Episodios

  • BONUS: Advice for Founders Building in Tough Times

    BONUS: Advice for Founders Building in Tough Times
    Jun 23 2025
    How can entrepreneurs in Africa navigate today's challenging fundraising environment? Hosts Shannon and Johan, joined by Adrienne Henderson from Quona Capital, share essential insights for founders building FinTech companies in emerging markets. We’ll touch on why asset-light business models matter more than ever and the critical importance of choosing long-term investor partners. The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see https://quona.com/legal/
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    5 m
  • How Can Africa Build Its Own 'Fintech Stack'?

    How Can Africa Build Its Own 'Fintech Stack'?
    Jun 9 2025
    In 2023, India accounted for nearly 25% of all global IPOs with 340 public offerings, while the entire Middle East and Africa combined had just 50 IPOs. What created this massive gap, and how can Africa bridge it? Join hosts Shannon and Johan as they explore India's remarkable transformation from a nascent market to home of the world's most sophisticated digital financial infrastructure. With guest Adrienne Henderson, Senior Associate at Quona Capital, they break down the three foundational pillars of India's success: Aadhaar (universal digital identity), UPI (unified payments interface), and open banking APIs. The conversation examines Africa's unique challenges—54 countries, 40+ central banks, and thousands of languages—while highlighting promising innovations like M-Pesa in Kenya and South Africa's new rapid payments program. The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see https://quona.com/legal/
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    19 m
  • BONUS: Insurtech Innovators Share Advice For Founders

    BONUS: Insurtech Innovators Share Advice For Founders
    Jun 2 2025
    What does it really take to disrupt traditional insurance markets in emerging economies? In this special minisode of The Trillion Dollar Opportunity, hosts Johan and Shannon share valuable entrepreneurial insights from two founders who are creating entirely new categories in Asia’s InsurTech industry. This is essential wisdom for founders creating new categories in emerging markets. Kulin Shah, co-founder and COO of Onsurity, which provides health coverage to India's 63 million micro, small, and medium-sized employers, emphasizes building startups to solve problems rather than chasing valuations. Cindy Kua from Sunday shares two key pieces of advice: first, recognize the challenges of fundraising and build a team to help navigate capital markets; second, remain committed to your vision while being flexible about the journey to achieve it. The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see https://quona.com/legal/
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    3 m
  • More than paperwork and policies: Innovating Insurtech in India & Southeast Asia

    More than paperwork and policies: Innovating Insurtech in India & Southeast Asia
    May 20 2025
    Forget everything you thought you knew about insurance—it's not just paperwork and policies, it's a financial lifeline keeping millions from falling into poverty. In this episode of The Trillion Dollar Opportunity, co-hosts Johan Bosini and Shannon Austin explore how insurance has become the critical second phase of financial inclusion in emerging markets. When 330 million people in India lack health insurance and coverage rates remain low across much of Southeast Asia, innovative InsurTech companies are stepping in where traditional models have failed. Kulin Shah is the co-founder and COO of Onsurity, which is bringing affordable health benefits to India's 63 million small businesses. Cindy Kua is the co-founder and CEO of Sunday, who's reimagining insurance across Southeast Asia with a digital-first approach to healthcare, automotive, and gadget protection. These entrepreneurs are not just preventing financial catastrophe when disaster strikes but enabling economic resilience and opportunity for millions. The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see https://quona.com/legal/
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    21 m
  • BONUS: From Toxic Debt to Building Financial Resilience with Fabio Zveibil of Creditas

    BONUS: From Toxic Debt to Building Financial Resilience with Fabio Zveibil of Creditas
    Apr 28 2025
    In Brazil, high interest rates and revolving credit lines can trap borrowers. So how can borrowers break free of these toxic cycles? This week, hosts Shannon Austin and Johan Bosini explore how high-interest rate loans can trap borrowers, and cultural reluctance toward long-term loans. Fabio Zveibil, VP of Auto and Home Secured Lending at Creditas, joins the show again to talk about how better lending products and financial education can revolutionize credit access in Brazil, potentially multiplying available credit by up to 20 times. The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see https://quona.com/legal/
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    9 m
  • Backing Everyday Brazilians: How Creditas Uses Asset-Based Loans to Empower Consumers

    Backing Everyday Brazilians: How Creditas Uses Asset-Based Loans to Empower Consumers
    Apr 14 2025
    Brazil is one of the most expensive countries to access credit. Credit cards can have 400 percent interest rates. Even business owners face loans with 20 percent interest rates. This week on the Trillion Dollar Opportunity, hosts Shannon Austin and Johan Bosini explore what happens when good credit is hard to come by, and one FinTech that has changed the credit access landscape for the better. We talk to Creditas CEO Sergio Furio, COO Anne Williams, and VP Fabio Zveibil about how Creditas is providing affordable, asset-backed loans to Brazilians. The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see https://quona.com/legal/
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    30 m
  • PART 2: How Brazil’s Real Time Payments Create Real World Financial Inclusion

    PART 2: How Brazil’s Real Time Payments Create Real World Financial Inclusion
    Dec 2 2024
    Five billion transactions are made each month with Pix, Brazil’s real time payment system, which was launched by the Central Bank of Brazil in 2020. Today Pix reaches more than 90 percent of the adult population and settles more transactions than any other financial instrument including debit, credit, and prepaid cards. This week on the podcast, we pick up with Part 2 of Quona co-founder Jonathan Whittle’s fireside chat with Carlos Eduardo Brandt, a Senior Advisor at the Central Bank of Brazil. He leads the design and implementation of Pix and he shares how financial inclusion was a big part of rolling out what has become a widely popular and successful real-time payment system. The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see https://quona.com/legal/
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    9 m
  • PART 1: The Power of Pix: How Brazil Built a Revolutionary Real-Time Payment System

    PART 1: The Power of Pix: How Brazil Built a Revolutionary Real-Time Payment System
    Nov 25 2024
    Brazil has one of the most successful real-time payment systems in the world. This week on the podcast, we share a fireside chat with the man who leads the design and implementation of the real-time payment system Pix. Carlos Eduardo Brandt is the Senior Advisor at the Central Bank of Brazil. Quona Co-founder Jonathan Whittle took the stage with Carlos at Quona’s recent annual meeting to discuss how the Central Bank of Brazil implemented this real-time payment system to the tune of 5 billion transactions per month. Today Pix reaches more than 90 percent of the adult population and settles more transactions than any other financial instrument including debit, credit, or prepaid cards. The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see https://quona.com/legal/
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    13 m