With over 17 years of experience, including about 10 years in business management, Alyona Andronikova joined Moneyveo in 2017. She asserts, “Consumer lending was a new industry for me, but thanks to my accumulated experience, I was able to introduce a number of useful innovations that have proven to be effective.”
Alyona was involved in the development of the first Maxi Card electronic money system in Ukraine, as well as the introduction of a VAT refund service for purchases made by non-EU citizens (VAT Refund) in five European countries. She also has expertise with payment systems. She is a qualified auditor and a Six Sigma Black Belt and an ACCA DipIFR methodology specialist.
The following are highlights from the interview with World’s Leaders and Alyona Andronikova:
Would you describe who you are as a person in and out of the workplace, please?
In the workplace, I am first and foremost a manager and an inspirational leader for my team. Now I am acutely aware of the value of the skills I learned earlier, which enable me to be useful and needed outside of the business.
As the CEO of Moneyveo, the leader of the Ukrainian fintech market, using the example of our company, I want to show that even a war is not a reason to plunge into a destructive state, it is necessary to look for ways to transform your business activities and shift the focus in favour of social projects. Our company transferred 10 million UAH to support the Ukrainian army, buying several pieces of equipment for the frontline and necessary medications. We are constantly collaborating with the Revived Soldiers Foundation.
As a professional coach, I launched a series of volunteer courses called “Find a Resource”, conducted about a dozen coaching sessions, and plan to continue volunteering to support people emotionally.
I am currently running online courses (Growth School) for Ukrainian managers and managers from pro-Ukrainian countries. Anyone can join the training. The money collected goes to help the Ukrainian Army.
In my opinion, the concepts of their own efficiency and productivity, familiar to Ukrainian managers in peacetime, are now synchronized with the current demands of society.
Tell us about the creation of the company. How did it all begin?
Before Moneyveo, there were no online lending services in Ukraine, and the founder launched a start-up to fill the niche. It was definitely a challenge. In 2013, Ukrainian users were provided with an innovative product-a convenient online lending service available 24/7. The path from start to international expansion took Moneyveo three years. The first entry was into the Mexican market. And since 2020, the company has been operating in Vietnam. In 2021, Moneyveo was the first in Ukraine to launch its own credit card and start lending for purchases of durable goods. Over 1.3 million Ukrainians have used the company’s services over the last eight years.
Moneyveo is the recognized leader in the Ukrainian fintech market and has received many prestigious national and international awards.
What made you successful? What do you value?
I am constantly working to expand my horizons and increase the level of my knowledge in related fields. I have three university degrees. Additionally, I studied at the Krakow Academy of Economics and at the London School of Business and Finance. I recently completed an additional higher education in business administration (Executive MBA).
Under my leadership, the company has grown 10 times, entered the international market, expanded its portfolio of loan products, and introduced technological innovations.
For leadership and business achievements, I was awarded the Order of Queen Anne, the Honour of the Fatherland. DS News named me one of the most successful women in Ukrainian business. In 2021, I became the only Ukrainian woman included in the Top 25 Women Fintech Leaders in Europe 2021: The Financial Technology Report Rating.
Among other achievements, there is the nomination for Transformation Leader (Economy + Publishing House).
During times of turbulence, flexibility and emotional intelligence are essential.
Most of all, I value knowledge and time. Recently, I have especially realized the value of communication with relatives and friends, and this is a colossal resource for each of us.
What is the importance of innovative ideas in a company?
Innovation is in Moneyveo’s corporate DNA. The company’s values are time, trust, and technology. And the team is actively working to put them into practice every day.
Our strategy is to create the most comfortable marketplace for credit products for our clients. It is the ability of the team to generate fresh ideas that determines the success of the company. At Moneyveo, the employees improve business processes and initiate improvements, while learning and developing by integrating technology into their operations. Hundreds of our internal processes are digitized and automated. Digital is present at all stages of our activities.
What are your responsibilities as CEO of a company? What is the happiest part of your daily life?
Being a CEO means combining many responsibilities and roles. First of all, it is the strategy’s creation and implementation. Then it is providing the organization and team with the resources needed to implement that strategy. Responsibilities include strategic planning of the company’s development, implementation of these plans, and the management of effective interaction between the structural divisions, to name a few.
Today, it is important for me to be not only a top manager, but also useful for as many people as possible, bringing victory closer.
This difficult period for all of us has become a time of new internal transformations, including the understanding of happiness. In the usual sense, for me, happiness means maintaining balance in all areas of my life without making compromises.
Now, in order to feel happy, it is enough for relatives to be alive, to hear the voice of a son or parent, even over the phone. I think the happiest day for me will be the day when all Ukrainians will be able to return to their homeland and to their former lives.
What advice would you give to someone entering a leadership position for the first time?
Stay human. It is this value that fuels development, trust, and happiness. If it is only about business, then good management skills based on agile and lean principles, as well as leadership, remain relevant. Sometimes you need to be able to turn business processes around 180 degrees.
You need to strengthen the key skills in yourself: leadership, change management, emotional intelligence, and, of course, motivation. It is also necessary to increase cross-functional knowledge, a sense of purpose, strong character, a sense of drive, and the pleasure of creating something new. Leading and managing change requires independent thinking, as well as networking and relationship-building skills. It is important to invest a lot in your own development, to have a healthy optimism based on logic and, at the same time, be ready to make bold decisions and take responsibility for them. It’s not just about business, but about the people who work under your leadership.
