James Gibson

Co-Founder & CEO, Wagewell | Employee Financial Wellness ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช

Kenya

About

At Wagewell, we make it easy for Kenyan employers to offer On-Demand Payโ€”a financial wellness benefit that gives employees flexibility over when they get paid. ๐Ÿ“ฒ With Wagewell, employees can access a portion of their salary as they earn itโ€”helping them cover unexpected expenses, avoid high-cost borrowing, and ease the stress of living paycheck-to-paycheck. The best part? Wagewell works seamlessly with any payroll system, has zero impact on company cash flow, and is completely FREE for employers! ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’ก ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ? ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜†!

Experience

  • Co-Founder & CEO at Wagewell
    May 2022 - Present ยท 4 yrs 3 mos

    Wagewell is a fintech company revolutionising how salaried workers in Kenya get paid. By partnering with forward-thinking employers, we empower employees to access up to 50% of their earned salary as they workโ€”a safe and responsible way to manage cash flow, without relying on predatory lenders or high-cost credit. ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ต๐˜† ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฝ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ช๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น: www.wagewell.com

  • Digital Commerce & Fintech Consultant at JG Digital
    Mar 2016 - Present ยท 10 yrs 5 mos

    JG Digital is a digital consultancy specialised in the design and implementation of business development and strategic partnership initiatives across emerging and frontier markets, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. โ€ข We provide project management and advisory services to support the delivery of digital commerce and payment solutions across a wide range of industries, including financial services, energy & utilities, transportation and retail.

  • Country Manager - E-Commerce at Econet Wireless Zimbabwe
    Jan 2015 - Feb 2016 ยท 1 yr 2 mos

    Zimbabweโ€™s Leading Mobile Operator & Mobile Money Service Provider (EcoCash) โ€ข Built and led a cross-functional team to establish a new e-commerce business unit, with full P&L responsibility for developing mass-market classifieds and marketplace platforms. โ€ข Positioned the company to capitalise on Africaโ€™s fast-growing digital commerce sector, diversifying revenue streams and increasing transaction volumes to strengthen EcoCashโ€™s market leadership.

  • Project Lead at mHealth Concept
    Sep 2014 - Dec 2014 ยท 4 mos

    โ€ข Conducted a feasibility study for a mobile health solution, assessing technical, commercial, and operational requirements to connect underserved communities with affordable healthcare services.

  • Country Manager - hellofood (Jumia Food) at Jumia Group
    Sep 2013 - Sep 2014 ยท 1 yr 1 mo

    Africa's #1 On-Demand Food Delivery Platform (Jumia Group, NYSE: JMIA) โ€” โ€˜๐˜‰๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฆ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฑโ€™ @ ๐˜Œ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜›๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด 2014 (๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Œ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ด) โ€ข Managed all in-country operations, leading a high-performing team across sales, marketing, logistics, vendor relations, and customer service. โ€ข Expanded the platform into multiple new cities, optimised logistics, and executed targeted customer acquisition and retention strategiesโ€”driving strong MoM revenue growth and securing #1 market position.