Akinniyi Ajiboyede: Harvard scholar redefining tech innovations

  • Akininiyi Ajiboyede, a Nigerian Harvard scholar, is using the power of technology to redefine some aspects of human lives

  • Founder of three startups that focus on ride sharing, transport and hair service in Nigeria abroad, he said he has always experimented with technology since childhood

  • Born to a businessman, he also said his father instilled the spirit of entrepreneurship in him at a very young age In this postmodern time.

Nigerians are leveraging on the power of technology not only to redefine how the nation is perceived, but to offer solutions to humanity’s problems.

Akinniyi Ajiboyede, a technoprenuer and a graduate of Harvard Business School, has used technology to revolutionise the way business is done around the world. He is also the founder of Matutu, a keke aggregator service, and another Workclick, a hair business startup in San Francisco, Lagos, and Nairobi. His third creation is Fleetpartners, a ride sharing service.

In an interview with Vanguard, he said his dad is also a businessman who instilled in him an entrepreneurial spirit at a very tender age. Ajiboyede told the newspaper that he built his first computer game while in secondary school which gained him the name wizard instead of an applause.

Akinniyi Ajiboyede said he stopped experimenting with technology in secondary school because he was labelled uncommon.

“As a young boy, while growing up in the company of other boys, we would organise technology competitions amongst ourselves and take our creations to school. In my secondary days, I built my first computer game and instead of being applauded for my effort I was labelled a wizard. “This is because such a feat was not common then. Consequently, I stopped trying to experiment until I left secondary school.

After I left secondary school, I grew from being that young boy who was fascinated with technology, and then I started experimenting and trying to create my own products,” he said.

He said that experience made him stop creating things until he left secondary school. Afterwards, he stopped experimentation and began creating his own products instead. His ride-sharing service started in 2007 where his firs task was to create a coordinating platform for fleet operators and leasing companies. In talking about his challenges in Nigeria, he said that there are not enough angel investors in tech start ups in the country as most of them struggle to get funding. Ajiboyede, therefore, advised the government to provide an encouraging environment for young entrepreneurs springing up to thrive. He said his biggest challenge so far in the business is having on-time access to fund and that he has also learnt to begin anytime manually where they are no investors to put money into technology.

Source legit.ng

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