We were lucky to catch up with Joseph Elvis Akwaah Lamptey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joseph Elvis Akwaah , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
My confidence and self-esteem was developed right from primary school where I had traits of leadership hence proceeded to take on leadership positions. My peers looked up to me in decision making and I always was the mouthpiece of my peers as well as the protector. I gained further confidence in taking roles that enabled me to speak in front of the whole student body without fear. Gradually, I moved to secondary school and took up MC roles for events and fully developed my confidence and self-esteem knowing that I was knowledgeable in the things I indulge in.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As Director of Growth for a UK based Fintech focused on international money transfers, I focus on bringing smiles to businesses, families and friends through the seamless connection between the diaspora and Africa. I ensure the Africa diaspora do not disconnect from the families and friends back home by identifying them, onboarding them and ensuring I give them the best rates to keep themselves and the relatives in Africa beaming with smiles via PayAngel, the go-to cross-border remittances app trusted by the UK, US, Australia, EU & Canada. In addition to overseeing customer acquisition I ensure I make these customers happy and retain them by giving them a great user experience and also reward them from time to time for their loyalty. I am the pivotal revenue generation lead for the business, ensuring the business grows and surpasses year on year what comes in as revenue to ensure business continuity. My delight comes from the continuous beam of smile when instant transfers hit recipient wallets and senders receive that instant notification. It gives me hope that we are on a good cause connecting families that are geographically wide apart with a button. After years of doing P2P we have evolved into a company that can serve business markets hence the new chapter of B2B payments which looks rather exciting.
In all this excitement, I also recognised a gap in the supply chain industry in Africa where opaque pricing, inefficient logistics and limited access to diverse products emanating from a fragmented B2B e-commerce market which has a potential to grow $384.2bn by 2025, needed a tech revolution to resolve. The quest to provide a solution to make an impact by solving a need is what propelled me to be the Co-Founder of Kaya B2B Multi-vendor Marketplace, the next generation online marketplace designed to revolutionise commerce in Africa and beyond. Kaya offers a one-stop shop solution for manufacturers, distributors and retailers by promoting efficient transactions, streamlined logistics and cost savings to users.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Loyalty has played a very keen role in my professional development. The foresight to believe in an idea and stay committed to it and its enforcers even when the future is uncertain is something I pat myself on the back every time I access how far I’ve come in my career.
My people skills and knowledge of the importance of relationships and networking has propelled me to sail smooth through my career and even my personal achievements. Most of my success has come through professional recommendations through past relationships that testify of my output and value to my will-be employers. The best asset anyone can have I believe is great people skills.
Also, effective communication has been key to my successful career. Develop the ability to speak well and write well and you’ll move up the corporate ladder. Capitalise on effective communication and put yourself up for tasks, even as a volunteer, to be the mouthpiece of every team you find yourself in. The ability to communicate effectively has opened more doors and connections that I would have ever envisaged if I didn’t have that skill.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
As I envision revolutionising the B2B e-commerce industry in Africa, the next phase is to collaborate or partner with investors who believe in the Kaya dream and are willing and able to support with funding, mentoring and coaching to ensure the vision to connect all manufacturers, distributors and retailers across Africa comes to fruition.
Angel Investors & VCs are welcome to embark on the Kaya journey to make an impact while’s making profits.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
