They aren’t just building apps. They’re building language. Identity. Systems. A future.

In the quiet corners of Lagos, Nairobi, Kigali, and Johannesburg, a quiet movement is gaining momentum. No fanfare, no filters. Just brilliant Africans—some in T-shirts, others in borrowed office spaces—writing code and rewriting expectations. These are the architects of a new era in African tech: women and men who aren’t waiting to be discovered. They’re busy doing the work.

Forget the headlines that often focus on challenges. There's another story unfolding—one where African tech is not a promise, but a reality. And behind this reality are individuals who are turning local problems into global solutions.

These ten builders aren’t all household names. Some of them have never made the Forbes list. But they're changing the landscape in ways that are deeply personal and unmistakably African.

Odunayo Eweniyi — Nigeria

On January 7, 2016, a simple but powerful idea was born: help Nigerians save money with ease. That idea became Piggybank.ng, and today, nine years later, it's known as PiggyVest—a household name in digital savings and investment.

But it wasn’t just about savings. Odunayo Eweniyi and her co-founder, Somto Ifezue, were doing something bigger: challenging a broken system. In a country where young people often lacked access to tools for financial discipline, they built a platform that has now empowered over 4 million users to save billions of naira.

And they didn’t stop there.
In 2020, Odunayo co-founded the Feminist Coalition, a collective that used digital activism to support social justice movements like #EndSARS. For her, tech isn’t just a tool—it’s a weapon for equity and empowerment.

From fintech innovation to frontline advocacy, PiggyVest’s journey is a story of impact, resilience, and vision. Happy 9th anniversary to the platform that’s more than a piggy bank—it’s a revolution.

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji — Nigeria

Founded in 2016 by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave quickly became a game-changer in Africa’s fintech space. While both founders played key roles at the start, Olugbenga Agboola now leads the company as CEO, steering its growth and innovation.

Flutterwave’s success is fueled by strong backing from global investors like Y Combinator, Visa Ventures, Mastercard, Avenir Growth Capital, and Tiger Global Management, making it one of Africa’s most well-funded startups.

Aboyeji’s story goes beyond Flutterwave. Before this, he co-founded Andela and remains deeply committed to building Africa’s tech ecosystem

. Through his investment platform, Future Africa, he supports startups not just with capital but with mentorship and vision. His mantra—“nation-building through tech”—may sound ambitious, but it’s clear he lives by it.

Temie Giwa-Tubosun — Nigeria

Founded by Temie Giwa-Tubosun, LifeBank is a Nigerian health tech company on a mission to save lives by improving access to safe blood transfusions.

Born out of Temie’s near-death experience during childbirth, LifeBank tackles a critical problem: getting blood to patients exactly when they need it.

What started as a logistics service connecting blood banks with hospitals has grown into a cutting-edge health-tech platform. Today, LifeBank leverages AI and drone technology to deliver essential medical supplies across Nigeria.

For Temie, tech isn’t just business—it’s about survival. LifeBank’s work isn’t flashy, but its impact is life-saving.

Shola Akinlade — Nigeria

Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, two Nigerian computer science graduates, Paystack set out to modernize online payments in Africa. After joining Y Combinator’s Winter 2016 cohort

, the company gained international attention and launched publicly later that year.

Paystack quickly became a trusted payments platform across Nigeria and beyond, helping thousands of businesses accept online payments with ease.

In October 2020, Paystack was acquired by global payments giant Stripe for a reported $200 million+—one of the biggest tech acquisitions in African history. The deal marked a major milestone for the African startup ecosystem and formed part of Stripe’s strategy to expand its footprint across the continent.

More than just a business win, Paystack’s story is a symbol of what's possible when local innovation meets global opportunity.

Juliana Rotich — Kenya

In 2008, in the aftermath of Kenya’s 2007 post-election violence, Juliana Rotich co-founded Ushahidi—a platform that let everyday people report incidents via SMS. At a time when mainstream coverage was limited and chaotic, Ushahidi gave power back to the people, mapping real-time reports of violence and unrest.

