Viola Llewellyn is a renowned innovator in the fintech field. Having enjoyed a successful career as a business manager and consultant, Viola is now on a mission to help expand and grow the trade and commodities industry in businesses across the continent of Africa. A highly knowledgeable businesswoman, Viola is often booked as a keynote speaker for a variety of corporate events. At speaking engagements she is sought to discuss the success of her business, along with topics of women in business, investing in Africa and fintech entrepreneurship.
Best known for her commitment to expanding the trade and commodities industries, Viola is the co-founder and President of Ovamba Solutions Inc. Ovamba Solutions is a TradeTech company, in which Viola creates technologies for banks and emerging SME’s with finance products. Driving financial inclusion and promoting financial growth, Viola is supporting African SME’s with boosted growth whilst also ensuring that investors and lenders see returns from their investments. Viola has previously been a Managing Partner of Praxis Advisors and a Business Development Manager for Visage Mobile.
Viola first began her career as an Associate Account Executive for RTC, and later went on to develop her corporate skills as Viola a Communications Assistant for the Investment Company Institute, building experience of PR and media management. Throughout her early professional work, Viola held a variety of positions for companies including Rothchild’s, KPMG Consulting and Unisys Corporation. With a strong business leadership background, she became a Managing Partner of Praxis Management Advisors, which has given her an insight into the innovation and technology needs of modern financial firms.
Currently, Viola is acting as the President of Ovamba Solutions Inc and has won several awards for the contributions she has made to the industry. She has been recognised on the Women in FinTech Power List in 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Innovate Finance and has also been honoured as part of the Top 100 Women in FinTech 2019 by Latice80. At present, Viola is also on several boards as an expert advisor including the European Women’s Payment Network, African Women in Fintech and the Women’s Economic Imperative Initiative.
A sought after keynote speaker for a range of events, Viola is credited as the first female African Tech Founder to speak for Slush, Helsinki and Slush, Tokyo, a testament to her influential position. At speaking engagements, Viola is booked for her unparalleled knowledge of the African market along with her insights into fintech, investment, technology and entrepreneurship. A passionate businesswoman and eloquent speaker, who previously delivered the TED talk A New Model Of Microfinance For Africa And Beyond, Viola Llewellyn is the perfect choice for a keynote for many events.
How to hire Viola Llewellyn
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Viola Llewellyn for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Viola Llewellyn's official speaker topics are listed below:
- Women in Business
- Investing in Africa
- FinTech Entrepreneurship
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"Viola is a leader in every sense of the word. Her organisational skills and focus is inspiring"- Jessica Delgado, Search Manager at Razorfish
"She is an extremely professional individual, with a good sense of humour to boot. All around, Viola is a first rate human being and a total class act"- Steve Eisman, Executive Recruiter, Information Technology, Optum
- 2024 – Announced as the keynote speaker for the 25th Annual Awards Gala of the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council
- 2019 – Recognised among the "Top 100 Women in FinTech" by Latice80
- 2018 – Featured in Vanity Fair as one of only 34 Black women in the USA to have raised more than $1 million for a technology company
- 2018 – Delivered a TED Talk as part of the "Reboot" series with Boston Consulting Group
- 2016-2018 – Listed on Innovate Finance's "Women in FinTech Power List" for three consecutive years
- 2013 – Co-founded Ovamba Solutions Inc, an African "TradeTech" company providing innovative financial solutions to SMEs in the trade and commodities sectors
- 2013-2014 – Raised almost $2 million in equity for Ovamba Solutions
- 2013-Present – Serving as President of Ovamba Solutions Inc, overseeing technology development, strategic implementation, investor communications, and global business development
- 2013-Present – Led Ovamba Solutions to serve over 300 customers, facilitating more than 1,000 transactions, and funding up to half a million euros per transaction
- 2013-Present – Expanded Ovamba Solutions' operations to Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire, with plans to enter Senegal, Sudan, and Mali
- 2013-Present – Secured nearly $11 million in debt financing for Ovamba Solutions, distributing $20 million to customers to date
- 2013-Present – Pioneered the development of a mobile platform providing African merchants access to business growth support and connections to investors, featuring a natural language chat function translating many of Africa's 2,000 languages
- 2013-Present – Created culturally attuned technologies combining Sharia-compliant structures with eCommerce, logistics services, and technology to drive financial inclusion and promote growth in African SMEs
- 2013-Present – Recognised for her work in financial inclusion and technology innovation in Africa
- 2013-Present – Engaged in public speaking and thought leadership, sharing insights on fintech, investment, technology, and entrepreneurship, particularly in the African context
- 2013-Present – Advocated for women's economic empowerment and inclusion in the fintech industry, serving on several advisory boards, including the European Women’s Payment Network and African Women in Fintech and Payments Network
- 2013-Present – Led Ovamba Solutions to be selected by the World Economic Forum as a Global Technology Pioneer in 2018, securing a two-year ambassadorship and a place at the Davos Summit conference
