2022 Tutu Fellow Tarek Mouganie PhD has been selected as a member of the Yale World Fellows. Tarek is a Ghanaian entrepreneur and Founder and Group CEO of Affinity Africa, a digital bank that provides affordable and accessible services to micro and small and medium sized businesses. Since inception, Affinity's contribution has been profound, with nearly 90% of their customers previously unbanked, over 60% of whom are women operating in the informal sector.
The sixteen 2024 Yale World Fellows comprise global leaders working in environment, technology, politics, social cohesion, media, human rights, international development, and public health sectors, around the world. They include an Indian human rights lawyer, a Chinese AI expert, and Tarek, among them.
The World Fellows program is Yale University’s signature global leadership development initiative and a core element of Yale’s ongoing commitment to internationalism. Each year, the University selects 16 individuals from a highly competitive applicant pool for an intensive four-month period of academic enrichment and leadership training. This cohort brings the total number of World Fellows since the program’s start in 2002 to over 400 Fellows, representing 98 countries. The mission of the World Fellows Program is to enable extraordinary individuals, from across the globe and from diverse disciplines, to increase their capacity to make the world a better place.
Tarek returned to Ghana after building experience in the UK to address the financial exclusion prevalent among the unbanked and underbanked. He had been a Director at Man Group where he managed a portfolio of investments within the $160 billion global investment fund. He started his career as an academic at the University of Cambridge where he obtained his PhD in Physics at the age of 21 and is currently an MBA Entrepreneurship Tutor at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
His digital bank, Affinity Africa, launched in 2022, has gained 30,000 accounts and many first-time bank users without traditional marketing. The bank’s impact extends beyond account creation; it has enabled significant savings and loan provisions, boosting revenue and employment among its customers. Tarek's approach emphasizes not just accessibility but also affordability, striving to create a more inclusive financial landscape that supports small businesses and drives socioeconomic development in Ghana. This mission has seen him overcome regulatory hurdles, illustrating his commitment to enhancing financial inclusion through innovative digital solutions.
Read the announcement of the Yale World Fellows at their site.
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