Cetric Okola / Download CV

NAIROBI, KENYA · FOUNDER & CEO OF STAYPACE

I build systems.
And the teams
behind them.

I'm Cetric, Founder & CEO of Staypace. I turn complex problems into reliable software.
From the first architecture decision to the people who bring it to life.

Explore my work Let's talk
Backend engineeringSystems architectureTechnical leadership

01 / SELECTED WORK

Good engineering.
Meaningful outcomes.

A few problems I've helped solve,
and the thinking behind the work.

PAYMENTS & PLATFORM ARCHITECTURE01

From concept to a fintech MVP.

Staypace · Fintech platform

Configurable pay-ins, payouts, merchant collections, and transaction orchestration. Architecture and hands-on engineering, from the data model to the payment flow.

Payment orchestrationBackend systemsAPI design
staypace.com
What I worked on

Designed transaction references, provider routing, payment steps, audit trails, retries, and callbacks across multiple merchants, currencies, and countries.

SPORTS & DIGITAL EXPERIENCES02

A digital arena. Built for the fans.

PlayDarena · Sports challenge platform

A sports challenge platform bringing together a public website, participant experience, and administration tools. Work spanning web applications and shared platform foundations.

Nuxt.jsNx monorepoPlatform integration
playdarena.com
What I worked on

Worked on PlayDarena’s web platform, including participant and administration experiences, shared API integration, and identity flows across an Nx monorepo.

MULTI-TENANT SYSTEMS03

A foundation for Swoop Africa.

Purple Elephant Ventures · Swoop Africa

A scalable platform foundation with secure multi-tenant services, a clear technical roadmap, and infrastructure built for sustainable growth.

Node.jsPostgreSQLCloud & CI/CD
What I worked on

Led the system blueprint, backend data modelling, API design, containerized infrastructure, and technical delivery in collaboration with product and business teams.

APPLIED AI & FINTECH04

Less manual review. Smarter onboarding.

TandaPay · AI-driven KYC

AI-powered document parsing and onboarding workflows using OCR and NLP to reduce manual review and improve compliance accuracy.

OCR & NLPAI integrationKYC automation
What I worked on

Led the development of KYC automation tools and real-time transaction anomaly detection as part of the platform’s technology strategy.

ALSO BUILT

Kusco Agri Loans

A lending assessment system that evaluates farmer produce history to inform loan eligibility.

Lima Portal

A platform connecting farm produce suppliers and buyers to improve market linkages and supply chains.

02 / THE JOURNEY

Hands on.
Looking ahead.

From building web applications to leading engineering teams and architecting financial platforms. Always close to the code. Always thinking about the bigger picture.

Read my CV ↗
Staypace LeadershipFounder & CEOPresent

Lead Staypace’s company direction and product delivery while remaining hands-on in system architecture and software engineering.

  • Company leadership: Set strategy, priorities, and direction, aligning business goals with product and engineering delivery.
  • Product direction: Translate customer and stakeholder needs into a clear roadmap, practical requirements, and delivery priorities.
  • Technical architecture: Design scalable systems, service boundaries, APIs, and data models, with attention to security and maintainability.
  • Hands-on engineering: Build and review backend services, integrations, and product features, guiding implementation from concept to production.
  • Engineering leadership: Guide technical decisions, mentor developers, and establish code review, testing, and delivery practices.
  • Infrastructure and reliability: Oversee cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, monitoring, and operational improvements for dependable software delivery.
Staypace Limited ContractLead Fintech Architect & MVP EngineerDec 2025 — Jun 2026

Led architecture and hands-on development of a fintech MVP, taking payment workflows from early concept to a working platform.

  • Built pay-ins, payouts, collections, disbursements, refunds, reversals, and transaction tracking.
  • Designed configurable payment orchestration across providers, currencies, countries, and merchant rules.
  • Owned service boundaries, API contracts, database models, retries, callbacks, and asynchronous processing.
Purple Elephant Ventures ContractLead Systems ArchitectJul 2025 — Jan 2026

Led the architecture and development of Swoop Africa, establishing the technical roadmap and a scalable platform foundation.

  • Designed secure multi-tenant backend services with Node.js and PostgreSQL.
  • Established containerized cloud infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines.
  • Worked with product and business teams on technical priorities, maintainability, and infrastructure costs.
TandaPay LeadershipChief Technology OfficerFeb 2024 — Jun 2025

Led technology strategy, platform scalability, engineering teams, and AI integration in the fintech ecosystem.

  • Developed Wallet-as-a-Service capabilities for merchant digital wallets and payments.
  • Scaled microservices using Docker, Kubernetes, and Google Cloud, supporting 99.9% uptime.
  • Led AI-powered KYC document parsing with OCR and NLP, alongside transaction anomaly detection.
TandaPay EngineeringLead Software EngineerDec 2022 — Feb 2024

Managed a team of 10 developers building a payment gateway for merchant collections and disbursements.

  • Introduced Drone CI pipelines and automated testing across unit, integration, and end-to-end workflows.
  • Designed microservices and centralized email and SMS delivery.
  • Mentored engineers, led code reviews, and collaborated with product and design teams.
TandaPay EngineeringSenior Software EngineerSep 2021 — Dec 2022

Built data pipelines, APIs, monitoring, and transaction tracing for production payment systems.

  • Integrated third-party services and developed web alternatives to existing mobile applications.
  • Contributed to project planning, operational feasibility, and solution design.
Cytonn Investments EngineeringAssociate Software EngineerJul 2020 — Sep 2021

Developed and maintained web applications, supported production systems, and mentored junior developers.

  • Worked across requirements, design, implementation, and technical support.
  • Collaborated with designers on intuitive web experiences.
Cytonn Investments EngineeringJunior Software EngineerOct 2019 — Jul 2020

Modernized existing applications with PHP Laravel and contributed to a new Vue.js web portal.

  • Updated legacy code to improve functionality and maintainability.

03 / THE TOOLKIT

The right tools.
For the right problem.

Strong fundamentals first.
Technology that serves the product.

Backend & data

  • Golang
  • Node.js
  • Java
  • Python
  • REST APIs
  • gRPC
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • Redis

Web & interfaces

  • TypeScript
  • JavaScript
  • React.js
  • Vue.js
  • Nuxt.js
  • HTML & CSS

Cloud & delivery

  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • AWS
  • Google Cloud
  • Drone CI
  • Jenkins
  • Linux
  • Nx

Architecture & applied AI

  • Microservices
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Kafka
  • RabbitMQ
  • System design
  • Automated testing
  • OpenAI APIs
  • NLP & OCR
  • OpenCV

04 / START A CONVERSATION

Something worth building?
Let's talk.

A product to shape, a platform to scale, or a team to grow.
I'd love to hear what you're thinking.

[email protected]
+254 704 145832Nairobi, KenyaDownload CV ↓