Nigeria’s digital landscape is undergoing a thrilling renaissance, and at the vanguard are the brightest minds transforming sectors from finance to agriculture to civic governance. These are the Top 20 Nigerian Techies Driving Local Innovation in 2025, individuals whose work is propelling the nation forward. In this feature, we move beyond buzzwords and fundraising headlines to tell their real-world stories—capturing the passion, grit, and human insight they bring to solving Nigeria’s most pressing challenges.
Table of Contents
1. Olugbenga Agboola – CEO & Co‑founder, Flutterwave
In the world of Nigerian fintech, Olugbenga Agboola is a household name. As the co-founder and CEO of Flutterwave, he helped build one of Africa’s most powerful payment infrastructures. With operations spanning over 30 countries and catering to global merchants, Agboola’s work has made seamless cross-border transactions a reality, empowering Nigerian businesses to play on a global stage. By streamlining payments and delivering developer-friendly APIs, Flutterwave bridges financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. His leadership cements him among the most influential Techies reshaping Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem.
2. Tosin Eniolorunda – CEO, Moniepoint
A veteran from Interswitch’s early days, Tosin Eniolorunda now heads Moniepoint, a key player in SME banking and agent networks. Under his watch, Moniepoint has powered millions of transactions and broadened financial access to informal traders and small businesses. Tosin’s innovations in agent banking have woven financial technologies into everyday life in markets across Nigeria, making him a standout among the country’s Techies fighting for financial inclusion.
3. Shola Akinlade – Co‑founder & CEO, Paystack
Alongside Ezra Olubi, Shola Akinlade built Paystack—a gateway that radically simplified online payments in West Africa. Acquired by Stripe in 2020, Paystack remains a beacon of success for Nigerian Techies wanting to scale globally. Akinlade’s focus on user-first payment flows catalyzed a wave of digital entrepreneurs and reshaped how Nigeria does business online.
4. Mitchell Elegbe – Founder & CEO, Interswitch
One of the earliest pioneers, Mitchell Elegbe established Interswitch in 2002, laying the groundwork for digital payments across West Africa. Under his stewardship, Interswitch introduced the first integrated payment and switching systems, boosting adoption of ATM networks, POS machines, and card payment rails. Elegbe continues to inspire the next generation of Techies focused on fintech infrastructure.
5. Tayo Oviosu – Founder & CEO, Paga
Paga’s reach extends far beyond its sleek mobile app—its mission is financial inclusion through low-cost, accessible mobile financial services. Led by Tayo Oviosu, the platform now supports over 20 million users, connecting remote communities to digital banking and payments. By empowering underserved populations, Oviosu epitomizes Nigerian Techies committed to tangible social impact.
6. Sim Shagaya – Founder, uLesson & Konga
Sim Shagaya has made waves in both e-commerce and edtech. Konga, his pioneering marketplace, connected local sellers with consumers, then he turned his attention to education by founding uLesson. Designed as a high-quality, accessible learning app, uLesson addresses gaps in Nigeria’s education sector. Shagaya proves that Nigerian Techies can disrupt multiple industries while amplifying learning across the continent.
7. Jason Njoku – Co‑founder & CEO, IrokoTV
One of Nigeria’s early digital storytellers, Jason Njoku, launched IrokoTV to bring Nollywood to global audiences. Now a streaming pioneer, IrokoTV showcases how Nigerian Techies are rewriting narratives—decoupling creativity from geography and democratising the continent’s film industry to the world.
8. Chijioke Dozie – CEO, Carbon
Formerly OneFi, Carbon is one of Nigeria’s leading digital finance platforms—delivering loans, bill payments, and financial tools—under the leadership of Chijioke Dozie. His focus on seamless credit access makes him a key Techie shaping Nigeria’s consumer finance landscape.
9. Odunayo Eweniyi – Co‑founder & COO, PiggyVest
If saving and investing is the new frontier for Nigerian youth, PiggyVest is its flag-bearer, and Odunayo Eweniyi is at its operational helm. The platform’s simple interface and disciplined approach to finance have made it an essential tool for a generation of savers, marking Eweniyi as one of the most socially impactful Techies in 2025.
