Founders Connect

What does it actually take to build a fintech company in Nigeria for five years with almost no visibility, no big splash, and no shortcut — and still come out standing? Babatunde Akin-Moses had a plan. Work for ten years, save money, then start a business. He did not want to be Bill Gates, he knew he was not from that kind of family. He looked at the Nigerian entrepreneurs he admired and every sin...

What does it actually take to build one of Africa's most ambitious infrastructure companies from scratch and keep building through a regulatory shutdown, a global pandemic, and a currency collapse that wiped out over 70% of your revenue overnight? Adetayo Bamiduro, co-founder and CEO of Max, the mobility and logistics platform he launched out of MIT in 2015, answers that question with a level...

She once walked into Badagry, found Babas with trucks parked on the side of the road, convinced twelve of them to show up at a location in Surulere for an inspection — and won a contract she had no equipment to fulfil. She was twenty-three. That is the first business she ever ran when she moved back to Nigeria. And it tells you everything you need to know about how Adora thinks. This is not an int...

What does it actually take to back Africa's most consequential companies — and what does it cost you personally to get there? Kola Aina is the founder and managing partner of Ventures Platform, the fund behind Paystack, Piggyvest, Moniepoint, Lemfi, Omni Retail, Raenest, Verto, and over 90 other startups. Over a decade, the firm has supported more than 140 founders and helped drive over $1 bil...

What does it actually cost to build wealth in Nigeria right now — when purchasing power is shrinking, the Naira is under pressure, and the standard financial advice was written for a completely different economy? In this episode of Founders Connect, Tosin Oladokun, founder of Money Africa and one of the continent's most trusted voices in financial literacy, sits down for a candid, wide-ranging...

Kelvin saves his name in people's phones as "Kelvin Bumpa." Not as a stunt. Not as a branding exercise. It is just what happens when you spend five years pouring yourself so completely into something that the line between you and the thing you are building stops making sense. In this episode of Founders Connect, Kelvin, co-founder and CEO of Bumpa Nigeria's commerce operating sys...

Send money with Sendwave from the US, UK and Canada to Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. Fast and easy. Use the code FoundersConnect when you make your first transfer from the US, UK, or Canada to Nigeria or Kenya — and you'll get $10 or £10 on that transfer when you send a minimum of $10 or £10: https://try.sendwave.com/kjap/nenwbcpdHe received a 7-day eviction notice while on a cruise. What followe...

What does it actually take to go from walking Ibadan markets in sandals - because your shoe size didn't exist in Nigeria — to scaling a brand to 800,000 customers while spending less than 30% of your marketing budget? That's not a metaphor. That's Olumide Akinsola's actual origin story, and it tells you everything you need to know about how he thinks. Olumide started the way most p...

Nichole Yembra is a force of nature in the African tech ecosystem. As a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and an Obama Foundation Leader, she has overseen over $500 million in capital raises and fostered the growth of giants like Flutterwave and Max. In this deep-dive interview on Found Connect, Nichole shares the raw, unfiltered reality of what it takes to build, fail, and scale in Nigeria and beyond. N...

What does it actually take to build a business that lasts 25 years in Nigeria — through recessions, exchange rate crashes, COVID, counterfeit competitors, and a rapidly changing economy? Mrs. Temilola Adepetun has the answer, and it is not what most people expect. This episode of Founders Connect is one of the most layered and honest conversations about what entrepreneurship really looks like over...

Samuel Okwuada sold his first software company for hundreds of thousands of dollars at 17 while studying pharmacy in the UK. Today, he runs Remedial Health, a YCombinator-backed Nigerian Healthtech startup that has raised over 50 million dollars, employs 450 people, operates 100 vehicles across three Nigerian cities, and delivers 100 million medicines annually to thousands of pharmacies and hospit...

What is it like to build one of Africa's leading tech media platforms while also moving up in the corporate fintech world? Benjamin Dada, founder of Condia (formerly benjamindada.com), joins us to share his story of balancing two careers, facing identity challenges, and making tough choices between passion and profit. Benjamin’s path has been far from ordinary. He got into tech journalism by c...

