Maria Medvedeva – A Leader building Inclusive Financial Systems
Quiet Start in Tech, Loud Impact in Finance
Maria began her career not in corporate boardrooms but at the grassroots of technical architecture in the U.S., constructing IT solutions. This early experience paved the way for her financial technology career, allowing her to cultivate precision, analytical problem-solving, and systemic function understanding, without social and money concerns.
She studied network protocols, programming, and the value of incremental innovation. Her backstage work left her with an appreciation of hidden industry systems and the willingness to challenge conventions, understanding that these systems are the source of innovation.
Her early experience prepared her to work through financial advisory work and direct business change under adversity. These experiences demonstrated her professional capabilities and probed the interconnections among technology, finance, and human behavior. They taught her to see past numbers and to recognize opportunity among individuals, processes, and markets that others did not.
Organizational transformation brought with it challenges to be addressed through a learning process, under stress and time constraints. Maria adjusted to uncertainty, turning threats into opportunities. She was committed to sustainable change, keeping in mind the concerns of employees and customers.
Saudi Arabia was a seriously under-served market. When Maria became Mastercard’s first female country manager for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, she didn’t shatter the glass ceiling; she redefined leadership paradigms. “We didn’t just localize products,” Maria says. “We localized trust.”
Her approach was to connect with local communities, work with regulators, and develop products that are meaningful to local values. She firmly believes that financial inclusion is a matter of relevance, not access. Her work demonstrated that “challenging” or “restricted” markets could be used to develop relevant innovation.
This philosophy is also evident in her Vice-Chair position at Skyro, operated by Breeze Ventures, which produces financially inclusive products. She feels that finance must be accessible to everyone, not only the financially empowered.
The world is currently in a sophisticated financial technology age, and Maria emphasizes innovation must be focused on the interests of people.
Transcendent Leadership, Rooted in Humanity
Maria has spearheaded teams in America, Great Britain, the UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, all of which have differing languages and regulations. One thing is true: great leadership is ubiquitous when human.
Her leadership is founded on three core values:
Investing in growth, Maria prioritized internal promotion, mentoring, and women’s career paths. Talent thrives in support, not ambiguity. She believes that open feedback and opportunities allow individuals to succeed and drive business performance.
Embracing diversity, she has witnessed how women’s tech programs and inclusive teams result in sounder decisions. Diversity is a spark, not a checkbox. Various experiences and perspectives drive innovation that resonates with demographics.
She attuned to local nuance, there is no one best practice. Local financial behavior and user needs are addressed by authentic leadership without sacrificing values. Ask, not guess, and blend global knowledge with local wisdom.
Maria is an expert at balancing her role. Her teams trust her as a clear, unassuming leader with a strong sense of what is possible. In any setting, whether in London or Riyadh, she does the same: listen, learn, and lead.
Innovation Through Active Listening
In developing economies, Maria understands that innovation isn’t about importing solutions from elsewhere, rather, it’s about creating contextually relevant systems that address unmet needs and build trust. That’s Maria’s signature strength.
There is potential in emerging markets, but we need to hear in order for it to happen. Her innovation playbook starts with learning real customer problems that keep them from saving, borrowing, or trusting a financial institution and then building solutions that are organic to their lives. Technology has to become a part of people’s lives and not the other way around.
She believes that flashy technology isn’t necessary for innovation. In other instances, the most powerful innovations occur through simple procedures or by eliminating obstacles. “If someone doesn’t get a financial product, they won’t use it. It’s that simple,” she says.
Maria thinks the success of AI has to be balanced with human nature. Machine learning can forecast behavior and divide customers, but it cannot be empathetic like humans. Humans trust humans, particularly in finance.
Three principles are the foundation of her fintech innovation strategy:
● Inclusive accessibility: Meet people on their own terms, either mobile-first or marginalized communities.
● Transparent trust: Decisions should be open to users. No secret information.
● Ecosystem thinking is to work with merchants, institutions, and regulators to build scalable systems.
By integrating such values into all of her projects, Maria brings innovation to everyone, not just the tech-savvy.
Middle East Fintech: Risk Meets Reward
Maria sees the Middle East as promising. Individuals utilize smartphones extensively, but there are few banking facilities catering to all.
This paradox presents an opportunity for financial technology, but is full of threats. The regulatory environment is transforming rapidly. Compliance is more than being legal; it’s establishing relationships.
Regulatory prescience will be required. Maria’s teams have worked countless hours with central banks to ensure compliance keeps pace with innovation. “Regulation is not a blocker, it’s a partner,” she’d say.
Saudi Arabia’s, UAE’s, and Bahrain’s sandboxes for regulation permit fintechs to test products on a sandbox basis but fintechs need more proactive and customer-attuned strategies for efficiency localization and in-job compliance training management.
Cyberattacks are increasing, particularly in the mobile space. The emphasis is on developing secure systems that are unobtrusive to the user.
The potential is huge. The digitally empowered youth of the region yearn for improved money management in the shape of mobile wallets, online credit, and wealth management. Governments make this growth possible by adopting digital agendas and making infrastructure investments.
Maria sees the convergence of policy, demographic change, and potential as an opportunity to fundamentally rethink financial systems.
The Middle Eastern fintech of the future is not trend-chasing but the creation of strong systems of growth and trust.
Building a Seamless Economy
Cross-border payments enrich customers’ experience beyond convenience. Such programs open up chances by allowing one to access various markets, investment, and assistance from relatives. Platforms like Buna facilitate real-time, cross-currency transactions between regional banks at lower costs and improved efficiency of operations, hence fostering entrepreneurship and economic inclusion. Maria sees cross-border fintech as a matter of social responsibility and equitable access, rather than merely a technical hurdle. “Financial systems need to serve the people who move and care; this is at the heart of our global society.”
Millions of expats depend on safe remittance corridors to send money back to their countries of origin in time, which maintains family stability. Maria imagines a unified, worldwide platform that combines the fintech agility with the stability of the traditional banks, where innovation and integrity are united.
Women in Fintech: Leading Change
Maria is a long-time advocate for women in finance and STEM. It’s all about impact, not headlines, to her. Her tips for young women in fintech:
● Master your trade. Skills deserve respect.
● Have sponsors, not mentors. Sponsors open doors.
● Be yourself. Your voice counts.
● Choose firms that show commitment to diversity by action.
She’s seen dramatic transformation. Initiatives such as Saudi Vision 2030 are enabling women in technology and leadership roles, empowering more women to dream and achieve big. She’s worked with women on credit access and digital savings products among others.
Maria coaches up-and-coming women leaders and assists them in breaking down barriers she encountered. Her message doesn’t change: you don’t have to fit in, make your own. Women will drive the future fintech revolution, and not merely token ones.
A Message in Time
Maria sees herself as a builder, and not a beholder of the past. There is economic transformation happening, but systems don’t transform people; people transform systems. She dares leaders to experiment more, worry less. Policymakers can govern smart, not slow. Professionals can reskill and lead with empathy. Finance is always a game of trust, one constructed with each decision and action. Maria’s mission: create inclusive financial systems that work for all.
