Anthony Stewart
(CEO)
Anthony is the main brain behind Waxd. He loves solving problems and coming up with innovations in payments. So, it’s no surprise that after studying Industrial Engineering at The University of the Witwatersrand, Anthony ended up working in innovation in the banking industry for over 20 years.
Anthony is an entrepreneur. He has launched many successful businesses, including ModusBPS which offers Business Process Management services. But it was his passion for payment solutions – and his purpose in life to uplift people – that became the catalyst for launching Waxd, which is revolutionising industry ecosystems.
Anthony wanted to find a way of creating a cost-effective sales method for merchants that could be cost-free to consumers – essential in Africa where poverty is rife and 57% of the people are unbanked. His quest was to find a payment solution that would enable the sale of something as small as a single cigarette on a street corner. And he has achieved this, with the development of Waxd’s POS ecosystem, which uses biometric payment technology and benefits informal markets where banks struggle to reach. This digital payment system is enabling new ways of doing business, which will make a massive difference in ecosystems like the transport industry and informal farming sector in Africa.
Anthony believes that the challenges of financial inclusion in Africa can be addressed through technological innovation, and this has become one of his main focusses for Waxd going forward. In fact, the entire philosophy of Waxd represents Anthony’s passions for innovation, simplifying people’s lives, improving the customer experience, and financial upliftment. He finds nothing more rewarding than changing the lives of others through his innovations, and being able to bring services to people that need them. Driving financial inclusion in scale, and making a real difference in people’s lives across the continent, is what Anthony hopes the future of Waxd will be all about.