Business
Top 10 Nigerian Tech CEOs
Abasiama Idaresit (Wild Fusion) – London School of Economics graduate had one – and only one – thing in mind when he returned to Nigeria, “to see how the Internet could help transform the business landscape in Nigeria.” That though drove the launch of Wild Fusion, a digital marketing firm, in 2008. His company is famous for turning a $250 initial deal into a million dollar venture.
It later went on to become the first company in Nigeria to earn the Google Adwords Partner certification, and provides internet marketing services for international brands such as Pespi and Vodacom. Its operation extends across the African space, reaching countries like Ghana and Kenya.
Mike Adenuga (Globacom) – One of Nigeria’s richest men, Mike Adenuga is the founder of Globacom, the country’s second largest telecom operator, only behind MTN. Registered as the fourth mobile operator in 2003, Glo swiftly raised competition amongst local operators, moving to battle with MTN at the time.
It has been credited for championing the significant drop in cost of telecommunication services, with prices of sim cards falling from a high of N40,000 ($250) to as low as N200 ($1.2) in less than a half-decade. Glo is also the first company to roll a submarine fibre optic cable from the UK, a project that gulped more than $800 million.
Tayo Oviosu (Paga) – A Stanford trained professional, Tayo is the founder of Paga, a Nigerian money transfer service firm. It was established after Tayo, a former business development manager at CISCO, noticed that while Nigeria had an abundance of mobile devices, off-the-counter banking services remained relatively scarce. Paga would provide the solution for this underserviced space.
Today, Paga has over a million subscribers utilizing its mobile money services for daily transactions and has received funding from institutional investors including Acumen fund, Adievo Capital and much more. The most recent endorsement of its business progress was the news that renowned economist and coiner of the BRICS and MINTS acronyms, Jim O’Neil, recently invested in the indigenous platform.
Valentine Obi (etranzact) – A vastly experienced IT individual, Valentine is the founder and CEO of etranzact, a local multi-application and multi-channel electronic transaction switching and payment processing platform. Launched in 2003, it has evolved into a multinational brand, rolling out products such as ATM, Internet, POS, and Mobile in 6 other countries including South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Cote d’voire and United Kingdom. Following the award of a mobile money license, etranzact moved swiftly to exploit this emerging space, launching a subsidiary business, PocketMoni.
