After several years working for financial institutions in the United States and Nigeria, she decided to venture into entrepreneurship. Today, she leverages her expertise and new technologies to serve African lenders, thereby making credit more accessible.

Yvonne Johnson (photo) is a Nigerian entrepreneur and investor. As co-founder and CEO of Indicina, a venture capital-backed fintech, she is driving financial inclusion across the continent.

Founded in 2017 by Johnson, Jacob Ayokunle, Carlos del Carpio, and Yemi Ajao, Indicina leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to streamline lending for financial institutions. The company’s flagship products, Originate and Decide, provide a comprehensive solution for loan origination, management, and risk assessment.

Originate handles the entire loan lifecycle, from issuance to recovery and growth. Decide, on the other hand, offers credit risk models to help lenders make informed decisions and minimize defaults.

Beyond Indicina, Johnson is an active investor and advisor in early-stage tech companies, with a focus on West Africa and the Middle East and North Africa region. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Prior to her entrepreneurial ventures, Johnson worked in investment banking at Merrill Lynch in 2008. Subsequently, she served as head of strategy and corporate development at First Bank of Nigeria from 2009 to 2018 before fully dedicating herself to Indicina.

Melchior Koba