10. Fara Ashiru Jituboh – Co‑founder & CEO, Okra
Championing open banking in Nigeria, Fara built Okra to securely connect financial institutions to fintech applications. As open banking gains ground, Okra’s APIs are shaping the next generation of money apps. Fara is, undeniably, one of the forward-thinking Nigerian Techies strengthening fintech infrastructure
11. Blessing Abeng – Co‑founder, Ingressive for Good
Combining tech and social impact, Blessing’s Ingressive for Good equips underrepresented youth with scholarships, technical training, and mentorship. As a former founder at Disha, she’s also built platforms promoting female empowerment. Abeng leads a movement of Nigerian Techies nurturing tomorrow’s innovators.
12. Kofo Akinkugbe – Founder & CEO, SecureID Nigeria
SecureID produces smart cards and digital ID systems—a crucial pillar for identity infrastructure in a digital economy. Kofo’s leadership has grown Nigeria’s local capacity to secure data, making her a prominent Techie behind digital identity innovation.
13. Damilola Odufuwa – Head of Product Communications, Binance Africa
A tech communicator and advocate for women and youth in blockchain, Damilola moved Binance into Africa and actively supports female inclusion in tech. Her dual role as a Binance executive and Feminist Coalition co-founder positions her among inspiring Nigerian Techies, amplifying civic and financial inclusion.
14. Ezra Olubi – Co‑founder & CTO, Paystack
As the technical backbone of Paystack, Ezra built a resilient infrastructure powering online payments. His work simplifies the integration of payments into products across Nigeria, and he continues to influence the narrative about high-quality, scalable tech from the country.
15. Kola Aina – Founder, Ventures Platform
Aina’s VC firm invests aggressively in tech startups across fintech, education, health, and digital identity. Through mentorship and capital, he empowers early founders. As a wealthy ally to upcoming Techies, Aina is fueling Nigeria’s innovation engine.
16. Damilare Ajiboye – CEO & Senior Developer, Ocean Trends Digital
Damilare leads enterprise solutions serving fintech, edtech, utilities, and healthcare. He also mentors grassroots developer communities. His dual role makes him one of the rare Techies with strong enterprise and community leadership.
17. Prosper Otemuyiwa – Developer Advocate & Co‑founder, forLoop Africa
A celebrated open-source evangelist, Prosper co-founded forLoop Africa, a developer community bridging tech skills across the continent. Through advocacy and education, he’s one of the most vocal Nigerian Techies pushing open-source development forward.
18. Fisayo Fosudo – Tech Content Creator & Visual Communicator
Influential and insightful, Fisayo builds tech literacy through video content aimed at Nigeria’s youth, making him a creative Techie translating complex tech into engaging narratives.
19. Iyinoluwa Aboyeji – Co‑founder, Andela & Flutterwave; Founder, Future Africa
A serial entrepreneur with a proven track record—Andela, Flutterwave—today Aboyeji invests in African startups through Future Africa. His strategic support makes him a catalytic Techie in accelerating Nigeria’s ecosystem.
20. Ade Ayeni – CTO, SaaS Developer
Ade builds scalable SaaS platforms for logistics, HR, and ERP across West Africa. As a technical architect powering B2B digital services, he’s one of the foundational Techies influencing enterprise-level adoption.
Why These 20 Techies Matter
Catalyst for National Transformation
Together, they are pushing Nigeria’s ICT sector—now accounting for around 20% of GDP—well beyond its traditional bounds. From Lagos to Jos, their solutions are resolving complex social and economic challenges.
Global Ambition Meets Local Execution
With international investors, global tech platforms, and cross-border expansion, these Techies are telling a powerful story: Nigerian innovation isn’t just for local consumption—it competes on the global stage.
Emerging Tech Clusters
Hub cities like Lagos, Abuja, Ilorin, and Jos are forming powerful ecosystems. Events like GITEX Nigeria—featuring AI summits, startup festivals, and investor roadshows—showcase and connect these growing ecosystems.