June Angelides MBE is a globally recognized venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and one of the most influential voices in tech, inclusive leadership, and investing in Africa and Europe. In this Founders Connect episode, June Angelides sits down with Peace Itimi to share her journey from growing up in Yaba, Lagos to becoming a leading investor backing startups across Africa and the UK.June opens up a...

Building a business for 16 years in the African tech ecosystem requires more than just a good idea—it requires "crazy" resilience and the ability to pivot when the market shifts. In this episode, Tayo Oviosu, founder and CEO of Paga, shares the raw, unfiltered story of building one of Nigeria's leading mobile money infrastructures. From getting fired from his first job after college...

Is it possible to move from the streets of Benin City to the most prestigious law firms on Wall Street? In this episode of Founders Connect, Peace Itimi sits down with Destiny Ogedegbe, popularly known as "Mr. Possible." This isn't just a career interview; it is a masterclass in the psychology of excellence, the necessity of grit, and the transformative power of imagination. Destiny’...

In Nigeria’s thriving tech ecosystem, we often celebrate founders and engineers - the builders, the innovators, the faces on the covers. But behind every viral campaign, every trusted brand, and every startup that broke through the noise, there’s a different kind of builder: the marketer. Unsung is a raw and reflective documentary exploring how marketers shape perception, drive growth, and create...

Wealth is not just about how much you earn. True wealth is about what you own. For decades, ownership in Africa has been blocked by policies, gatekeepers, and limited access to global markets. That’s the gap Bamboo set out to close. Founded in 2019 by Richmond Bassey and Yanmo Omorogbe, Bamboo is more than a startup. It is infrastructure designed to help Africans invest in the world’s biggest comp...

In this episode of Founders Connect, Peace Itimi sits with Chikodi Ukaiwe, the Founder and CEO of Salad Africa, to uncover his incredible journey through banking, tech, entrepreneurship, and eventually building one of Africa’s most impactful fintech startups. Salad Africa is transforming how small businesses and employees access credit in a continent where banks often say “no.”Chikodi shares his i...

In this powerful and engaging talk from The Builders Summit 2025, Seye Bandele breaks down one of the most underrated yet absolutely essential skills every founder must master: sales. Titled “The Best Founders Are Salespeople – How to Sell Anything,” this session isn’t just a presentation, it’s a wake-up call for every startup founder, builder, and visionary who thinks product alone will carry the...

How do you build a startup that survives over a decade in Africa's tough tech terrain? In this interview, Dennis Ondeng, the CEO of Kopo Kopo, shares his remarkable journey of building and sustaining a fintech company for over 14 years in Kenya and across Africa. This episode is more than a founder story; it's a deep dive into what it means to lead with resilience, vision, and empathy. Kop...

What would you do if the most profitable part of your business was the hardest part to scale? In this exclusive Founders Connect episode, we sat down with Paul Kimani, the CEO and co-founder of Workpay, to dive into his unconventional entrepreneurial journey, the bold decisions that shaped Workpay, and the hard lessons learned along the way. From studying electrical engineering to working as a mec...

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Tobi Asu-Johnson, the founder of Zap Africa, to discuss his vision for building Africa's biggest crypto wallet. With the rise of crypto adoption in Africa, Tobi shares his insights on the opportunities and challenges of creating a blockchain solution that caters to the unique needs of the African market. He also shares some valuable crypto tips and...

In this inspiring and deeply insightful conversation, we take you on a journey through the eyes of someone who’s been building in the Nigerian tech space for over a decade. Tunde Ajibawo is the current Head of Engineering at SystemSpecs Deelaa. With over a decade of experience in building software and leading teams, Tunde has contributed to the success of several tech-driven companies in Nigeria....

In this video, we dive into Antler, a global early-stage investor that's backing the world's most ambitious founders and building the fastest-growing portfolio of venture-backed startups across the globe. This video is specifically for founders looking to scale or anyone just curious about how top VCs help startups grow from idea to impact, this video breaks down how Antler supports early-...

This episode is a must-watch for content creators, aspiring creators, and entrepreneurs looking to grow their audience and build a sustainable content business. In this episode of Creators Jam, Peace Itimi and Caleb Maru dive into the process of building a loyal audience—sharing their experiences, strategies, and insights on what really works. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a comment and share.