Black History Month is about recognizing impact, honouring leadership, and celebrating the strength of Black communities. We sat down with two Financeit team members to talk about what this month means to them, the influence of Black leadership, and why community matters.
Jacques-Pierre Keou Lenteu | Senior Bilingual Credit Risk Specialist
Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your role at Financeit, and your career path into fintech.
My name is Jacques, I’m originally from Cameroon but grew up in England and immigrated to Canada about a decade ago to pursue my post-graduate studies. I started my career in the financial services shortly after, joining major banking institutions along the way. Over time, that path led me into fintech.
I’m currently a Senior Bilingual Credit Risk Specialist. My role includes reviewing partner and merchant onboarding applications nationwide, ensuring loan compliance with provincial regulations, managing merchant incidents, and supporting projects with sales and analytics teams to drive shareholder value. I assess the financial health of prospective partners, provide recommendations to senior leadership, contribute to automation and AI initiatives to streamline workflows, and analyze loan trends to proactively mitigate risk.
In the spirit of Black History Month’s focus on legacy, is there a professional accomplishment (big or small) or a moment of progress in your career that you hope makes the path a little smoother for someone who comes after you?
Throughout the past year, I’ve been working towards making financial statements more accessible to the team. While preparing them is complex, understanding and interpreting them should be a core skill – even for non-specialists. Financials are often public records and are critical to assessing partner risk. To support this, I’ve developed training materials with case studies, led recorded training sessions on extracting insights and calculating key ratios, and coached team members through live underwriting cases until they were confident. Overall, it has been a very rewarding experience.
Canadian Black history is deeply rooted in community-led success. In what ways has community through mentorship, family, or professional networks shaped your growth or supported you in your career?
I’ve built meaningful connections during my time here. Over the past year, conversations with senior leaders in Collections/Recovery and Treasury/Finance – Youssouf Ismael and Spencer Amoa Williams – have inspired me to strive for the better. Learning from peers with similar backgrounds and seeing a clear path forward within the company has helped keep me focused on both personal growth and team goals. Their mentorship has played a key role in developing my skills as both a contributor and an emerging leader.
One of Financeit’s values is ‘Personality.’ Is there a specific part of your heritage, cultural perspective, or lived experience that you feel makes you a more creative problem-solver or a better leader/colleague?
A lot of who I am was shaped by time spent with my father. He was a chartered professional accountant, so I grew up around offices, watching how he interacted with colleagues, clients, and stakeholders. From a young age, I learned that strong leaders listen, adapt, and communicate clearly, especially in moments of adversity. Good communication builds trust, recognizes potential in others, and empowers people to act with integrity and confidence.
Charles Vusi | Senior Underwriter
Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your role at Financeit, and your career path into fintech.
I am an immigrant from Cameroon and have lived in Canada for about 15 years. Before joining Financeit as a Loan Verification Officer (I now work as a Senior Underwriter) my work experience consisted largely of roles with limited long-term growth, including a supervisory role at a retail store and a customer service position for an Internet service provider.
I was drawn to Financeit because of my business education and a brief experience in insurance sales, which introduced me to credit analysis. Today, my role is a mix between credit analysis and risk management. As an underwriter, I assess client eligibility while ensuring that approved loans are legitimate and aligned with our risk standards.
In the spirit of Black History Month’s focus on legacy, is there a professional accomplishment (big or small) or a moment of progress in your career that you hope makes the path a little smoother for someone who comes after you?
Getting the job without feeling the need to change my appearance was an accomplishment in itself. A coworker once shared that he cut his hair before an interview because he didn’t think he’d be hired otherwise. After joining and seeing me in the role, he realized he may have overthought it. Seeing someone like me in the position might have changed how he approached that decision.
Canadian Black history is deeply rooted in community-led success. In what ways has community through mentorship, family, or professional networks shaped your growth or supported you in your career?
I have two older sisters who work in the same industry, which has given me both a strong knowledge base and trusted guidance as I navigate my career and personal growth. I also come from a highly educated family – between my parents and siblings, there are three master’s degrees and a PhD – which has naturally motivated me to continue learning and developing professionally. Seeing those examples firsthand has reinforced that with time and dedication, my goals are achievable. Strong family ties have played a key role in shaping both my personal and career growth.
One of Financeit’s values is ‘Personality.’ Is there a specific part of your heritage, cultural perspective, or lived experience that you feel makes you a more creative problem-solver or a better leader/colleague?
Community is central to my background, and I believe that same spirit belongs in the workplace. Making a genuine effort to connect with colleagues and build respectful relationships helps create an environment where people feel comfortable being themselves. It’s not about being best friends with everyone – it’s about fostering inclusion through openness, mutual respect, and real human connection.
If you’re looking for your next role in fintech, please take a look at our careers page: https://www.financeit.io/careers-apply-today-financeit/