“A good leader in finance should possess a combination of technical expertise, leadership skills, and personal qualities that enable them to effectively navigate the complexities of the financial landscape, such as financial acumen, decision-making, leadership, ethical integrity, emotional intelligence, relationship-building, and resilience. This is not exhaustive but contains important skills,” says Rukayyat Kolawole, an MBA and CFA who is the founder and CEO of PaceUP Invest. It is a fintech start-up whose mission is to empower women and underrepresent communities financially. She, through her platform, has helped many with wealth-building, irrespective of their income, towards attaining a responsible and sustainable future for themselves and their generation. In 2020, she registered PaceUP Invest in Germany, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has a Nigerian entity to cater to its African clients. She is a Nigerian by birth with a lineage of strong entrepreneurial women who controlled and invested their money. Her passion and reason for going into investment banking were a result of learning how her grandmother empowered women in her community.
Rukayyat takes an all-encompassing attributed personality to adhere to the notion of breaking the glass ceiling through their persona and work. Many find inspiration and fascination in Rukayyat’s personality because, as a black woman, she has perfected her way to achieving milestones. She believes, “to make wealth building and financial wellbeing available to many and not only the ‘wealthy’.” Driven by a vision and mission to empower people to build wealth and live a healthy financial well-being, she has assisted both individuals and companies to achieve good overall financial well-being. She earned an M.Sc. in Finance and Investment Management with a distinction. In the year 2020, she earned a double diploma in executive MBA at Mannheim Business School, Germany, and ESSEC Business School, France. She is also a chartered financial analyst. Rukayyat is currently on the board of Kassavex, a social impact agricultural company in Nigeria; a founding committee board member of 100 Women in Finance Germany; a business mentor at The Migrant Accelerator; and a mentor at and ahead of Germany. She is Executive Board Member of EWPN. She has also been featured in BWAM 40 under 40 in 2022, Forbes Inspiring Founders Globally, and Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist. She is a keynote speaker and regularly partakes in panels globally. PaceUP Invest is listed as one of the most influential financial technology firms of 2023 by The Financial Technologist.
Pancultural Communicator
Rukayyat has over 16 years of experience in the financial industry: investment banking, investment management, and capital markets at Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, Reuters, and BMCE International London. She was a former VP of Capital Markets and Treasury at BMCE Bank International London, covering EMEA, the Americas, and APAC. The positions allowed her to work with global clients and travel extensively, enriching her knowledge and honing her transcultural leadership skills. She is a transcultural communicator and leader, having worked on international assignments throughout her successful career.
Rukayyat is highly motivated to help women control their monetary assets, investments, and finances. She ensures to help her clients through education, coaching, and investing to reach their goals. As a female entrepreneur with financial acumen, she has seen herself in precarious positions related to the financial sector, particularly when investing in assets. She is passionate about providing aid to women, especially other women, to reach their goals, either through their finances, careers, or businesses. As a finance leader, she has immensely contributed to the success of others within and outside her organization via financial literacy and education, continuous innovation, and improvement in the tools. Rukayyat and her team have provided their customers with great financial well-being by being a thought leader in sharing insights and leadership in the field of finance through publications, speaking engagements, and many more.
"PaceUP Invest is currently fundraising and B2B companies in the states and other countries can feel free to reach out on how we can help their employees or customers"
Sneak Peek into PaceUP Invest
The company’s B2B and B2C platforms simplify debt management, savings, investing, retirement, and estate planning to reduce financial stress and give financial control. The platform offers gamified AI tools to help plan finances, with expert support for complex financial needs. Rukayyat claims that her company is the only platform whose product covers the whole lifecycle of personal finance, utilizing AI. It is currently working on a centralized brain that will coordinate all these autonomously in the best way possible for the user’s personal financial well-being and wealth. The company offers end-to-end solutions for the financial well-being of its customers in personal finance, including budgeting, debt management, investing, pension planning, and estate planning. Its clients can take control of their finances on its platform easily without leaving the platform. Its competitors do not have a holistic approach like we do when it comes to access to goal setting and its management, budgeting, and creating personalized investments according to their financial personality, circumstances, composure, and robust risk assessment. The platform is hyper-personalized in nature and acts as an engagement engine. “PaceUP Invest is currently fundraising and B2B companies in the states and other countries can feel free to reach out on how we can help their employees or customers,” says Rukayyat.
Be the change
Rukayyat states that finance leaders are poised for a significant evolution in the next few years due to technological advances, shifting business landscapes, and changing stakeholder demands. She states that the key challenges facing the company include digital transformation, sustainability reporting, economic uncertainty, and mastering strategic leadership. Among these, navigating economic uncertainty and mastering strategic leadership may prove most daunting, demanding a deep understanding of business dynamics, anticipatory skills, agility in strategy, resilience, and informed decision-making in volatile times.
Rukayyat, being a prominent leader in her industry, advises every aspiring leader to build networks, surround themselves with strong support systems, and look for sponsors. This system helps pave the roadway for one, as it plays a critical role in moving up the leadership ladder. She has great plans ahead for the company and desires to offer a better future to many who seek financial stability. She claims that one of her global strategies is to validate its products and services in the US markets for B2B, refining its value proposition, and acquiring more customers.
