In this piece, Techeconomy highlights 10 software engineers; both established industry leaders and emerging talents who are contributing towards deepening Africa’s tech future.

They include;

1. Shola Akinlade — Nigeria Co-founder & CEO, Paystack

Shola Akinlade is a leading figure in African tech. Co-founding Paystack in 2015, he grew it into Nigeria’s premier online payment platform, culminating in its $200 million acquisition by Stripe in 2020.

With a strong engineering background, Akinlade laid the technical groundwork essential for Paystack’s secure and scalable payment solutions. Today, he actively invests in sports, education, and mentorship for upcoming founders.

2. Kudzai Gopfa — Zimbabwe Software Engineer, Bloomberg | Formerly at Nintex

Kudzai Gopfa is quickly becoming one of Africa’s influential tech engineers. His journey began at university with Dapper, a social app he developed independently, learning full-stack development and product management.

Joining Nintex post-graduation, he engineered cloud-based automation solutions for enterprise clients, powering efficiency across legal, financial, and healthcare sectors through robust APIs and optimized workflows.

Kudzai contributes to high-performance backend infrastructure supporting real-time analytics for global markets. Beyond his technical roles, Kudzai mentors aspiring African engineers and actively supports early-stage product experimentation.

3. Josiah Akinloye — Nigeria Founder, Mainlogix Technology

Josiah Akinloye leads innovation in AI and IoT for African markets through Mainlogix Technology. His recent product, SMART, is a multilingual voice assistant serving local languages.

Under Josiah’s guidance, Mainlogix earned recognition at the African Tech Awards for hardware innovation.

4. Regina Honu — Ghana Founder, Soronko Academy

Regina Honu has significantly impacted tech education for women in Africa. Expanding Soronko Academy to five regions in Ghana, she has equipped over 15,000 students with coding and entrepreneurial skills, highlighting her dedication to social impact through technology.

5. Rowena Turinawe — Uganda Head of Innovation, Centenary Technology Services

Rowena Turinawe drives digital transformation for millions of bank customers in East Africa, specializing in cybersecurity, cloud, and digital banking. Named among Africa’s Top 35 Women in Tech, Rowena mentors and empowers women in engineering.

6. Idorenyin Obong — Nigeria CEO, Grey

Idorenyin Obong co-founded Grey, a fintech startup simplifying cross-border payments. Rapidly scaling to over a million users, Grey thrives on his engineering expertise, ensuring secure, efficient currency exchange solutions for remote workers across Africa.

7. Nneka Eze — Nigeria Lead Engineer, Andela

Nneka Eze excels in mentoring remote engineering teams, delivering software solutions across healthcare, finance, and education sectors through Andela.

Her focus on inclusion has seen her lead numerous bootcamps supporting women in tech.

8. Chinedu Umukoro: Nigeria Engineering Scalable Solutions for Africa’s Digital Future

Chinedu Umukoro is a seasoned Software Engineer and Technical Team Lead with over eight years of experience building innovative, scalable, and user-centric web applications.

He has led cross-functional engineering teams across fintech, insurtech, and banking, delivering high-impact products such as Nova Bank’s mobile banking platform, Sterling Bank’s investment tools, and USSD admin dashboards for inclusive financial services.

Driven by a passion for problem-solving and digital transformation, Chinedu combines deep technical knowledge with a strategic mindset to deliver solutions that shape Africa’s evolving tech landscape. From building secure API integrations to mentoring emerging developers, his leadership is rooted in collaboration, performance, and impact.

As Africa’s digital future unfolds, Chinedu continues to drive progress by building platforms that not only meet business goals but also enhance everyday lives.

9. Samuel Mwangi — Kenya CTO, M-Paya Solutions

Samuel Mwangi is an innovator in mobile money technology across East Africa. Leading development at M-Paya Solutions, he ensures robust transaction infrastructure and AI-driven fraud prevention, enhancing financial security across multiple countries.

10. Fatima Diallo — Senegal Founder, TechSenegal

Fatima Diallo champions programming education for young women, training over 5,000 students through TechSenegal. Her goal is to significantly increase the representation of female engineers in Senegal, making tech careers accessible to rural communities.

These 10 software engineers are definitely shaping Africa’s digital future with their homegrown solutions.

The post 10 Software Engineers Shaping Africa’s Tech Future appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The global pandemic has accelerated the pace of change, causing significant disruption across labour markets and forever changing how we work.

While some companies have reviewed their working policies to accommodate hybrid approaches to work, others have shed millions of permanent full-time jobs.

