To commemorate the end of Women’s History Month, we’ve put together the profiles of some remarkable women who are making waves in the Nigerian Fintech space. For a space that is still skewed towards the male gender, these women are redefining norms as they shatter the glass ceiling and carve out a niche for themselves in this cut-throat industry. These five are not the only women taking giant strides and making significant contributions to the space but are just a few of those that have caught our eye in recent times:
Ehi Aigiomawu (@aigehi)- Co-founder and CTO, Vesicash
Ehi is a graduate of Computer Science from Ambrose Alli University. She started Codulab Technologies Limited- a software development company that was involved in building software products for companies while also running a free programming module that equipped over 200 students across Nigerian Universities with coding skills. She is a data enthusiast and loves playing table-tennis and volleyball. She is currently a co-founder and CTO at Vesicash – a digital escrow payment solution that ensures safe and accountable online transactions.
Odunayo Eweniyi (@OdunEweniyi)– Co-founder and COO of Piggybank
Odunayo is a First class graduate of Computer Engineering from Covenant University and she has had over five years of experience in Business Analysis and Operations. She joined Parolz two weeks after her graduation where she handled social media and general operations, she thereafter moved on to start PushCV along with Somto who was the founder of Parolz. In April 2016, Odunayo, Somto, and Joshua started Piggyvest and she is currently the Chief Operations Officer. Odunayo is passionate about education and hopes to venture fully into the sector in the future.
Adia Sowho (@adiaspeaks)- M.D, Nigeria, Mines.io
Adia Sowho holds an MBA from Kellog school of management and she started her career as a mobile telecom engineer in the U.S. She thereafter joined Deloitte Consulting, U.S after obtaining her MBA. In 2009, Adia returned to Nigeria and joined 9mobile (formerly Etisalat) as the Director of Digital Business. She is currently the Managing Director, Nigeria/ V.P Growth for Mines.io (now Migo)– a digital credit platform. Adia is passionate about encouraging more women to get involved in STEM.
Adekunbi Ademiluyi (@kunbi7)- C.O.O, NetplusDotCom
Adekunbi is a graduate of Political Science from the University of Lagos who started out as a Business Analyst with the Cash Management Group of Fountain Trust Bank and has also worked in the Electronic Business Divisions of other commercial banks in the country. She switched to the Fintech sector in 2009 and currently works as the Chief Operations Officer of NetPlusDotCom– a digital platform aimed at providing technology solutions for businesses. Adekunbi is adventurous and a book lover.
Nkem Okocha(@nkemokocha)- Founder, MamaMoni
Nkem is a graduate of Banking and Finance from Lagos State University. She is a social entrepreneur that is very passionate about improving the lives of underprivileged women by empowering them to carry on small businesses.
She started out as a Customer Service Representative for former Intercontinental Bank (now Access Bank PLC.)
In 2013, inspired by her experiences as a girl child sponsored by her widowed mum, she founded Mamamoni– a social enterprise that has empowered and impacted over 4000 women in several rural/urban slum communities by giving them micro-loans.