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Meet Iyin Aboyeji, the man building Africa's Silicon Valley

Published 1 month ago6 minute read

Iyin Aboyeji is a Nigerian techpreneur and investor. He is best known as a co-founder of multiple start-up companies, including Flutterwave, Future Africa, Talent City, Andela, and Partcloud. In 2015, Forbes listed him among the 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa, and in 2019, New African featured him among the top 100 Most Influential Africans.

Iyin Aboyeji attends an investment forum (L). The entrepreneur at a meeting in Lagos, Nigeria (R)
Iyin Aboyeji at an investment forum in Washington D.C. (L). The Nigerian fintech guru attends a meeting in Lagos, Nigeria (R). Photo: Tasos Katopodis, Benson Ibeabuchi (modified by author)
Source: Getty Images

Iyin Aboyeji’s rise to becoming one of Africa’s astute businessmen was not smooth sailing. He hails from a humble background and excelled in education before venturing into the business world in 2014. The entrepreneur is the brain behind some of Africa's most successful finance and technology companies. Beyond his career, he is a dedicated family man.

Full nameIyinoluwa Samuel Aboyeji
GenderMale
Date of birth28 March 1991
Age33 years old (as of January 2025)
Zodiac signAries
Place of birthLagos, Nigeria
Current residenceLagos, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
EthnicityAfrican
ReligionChristianity
SexualityStraight
Hair colourBlack
Eye colourDark brown
Siblings1
Marital statusMarried
PartnerWhittmey Payne Aboyeji
Children1
SchoolLoyola Jersey College
CollegeColumbia International College, University of Waterloo
ProfessionTechpreneur, investor
Net worth$1 billion

The businessman was born Iyinoluwa Samuel Aboyeji in Lagos, Nigeria. His parents are from Warri, Delta State, but there is no information about their names and what they do for a living. He reportedly has an older brother who studied in Canada.

Iyin Aboyeji attended a primary school in the Yaba area, but when his family relocated to Warri, Delta State, he joined Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, for his high school education.

What did Iyinoluwa Aboyeji study? He pursued an undergraduate course in international development, legal studies, and economics at Columbia International College. The entrepreneur also earned a B.A in legal studies from the University of Waterloo.

The Nigerian entrepreneur was born on 28 March 1991 and is 33 years old as of January 2025. His zodiac sign is Aries.

Five facts about Iyin Aboyeji
Five facts about Iyin Aboyeji. Photo: @iconicpersons.book on Instagram (modified by author)
Source: Original

Iyin Aboyeji’s career journey started immediately after completing his college education when he joined the United Nations Youth Alliance as an intern. He later became a manager at Imprint Publications, a Canadian publishing firm, before founding Bookneto Inc., an e-learning platform later acquired by the Canadian Innovation Centre in 2013.

According to his LinkedIn profile, in 2014, he co-founded Andela, a company that trains software engineers and connects them to top tech companies. The company raised $24 million from Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan's Fund.

In 2016, he co-founded Flutterwave, an integrated platform for Africans to receive and make payments from anywhere. The fintech company was highly successful, establishing over 50 bank and multinational partners.

In 2019, Iyin Aboyeji became a founding investor in Moove, a Nigerian fintech that provides revenue-based vehicle financing and financial services for mobility entrepreneurs globally. Around the same time, he became a founding investor in Talent City, now known as ITANA. The company helps tech and service-based businesses to access markets in Africa.

Currently, Iyin Aboyeji is a managing partner at Accelerate Africa, a company that invests in start-ups and early-stage SMEs in key sectors, such as agribusiness, technology and renewable energy. He is also a founding member of Future Africa, an innovation fund that provides capital, coaching, and community support to bold and visionary leaders.

According to Punch and IntelRegion, the Nigerian entrepreneur’s allegedly worth $1 billion. He boasts multiple income streams from his business ventures, including tech start-ups like Flutterwave and Andela.

The Nigerian techpreneur is married to Whittmey Payne Aboyeji. They exchanged marriage vows in June 2018 and are parents of a daughter named Caris. Their love story began in Lagos when Iyinoluwa was at Flutterwave pursuing a master’s degree in Crisis Communication.

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji’s wife is an American award-winning television and film producer and advisor. She is the TV and film advisor at The National Cultural Foundation Barbados and the head of content production at Maame Productions.

In an interview shared on YouTube by Chibi Archives Production, Iyi Aboyeji gave a snippet of his wife and marital journey. He said:

I married an amazing woman of God. She is American, and we have one amazing child, Caris. I think God really led me when it came to the question of marriage because of the kind of life that I lead and live. The truth is, my friends always marvel. They are like, “How did you do it because my wife would never let me take some of the risks?”

In October 2018, news broke out that Iyinoluwa was exiting Flutterwave amid claims of dismissal by his co-directors. However, the techpreneur came out clean about his reasons for leaving the giant fintech, saying in an interview:

That was a more complicated scenario because it was a range of things. I think the first thing whenever I join or leave companies I think I try to do is be guided by God in my big decisions and there is a way that God speaks to you when it’s time. I feel like my leaving Flutterwave was one of those moments. There were certain signs that it was time for me to take my leave, and so that is why I left in October 2018.

Iyin Aboyeji is among the best entrepreneurs in the African tech and start-up ecosystem. He has built several companies that have positively changed business transactions and transformed people’s lives. Currently, he is the CEO of Future Africa and Accelerate Africa. He is married to an American wife, and they have a daughter.

Legit.ng recently published Garrett Clark’s biography. He is an American golf player, YouTuber, and social media influencer best recognised for sharing golf-related content on his YouTube channel. He boasts a significant following across social media platforms.

Many people know Garrett Clark as a social media influencer due to his engaging content. However, he also thrives as a professional golf player and has played for multiple teams. Interested in knowing more about him? Read on to discover fascinating facts about his professional and personal life.

Source: Legit.ng

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