# Ola Oyetayo

> Ola Oyetayo is the London-based Nigerian co-founder and CEO of Verto, a business payments and foreign-exchange platform focused on emerging markets. A chartered accountant with experience at American Express, Barclays and Lloyds Bank, he co-founded Verto with Anthony Oduu in 2018. The company joined Y Combinator’s winter 2019 batch and won the $1 million Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech in May 2025.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Verto
- **Organizations:** Verto, Iwe-League, American Express, Barclays, Lloyds Bank
- **From:** Lagos, Nigeria
- **Nationality:** Nigerian
- **Education:** King’s College, Lagos, Oxford Brookes University, ACCA
- **Known for:** Co-founded Verto in 2018 and led it as CEO., Verto was selected for Y Combinator’s winter 2019 batch., Verto won the $1 million Grand Prize in the 2025 Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2018** — Qualified as a chartered accountant and worked in finance, including American Express, Barclays and Lloyds Bank.
- **2017** — Discussed international payment problems with Anthony Oduu during poker games.
- **2018** — Co-founded Verto; its early currency-exchange service operated through an informal WhatsApp group.
- **2019** — Verto participated in Y Combinator’s winter batch.
- **2021** — Verto raised a $10 million Series A led by Quona Capital.
- **2025** — Verto won the $1 million Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech.
- **2026** — Published a guest essay on AI in payment operations; Verto launched a multi-currency corporate card with Visa in September.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Verto in 2018 and led it as CEO.
- Verto was selected for Y Combinator’s winter 2019 batch.
- Verto won the $1 million Grand Prize in the 2025 Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech.
- Co-founded Iwe-League, which supports secondary education for underprivileged children in Nigeria.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Discussed international card acceptance and the needs of African businesses in a Disrupts interview published October 12.
- **2026-09** — Verto announced its multi-currency corporate card partnership with Visa on September 21.
- **2026-07** — Published a Frontier Fintech guest essay on AI in onboarding, routing and internal knowledge tools; reported Verto processed over $25 billion in payment volume in 2025.
- **2025-05** — Verto received the $1 million Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ola-oyetayo-02277516/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ola-oyetayo
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21