Chief Operating Officer – Aptic Financial Group
Samo is a visionary product and operations leader with over a decade of experience building digital platforms, leading financial innovation, and scaling high-impact systems across East Africa. As COO and Chief Product Officer at Aptic Financial Group, he drives strategy and execution across credit, insurance, trade finance, and technology—designing the architecture that powers Aptic’s digital financial infrastructure. His role spans product development, process optimization, technology integration, and people leadership. He has led Aptic’s transformation into a digital-first company, shaping user-centric financial solutions for SMEs and delivering operational efficiency across business units.
Samo’s broader career includes serving as Chief Product Officer at Malaica, Director of Product at AltFutures, and leading Alternative Agency to over $10M in revenue. He has delivered award-winning digital platforms, from programmable SME banking to insurtech and healthtech innovations across Africa. A founder of Elastic FS, a next-generation digital bank for African SMEs, and a Bimalab Fellow, Samo is passionate about designing financial operating systems that empower entrepreneurship and economic inclusion. He holds executive certifications in Digital Transformation (Copenhagen Business School) and Innovative Finance (University of Cape Town). Samo’s leadership combines systems thinking, strategic clarity, and relentless execution—building for scale, speed, and purpose.