Bosun Tijani co-founded Co-Creation Hub in Yaba. It became the heart of Lagos’s tech scene.
From a computer science diploma in Jos to a PhD in innovation, Bosun Tijani built CcHUB in Lagos and acquired Nairobi’s iHub along the way.
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Country
Nigeria
Dr Ola Brown built West Africa’s first air ambulance service, then backed African tech startups.
Born in London, the physician and entrepreneur founded Flying Doctors in Lagos in 2007 and later co-founded a venture firm that invested in Paystack.
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Tara Fela-Durotoye opened Nigeria’s first makeup school. House of Tara now spans stores, schools and thousands of representatives.
A Lagos lawyer who chose beauty, Tara Fela-Durotoye pioneered bridal makeup in Nigeria and built House of Tara into a brand with its own stores and…
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Moniepoint started as TeamApt in 2015. In October 2024 it became Africa’s eighth unicorn.
A Lagos fintech serving merchants, Moniepoint won a central bank switching licence in 2019 and raised over 200 million dollars in its Series C.
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Andela set out to train African software developers and place them with global companies.
Co-founded in 2014 by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Andela grew into a company backed by Spark Capital, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Google Ventures and SoftBank.
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Konga raised 35 million dollars in a year and was valued around 200 million. Then came cuts and a sale.
Founded in Lagos in 2012 with 20 staff, Konga became one of Nigeria’s best-known online retailers. After laying off over half its staff it was acquired…
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Funke Opeke left New York to bring faster internet to Nigeria. Her company, MainOne, was acquired for 320 million dollars.
An electrical engineer who built a career at Verizon and MTN Nigeria, Funke Opeke founded MainOne in Lagos in 2008 to lay a submarine cable from…
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Kobo360 matches cargo owners with truck owners across six African countries.
Based in Lagos and founded by Obi Ozor and Ife Oyedele II, Kobo360 uses technology to cut delays in moving goods.
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Ibukun Awosika began as a furniture showroom manager. She became the first woman to chair First Bank.
A chemistry graduate who found her calling in furniture, Ibukun Awosika rose to chair one of Nigeria’s oldest banks, and wrote books to bring other women…
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Mike Adenuga drove a taxi to fund his studies. He later struck oil and built Globacom.
From selling lace and soft drinks to leading the first Nigerian company to strike oil in commercial quantity, Mike Adenuga’s climb runs through oil and telecoms.
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Jim Ovia lost his father at four and started work as a bank clerk. He founded Zenith Bank.
Born in Agbor, Jim Ovia worked his way from a clerk’s desk in Lagos to founding Zenith Bank in 1990, and later a university and a…
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Cosmas Maduka hawked akara at six, after his father died. He founded Coscharis Motors with 300 naira.
A failed first start-up and a dismissal at 17 did not stop Cosmas Maduka. The Coscharis Group now distributes major car brands and runs farms.
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