Many African countries are facing extremely high unemployment rates, such as South Africa (35.3%), Nigeria (33%), Gabon (22.3%), and Somalia (19.8%). Africa also has the world’s largest and youngest workforce (almost 60% of its population is under 25 years of age, and 250 million of its youth are unemployed).

With millions of permanent full-time jobs being made redundant, we are seeing a dramatic increase in freelancers, contractors, digital nomads, and other gig workers.

Currently,  Africa has 10.1% of the world’s freelancers, with  42% of workers working remotely at least once a day a week – and these figures could increase.

While some people choose to freelance because of its flexibility and variety, others are freelancing because it is a means of survival.

Traditionally, freelancing is seen as an unstable way to make money reserved only for the brave. On the one hand, you could land a great gig only to lose another at any minute, making the perpetual need to find new work very overwhelming.

It’s essential, however, that you do not let these challenges cloud your perspective of freelancing. Freelance work can be rewarding and lucrative if you are responsible and plan correctly financially.

Five financial planning tips for freelancers

As freelancers and contractors carry the burden of uncertain income, they must formulate a concrete financial plan. The tips and strategies shared below can assist freelancers and contractors in building a solid financial plan with variable income.

1. Planning a budget

Freelancers and contractors must plan a budget that allows them to pay for their expenses while saving for the future.

Financial experts usually recommend the 50/30/20 rule as a monthly budgeting formula for freelancers and gig workers.

The 50/30/20 rule is a straightforward formula that tells you exactly how much to put toward your monthly savings and living

expenses. The basic rule of thumb with the 50/30/20 rules is to divide your monthly income (after paying any taxes) into three spending categories: 50% for needs (such as monthly rent, groceries, education for children, utility bills, transportation, medical and short-term insurance), 30% for wants (entertainment, holidays, clothes, other luxury goods), and 20% for savings (including an emergency fund) or paying off any debt.

You can manage your income more efficiently if you regularly balance your expenses across these three main spending areas.

2. Choose a suitable payment method.

Being a freelancer or contractor in Africa means you can work for anyone regardless of where they are based in the world.

However, one of the more challenging tasks for freelancers and gig workers who work with international clients is how to get paid. Billing and being paid in foreign currencies can be complicated, especially when bank charges and exchange rates differ.

Today, freelancers can choose from a host of fintech platforms, like Grey, that caters to the demands and needs of African freelancers and gig workers by providing sophisticated yet affordable digital banking solutions, such as virtual banking accounts.

A virtual banking account is an account that does not require the holder to have a physical address, something typically required for a bank account at a brick-and-mortar bank.

Virtual accounts allow holders to access financial services from anywhere in the world. Freelancers can receive electronic payments from international clients and get paid in foreign currencies such as USD and EUR while converting their international funds to local currency.

These virtual accounts are essential for freelancers, particularly those who frequently travel to different locations. These accounts help them manage cash flow, protect against identity theft and fraud, and keep track of their financial records.

Freelancers can activate a virtual bank account within minutes. Customers can have instantaneous access to funds, make international payments, transfer funds and exchange between currencies. 

3. Keep your business and personal finances

Every freelancer and self-employed person should consider separating their business and personal finances. Freelancers should use their business

accounts only for business expenses. Once they have a budget, they can determine how much money should be allocated to personal expenses.

It is also a good idea for tax purposes to put aside some money monthly for self-employment taxes or other income taxes. In this regard, you will need to look at your unique tax situation in your country of origin to assess how much should be set aside.

4. Factor hidden costs into rates

Usually, when freelancers and digital nomads start, they usually undercharge because they fail to consider all the things their former employer used to cover. Freelancers will need to set their rates high enough and secure enough work to pay for the benefits they need to provide. These hidden costs include medical and disability insurance, retirement savings, and taxes.

5. Create multiple and diverse income streams

Freelancers and gig workers should try to diversify their income streams from different clients so that if they lose revenue, they have other clients to rely on. We suggest broadening your skill set and engaging in business networking to acquire more clients.

A financial plan is crucial in decision-making, where uninformed decisions can cost you significantly. Working as a freelancer and gig worker entails extra responsibilities. A solid financial plan will allow you to continue your business without worries.

The post Five Financial Planning Tips for African Freelancers and Gig Workers appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

As the digital economy continues to grow on our continent, Grey is at the forefront of providing safe and convenient banking solutions to meet the needs of customers and businesses.

