# Paolo Fidanza

> Paolo Fidanza is an Italian entrepreneur based in Miami and the founder and former CEO of KEO World. Trained in aerospace engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, he began at Group Lotus before building technology ventures including Opinit and co-founding MO Technologies. His work at KEO focused on business payments and inventory financing through products including Workeo. Maha Capital completed its acquisition of KEO World in April 2026; Fidanza subsequently left executive duties and, in September 2026, the parent company’s board.

- **Role:** Entrepreneur, investor and engineer
- **Organizations:** KEO World, MO Technologies, Opinit, Group Lotus, Maha Capital / KEO Capital, Marp Holdings LLC, Bloom Crowdfunding
- **From:** Rome, Italy
- **Nationality:** Italian
- **Education:** Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome
- **Known for:** Co-founded MO Technologies to develop credit-scoring and loan-management technology for people without formal credit histories., Co-founded Opinit, acquired by Fundamental Applications in 2016., Founded KEO World in 2020 and led its early development in B2B payments and inventory finance.

## Career timeline

- **1997–2001** — Began his career at Group Lotus in the United Kingdom; left in 2001 to start a utility electric-car business in the United States.
- **2001** — His electric-car venture lost financing following September 11, according to his later account; he returned to Britain and began an IT-school venture.
- **2004** — Founded a telecommunications business, according to his retrospective interview.
- **2007** — Moved to California, according to his retrospective interview.
- **2014** — Co-founded Opinit, an emotion-based social/content platform.
- **2016** — Opinit was acquired by Fundamental Applications; co-founded MO Technologies with Veronica Crisafulli.
- **2020** — Founded KEO World.
- **2022** — KEO arranged a seven-year Hayfin debt facility of up to $500 million for expansion in Mexico.
- **2024** — KEO announced expansion of Workeo in Brazil through BTG Pactual and Amex Business Link.
- **2026-04** — Maha Capital completed its acquisition of KEO World on April 2; Fidanza subsequently announced his departure as KEO CEO and chairman.
- **2026-06** — Participated in a Maha investor webcast as chairman on June 3.
- **2026-09** — Resigned from KEO Capital’s board, effective immediately, in an announcement dated September 12; Jay Heller was appointed interim chairman.

## Achievements

- Co-founded MO Technologies to develop credit-scoring and loan-management technology for people without formal credit histories.
- Co-founded Opinit, acquired by Fundamental Applications in 2016.
- Founded KEO World in 2020 and led its early development in B2B payments and inventory finance.
- Named Best Fintech CEO at the 2018 Finext Awards and Most Influential CEO in FinTech by CV Magazine in 2019, according to his 2019 FINNOSUMMIT speaker biography.
- Listed as a co-inventor with Andres Rosso and Andrii Kurinnyi on a MO Tecnologias loan-issuance patent filing published in the Brazilian patent gazette.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — KEO Capital announced Fidanza’s immediate resignation from its board on September 12 and named Jay Heller interim chairman.
- **2026-06** — Hosted a June 3 investor presentation as Maha Capital chairman alongside CEO Roberto Marchiori.
- **2026-04** — Maha completed its acquisition of KEO World on April 2; Fidanza subsequently announced stepping down as KEO CEO and chairman.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paolofidanza/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/paolo_fidanza

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/paolo-fidanza
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26