Nigerian startup founders are repping the country globally. Let’s talk about 10 OAU Alumni repping the citadel of knowledge among these brilliant problem solvers.
We have tens of startups founded by Nigerians and most of them are pretty doing well. But lately, attention has been drawn to how OAU and Covenant University produced the highest number of “millionaire” West African startup founders in the last ten years according to a report by Techpoint Africa.
According to the report, OAU peaked at the top spot producing 12 Startup founders followed by Covenant University which produced 6 founders.
But this blog post is not about the report by Techpoint Africa, because that report is based on startups that have raised $1m. This blog post is about successful startup founders who graduated from OAU whether the startup raised to $1m or not.
About Obafemi Awolowo University
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is one of the biggest, oldest, and most respected universities in Africa. Founded in 1962, the school is recognized globally, currently ranked #44 in Best Global Universities in Africa, and #1187 in the Best Global Universities.
If you see OAU students past or present shouting “Great Ife”, just know that they are not exaggerating, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife is indeed a great citadel of knowledge.
Do you want to talk about the beautiful campus, the reputation, or how the school has produced a lot of well-to-do people in the country in almost every sector?
Maybe that’s one of the reasons thousands of students want to gain admission to the school every year even when they know they have higher chances in other schools, but they’ll still choose to compete for OAU admission.
We have a lot of successful people who have attended or graduated from this school, you can see some of them in the entertainment industry such as Fireboy, ASAKE, and Blaqbonez among others. Femi Otedola, one of the wealthiest African men, is also a product of Obafemi Awolowo University.
If you’re talking about big men in politics: Dele Momodu, Olusegun Mimiko, Lai Mohammed, Olusegun Oni, Dapo Abiodun, and Rotimi Akeredolu are proud alumni of OAU.
But let’s talk about people in tech, we have tons of successful OAU alumni who are today working in the area of technology in the country or abroad.
But today, I will be showing you 10 successful startup founders who graduated from or have attended Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU.
Kindly note that this order of arrangement is random and not to be made exclusive as to how important or successful they are. Also, some of them graduated while others chose to drop out, but the fact that they attended OAU is worth mentioning.
PSS: Some of them are co-founders, that is they join hands with someone or some people to build the startup.
With that in mind, here are the (known) startup founders who graduated from OAU.
OAU Alumni: 14 Nigerian Startup Founders who Graduated from OAU
Tosin Eniolorunda (Moniepoint)
Tosin Eniolorunda studied Mechanical Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University. He founded TeamApt now officially branded as “Moniepoint” in 2015 to “digitalize Africa’s economy”. So far, the startup, TeamApt is used by over 400,000 businesses and has processed over $100bn in transactions via its products; Moniepoint and Monnify.
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria with over 480 employees, the startup has raised over $50M, which is a great milestone in the history of startups in Africa, and for someone to come up with an idea that investors and customers can buy into, that means the person is a genius at what he/she does.
Yinka Adewale (Nomba)
Nomba which is formerly known as Kudi is one of the most successful startups in Nigeria that deals with financial technologies. Co-founded by Yinka Adewale who studied Mechanical Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, the startup has over 170 employees and has raised $5M to increase its business reach.
Fikayo Ogundipe (PropertyPro):
If you go to Google right now to search for property in Nigeria, PropertyPro will be one of the first 10 results, thanks to how fast the real estate marketplace has grown over the years.
The startup led by Fikayo Ogundipe who studied Electrical Electronic Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University has raised over $1.4m to help people in Nigeria and other African countries find a better place to live from their smartphones.
Opeyemi Awoyemi (Jobberman & Whogohost):
Opeawo, as he is famously known, is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Nigeria’s top job marketplace, Jobberman (which has been acquired), and also a cloud hosting startup, Whogohost which is currently the best web hosting company in Nigeria.
Opeyemi Awoyemi, a software engineer studied computer science and engineering at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University.
Sultan Akintunde (TalentQL & AltschoolAfrica):
One of the most famous tech celebrities in Nigeria, Sultan Akintunde is popularly known as HackSultan and he is known for his charity to people who are in tech, want to get into tech, and people who are not even in tech.
He cofounded TalentQL, a talent marketplace, and AltSchoolAfrica, an ed-tech startup that recently raised $1m to support its mission.
