The Rise of the Companion Card: Powering Africa’s Mobile-First Economy
July 30, 2025
In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Julius Abuje is joined by Alfred Mukudu, a Financial Services Go-To-Market Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Naima Yusuf, Head of Business Payments at M-Pesa Africa. Together, they dive into the growing role of companion cards in Africa's mobile money ecosystem.
In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Julius Abuje is joined by Alfred Mukudu, a Financial Services Go-To-Market Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Naima Yusuf, Head of Business Payments at M-Pesa Africa. Together, they dive into the growing role of companion cards in Africa's mobile money ecosystem.
What You’ll Learn:
- How companion cards differ from traditional cards
- Why mobile wallet integration is driving financial inclusion and expanding access to global eCommerce platforms
- The role of cloud technology in enabling secure, scalable, and cost-effective payment solutions
- Why customizable companion cards are outperforming traditional bank cards in African markets
- The future of borderless payments through mobile-first solutions and cross-border functionality
Alfred leads Go-To-Market Strategy and Business Development for Financial Services at AWS across Sub-Saharan Africa. He specializes in helping financial services customers optimize their cloud journey while dedicating time to identifying emerging industry trends and removing barriers to cloud adoption. His expertise in cloud infrastructure and financial technology enables institutions to build secure, scalable payment solutions that democratize access to financial services across Africa.
Naima is the Head of Business Payments at M-Pesa Africa, where she leads cross-border payments and remittance initiatives. With over seven years of experience in product management across local business, lending, and global payments, she brings deep expertise in mobile money solutions and financial inclusion. As a key leader at M-Pesa, she drives innovations in companion cards and digital payments, focusing on making financial services more accessible across Africa while ensuring security and customer-centric solutions.
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