Bosun Tijani, chief
executive officer, Co-Creation Hub; Iyinoluwa Abodeji, founder, FlutterWave,
and Roseline Ilori, country manager, MTech Communications were among the list
of influential tech-industry players unveiled in the 2017 edition of the #YNaijaPowerList
- the list is a roll call of the most powerful Nigerian influencers under
the age of 40.
Currently in its sixth
consecutive year, Y!/YNaija.com, the internet newspaper for young Nigerians,
unveils the Powerlist to celebrate decision-makers, changemakers, and
influencers breaking boundaries in Nigeria.
Other personalities on
the 2017 Powerlist are Sola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, founders of PayStack, a
company which regarded by Forbes as one of "Nigeria's most hotly
anticipated tech startups"; Olaoluwa Awojoodu, founder/CEO, Electronic
Settlement Limited (ESL), a financial solutions entity that delivers payment
infrastructure services through CashEnvoy, Paypad and Paycenter; Olamide Bada,
managing director, Jumia Foods, and Oluyomi Ojo, co-founder, Printivo.
See full profile of the
#YNaijaPowerlist2017 below:
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji
The founder of the
payments startup, Flutterwave may be the most influential person working in
technology at the moment. A serial entrepreneur, Aboyeji has been part of initiatives
like Bookneto and Fora, before hitting big with Andela, a
Zuckerberg-certified global talent accelerator that trains young intelligent
Africans to be world-class developers. Aboyeji moved on to float
Flutterwave, a fintech company that recently raised funding over $10
million in a Series A funding.
Sola Akinlade and Ezra
Olubi
Online payment trends in
Nigeria have been less than impressive to say the least. Akinlade and Olubi’s
Paystack is a promising payment solution that is set on challenging
Interswitch’s chokehold on the market. Paystack tries to deliver a safe,
modern payment experience for customers and merchants in Africa. Paystack is enlisted into Y
Combinator, a major Silicon Valley startup accelerator and has
enjoyed seed funding of $120,000.
Olaoluwa Awojoodu
A rejection slip from
Paypal was the prompter that led Olaoluwa Awojoodu to consider operating his
own online financial solutions company. The result of this determination is
Electronic Settlement Limited, a financial solutions entity, present in Nigeria
and Ghana that delivers payment infrastructure services through a host of
companies, CashEnvoy, Paypad and Paycenter, to a wide variety of industries
ranging from MSMEs and banks, to governments and multinationals.
Olamide Bada
After moving back to Nigeria, Olamide Bada project managed Jumia's Black Friday event
and worked as an operational development manager before she was tapped to run
Jumia Food. This position puts her in the difficult position of managing an
expanding team that includes a fleet of 100+ delivery riders across Lagos,
Abuja and Port Harcourt. Bada sets the strategic direction of the business
across all functions including sales, operations and marketing.
Roseline Ilori
With degrees from
Obafemi Awolowo University, plus a decade experience in IT, Information
Systems, Telecommunications and Mobile Communication, Roseline Ilori is the
chief executive of MTech Communications. A business strategist and growth
catalyst, Roseline acts as EMEA board director for the Mobile Ecosystem Forum
(MEF), the global trade body that acts as an impartial and authoritative
champion for addressing issues affecting the broadening mobile ecosystem.
Oluyomi Ojo
Oluyomi Ojo is one third
of the trio that founded Printivo, an exciting company that leverages cutting
edge technology tools to make the printing process more fun and less cumbersome
for individuals and corporates alike. Since inception, Printivo has received
grants from the federal government’s YouWin programme, as well as
Etisalat’s Innovation Award and early-stage technology venture capital
firm, EchoVC Partners.
Bosun Tijani
Would there be a vibrant
tech culture in Nigeria without the Co-Creation Hub? Perhaps, but none can deny
the overall influence that CcHUB continues to wield from its Yaba location.
Started by Bosun Tijani and Femi Longe, Co-Creation hub remains the
biggest and most influential ideas hub in the country. From BudgIT to the
Re:learn centre in Abuja, some of the finest and most influential IT projects
in Nigeria have been conceived or developed at the hub.
Fikayo Ogundipe
Finding a house in Lagos
can be tough. Dealing with landlords, agents and shady middlemen can be
overwhelming. Fisayo Ogundipe’s ToLet which he founded with three of his
University classmates is here to make the process a lot smoother. And it is all
online. As CEO, Ogundipe has guided the company to raise $240,000 seed funding from Jason Njoku’s Spark
and a further $1.2m in a Series A funding round led by the
Malaysia-based Frontier Digital Ventures.
Damilola Solesi
Inspired by the Toy
Story film, Damilola Solesi took her passion for animation into a business
enterprise, setting up the SMIDS animation studios, a company that
creates 3D computer animation, content production, motion graphics and
visual effects. A Mandela Washington Fellow, Solesi co-founded Women
R.I.S.E, a platform that inspires women to pursue interests in technology
through collaboration, networking, training, mentorship, and funding
opportunities.
Ire Aderinokun
A Frontend developer and
user interface designer, Aderinokun who holds degrees in Psychology and Law, is
the first female Google development expert in Nigeria. Because of this
distinction, Aderinokun has been able to travel the world, sharing her work
experiences. Former technical lead at Big Cabal media, Aderinokun runs
bitsofcode, a blog dedicated to submissions on technology and front-end
development. She presently works as a software developer at eyeo.
The 2017
#YNaijaPowerList, which launched on Monday, 4 September, 2017 with the release
of the Technology shortlist, continues through the week with the most powerful
influencers in Advocacy, Culture, Fashion & Style, Social Media, Politics
and more
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