In the quiet streets of the Benin Republic, a young boy’s curiosity about technology quietly took root. Achille Arouko, who would go on to become the co‑founder and chief executive officer of Bujeti, first encountered technology not through structured lessons but by sneaking into a cybercafé as a child. At about eight years old, he found himself captivated by the ideas behind screens, keyboards, and endless digital possibilities. What began as an hour in a cybercafé with borrowed money from his mother became an entry point into a world where answers were just a few keystrokes away. Instead of reading textbooks or asking adults for solutions, young Arouko found that technology gave him direct access to discovery and understanding. Those early days kindled a relentless appetite for learning and exploration that would shape his path into tech engineering and building solutions for the world around him.
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From Classroom Distraction to Engineering Ambition
Arouko’s academic journey took him from the Benin Republic to France, but the trajectory was far from predictable. After he discovered his passion for computers during school breaks, he gradually moved from self‑taught experiments on the web to more formal training. He enrolled in a telecommunications and computer science programme at a regional school supported by West African telecom companies, where superior internet access and academic clubs enabled him to sharpen his skills. From there, he earned a place in engineering school in France, where exposure to peers with advanced skills pushed him to deepen his expertise and broaden his technological horizons. What started as a hobby in a cybercafé became a serious pursuit, fuelled by both curiosity and the competitive atmosphere of higher education abroad.
These formative years helped Arouko see technology not just as a tool but as a means of turning problems into answers. This mindset would later influence how he approached his first major product ideas and eventually shape his eventual decisions as a founder and builder in Africa’s tech landscape.
Founding a Fintech with Purpose
After years of learning and experimenting with different technology projects, Arouko’s instinct pushed him toward solving real financial challenges. His career included experiences in various corners of the tech world, but one persistent theme stood out: the friction in managing money across borders and within businesses in Africa. While working at Paystack in 2019, he observed firsthand the vibrancy of Nigeria’s technology ecosystem in contrast to the limited scene in the Benin Republic. The energy, density of meaningful connections, and sheer pace of building in places like Lagos convinced him that Nigeria was not just a market but a fertile ground for innovation. Techpoint Africa
Together with co‑founder Samy Chiba, who brought complementary technical and operational experience, Arouko began experimenting with various ideas in artificial intelligence, retail, and fintech. The breakthrough came when he built an app to solve his personal remittance frustrations. Friends, particularly founders and business operators, recognised its potential immediately. They needed a tool that not only moved money but also managed how it was spent, tracked, and accounted for. Where traditional banks and neobanks focused largely on high‑level payments, Arouko and his team saw an opportunity to build a deeper financial infrastructure tailored for African businesses. Thus, Bujeti pivoted from a consumer finance app into a business‑to‑business platform focused on financial control, expense management, corporate cards, and automated workflows that reflect the realities of operating a business in Africa.
Under the leadership of Arouko and Chiba, Bujeti soon gained international recognition. The startup was accepted into Y Combinator, a prestigious Silicon Valley accelerator that sharpened its team’s focus on speed, customer engagement, and rapid learning. Rather than seeing Nigeria as a secondary option, the founders chose the country as their operational centre precisely because of the dynamic ecosystem that fostered connection, iteration, and problem-solving at scale.
Solving Real Problems for African Businesses
What truly sets Bujeti apart in the crowded fintech landscape in Africa is its laser focus on the everyday challenges that small and medium-sized enterprises face. Many African businesses juggle spreadsheets, disconnected banking portals, and manual financial workflows that are slow and error‑prone. Bujeti’s platform centralises spend management, invoicing, budgeting, multi‑currency accounts, vendor payments, and compliance tools. Its goal is not simply to automate tasks but to act almost like a digital chief financial officer, enabling companies to make sense of their financial data, enforce spending rules, and scale without ballooning overheads.
This is where Nigeria’s tech ecosystem and operational realities have been crucial. Arouko and his team embedded themselves in an environment where businesses were clamouring for technology that did more than transact; businesses wanted tools that adapted to their growing needs. This emphasis on solving real pain points has informed Bujeti’s feature roadmap, with powerful integrations like corporate cards for teams, approvals workflows, and even advisory initiatives like Bujeti Academy to help firms build stronger financial practices.
Beyond local success, Bujeti’s platform recognises the increasing appetite for regional and cross‑border commerce in Africa. Many SMEs aspire to operate beyond their home markets, but fragmented currency systems and regulatory differences create barriers. Bujeti’s design embraces currency agnosticism so users can manage funds in naira, dollars, or other African currencies without switching systems. This cross‑border capability is key to supporting pan‑African growth and reflects the founders’ belief that business solutions should be borderless, even if financial infrastructure historically has not been.
The Future of Tech in Africa
For Arouko, technology is not merely a career. It became a way of life, indicative of a generation that does not just consume digital tools but builds them from the ground up. He has spoken publicly about the need for African tech to go beyond superficial applications of trends like artificial intelligence and focus instead on solving problems in healthcare, education, food security, and more. His critique resonates with many in the broader ecosystem who see substance and impact as the essential metrics of success.
In Nigeria, where fintech is among the most vibrant sectors of the tech scene, Arouko’s journey embodies a pattern of learning, adapting, and then building with intention. His career demonstrates how early curiosity, coupled with global exposure and deep engagement in local ecosystems, can converge into a startup that not only serves businesses but also charts a path for others looking to solve Africa’s hardest problems with technology.
As Bujeti continues to evolve, the focus remains on creating tools that empower businesses to understand and control their finances in a way that was previously impossible on the continent. For many founders, executives, and financial leaders across Africa, platforms like Bujeti do more than digitise processes; they unlock opportunities, reduce risk, and allow businesses to grow with confidence. Nigeria’s role in that story has been central, offering the networks, challenges, and momentum that founders like Arouko need to turn ideas into platforms with real impact.
If Africa is to build the next generation of world‑class tech companies, the footsteps of founders like Achille Arouko remind us that curiosity, persistence, and a keen sense of purpose can take innovators from modest beginnings to creating infrastructure that empowers entire industries.
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