Klasha Inc, a San Francisco and Lagos-based technology company transforming cross-border African commerce, announces the appointment of Ayman Jawhar as its Chief Product Officer.
Ayman will be based in the United Kingdom and joins Klasha with over 15 years’ experience in product consultation, development, and management across renowned brands such as PayPal, Miro, Prodigy Finance, and Next47.
From creating experiences such as PayPal’s new mobile-first business account, to leading new product line expansions across Africa, the Middle East and Europe, Ayman is an expert in start-up product management at various stages of a company’s lifecycle.
His skills are diverse and include working as a freelance advisor to start-ups, for venture capital firms as an in-house product expert, and co-building the first Product Management course for MBA students at the leading world business school - INSEAD - where he still participates as a lecturer.
Ayman’s appointment follows a rapid few months of scaling by Klasha, during which the company has hired a new Chief Commercial Officer from Mastercard - Nile Younis, and completed a $4.5 million seed funding round backed by Amex Ventures and Global Ventures, the leading MEA-focused venture capital firm. Klasha has also signed up over 2,000 merchants and processed 250,000 transactions, continuing its month-on-month growth.
Jess Anuna, Founder and CEO of Klasha, said:
“I am delighted to welcome Ayman to lead Klasha’s product management initiatives. His vast experience in this area, at various different stages of business evolutions, is truly invaluable, and we are very lucky to have him. His expertise will improve our B2B and B2C products, giving merchants more ways to sell in Africa seamlessly, and enhance the international shopping experience for consumers. Our latest C-suite appointments are of the highest calibre, and are all part of our strategy to bullishly scale our business.”
Ayman Jawhar, Chief Product Officer of Klasha said:
“Connecting Africa’s commerce to rest of the world is a hugely exciting opportunity, full of unutilised potential, and there is no better company to do this with than Klasha. Klasha is building products to fulfil that potential and be a game-changer for the e-commerce market. I am delighted to join Klasha’s outstanding team, and be part of what will be an amazing journey.”
Ayman also has a degree in computer engineering from the American University at Beirut and an MBA from INSEAD.