Fuze, MENA’s pioneering digital asset infrastructure provider, has announced the appointment of industry expert Akshay Chopra to its Board. Chopra is well-known as a prominent angel investor, fintech patent holder, and as the Founder and Managing Partner of 237 Ventures, which builds, invests in, and advises start-ups. He also serves on the Boards of MENA FinTech Association and Numuun.io.
At Visa, Akshay built and led the Innovation & Design teams serving more than 90 countries in Visa’s fastest growing region (CEMEA), and also oversaw blockchain solutions in the region. He spent over eight years in Singapore, leading a multinational team of experts, before spending nearly five years in Dubai heading Visa’s Innovation Centres. He was also responsible for introducing models that solved intricate challenges by combining design thinking, management consulting and analytics. Prior to his time at Visa, Chopra held senior roles at Deloitte, CEB (now Gartner) and S&P Global. As an angel investor, he currently holds investments in a variety of cutting-edge businesses, which operate out of the UAE, USA, India, Singapore, France and Nigeria.
His extensive experience across finance, payments, cryptocurrency and digital technology, is extremely valuable in helping start-ups to navigate the challenges of scaling their innovative and transformational ideas. Mo Ali Yusuf, CEO and Co-Founder of Fuze, says Chopra’s strong knowledge and network within the industry will enable greater opportunities for Fuze as it continues to scale.
“Akshay brings a wealth of experience and will help us accelerate our strategy across the region and beyond. By bringing Akshay onto our Board, we add another great mind who can add deep insight, guide our approach and ultimately support our rapid growth. We hold a shared vision to transform the future of finance through digital assets and together we can spark innovation and adoption across this exciting asset class,” said Fuze CEO and Co-Founder, Mo Ali Yusuf.
Speaking about his appointment, Akshay Chopra said, “We have only just scratched the surface of blockchain use cases in financial services. Fuze is an exciting business that is building crucial digital assets infrastructure that will enable this environment. I’m passionate about driving the adoption of transformational financial technology that solves real world problems. With the right team and technology to support banks, institutions and fintechs, Fuze is completely changing the game for digital assets and I’m thrilled to embark on this journey.”
Chopra was also recently appointed as the Co-Chair of the MENA Fintech Association’s (MFTA) payments working group, known as SHIFT. This follows his appointment to the MFTA’s Board in 2023.
