Economic activities are fueled by technological advancement. Technological innovation is a tool for economic development, and it can be used to apply inventions to new corporate opportunities, social demands, and environmental problems. Technology innovation is a requirement for any firm to be competitive.
The West African Nation has recently developed into an incubator for some of the largest firms on the continent, including the online marketplace Jumia and the talent accelerator Andela. As a result, a new breed of tech entrepreneurs, or “techpreneurs,” has emerged, whose ventures and discoveries are enhancing the quality of life for people in Nigeria and beyond.
Here, in no particular order are the 10 techpreneurs to watch out for in 2023 as we recognise and honor their creativity and commitment to the socioeconomic development of the country in order to foster a culture of nation-building and leadership dynamics.
1. Chijioke Dozie
Chijioke Dozie is the CEO of online consumer finance platform OneFi and Carbon, the leading Nigerian lending platform app, which after only two years on the market has been downloaded by over 1 million users and recently secured a $5.5mn debt facility from Lendable. OneFi is also the first African fintech company to receive a credit rating.
Chijioke sourced direct investment opportunities for Zephyr Management LP and the International Finance Corporation [IFC] before he and his brother Ngozi co-founded Carbon. Additionally, he has an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MSc in Risk Management from the University of Reading, and a BA in Economics from the University of East Anglia. Dozie has experience in management, entrepreneurship, venture capital, primary investment, and private equity.
2. Dozy Mmobuosi
Dozy Mmobuosi is the group CEO of Tingo International Holdings Inc., a multinational organization active in the telecommunications, remittance, healthcare, and agriculture sectors in numerous nations. Tingo has accomplished remarkable things in the industries it operates in throughout the years. Twelve million smartphones were successfully delivered by the company to participants in the Nigerian agricultural value chain. Leading technology and device-as-a-service platform Tingo, Inc. is dedicated to promoting digital trade in Africa.
Dozy launched Tingo Mobile PLC in 2001 and has extensive international expertise in countries like China, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Dozy has served as an advisor to a number of major corporations, guiding their business strategies and plans (including investments, acquisitions, and organic expansion) into new international markets. Additionally, he oversaw Tingo’s tremendous operational growth on three continents.
Global issues like Climate Change and Food Security have an impact on Dozy’s business and charitable endeavors. Dozy has a strong commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, which emphasize social advancement. The primary principle of Tingo is to provide Africa the chance to be the central focus of efforts to address some of these urgent issues.
3. Bosun Tijani
With locations in Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda, Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) is one of Africa’s greatest networks of tech talent. The innovation center’s founder, Bosun Tijani, stated that the goal of CcHUB was to provide an environment for Africans to build technology that will change their lives.
Since it was founded in 2010, particularly in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, it has functioned as a gathering place for entrepreneurs and innovators to discuss their ideas and put them into action. The entrepreneur has been able to give IT companies access to the resources they need to develop their ideas into long-lasting enterprises through CcHUB.
4. Odunayo Eweniyi
Women-founded technology firms are scarce everywhere in the world. According to research from 2016, just 9% of startups in Africa had women in leadership positions. Even so, Odunayo Eweniyi, co-founder and COO of financial technology business PiggyVest, is unfazed by these somber statistics.
A website for automated savings and investments called PiggyVest helps Nigerians save aside tiny sums of money every day, every week, or every month. Although it functions like a piggy bank, it also provides a range of financial services, including investment opportunities. The business currently has more than two million registered users, according to Eweniyi.
5. Sim Shagaya
One of the many firms Sim is engaged with is Konga, which leads Nigeria’s e-commerce market. Sim has over ten years of expertise in new media and investment banking and is a multi-time entrepreneur and highly skilled tech specialist. Sim has had positions at RealNetworks, Microstrategy, and Google. South African-based Naspers and Kinnevik have invested $90 million in Sim’s Konga.
He is also the founder and CEO of uLesson, an educational technology company that aims to assist students achieve their academic potential.
6. Oye Akideinde
Oye Akideinde is a Music, Digital & Tech Business Executivewith over 23 years’ experience. Oye is the co-Founder of Continued Entertainment –a Technology-driven Content,Entertainment, Projects & Marketing services firm that offersservices that help Clients build their businesses. The Vision forContinued Entertainment is to provide strategic solutions to helpbusinesses and individuals compete.
He is also the Co-founder of MerryGo Kids – an edutainmentplatform for kids and families. MerryGo Kids’ mission is toDelight and inspire children through exceptional entertaining,educative & creative content to help them unlock their fullpotential and contribute to building a better world. This children start-up intends to address the dearth of quality, inspirationalAfrocentric programming that attract & engage young audiencesand be part of a global community empowering children to raisetheir voices and create positive change.
Oye is a creative techpreneur and sits as an investor/advisor in several other creative tech start-ups.
7. Chika Madubuko
The healthcare industry in Nigeria is another one where techpreneurs are upending the status quo. After a member of her family became unwell, Chika Madubuko established her health care technology business, Greymate Care, in 2016.
The business offers vulnerable patients care on demand. According to Madubuko, Greymate Care today employs over 1,000 caregivers, all of whom have received training in emergency first aid, food hygiene, primary care, and health and safety. It functions as an online platform where those who need care can choose the kind of services they need and are paired with the right caregivers.
8. Mark Essien
An online hotel booking network was founded by software developer, web and mobile development specialist Mark Essien. In 2013, Jason Njoku’s Spark.ng provided Hotels.ng with a $225,000 startup investment.
Hotels.ng’s network included 6,707 hotels as of April 2015. Mark is listed in Forbes Africa’s 2015 30 Under 30.
9. Bankole Oluwafemi
Long before Nigeria’s startup environment became what it is today, Bankole Oluwafemi started blogging on Techcabal in 2013. As it evolved over time from a simple blog to a fully-fledgeddigital journal, Bankole established a reputation as one of the most powerful and connected individuals in the system. It is nearly difficult for any significant news to break or evolve in Lagos, the hub of Nigeria’s tech economy, without first reaching him.
10. Temie Giwa-Tubosun
Temie established LifeBank in January 2016 as a corporate organization to address Nigeria’s blood scarcity issue. A medical distribution startup called LifeBank searches for and sends vital medical supplies to hospitals in Nigeria using data and technology. The birth of her first child and the difficulties that resulted from that experience served as the foundation’s inspiration.
The logistics and technology firm has its headquarters in Lagos and was incubated at the Co-Creation Hub in Yaba. The business assisted in the delivery of more than 2000 pints of blood to patients around the state as of January 2017. She met Mark Zuckerberg on August 31, 2016, on his first trip to Nigeria. In his town hall meeting the following day, Zuckerberg made reference to two ladies, including her.
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