She earned her university degree in France. After several years of experience in the financial sector, both in France and Africa, she established her own fintech company.

Magalie Gauze-Sanga is a Cameroonian economist and entrepreneur, serving as the founder and CEO of Koree, a rewards application aimed at fostering customer loyalty in Francophone Africa.

Founded in 2022, Koree enables users to create digital loyalty cards that allow merchants to credit cashback and provide change. The platform addresses the persistent issue of small change shortages prevalent in Francophone Africa and supports various payment methods, including cash, mobile money, and bank cards.

The inspiration for the app struck Gauze-Sanga after she faced a shortage of change while purchasing pastries at a bakery in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. "Working in the payments industry in sub-Saharan Africa allowed me to refine my idea for digital cards similar to an 'Apple Wallet' that could tackle this problem. I aimed to incorporate several additional services to simplify life for consumers and enhance their purchasing power, such as earning cashback," she explained in April 2024.

In January 2024, Koree secured $200,000 in pre-seed funding to facilitate its expansion throughout Francophone Africa, enhance its merchant network, broaden its user base, and tailor the product to meet market demands.

Gauze-Sanga also serves on the board of African Women in FinTech & Payments (AWFP). She holds a master's degree in industrial economics from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and a master's in management from Em Lyon Business School.

Her professional journey began in 2012 at BGFIBank Cameroon, where she interned in private wealth management. In 2013 and 2014, she worked as an assistant in private banking at ODDO BHF, a financial group based in France. In 2015, she became a consultant at PayPal and transitioned to a research analyst role at BNP Paribas in 2016.

In 2019, Gauze-Sanga was appointed head of financial services for e-commerce startup Jumia in Francophone West Africa. From January to June 2021, she held the roles of COO and later CMO at Ivorian fintech Julaya. Subsequently, from July 2021 to November 2022, she managed payments for Ivorian online commerce startup ANKA.

In 2023, she became the first woman to win the Ecobank Fintech Challenge, earning a prize of $50,000.

Melchior Koba