On Strategy, Execution, and What’s Next for Spenda: Q&A with Karim Razak, Executive Chairman

It’s been almost two months since Karim Razak joined Spenda’s Board, bringing with him a unique blend of entrepreneurial experience, operational insight and longstanding shareholder perspective.

While Karim’s appointment as Executive Chairman reflects his strategic oversight, his involvement extends beyond the boardroom. During a pivotal stage of the company’s evolution, Karim has also stepped into a temporary sales leadership role to help sharpen Spenda’s commercial focus and accelerate execution.

In this Q&A, Karim shares his career journey, what excites him about Spenda’s direction, and why he’s taken an active, hands-on role as the business moves into its next phase of growth

Can you share a bit about your career path and what brought you onto Spenda’s Board?

After completing my university studies, I spent more than a decade starting, growing and selling a range of businesses across different industries. My first venture was an education business that connected tutors with students, which I later sold and which taught me some valuable early lessons about building and scaling a company.

From there, I reinvested into real estate, which opened doors into hospitality, health technology and ultimately healthcare. After exiting much of my investment portfolio, I felt well placed to contribute in a more hands-on way at Spenda, supporting the business through an important period of transformation and growth.

Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth in the coming year?

One of my key priorities is ensuring our customers, partners, shareholders and staff have a clear understanding of the three core products we offer:

• Spenda Pay: An accounts payable platform that enables SMEs to securely pay invoices while earning reward points.
• Spenda Retail: An all-in-one platform that helps businesses create quotes, schedule and track jobs, issue invoices, and accept payments.
• Spenda Ledger: Embedded payments infrastructure built for marketplaces and software platforms.

These products solve real problems so clarity in how we communicate them is critical.

At the same time, there’s a strong focus on moving quickly – selling, onboarding and supporting customers at pace. The foundations are in place and the opportunity now lies in disciplined execution.

I’m also very focused on improving investor confidence. Having been a shareholder for six years, I’ve seen the business evolve over time. Since joining the Board, I’ve gained even deeper insight into the strategy and operating plan, and that gives me real confidence in the direction we’re heading and the progress being made.

What motivated you to step into the sales role during this transition period?

Establishing a focused sales function allows us to move quickly and align sales activity closely with our product strategy. I’ve spent time working alongside each product owner to build a deep understanding of what we’re offering and identify where it delivers the greatest value.

There’s a strong pipeline of potential customers, and the focus now is on execution – converting interest into long-term partnerships and delivering outcomes.

What will be your top priorities over the next few months?

My focus will be on ensuring the Board is adding genuine value to the business by staying closely connected to day-to-day operations, not just governance. That operational connection is particularly important during periods of change and growth.

We’ll also continue engaging regularly with shareholders, ensuring transparency and open communication as the business progresses.

Sales and marketing will remain critical priorities as we build momentum, while maintaining strong cost discipline and moving the business toward profitability as efficiently as possible.

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