Policy + Pipeline = Momentum
Government programs like 3MTT aim to train 3 million tech talents by 2027, adding skilled professionals to fuel innovation. Meanwhile, digital parks like the NCC facility in Ogun State reinforce infrastructural capacity.
Thematic Highlights: Where Nigerian Techies Excel
| Theme | Role of Techies |
|---|---|
| Fintech & Open Banking | Payment rails (Agboola, Eniolorunda, Akinlade), SME credit (Dozie), open banking (Jituboh), savings culture (Eweniyi) |
| EdTech & Content | Learning apps (Shagaya), youth coding (Fisayo, Prosper), high school STEM (uLesson), content streaming (Njoku) |
| Identity & Civic Tech | Digital ID systems (Akinkugbe), crypto comms (Odufuwa), civic voice (Abeng) |
| Enterprise SaaS & Infrastructure | Nigerian-built B2B platforms (Ayeni, Ajiboye), developer ecosystem (Otemuyiwa), VC injection (Aina) |
Snapshot: Nigeria’s Tech Environment in 2025
- Lagos leads global tech growth, boasting five unicorns and 11.6× ecosystem valuation since 2017.
- Tech capacity-building is surging: Nigeria rolled out 3MTT, the digital park in Ogun, and space-tech accelerators from NigComSat.
- Regulatory foundations include the Startup Act, NITDA initiatives, and global showcase stages like Vivatech and GITEX.
Challenges That Techies Navigate
- Infrastructure limitations: Power outages, insufficient broadband, not only test resilience—they enable Techies to innovate solutions like offline ML pipelines, low-bandwidth approaches, and solar/hybrid infrastructure integrations.
- Funding gaps for deep-tech: Compared to fintech, deep-tech and climate-tech struggle for capital, yet promising companies in AI localisation (like CDIAL) are drawing notice.
- Regulatory friction: Licensing delays and IP policy lag can slow startups. Engagement from Techies, NGOs, and government is bridging these divides, thanks to advocacy by Cc-HUB, Paradigm Initiative, She Code Africa, and others.
A Season of Renaissance
2025 marks a turning point:
- Diverse funding — increasing West African VC, international backing, and angel groups.
- Talent feeding the cycle — 3MTT graduates, coder communities, and diaspora returnees are creating critical mass.
- Global reach — Nigerian Techies are exhibiting at Vivatech, getting picked at GITEX, and winning international awards.
- Policy alignment — national agendas, startup acts, and digital economy strategies are creating fertile ground for innovation.
What Lies Ahead
Emerging Sectors to Watch
- Agri‑AI & climate solutions: homegrown RAG tools for crop insights; hardware like “ScareGrow” devices for sustainable farming.
- Language tech: AI localisation via multilingual platforms like CDIAL is redefining digital inclusion.
- Health-tech & civic-tech: expect distributed medical data tools and civic oversight platforms emerging from current tech frameworks.
Techies On the Horizon
Today’s youth coders, community advocates, and NGO-led founders are tomorrow’s headline-making Techies. With newfound support systems and infrastructure, the pipeline is richer than ever.
Enduring Impact
Whether in how Nigerians pay, learn, farm, or organise, these Techies are building cumulative legacy architectures. As infrastructure proliferates and networks densify, the interventions we are seeing in 2025 will define Nigerian digital society for decades.
Conclusion
Our Top 20 Nigerian Techies Driving Local Innovation in 2025 are more than startup founders—they are nation-builders. In weaving together bold ingenuity, social purpose, and a global outlook, they’re not just shaping technology. They’re shaping Nigeria—and in doing so, they amplify the promise of an African innovation superclass.
They inspire the next wave of Techies: idealistic, resilient, and ready to defy limits. As investors, policymakers, developers, educators, and everyday citizens continue to rally around them, one thing is clear: a tech-driven future beckons—and Nigeria’s Techies are leading the way.
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