Trained as a lawyer, she swiftly shifted her focus to financial technology. As the founder and CEO of the CaPay application, she has garnered recognition for her efforts in bolstering employees’ financial inclusion.

Ariane Akeret (photo) is a Gabonese entrepreneur who has revolutionized financial inclusion through her innovative mobile payment platform, CaPay. Through that platform, she has transformed the way underbanked employers and pensioners receive their salaries and social benefits. 

With a master's degree in law from Omar Bongo University in 2017, she discovered mobile money during her travels in West Africa. Concerned with strengthening the financial inclusion of wage earners, she drew inspiration from the transformative power of mobile money to create a solution that would bridge the financial divide. In 2019, Akeret's vision materialized into CaPay, a platform designed to streamline the disbursement of salaries, pensions, and scholarships through mobile money technology.

"I created CaPay to address the challenges faced by people in remote areas who have to travel long distances to collect their pensions," the entrepreneur said in 2022.

CaPay's mission is to simplify and secure payroll processes, making them accessible and inclusive for all. Its user-friendly interface caters to a wide range of organizations, including associations, social benefit funds, cooperatives, companies, trade unions, public administrations, and more.

Eliminating the need for traditional bank accounts, the platform empowers employees and pensioners to receive their payments directly into their mobile money accounts. 

Prior to embarking on her fintech journey, Akeret gained valuable experience in the legal field. In 2016, she served as an executive assistant in the legal and litigation department of the State Judicial Agency in Gabon. Subsequently, she worked as a legal assistant at the National Agency for Town Planning, Topographic Works and Cadastre (ANUTTC)  in 2018.

Akeret's unwavering commitment to financial inclusion has garnered her numerous accolades. In 2022, she received the prestigious Margaret Prize in Paris in the "Entrepreneur Africa" category. Her dedication to innovation was further recognized in November 2023 when she and four other entrepreneurs won the national competition for invention and technological innovation.

Melchior Koba