With a vision to democratize access to global investment opportunities across Africa, Tosin Osibodu founded Chaka in 2019, a technology solutions company.
Chaka aimed to empower businesses and individuals in Africa with seamless access to borderless digital investment and wealth management avenues. In a bid to boost the product’s impact, Risevest acquired Chaka last year.
A few months down the line, Tosin Osibodu has exited Chaka to join Alpaca, a Y Combinator-backed company specializing in APIs for trading stocks and crypto. In his LinkedIn post, he noted a solid commitment to fostering global investing adoption, aligning seamlessly with Alpaca’s mission to expand its footprint across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
Reflecting on his tenure at Chaka, Osibodu expressed contentment with the transition under the leadership of Eke Urum, CEO of Rise. He commended the integration efforts, stating, “[Urum] has integrated to build a sum greater than its parts,” highlighting confidence in the future course of both entities post-acquisition.
Transitioning to Alpaca as the Executive Director of Sales encompasses anchoring sales and expansion efforts for new and existing partners, including neobanks, wealthtechs, and fintechs seeking to integrate global trading and investing functionalities. Alpaca’s reach spans over 130+ investing services across 35 countries, presenting Osibodu with a platform to actualize his vision of widespread financial inclusivity.
Despite leaving his role as founder, Osibodu remains a shareholder and will continue to offer guidance in an advisory capacity. The seamless transition emphasizes the collaborative ethos between Osibodu and Urum, with the latter assuming the reins of Chaka’s leadership.
Reports speculate on potential synergies between Chaka, Risevest, and Alpaca, hinting at the possibility of a three-way partnership. With Osibodu’s departure, little is known about the future alignment of Chaka and Risevest, if both will continually operate as separate entities. This sheds light on the evolving fintech innovation and collaboration efforts.
Chaka’s journey, from its inception in 2019 to becoming the first trading startup to secure a digital sub-broker license in 2021, illustrates the huge potential of fintech in emerging markets. Tosin Osibodu thrives on innovation, collaboration, and empowerment which defines the fintech sector in the 21st century.
