Episode page and notes: https://buildersinfintech.ai/podcast/banking-in-central-asia-with-nika-kurdiani-episode-53

In this episode, I sit down with Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Uzbekistan.

Nika is the CEO of TBC Uzbekistan, one of the world's fastest-growing digital financial ecosystems, with more than 23 million registered users and 6 million monthly active users. He leads TBC Digital, the group's Uzbek holding company, and Space International, and sits on TBC Group's Executive Committee.

Over a career spanning more than 23 years, Nika has driven growth, transformation and post-acquisition integration across banking, payments, fintech, insurance and B2B SaaS in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. As Deputy CEO of TBC Bank Georgia, he oversaw business banking, payments, international expansion and the launch of the digital neobank Space. He also chaired the board of Payme, one of Uzbekistan's leading payment platforms, and held senior roles at UniCredit, Kaspi Bank and Bank of Georgia.

Beyond his executive work, Nika founded the Applied Management Institute and the Design Institute, invests in early-stage companies, and supports initiatives in education, food security and hospice care. He holds an MBA from IE Business School and completed executive programs at Stanford GSB and IMD.

A former professional basketball player, he received Uzbekistan's Presidential Order of Friendship (Dustlik) for his contribution to the country's financial sector.

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In this episode, I sit down with Nicolas Kipp, CEO and founder of Credibur.

Nicolas Kipp is a fintech entrepreneur, investor and financial services executive with extensive experience across lending, payments, risk management and embedded finance. He is currently Founder and CEO of Credibur, where he is building infrastructure to automate the management of structured credit transactions between alternative lenders and institutional capital providers.

Previously, Nicolas co founded Banxware, an embedded financial services provider enabling digital platforms to offer integrated financing products to merchants. Before that, he spent four years at Ratepay, ultimately serving as Chief Risk Officer, with responsibility for credit and fraud risk, KYC, compliance, data analytics and IT security.

He has also served on Bitkom’s board for Payments, FinTech and Digital Banking, advised the German Bundestag on artificial intelligence, and invests in and advises fintech, proptech and software companies across Europe and the US.

With him, we will be talking about the future of the fintech market in Europe, but also building trust in this market, and going from an executive to a founder role.

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In this episode, I sit down with Gaston Irigoyen, CEO and founder of Pomelo.

Gaston Irigoyen is the CEO and Co Founder of Pomelo, a Latin American payments infrastructure company serving more than 150 customers across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Since its launch in 2021, Pomelo has raised $160 million from investors including Kaszek, Monashees, Index, Insight, QED, and Endeavor Catalyst.

Before Pomelo, Gaston was CEO of Naranja X, where he helped build Argentina’s largest neobank to 9 million customers and cardholders. He also held leadership roles at Restorando, founded Guidecentral, and spent more than five years at Google, including as Manager of YouTube Partnerships. He is also a lecturer in entrepreneurship, fintech, and fundraising at Universidad de San Andrés.

With him, we will talk about the struggles of building a fintech company in Latam, but also the importance of payment rails and the complexity of managing payments globally.

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In this episode, I sit down with Kristy Kim, CEO and founder of Tomo Credit.

TomoCredit, a San Francisco fintech company focused on expanding access to financial services through technology. Since launching the business in 2019, she has led its development and the introduction of TomoIQ, an AI-powered financial advisor designed to support consumers in managing their financial lives.

Before founding TomoCredit, Kristy worked in business development at Credit Sesame and held investment roles at Kenetic, Oasis Labs and Vault12. She previously founded and led a venture-backed e-commerce company and served as Head of Global Business Development at Com2us Corporation, where she worked on international growth initiatives. Earlier in her career, she advised technology companies on mergers and acquisitions at J. Moore Partners, which later merged with B. Riley Financial.

Kristy is also a member of the Forbes Finance Council, where she contributes perspectives on fintech and personal finance. She holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and has served as a lecturer at Haas, teaching entrepreneurship and blockchain. Her background brings together financial expertise, startup leadership and a strong understanding of emerging technologies.

With her, we will talk about credit scoring in the US, fintech services and the importance of being in San Francisco to build your fintech startup.

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ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

In this episode, I sit down with Eridian Alpha, product strategy lead at ETHgas.

Eridian is the product strategy lead at ETHGas and an Ethereum builder focused on blockspace infrastructure, validator economics and the development of a real-time Ethereum network. At ETHGas, Eridian works on technology designed to transform Ethereum blockspace into a predictable and tradable commodity, supporting instant transaction settlement and applications that can shield users from volatile gas costs.

A long-standing participant in the Ethereum staking ecosystem, Eridian has operated solo validators and contributed educational resources for node operators, developers and community stakers. Eridian co-created the EthStaker Knowledge Base and maintains an extensive collection of open-source documentation covering Ethereum infrastructure, Solidity development, smart-contract security, MEV and decentralised finance.

Eridian has also built projects including High Signal, an engagement and reputation platform for Ethereum communities, and Pool Playground, an interactive tool for understanding decentralised exchange mechanics. Through technical development, education and ecosystem participation, Eridian works to make Ethereum faster, more accessible and easier to operate.

With him, we will talk about the current infrastructure behind many popular crypto projects, but about the future of the industry and the main trend in blockchain today.

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In this episode, I sit down with Martina Weimert, CEO and founder of EPI company, the corporation behind popular payment infrastructure Wero.

Martina has been supporting and guiding European banks and acquirers to build the foundation of the EPI company since the initiative was established in 2020, aiming to build an independent European solution and connect Europe’s payment industry.

With 20 years of experience in international payment consulting, she has in-depth experience in payments and payment solution set up, fintech, blockchain and retail banking in Europe, the Americas and Middle East. Prior to joining EPI company, she was a partner in financial services at Oliver Wyman in Paris, leading the European payment practice, and previously holding the position of Senior VP at Capgemini consulting and sales director for Deutsche Bank in France.

With her, we will talk about the importance of having an European independent and sovereign payment infrastructure, the resilience of new payment methods and the future of payments in the EU.

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ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

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Episode page and notes: https://buildersinfintech.ai/podcast/episode-47

In this episode, I sit down with Deniz Güven, CEO of Wamo.

Deniz Güven is a senior fintech and digital banking executive with extensive experience building financial services across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He is currently Group CEO and Chair of the Board at wamo, and has held leadership and board roles at AKTech, Platform XIT, Colendi, Trust Bank, and Beşiktaş JK.

Previously, Deniz served as CEO of Mox Bank in Hong Kong, the virtual bank backed by Standard Chartered, and held senior digital leadership roles at Standard Chartered and Garanti BBVA. His career spans digital banking, fintech ventures, product innovation, and alternative revenue streams. Deniz has also mentored fintech start ups through Garanti Partners and brings a global perspective on how digital platforms are reshaping financial services.

With him, we will talk about SMEs banking in Europe, but also about his incredible careers in banking across APAC and MENA, and the future of banking.

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ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/builders/id1767562838?l=en-GB

Amazon:https://podcasters.amazon.com/podcasts/a1f92635-a50e-4a0c-ac96-7daa09c4e853