Urafiki Lda
@urafikilda
Telecom policy director and fintech founder who built TiC-TaC’s WhatsApp payments platform end to end.
PortugalWhat I'm looking for
At INCM, I lead communications and statistics, national data governance, and performance reporting. I’ve led school connectivity with Giga (ITU–UNICEF), connecting 300 public schools in phase one and mapping around 12,900 schools.
I founded Urafiki and built TiC-TaC, a digital payments platform, including its WhatsApp commerce bot and Urafiki Pay gateway. I also bring hands-on experience in telecom regulation and software engineering, from developing Mozambique’s 5G spectrum allocation model to building production Linux infrastructure.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
Director of Communications and Statistics
INCM
Mar 2024 - Present (2 years 8 months)
Lead national strategy for data governance, performance monitoring, and statistical reporting across postal and telecommunications sectors. Oversee institutional communications and digital platforms, and coordinate strategic regulatory reforms including national roaming and postal sector modernisation.
Founder and Lead Developer
Urafiki, Lda.
Jan 2020 - Present (6 years 10 months)
Founded and built TiC-TaC, a multi-service digital platform for mobile airtime, electricity, water payments, TV subscriptions, and digital vouchers. Designed and coded a full WhatsApp commerce bot and built a hosted payment gateway for mobile money and card payments.
Head of Market Research and Development
INCM
Apr 2017 - Mar 2024 (6 years 11 months)
Led development and analysis of policy and regulatory frameworks for telecommunications, postal services, and radiocommunications. Led the study enabling the entry of the first LEO satellite data operator in Africa and developed the national 5G spectrum allocation model.
Software Developer and Engineer
INCM
Oct 2010 - Apr 2017 (6 years 6 months)
Coordinated TV White Spaces and IoT pilot in five provinces, designing a dynamic spectrum access algorithm and drafting national regulation. Implemented the Advanced Spectrum Management System and developed an emergency billing system for radiocommunication services.
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
Postdoctoral Research, Wireless ICT and the Internet of Things
2018 - 2023
Postdoctoral research in Wireless ICT and the Internet of Things at ICTP in Trieste, Italy, from 2018 to 2023.
Università della Svizzera italiana (USI)
PhD, Information and Communication Technologies for Development
2011 - 2015
PhD in Information and Communication Technologies for Development from USI in Lugano, Switzerland, from 2011 to 2015.
Osmania University
MSc, Computer Science and Information Systems
2008 - 2010
MSc in Computer Science and Information Systems from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, from 2008 to 2010.
Osmania University
BTech, Computer Applications
2005 - 2008
BTech in Computer Applications from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, from 2005 to 2008.
Tech stack
Software and tools used professionally
Availability
Location
PortugalAuthorized to work in
MozambiqueWebsite
tictac.co.mzSalary expectations
Job categories
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