AFRICA – Lipa Later, the first of its kind buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) company operating in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Nigeria, has appointed Tom Gong as the new Chief Technology Officer.
In his new role, Tom Gong will lead the company in the creation of robust systems that will enable it to grow Lipa Later across different African markets.
Gong, has a very impressive resume having worked as Co-Founder and CTO of AliExpress a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba the Chinese online giant, and led the team to grow it to become the largest cross-border e-commerce transaction platform.
Most recently, Tom has been working at AllDragon which provides SaaS management software for over 500 shopping centers to better connect retailers and consumers.
He has a Master’s of Computer Science and MBA, both from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
Lipa Later is a fast-growing, Buy Now Pay Later business based in East Africa and rapidly expanding across the African market.
As the level of affluence grows across Sub Saharan Africa, consumers Lipa Later is positioned to be able to help consumers access various products today and pay in staggered payments across a number of months.
On his appointment, Tom stated that he is excited to help lipa Later grow and build robust technology that will help over 1 billion people, over 50% of which are under 18.
“We are very excited to have Tom Gong join Lipa Later as our Chief Technology Officer. With him on board we have added yet another strong member to our team, with Africa as our focus,” said Eric Muli, the Co-founder, and CEO of Lipa Later.
Formed in 2018, Lipa Later leverages data analytics to provide consumers with access to convenient and affordable credit.
In January, Lipa Later raised US$12 million from a consortium of investors to help it increase coverage in existing markets and expand into new ones.
Its proprietary credit-scoring and machine learning system enable a consumer to sign up and get a credit limit in seconds, without the need for bulky documentation and a lengthy approval process.
Lipa Later boasts a wide array of exclusive merchants and world-renowned brands such as Carrefour, Apple, Tecno, Samsung, and Hotpoint Appliances among others.
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