Europe Archives - FinTech Silicon Valley

Kamyar Naficy, Founder/Principal KNECTCOMMS

February 22, 2024February 25, 2022 by Pemo Theodore

Kamyar Naficy is the Founder and Principal of KNECTCOMMS, a marketing and communications consultancy to the finance, technology and fintech sectors. He previously worked in senior marketing and communications roles at JP Morgan, London Stock Exchange Group and UniCredit. He holds a BA from the London School of Economics and an MPhil (Masters) in Management Studies from Cambridge University.

Mark Straub, CoFounder/CEO Smile Identity

February 22, 2024December 22, 2021 by Pemo Theodore

Mark Straub is the Co-founder and CEO of Smile Identity, the leading digital KYC and identity verification provider in Africa. He has spent much of his career trying to help people in underserved markets get access to better opportunities through technology and entrepreneurship. Mark was a venture investor for a decade, and worked with over 20 companies doing business in adtech, fintech, healthcare, and energy in markets ranging from the US and China to India and Sub-Saharan Africa. Working with Vinod Khosla at Khosla Impact, he led investments in Kopo Kopo, NeoGrowth, Milaap, Branch, and Flutterwave; and he was an investor in all three of Elon Musk’s companies during his time at DFJ.

FinTech in Europe: EU Finance Director meets FinTech Silicon Valley companies #fintecheu

February 23, 2024May 29, 2019 by Pemo Theodore

EU meets FinTech Silicon Valley companies @AngelRush Ventures @Aqaix @Circle @dczd.tech @Earnup @FACERE25 @InCountry @Kieretsu Capital @OFX @Pactum Capital @SF Growth Labs @Sheppard Mullin @SnapCheck @Tipaliti @Token @Zynergy Capital @Identity #fintechEU

Our Latest Podcasts

FinTech Silicon Valley

FinTech Silicon Valley podcasts are focused on educating and highlighting FinTech in Silicon Valley to the global community both through video and audio. These podcasts are short and fun, one on one interviews by FinTech Silicon Valley journalists with experts and investors on how they are contributing to the community and what their perspective is on the future of FinTech.

Sankaet Pathak, Founder & CEO Synapse completed a Master’s in electrical engineering at the University of Memphis, where he previously majored in computer engineering, physics and mathematics. A scientist at heart, much of Pathak’s academic work was focused on physics and research related to the solar corona. As a student at the University of Memphis and a recent immigrant to the USA, Sankaet Pathak needed to open a bank account. He was surprised to learn that wasn’t an easy task. Sankaet knew he had to develop a better option not only for himself but for the over 20% of adults in the USA with poor or limited credit history. Sankaet founded Synapse with an eye toward offering a viable alternative to legacy banking systems, while providing operational simplicity, efficiency & ease of integration to perform virtually any banking interaction. Sankaet is launching an AI startup soon called Foundation. Foundation is developing the future of general purpose robotics with the goal to address the labor shortage. Foundation’s mission is to create advanced robots that can operate in complex environments, reducing human risk in conflict zones and enhancing efficiency in labor-intensive industries.