Adeola has been active in the IT sector for almost a decade and has experience starting and expanding technology-driven businesses in the fintech sector. Born and bred in Lagos, Nigeria Adeola started his entrepreneurial journey by starting an EdTech company immediately after university. Currently, he leads as the Growth manager of AjoCard.

Please, describe your entrance into the technology industry

Adeola Ajayi (AA): I was exposed to programming and software development because I studied computer science in college, but I wasn’t sure what I could do with it. Growing up, I saw both of my parents—who are teachers—face extremely difficult obstacles at work. Following my graduation from college, I made the decision that the first product I would create would be for teachers, in an effort to make the jobs of educators like my parents easier. This led me to start an education technology company called Schoolpix. It was a SAAS record management platform that automated the school’s daily administrative tasks. I built the company over the course of five years, increasing the user base to over 50,000 monthly active users.

What does “financial inclusion” mean?

Adeola Ajayi: Banking the unbanked is the most straightforward way to define financial inclusion. The word “bank” in the sentence, however, can be extremely misleading. People typically picture a large structure housing money when they hear the word “bank,” but there is more to it than that. Banking simply means getting people access to formal financial services. These services may include lending, investing, and insurance. I’ll give you an intriguing example of how to bank people.  the poorest residents of South Africa who reside in wooden homes (Shantis) can purchase affordable fire alarm systems from Lumkani for a monthly subscription; in return, Lumkani guarantees that every household will receive replacement property in the event that any belongings are lost to fires. In such neighborhoods, it was a problem that if one house caught fire, the entire neighborhood did as well, leaving everyone homeless. By installing a fire alarm in each home, Lumkani lowers the risk of fire hazards. The consumer is actually paying for insurance without even realizing it. Lumkani is a prime example of an innovative way of banking the unbanked.

How did you get started in this industry?

Adeola Ajayi: I first encountered financial inclusion after joining Accion Ventures Lab (AVL) as a fellow in 2019. My only goal at the time was to launch a fintech business because only those startups were getting funding. My first question to the program director at AVL after being accepted was “why are fintech so important?” She replied, “We live in a world where nothing goes for free, we have to pay for things every day in order to stay alive.” This is what makes fintech so valuable because they help us stay alive. I was exposed to businesses like Lumkani and many others during the six-month program, and I fell in love with the industry because they were solving extremely challenging and painful problems while having a profound impact. I was certain that this would be my life’s work.

What connection exists between mobile money and financial inclusion?

Adeola Ajayi: Mobile money has revolutionized many people’s lives in Nigeria and around the world.

There are 1.7 billion unbanked people worldwide. In Nigeria, mobile money has transformed the financial landscape by facilitating access to affordable financial services for those who were previously shut out of the formal financial system.

Customers no longer need to go to a bank in order to save and manage their money, transfer money, access loans and pay their bills. Instead, they can easily access a mobile money agent. The business is expanding so quickly in Nigeria because they are relatively cheap and simple to set up; all one needs is a POS machine and some cash to get going.

What recent trends have you noticed in mobile money?

Adeola Ajayi: Mobile money has different applications in different countries. Because cash is king in Nigeria (82% of transactions there are cash-based), customers primarily use mobile money to receive and send cash (CASH IN – CASH OUT). According to a GSMA report, there are approximately 1.2 million mobile money agents in the nation, and we are beginning to see a growing trend of mobile money operators layering additional services on top of their standard CASH IN-CASH OUT offerings and delivering unique products like savings accounts, loans, and various insurance options.

Finally, please share your top three pieces of advice for college students or professionals who want to work in the fintech sector.

Adeola Ajayi: Stay up-to-date with the latest technology and trends in finance and technology: The fintech industry is constantly changing, so it’s critical to keep up with the latest developments, innovations, and trends in both the financial and technology sectors.

Develop a solid understanding of both technology and finance: To be successful in fintech, it’s important to have a good understanding of both finance and technology. This can be accomplished by enrolling in classes, going to conferences and workshops, and gaining practical experience through internships or working on projects.

Network with industry professionals: building a strong network of contacts in the fintech industry has been important for me.

Attend events, participate in competitions like hackathons, incubators and accelerators, join professional organizations, and reach out to professionals in the field to expand your network and learn from their experiences.

This will also help you keep abreast of new developments and opportunities in the sector.

Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and is home to over 200 million people. Despite its large population, only 58.4% of Nigeria’s adult population has access to financial services, making it one of the world’s least financially inclusive countries.

This lack of access to financial services has significant negative impacts on the country’s economy and citizens.

“However, looking deeper, you would discover the so-called unbanked aren’t completely unbanked but banked differently,” said Adeola Ajayi

While a small percentage of Nigerians have bank accounts, the vast majority of the adult population in Nigeria saves in a different way.

It is a pre-colonial manual banking method that extends beyond Nigeria to the shores and west Africa, as well as Latin American countries such as Cuba and Brazil.

It entails a local financial provider visiting individuals to collect a set savings amount each day for 30 days. 42% of adult Nigerians use Ajo savings, according to Eflina reports.

This savings method is very successful because there is little access to banking services in rural areas and few MSMEs are financially literate. Sadly, Ajo as a saving technique is far from ideal.

“When I was an undergraduate student at the university, I first learned about this method of saving. I ran a small laptop repair shop at the time in the bustling Alaba International Market. (Notably, it is the biggest electronics market in Africa.)”, he stated.

Given that the majority of local savings collectors are unregulated, they have the freedom to decide to steal customers’ savings without having to worry about facing any serious repercussions. In 2013, he and a large number of his coworkers at Alaba International went through that.

“We all lost money we had saved for more than a year, and to this day, it hasn’t been recovered,” Adeola Ajayi said

After joining Accion Venture Lab AVL in 2019, he made the decision to return to the same market and speak with his old friends to learn about the difficulties they were facing. The subject of lost savings kept coming up, and the narrative was consistent in all of the markets he visited.

Toju set out to solve this problem by allowing local savings collectors to open formal bank accounts for their customers from the comfort of their smartphones. In less than 6 months, Toju has helped more than 10,000 people save their money daily through this savings collector.

“The startup takes a small fee for facilitating these transactions, and currently, we process around US$150,000 every month,” he said

By helping more Nigerians access basic financial services in regulated financial institutions, they are less likely to be victims of rouge savings collectors and loan predators; this is the main goal of Adeola’s initiative.