With a focus on Africa, Grey has developed a range of services that allow individuals and businesses to easily access and manage their foreign accounts, including currency exchange and access to virtual cards.

Furthermore, the user-friendly interface of their platforms provides customers with a seamless experience, while also empowering them to gain control of their financial future and participate in the global economy.

In addition to its core services, Grey is constantly exploring new technologies and partnerships to further enhance its product offerings. This includes the integration of advanced technology to improve fraud protection, data security and increase efficiency.

Grey, formerly Aboki Africa rebranded in February 2022, the rebrand which marked a new chapter for the company and further reiterated the company’s mission to make it easier for digital nomads to live and work in the modern world.

Grey’s CEO/Co-founder Idoreyin Obong said, “At Grey, we remain committed to providing innovative digital payment solutions that empower our users to achieve their financial goals. Furthermore, we believe that by providing access to foreign accounts, we are not just helping our users but also contributing to the development of the African economy.”

The startup’s dedication to providing exceptional service and innovative solutions has made it a trusted brand among its customers, and the company looks forward to continuing to serve the African market in the years to come.

Grey, co-founded by Idorenyin Obong and Femi Aghedo in 2020, offers foreign accounts in USD, GBP, and EUR to Africans, making it a seamless way to send and receive international payments.

The post Grey Pledges to Continuously Raise the Bar for Service Excellence appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The service offered by Grey enables its customers to have virtual international bank accounts for free and enjoy a seamless foreign payment process.

“Grey was founded in 2021 to empower people to live a location-independent lifestyle,” CEO of Grey, Idorenyin Obong, says. “I believe that the least of your worries as a freelancer, remote worker, or digital nomad should be sending or receiving payments, so we’ve made it easy. We like to say that we’re on a mission to make international payments as easy as sending an email. We want to do impactful work to improve how Africa as a continent interacts with money across its borders. I am delighted that we’ve acquired an extensive and fiercely loyal user base.”

On Grey, you can create a foreign USD, GBP, and EUR bank account for free, send money to the UK and Europe, and receive payments from over 88 countries.

The company also offers conversion directly to your local currency so that you can spend it easily on the app. Grey allows users to receive foreign payments in their preferred foreign currency and withdraw directly to mobile money or their local bank account.

In addition to the funding announcement, Grey also announced Its expansion into East Africa, starting with Kenya, and partnerships with payments giant Cellulant and ed-tech leader Moringa. Travelling to Kenya is much easier with Grey because you can pay vendors directly to M-pesa.

For example, suppose you’re a traveller on a trip to Nairobi. In that case, you can convert any supported currencies to Kenyan Shillings and pay for services directly to M-Pesa, or other mobile money accounts.

Grey is the easiest way to send money abroad and between African countries. The company plans to expand into more East African countries in the coming months. It has included support for Ugandan Shillings on the app, bringing the total number of supported currencies to six. This addition means that Grey customers in Nigeria and Kenya can send money to mobile money accounts in Uganda.

The company has also privately launched Grey Business to several companies. COO Femi Aghedo says, “Sending money worldwide is not just an individual problem; it affects African businesses too. Over the last two months, we’ve onboarded several African businesses to our private beta. Honestly, when I listen to the feedback about how much we’ve simplified a previously complex process, it pushes us to do more.”

Grey’s seed funding round included participation from Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Heirloom Fund, True Culture Fund, angel investors Alan Rutledge, Samvit Ramadurgam, Karthik Ramakrishnan, and other high-profile investors. 

According to the CEO, Idorenyin Obong, with this new round of capital, they plan to launch into new markets and extend their product suite to include not just remittances but also person-to-person and business-to-business payments so every African can enjoy seamless cross-border payments with low fees.

The post Grey raises $2M to Simplify Cross-Border Payments Across Africa appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Just four months ago, Grey got accepted into Y Combinator’s 2022 winter batch for startups. Same period, it rebranded its identity, changing both its name, interface and logo to serve a much bigger mission.

On the other hand, Cellulant has been on a continuous mission to increase the innovations in making cross-border payments simpler and more decentralized. Through several recent partnerships, the company is gradually achieving its objectives.

In line with this, Grey’s partnership with Cellulant enables its launch in East Africa, spreading its products such as foreign bank accounts, instant currency exchange, and international money transfers, to Kenyans who sign up on Grey.

Kenyans can now get paid in their preferred foreign currency and withdraw directly to M-Pesa or their local bank account. Also, travellers going to Nairobi can convert any supported currency to Kenyan Shillings, pay for services directly to M-Pesa, or withdraw to a local bank account.

