Kofi Mensah on PayBridge

Kofi Mensah does not do many interviews. When we met in Accra, the conversation ran long past the hour we had been promised — and ranged from the economics of PayBridge to the habits that keep a founder sane.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Why start with cross-border payments?

Because traders were already doing it — with bags of cash and a lot of risk. We just made the boring part safe.

What surprised you about scaling?

Regulators were more helpful than investors. They wanted the problem solved too.

What would you tell your younger self?

Slow down on hiring, speed up on firing, and never confuse a busy calendar with a good week.