The Spark Magazine (July 2018)

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
The Spark Effect
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji
The Man. The Tech. The Vision
- By Lucy Onuorah
Technology As Empowerment
“
Business is what
people want. It is
businesses that
are funded and
not ideas so if
you do not have
the appropriate
network skills
to turn your
ideas into good
businesses, you
are basically
sitting on a
ticking time bomb
Having the opportunity to sit with him recently for an interview in
between his busy schedules was quite an honour; an interesting and
exciting experience as well. As I walked towards him to take a seat, I
could not help but wonder in my mind ‘how did this guy make it this far’?
While still pondering on this question, we exchanged pleasantries and
moved on to the business of the day - the interview.
General Background
“
“
Born on the 28th of March, 1991 to Nigerian parents, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is
an entrepreneur, co-founder of Andela - a platform that recruits and trains
software developers as well as connecting them with employers; and
Flutterwave - a payment API that makes it easier for banks and businesses
to process payments across Africa.
Iyinoluwa completed his Secondary School education at Loyola Jesuit
College and graduated from Columbia International College with degrees
in International Development, Legal Studies and Economics. He also has a
degree in Legal Studies from the University of Waterloo.
Still in his twenties, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji has managed to create a great
impact in the business of technology not just in Africa but also in the
global economy.
The tech space is fast becoming very popular in Nigeria and some of the
greatest achievements that have been recorded recently have been linked
to technology and technological advancements and no one should be left
out.
Technology could be used as a source of empowerment and could be used
in reaching out to a very large and diverse community of potential clients
for tech start-ups.
Flutterwave was birth out of the belief that business infrastructures are
one of the key holders for connecting Africa to the global economy, and
they have been able to do a great job of building payment infrastructures
that enable Africans accept payment from customers all over the world,
explore new ways of payment and prosperity that could essentially change
our economy and participation in the global economy.
“
Business infrastructures are one of the key
holders for connecting Africa to the global
economy and we are able to do a good job
of it by building payment infrastructures
that enable Africans to accept payment from
customers all over the world.
Hobbies
“
For an individual, who as a teenager, founded Bookneto – an online
learning platform while studying in Canada and have it acquired by the
Canadian Innovation Centre at a time when most of his peers in Nigeria
where probably thinking about passing their WAEC, NECO, JAMB, or Post
UTME examinations and gaining admission into the University, one would
be totally wrong to think that Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is all work and no play.
Iyinoluwa likes to hang out with the guys and play golf. He also enjoys
spending time on social media, watching movies and expressing his ideas
with like minds to explore different views.
As a kid, Iyinoluwa was very good with comics and this helped improve
and develop his creativity and ultimately inspire his interest in technology.
He had a short stint with a technical company as a style engineer. It was at
that point in his life that he realized that technology was not just something
that one could consume but it was also something that could be created
as well and the tools of that creation have been democratized, thereby
making it possible for more people to be part of that creation process.
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