on various projects and submitted formal documents in SharePoint Content Management System (CMS).

Software EngineerJun 2003 – Mar 2004

ING – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Developed and maintained application code; performed peer code reviews ensuring quality, maintainability, and adherence to coding standards.
Wrote and reviewed database scripts; optimized SQL queries to improve application performance and reduce processing times.
Implemented data archiving strategies to manage data growth and improve database efficiency.
Developed web applications and standalone executable applications supporting core business operations.

Software DeveloperDec 1999 – Mar 2000

Jayam Solutions – Hyderabad, India

Chief Technology Officer