Grey offers a unique international money transfer service that enables its users to send and receive international payments without restrictions quickly. Cellulant is the company’s payments processor powering its payouts to thousands of Grey’s customers.

The instant currency exchange service offered by Grey enables its customers to have virtual international bank accounts for free, helping small businesses, freelancers, remote workers, and content creators in Kenya to enjoy a seamless payment process.

The endeavours by African fintech companies are rapidly enhancing the continuously growing digital environment where individuals now get remote jobs to work with countries other than theirs wherever they are. Processes like salary payments and other operations can now become simpler for all.

Grey was founded in 2020 by Idorenyin Obong and Femi Aghedo to make international transactions seamless, starting with Nigeria.

“For us at Grey, it is beyond just building remittance solutions. We sincerely want to enhance the interconnectivity of the evolving gig economy in developing countries; improving how we deal with cross-border remittance is just one way. Our team includes some of the brightest minds from diverse backgrounds working together to build solutions that delight our users,” Grey wrote.

The post Partnership Between Grey and Cellulant Reiterates African Startups Efforts to Bolster International Transactions  appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Asides the name change, Grey recently raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from Ingressive Capital and Abdul Hassan, co-founder and CEO of Mono and other investors. The startup is actively extending its reach and impact beyond the country.

Grey was founded in 2020 by Idorenyin Obong and Femi Aghedo to tackle the problem which exists in the exchange of foreign currencies in domiciliary accounts to local currency for Nigerians.

Before founding Grey, Obong has garnered experience from international companies where he worked remotely for most of his career and frequently received a constant flow of dollars into his domiciliary accounts. 

During withdrawals, he faced exchange challenges. He had to go to the bank, withdraw cash and meet a BDC operator who would travel long distances for one transaction. Hence, the reason for Grey.

Grey has grown to transact a net worth of $1,000,000 month-on-month. The company takes a 1% transaction fee capped at N3,000 (~$6) and affirms that from December 2021 to January 2022, its monthly users increased by 36% to 12,000 while revenue went up by 64%.

The provision of virtual foreign bank accounts has become a common strategy for fintechs trying to help Nigerians and Africans facilitate international transfers. Some other startups offering similar services include Techstars-backed PayDay and Fincra.

Grey Finance is one of the many African startups to have gotten into YC W22, which is set to be the largest batch for African startups yet. Grey’s next goal lies in attending to multiple requests from users who want to use mobile apps rather than the platform’s predominant web interface as well as launch virtual and physical foreign-denominated cards.

The post Nigeria’s Grey accepted into Y Combinator’s Winter 2022 batch appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

“We have continued to experience steady growth, our team has expanded, and our mission is much greater than what we set out to do when Femi and I started Aboki Africa,” Idorenyin Obong. CEO and co-founder wrote on the company’s website.

Aboki Africa was built on a goal to make currency exchange easy for Nigerians. In August 2021, after the company introduced foreign accounts, it immediately got to work on a new identity, Grey, that allows it to fully express the variety of products and services the company has in store for its customers, Obong explained further.

About Grey

According to Obong, “Grey is solid and stable. It inspires feelings of calm, balance and composure. That is what we want people to feel every time they use our service- that certainty. This re-brand reflects the stability, neutrality and solidity of our stance in the African financial services industry. Grey is here to stay.”

The change has not altered the company’s mission to bring easy global banking to every African. “I think that it emphasises our commitment to see it through. We will keep building on what we started with Aboki Africa and ensure that everyone who chooses Grey enjoys borderless financial freedom and more.”

What’s changing?

Asides the logo, the company’s website interface also changed and its social media is now Grey Finance on Instagram and Twitter. Grey’s messaging and brand will reflect how the company wants to help Africans access international payments smoothly. 

What’s next?

In December, the company launched USD accounts on its platform, which means you can now easily create a GBP, EUR and USD foreign account right from your phone, and complete your international transactions without any delay or hassle. 

“But that’s just the beginning,” Obong wrote. “We have been working behind the scenes to ensure that the requests from our customers are properly integrated to make it easier to access the services we offer. So stay tuned as we unveil more goodies in the following weeks.”

“Femi and I are incredibly proud of the work we do at Grey and thankful for the ‘Grey8’ employees, the partnerships, and all the customers that have accompanied us on our journey. We owe this rebrand to all of you.”

Obong concluded by reiterating the company’s delight to have all its amazing customers, who continue to trust them to ease their international banking experience, in its corner.

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