HackSultan is also the founder of DevCareer, an NGO startup that helps people in tech.
Sultan Akintunde studied Geography at OAU but later went to Oduduwa University, a school very close to OAU to study computer science.
Funke Opeke (MainOne):
The oldest and the only OAU alumnae on the list, Funke Opeke studied Electrical engineering at OAU, she founded MainOne, a provider of innovative telecom services and network solutions for West African businesses.
The startup which has been acquired by Equinix for $320M according to TechCrunch was founded in 2010 by Opeke as a result of bad internet connectivity in Nigeria and she came up with an idea that turned out to be West Africa’s first privately owned, open access undersea high-capacity cable.
Femi Akinde (SlimTrader):
SlimTrader is a technology enabler for African Businesses. Its hosted technology platform supports businesses in the travel and hospitality sector. The startup co-founded by Femi Akinde who studied Electrical Electronic Engineering received $1M from Nigeria’s fintech king, Interswitch.
Razaq Ahmed (CowryWise):
Cowrywise, a big competitor to Piggyvest was founded by Razaq Ahmed who studied Economics at OAU. The startup helps you save and invest your money wisely instead of leaving it for inflation in the bank.
Cowrywise raised over $3M to make this vision become a clear reality and the growth ever since then has been nothing but amazing.
Kelvin Umechukwu (Bumpa):
Bumpa is just an all-in-solution for small business owners. The startup allows you to create an online store, manage your inventory, and receive payment right on your phone.
Recently, the startup achieved a milestone by partnering with Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) to make selling faster!
Bumpa was founded by Kelvin Umechukwu who studied mechanical engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University.
Seun Osewa (Nairaland):
Okay. Hands up for the godfather of techies. Seun Osewa is one of the most influential people in Nigeria, his platform Nairaland is one of the top 10 most visited websites in Nigeria with over 1.9m registered members and over 7m topics created.
It will be difficult to see a Nigerian tech savvy who doesn’t know a platform called Nairaland, it’s just like StackOverflow for developers.
Goodness Kayode (Sendchamp):
Despite an English Language and Literature degree from OAU, Kayode found his calling in tech. He founded SendChamp, a messaging platform for businesses, raising over $500k before its acquisition by Whogohost. Currently, he serves as Chief Product Officer at Whogohost, alongside his co-founder who holds the CTO position.
Kayode embodies the entrepreneurial spirit. Not all ventures succeed, as he acknowledges with his “died on the laptop” comment, but his diverse experiences shape his journey. Notably, his digital agency, Sprinble, serves prestigious clients like Carbon, Globacom, and Chopbarh.
Chowdeck Trio (Chowdeck):
This dynamic trio Femi Aluko, Lanre Yusuf, and Olumide Ojo built a strong bond at university, which they carried to their impressive roles at Paystack where they all became Principal Engineers before launching Chowdeck together. They are 3 of the Paystack Mafia.
Getting into YCombinator is a dream of every startup founder and this makes it extremely competitive to get accepted into the accelerator program, but Chowdeck was accepted in 2021 and has raised over $500K since then according to Crunchbase.
Recently, they further expanded their reach by partnering with Shoprite, delivering groceries straight to customers’ doors.
About the Chowdeck’s Trio
- Olumide Ojo (CTO): Computer Engineering graduate from “The Greatest Ife,” Ojo brings technical expertise to Chowdeck, one of Nigeria’s top food delivery startups.
- Lanre Yusuf (COO): Combining Computer Science and Economics from “The Greatest Ife,” Yusuf oversees day-to-day operations at Chowdeck.
- Femi Aluko (CEO): A graduate in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from “The Greatest Ife,” Aluko leads the vision and strategy for Chowdeck.
Finally words… 14 OAU Alumni among Nigerian startup founders
All these startups listed above are worth over a million dollars and you will agree with me that the brain behind them should be acknowledged right? One thing to notice here is that it is not compulsory you study computer science before you can be innovative or co-build a startup, you can study anything and still be a tech founder.
A LESSON: If you are currently a student either in OAU or any school, don’t just live your school life for the “degree”, try to learn a skill, network with your friends, and build something together, even if you’ll have to take it as a side project, don’t just be after the degree only.
If you know any startup founded by OAU alumni or students, kindly use the comment box below to share with us.
Well written, I like the research that went into this