Rukayyat Kolawole, CFA,MBA

(CEO/ Founder)

Rukayyat is the founder and CEO of PaceUP Invest GmbH, a B2B and B2C fintech platform, using
interplay of AI and humans (hybrid) based in Germany, and Nigeria with global clients to build
wealth and achieve financial well-being. With more than 18 years of experience in investment
banking, investment management, and capital markets, she has managed billions in assets and
generated profits through investment portfolios for both individuals and corporations at GS and
BMCE International in London and New York. She is a CFA charterholder, a national thought leader
in Germany, and a Forbes inspiring founder.

She leads a team of experts who provide sound and independent advice and solutions for wealth
management, financial education, and coaching, using a hybrid method of human-centric and AI.
She is passionate about empowering her clients to live self-determined lives, gain financial
knowledge and confidence, and take action towards a responsible and sustainable future. She
draws inspiration from her Yorùbá culture and her grandmother, who was a successful
entrepreneur and community leader.

Rukayyat is also an Executive Board member of EWPN, a keynote speaker on topics such as
financial inclusion, wealth building, diversity, and innovation. She is an independent financial
advisor and wealth manager, and a book author of Magical Baby, a children's book that celebrates
cultural diversity.

She holds a Masters of science distinction in Finance and Investment Management, an executive
MBA from Mannheim Business School Germany and ESSEC Business School France, and has
completed executive programs at Georgetown University USA, Tongji University China, and ESSEC
Singapore.

She loves playing golf, travelling, reading, and playing silly games with her 7-year-old.

Ibraheem Kolawole

(CTO and Co Founder)

Close to a decade experience in building Softwares, worked as intern for SmartSpaces, an EU pilot project for smartly measuring carbon data from buildings in realtime with custom built software in 2013/2014, which served as a pilot for implementation of close to a 100,000 retrofits/newbuilds in Europen Union (EU)

Built SaaS and Business workflow applications for small to medium size businesses whose daily operations running into 10’s of thousands of users rely on daily.

BEng Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria. MSc DeMontFort University, UK.  Object Oriented Software Development (OOSD) SAIT Canada.

Vivian Hendrikse

(Business Development Partner- Dutch)

Vivian connects people, businesses, and communities with the purpose to create social impact and more inclusive (work-)environments. She has studied International Business Finance & Investments and is passionate about the intersection of financial innovations and the inclusion of minorities. After having worked as an innovation consultant for 4 years, she founded DIVE Agency to focus fully on social change in financial and business contexts. DIVE supports organisations in becoming more aware of inequality and connects them to the right initiatives – with the vision that most change is achieved through the collaboration of social change agents. One of her projects includes the Gaari Art Movement in which businesses make a statement for equality through art, allowing the business sector and creative sector to meet. Next to that, she is active for Holland Fintech as program manager of working groups about social, and innovative topics.

Vivian has an international background, being half Dutch, half German, and having lived in Singapore, Spain, and France. She is currently based in Amsterdam, and supports Pace UP Invest in the Dutch market.