Co-founded with Erik Hersman, Ushahidi (which means "testimony" in Swahili) began as a tool for Kenya, but quickly became a global model for crowdsourced crisis mapping. From earthquakes in Haiti to floods in Nepal, the platform has been used in disaster zones around the world.

Based in Nairobi, Ushahidi continues to serve as a symbol of how African innovation can solve global problems. For Juliana Rotich, technology is about inclusion, impact, and giving voice to those who are often unheard.

Betelhem Dessie — Ethiopia

Betelhem Dessie, often hailed as Ethiopia's youngest tech pioneer, began her journey into technology at the tender age of nine. By ten, she was already coding in HTML, and her passion for technology only grew from there.

She is the founder and CEO of iCog-Anyone Can Code, an initiative aimed at equipping young Ethiopians, especially girls, with coding and AI skills. Under her leadership, the program has trained thousands of students across Ethiopia, fostering a new generation of tech-savvy youth.

Betelhem's work has not only advanced technological literacy in her country but has also positioned Ethiopia as a burgeoning hub for innovation in Africa. Her dedication to empowering youth through technology continues to inspire many across the continent.

Rebecca Enonchong — Cameroon

If there’s a quiet force behind Africa’s enterprise tech movement, it’s Rebecca Enonchong. A software entrepreneur and fierce advocate for tech policy reform, she’s the founder of AppsTech, a global provider of enterprise application solutions with clients in over 50 countries.

But Rebecca’s story isn’t just about code. It’s about opening doors. As founder of the Africa Technology Forum and chair of the board at AfriLabs, she’s been instrumental in building infrastructure and funding pathways for startups across the continent.

Outspoken on Twitter, unflinching in boardrooms, Enonchong uses her platform to speak up for African tech founders who often get overlooked. Her leadership proves that sometimes the best way to innovate is to hold the door open—and keep it open.

Nneile Nkholise — South Africa

Nneile Nkholise didn’t set out to be a disruptor. She just wanted to solve a problem. In a country where access to affordable, customized medical prosthetics was scarce, she founded iMed Tech—a med-tech startup using 3D printing to create breast prostheses for cancer survivors and facial prosthetics for trauma victims.

A mechanical engineer by training, Nneile merges science with empathy. Her work has landed her global recognition, from being named to Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 to winning the SAB Foundation Social Innovation Award.

Nkholise is proof that real innovation starts when someone asks, “What if we could make healing more human?”

William Elong — Cameroon

William Elong didn’t just dream of the future—he decided to build it. At just 26, he became one of Africa’s youngest drone technology entrepreneurs. His company, Algo Drone (formerly Will & Brothers), produces smart drones for surveillance, agriculture, and environmental monitoring—designed in Africa, for Africa.

While many import tech from the West, Elong’s mission is different: “Why not manufacture here?” He’s leading a new generation of hardware innovators who believe Africa can be more than a marketplace—it can be a workshop for the world.

Gerald Abila — Uganda

Law and tech aren’t always seen as allies, but Gerald Abila found a way to make them work together. He founded BarefootLaw, a digital platform offering free legal information and support to Ugandans, especially those in underserved rural areas.

Using SMS, social media, and AI, BarefootLaw bridges the justice gap—helping people understand their rights in languages they actually speak.

Abila calls it “justice innovation.” And in a region where legal systems often feel remote or intimidating, that innovation is life-changing.

What Comes Next?

These ten stories aren’t exhaustive. They’re a glimpse—a mirror into what’s possible when Africans aren’t seen as users of tech, but authors of it. From bootstrapped startups to VC-backed unicorns, from health to hardware, the continent’s tech future isn’t waiting in the wings. It’s already center stage.

The next time someone says Africa is the “next frontier,” you can smile politely and introduce them to the people already living there.