Shola Akinlade

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Shola Akinlade
Born
Lagos, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Education Babcock University (BSc)
Alma mater St Gregory's College
Occupation(s)Software engineer
entrepreneur
Years active2023–present
Known for Paystack
Sporting Lagos F.C.

Shola Akinlade is a Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder and CEO of Paystack , [1] a financial technology company acquired by U.S. payments firm Stripe in 2020 in a deal reported to be worth approximately $200 million. [2] In 2022, he was conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari for his contributions to the advancement of technology in finance and business. [3]

Contents

Early life

Akinlade was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He had his secondary education at St Gregory's College, Lagos. In 2006, he obtained a degree in computer science from Babcock University. [4] He started working at Heineken as a trainee for the company's database management. He later worked as a software engineer with several banks. In 2016, he founded Paystack with Ezra Olubi. [1] [5]

Business career

Zap

Akinlade created Zap, a system that allows foreigners in Nigeria to make payments using their foreign cards. [6] [7] According to Guardian Nigeria , Zap, which was first released on 14 November 2024 and updated on 3 March 2025, has gained over one thousand downloads on Play Store. [8]

Paystack

Akinlade's company Paystack was a part of startup accelerator Y Combinator's 2016 batch of startups. The company was created to help businesses in Africa get paid online and offline. [9]

In 2020, following Paystack’s acquisition by Stripe, Akinlade said, “We couldn't be more excited to join forces with Stripe, whose mission and values are so aligned with ours, to nurture transformative businesses on the continent.” [10]

Sporting Lagos F.C.

In 2022, Akinlade founded a football club, Sporting Lagos F.C. which he notes is a platform for community development and social change. [11] [12]

Aarhus Fremad

In March 2023, Akinlade acquired a 55% stake in the Danish 2nd division football club Aarhus Fremad. The plan is for Aarhus Fremad to support the professionalisation of Sporting Lagos F.C., relying on Sporting Lagos F.C. as a talent academy in return. [13]

Awards

In October 2022, Akinlade was conferred with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of technology in finance and business. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Nigeria: "The hard work is still in front of us" - Paystack CEO". The Africa Report.com. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "Silicon Valley payments firm Stripe buys Nigerian startup Paystack". Reuters. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Tech founders Aboyeji, Olubi, Ola Brown, others receive national honours". Business Day. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  4. ↑ "Meet Sola Akinlade, co-founder of Nigeria's foremost payment platform Paystack". Nairametrics. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Nsehe, Mfonobong. "Nigerian Fintech Startup Paystack Raises $1.3 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  6. ↑ Okafor, Chinedu (26 March 2025). "Zap vs Zap: Two tech companies find themselves in the middle of an identity dispute". Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  7. ↑ Oladunmade, Muktar (25 March 2025). "Paystack launches Zap, first consumer play". TechCabal. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  8. ↑ Soaga, Olayide (25 March 2025). "Paystack launches 'Zap' App for fast bank transfers in Nigeria". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  9. ↑ Combinator, Y. "Helping African Businesses Get Paid, Shola Akinlade of Paystack". Y Combinator. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  10. ↑ "Stripe acquires African payments startup Paystack in €180m deal". Irish Independent. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  11. ↑ Christiansen, Dennis Bjerre (28 March 2023). "Aarhus Fremad får ny ejer: IT-milliardær fra Nigeria køber sig ind i klubben". Århus Stiftstidende (in Danish). Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  12. ↑ Reporter, Samuel Oamen | Senior (24 September 2024). "Nigerians who own football clubs in Europe". The Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  13. ↑ Salaudeen, Aisha (20 April 2022). "From fintech to football: With Sporting Lagos, Paystack's Shola Akinlade hopes to change the game in Nigeria". CNN . Retrieved 16 October 2022.
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