A startup needing its payment system scaled — architecture, mobile money/card rails, reconciliation fixes. Built one from 0 to $10M+ volume, doing it again now. Want real ownership of roadmap and architecture, not just a seat at the table. Remote, Rwanda.
Open to opportunities
shalu vaswani
@shaluvaswani
Fintech product exec, 10+ yrs. Built payment platforms 0-to-1 to $10M+ volume, 54+ clients. Ex-engineer turned product leader. Remote-based, Kigali.
RwandaWhat I'm looking for
I build payment platforms from zero and scale them into real revenue. Over 10+ years across Africa, India, and global markets, I've taken a payments gateway from inception to $10M+ in annual transaction volume across 54+ enterprise clients, delivering 45% YoY revenue growth while leading a cross-functional team of 12 across 3 countries. I'm currently doing it again — building a payments gateway and a savings platform from 0 to 1, designing the monetisation model and unit economics from scratch, and securing merchant partnerships ahead of launch with a $5M+ projected Year 1 volume.
What sets me apart is that I started as a software engineer — hands-on with core banking systems processing $100M+ annually, and payment gateway integrations across major card networks and mobile money operators. That means I can go deep on system architecture and API design directly with engineering teams, not just hand off a roadmap and hope it translates. I've built pricing models, evaluated and prioritised partnerships at board level, cut settlement times by 30%, automated reconciliation to save $50K annually, and built product functions from an empty org chart — defining roles, hiring, and mentoring the next generation of product managers.
I'm looking for fintech and payments companies that need someone who can own a product end-to-end: strategy, architecture, commercials, and team-building, without a lot of hand-holding. Fully remote-capable, based in Kigali, Rwanda, and experienced operating async across time zones and regulatory environments most product leaders haven't touched.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
Current
Head of Product Strategy and Innovation
kitovu
Jan 2026 - Present (6 months)
Leading product strategy for KitovuPay, building a payments gateway and Twese savings platform from 0 to 1. Secured first merchant partnership ahead of Q2 2026 launch, targeting $5M+ Year 1 volume. Own switch integrations (Rswitch, MTN, Airtel), monetisation, and board-level partnership calls.
IR
senior Product Manager
Irembo
Jan 2022 - Dec 2025 (3 years 11 months)
Scaled IremboPay to 54+ enterprise clients, $10M+ annual volume, 45% YoY revenue growth. Secured exec approval for subscription pricing. Boosted accuracy to 98%, cut settlement times 30%. Led 12-person cross-functional team across 3 countries. Automated reconciliation, saving $50K/yr, and streamlined API deployment for faster partner integration.
IR
Senior Software Engineer
Irembo
Mar 2020 - Dec 2021 (1 year 9 months)
Launched IremboPay payment gateway, processing $5M+ in its first year and becoming a core company asset. Integrated card, mobile money and bank transfer channels into a scalable cloud-hosted platform, increased backend processing speed 16% and reduced PCI-DSS audit findings by 27%.
Developed and deployed SaaS product features in JavaScript and Python, maintaining 99.9% uptime for enterprise clients. Built API integrations for 14+ partners, improving data exchange efficiency and raising client satisfaction by 21%.
TS
Enhanced TCS BaNCS core banking platform for 24+ financial institutions, supporting $100M+ in annual transaction processing. Delivered system integrations and optimizations that improved processing efficiency by 16% and enabled smoother migrations.
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
Paris School of Business
Executive Master of Business Administration, Business Administration
2025 - 2026
Grade: 8
Activities and societies: I have specialisations in Leadership, Strategic Management, Product Strategy, Innovation
Pursuing an Executive MBA focused on leadership, strategic management, product strategy, and innovation at Paris School of Business.
GS
Gyan Ganga Institute of Technology and Sciences
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Engineering
Completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) at Gyan Ganga Institute of Technology and Sciences.
Tech stack
Software and tools used professionally
Availability
Open to opportunities
Location
RwandaAuthorized to work in
Salary expectations
72k-96k USD
Social media
Job categories
Skills
AgilePayment SystemsProduct StrategyAPI IntegrationSystems ArchitectureCore BankingPayment ProcessingSettlementsAutomated Reconciliation SystemsCross Border PaymentsMobile PaymentsCard PaymentPCI ComplianceFraud PreventionData AnalyticsBusiness IntelligenceSQLPythonWorkflow AutomationScalabilitySaaS PlatformsMarket AnalysisKPI TrackingPredictive AnalyticsGo To MarketProduct RoadmappingStakeholder ManagementTechnical DocumentationPerformance OptimizationSecurity ComplianceProcess ImprovementUser ResearchA B TestingEnterprise SolutionsGitHubJiraNotionMiroFigmaConfluenceTrelloGoogle AnalyticsAmplitudeMixpanelProductboardTableauIntercomSlackAsanaMicrosoft TeamsPower BIZapierJavaScriptCyberSource
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