Prime property financing firm CapitalRise announces today the expansion of its female-led product-engineering team with the appointment of two new hires. Ola Lawal joins the company as the Head of Engineering and Lola Ogungbuaro will take responsibility for Quality Assurance. 

These appointments bring CapitalRise’s overall team growth to +54% over the last 12 months (to August 2023) and reflects the company’s commitment to hiring the best talent. This is accompanied by overall company expansion, with the firm seeing a 125% increase in its loan book in the year ending Q1 2023.

The hires also further emphasise CapitalRise’s investment in technological resources to support growth in demand and to enhance their services. While providing high-quality and personal customer service, the firm also values bespoke online platforms unique to the industry, which makes finance more accessible, affordable and agile.

As Head of Engineering, Ola Lawal will build on her diverse expertise in Software Architecture and Development, Security, Data Protection and Privacy (GDPR), DevOps and Cloud Infrastructure. Ola has over 15 years’ experience in the sector, having held previous senior technical roles at high-profile organisations and leading multiple engineering teams in both the public and private sector.

Lola Ogungbuaro’s new role as Quality Assurance Engineer will involve ensuring that CapitalRise’s software application is reliable, secure, and functional at a high-end quality for customers. Lola has a wealth of experience in the business and technical side of the financial industry and brings prior experience from the commercial and retail banking sectors.

Ola Lawal, Head of Engineering, CapitalRise comments:

“It is a privilege to join the team at CapitalRise and I am excited to draw on my past experience in technology and engineering to continue the company’s impressive growth and technological creativity. Having worked within the industry for a considerable time, the property investment sector has a reputation for being old-fashioned, so it is great to have the opportunity to work in a team that is looking to find new ways to innovate and create exciting new solutions.”

Lola Ogungbuaro, Quality Assurance Engineer, CapitalRise said:

“I am honoured to be part of the technology team at CapitalRise and to work alongside many talented individuals to drive company performance. To be part of a diverse team allows for the development of fresh ideas that challenge the mainstream sector and inspire different ways of thinking. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”  

Uma Rajah, CEO and Co-Founder, CapitalRise said:

“CapitalRise’s expansion of our technology team is an exciting development and just one example of the many ways that we continue to grow and diversify despite a challenging economic environment. I have worked in the FinTech sector for over 16 years, and it great to see women taking on leadership roles, in what has historically been a very male-dominated industry, as CapitalRise continues to hire the best people for each role.

“Striking a balance between tradition and technology is essential to us at CapitalRise and we continuously strive to meet our proven high-quality underwriting and personal customer service, whilst simultaneously advancing our technology methods to keep us agile and competitive. We are very pleased to welcome two new members to our team and to continue the conscientious processes and diligent rigour that defines CapitalRise.”