Founder Magazine (FM): Eugene, thank you for joining us. Can you tell us about your background and what inspired you to build in fintech?
Eugene Tawiah (ET): Thank you for having me. I started my career in financial services and spent over a decade working across investment banking and technology roles in the US and Africa. Along the way, I realized how fragmented African capital markets are—investors in one country struggle to access opportunities in another. That insight inspired me to build SecondSTAX, which stands for Secondary Securities Trading and Aggregation eXchange.
🚀 About SecondSTAX
FM: What exactly does SecondSTAX do?
ET: SecondSTAX is a fintech platform that provides a single entry point for investing across multiple African capital markets. Through our platform, institutional investors, fund managers, and eventually retail investors can buy and sell securities across countries seamlessly. We partner directly with stock exchanges and broker-dealers to make this possible.
FM: Why is solving this problem so important?
ET: Africa’s financial markets are highly fragmented. If you’re an investor in Ghana, it’s very difficult to trade equities in Kenya or Nigeria without complex and costly processes. This limits growth and liquidity. By creating a unified access point, we are unlocking Africa’s capital markets and allowing more money to flow into African businesses.
❓ Interview Questions (Startup Focused)
FM: What was the biggest challenge you faced in launching SecondSTAX?
ET: Regulation. Each country has its own rules for capital markets, so building trust with regulators and exchanges was key. The other challenge was convincing institutional investors to adopt a new solution in a traditionally conservative industry.
FM: How is SecondSTAX different from other fintechs in Africa?
ET: Many fintechs focus on payments or consumer services. We’re focused on capital markets infrastructure, which is less crowded but critical for scaling Africa’s financial future.
FM: You recently raised funding for SecondSTAX. How has investor support influenced your growth?
ET: The $1.6M raise allowed us to expand into Kenya and partner with multiple exchanges. It also gave us credibility with institutional players. But more importantly, our investors share our vision of pan-African financial integration.
FM: How do you balance building a startup with such a complex regulatory and technical backbone?
ET: Patience, strong local partnerships, and a dedicated team. We’re not just building tech—we’re building trust in markets where governance and compliance are paramount.
FM: Where do you see SecondSTAX in the next 5 years?
ET: We want to be the go-to platform for accessing all of Africa’s capital markets, connecting investors globally to African opportunities, and unlocking billions of dollars in investment.
🌍 Vision & Impact
FM: What excites you most about fintech in Africa right now?
ET: The creativity and resilience. African founders are solving unique problems with global implications. And investors are finally starting to take African financial markets seriously.
FM: If you weren’t building SecondSTAX, what would you be doing today?
ET: Probably working in investment banking or advising startups in fintech. Finance and innovation have always been my twin passions.
⚡ Quick Fire Questions
Favorite book? The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham.
Role model in fintech? Tidjane Thiam.
Leadership style in one word? Strategic.
Advice for young founders in Ghana? Don’t be afraid to tackle big, complex problems. Africa needs bold solutions.
✨ Closing Thoughts
FM: Eugene, your work with SecondSTAX is opening Africa’s markets to the world. Thank you for sharing your journey with Founder Magazine.
ET: Thank you. It’s an honor to build something that can help Africa realize its full financial potential.
