Meet Stitch Head of Legal Sola Moore

1. Describe your job to a 10-year-old. 

I’m a lawyer - but not the type that you see on most TV shows because I don’t have to represent clients in court or appear before a judge. I’m a tech lawyer.

A big part of my job involves problem-solving, but I also foresee problems before they arise and come up with ways to avoid them. Overall, I’m responsible for ensuring that Stitch is compliant with the laws and regulations in the various markets within which we operate.

Startups thrive when they’re able to raise money from investors, and another big part of my job is to coordinate fundraising processes. That means ensuring investors have all that they need to make their decisions, and for me to prepare and negotiate any contracts.

Within the company, I work with different departments helping to prepare and review contracts, apply for permits and approvals from regulators, and many other things. 

2. What’s the most exciting and most challenging thing about being the Head of Legal at a fintech startup? 

One of the most exciting things about my job is that I get to work on a broad range of legal issues, but this time, I have only one client - Stitch. The type of work I get to do is innovative and interesting, and I’m able to chart my own path. Knowing that you’re a huge contributing factor to the success of a business is also great.

It’s sometimes challenging to navigate grey areas where the law is not clear on a particular issue, so I try to ensure that we maintain a balance and remain on the right side of the law while still being innovative.

3. Fintech and regulation around it are constantly changing. How do you keep up?  

One of the quickest ways to keep up with regulatory changes is to keep my ears to the ground. I belong to a few groups where such changes are shared in real time – and sometimes even beforehand.

Another way to keep up to date is by following notable tech blogs and newsletters, reading regulatory publications and attending conferences. I also lean on external counsel from time to time.  

4. Why are you passionate about the fintech sector in Africa?

Fintech is really exciting because it’s the future and the present. Because fintech is a relatively new space, there’s so much innovation which brings accessibility to things like payments, which people previously struggled to engage with. And there’s so much more - loans, crypto, the list goes on. 

5. What’s your favourite thing about working at Stitch? 

I really like the culture at Stitch. I also enjoy the flexibility that working here affords me – especially as I get to work from home most days. More importantly, I like the people here - everyone is warm and welcoming, and we value collaboration a lot. The atmosphere is vibrant and energetic, so I really enjoy ‘coming to work’ every day. 

Rapid fire

• What are you reading at the moment?

I just finished reading Midas Touch by Kenneth Hagin, and next up on my list is The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama.

• What would your superpower be and why?

Hard to choose between reading minds and teleportation/speed.

Reading minds because it’ll be great to know what people are thinking and why they act the way they do.

Teleporting because Lagos traffic is a mess… LOL. But on a serious note, teleporting is such a cool superpower. To be able to move from one place to another at the speed of light - imagine how much I’d be able to accomplish every single day.

• What’s your trick for staying productive while working from home?

Working from my workstation is one way to get in the right frame of mind. I try not to stray too far from my workstation, especially when I have serious business to accomplish.  

I also try to stay productive by planning my day ahead with to-do lists (though I don’t always stick to the plan at the end of the day).

Taking regular short breaks also helps me remain productive. I try to move around every few hours to clear my thoughts and recalibrate.

• If you could pick two influential people to have dinner with, who would they be?

I have a really long list. But if I had to pick, it would be any combination of Oprah, Sheryl Sandberg, Michelle Obama and Chimamanda Adichie.

Unsurprisingly, they’re all women. Successful women motivate me a lot and have been my driving force over the past few years. When I see successful women, I am confident that I can achieve just as much, or more.

• What would the title of your autobiography be?

It would probably be something motivational like, “Say it, See it, Become it!!”

To me, what’s profound is that the saying part comes before the seeing part. Sometimes it’s difficult to see things that you want if your current circumstances reflect otherwise. But if you say it long enough, you’ll start to see it and believe it. Once you’re able to do these, there’s no stopping you. You’ll definitely become it - ‘it’ being whatever high and lofty or crazy passion you have.

As well - I don’t just pick one thing. I like to have options. So the title of my other autobiography would be “Quiet Strength”.

Looking for a new adventure? Stitch is looking for talented people to join us in building the future of financial infrastructure. View our open roles here.