Nigeria has long been a hotbed of technological innovation, producing some of Africa’s most influential tech professionals. In this article, we explore the top tech influencers in Nigeria pushing the boundaries of technology and inspiring the next generation of innovators. From digital marketing prowess to software engineering, captivating video reviews and expertise in emerging technologies, these tech influencers are making waves in different areas of the Nigerian tech ecosystem. View a comprehensive list of top tech influencers in Nigeria
Peace Itimi
Peace is a YouTuber and digital marketing professional with over seven years of experience in both agency and client-side. Her experience spans multiple verticals in Africa and Europe, including media, fintech and digital identity.
She hosts “Founders Connect,” where she spotlights African innovation and has interviewed over 70 African founders and senior operators on her 30,000+ subscribers channel.
In 2019 and 2020, Peace was a chapter lead for Women Will, a Grow with Google initiative, empowering women with business, leadership, digital, and career skills.
She also sits on boards of early-stage startups.
Connect with Peace on Twitter and LinkedIn
You can also subscribe to her YouTube channel.
Adewale Yusuf
Adewale Yusuf is renowned for his passion for education and innovation. As the co-founder and CEO of AltSchool Africa and TalentQL, he is actively involved in African talent, paving the way for a more tech-driven economy.
As the founder of Techpoint Africa, he played a pivotal role in shaping the Nigerian tech narrative, shedding light on the transformative impact of technology in the region.
Adewale is also the chief host of Nigeria’s most prestigious tech conferences, including Techpoint Inspired and Techpoint Build.
With a cumulative following of over 80,000 across LinkedIn and Twitter, Adewale continues to share content to inspire the next generation of innovators.
Connect with Adewale on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Nenne Adaora Nwodo
Popularly known as Adora, Nenne is a software engineer who works at Microsoft and is based in Lagos, Nigeria. She is passionate about increasing inclusion for women in technology and advocates for the developer community in Nigeria.
Adora is also a digital creator, educator, and inspiration to aspiring software engineers.
Her work has been recognised with numerous awards, including the Young CISO Network Excellence in Disruptive Technology, Cloud and Embedded Device Security Award for my work in building and advocating for Disruptive Technology on the Cloud. With over 85,000 Twitter followers and 40,000 followers on LinkedIn, Adora is a force to be reckoned with in the tech industry in Nigeria.
Connect with Adora on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Prosper Otemuyiwa (Unicode)
Prosper is a Software developer, developer advocate and co-founder of forLoop Africa. He has garnered over 90,000 followers on Twitter, and 19,000 followers on the professional connections platform, LinkedIn. He is popularly known by his nickname, Unicode.
Prosper was a Google Developer Expert between 2016 and 2018, representing Google at tech events. Also, in 2016 when Github published its ranking, he clinched the second position on the top chart of the world’s leading PHP developers ahead of Facebook. This remarkable feat shot him into the limelight.
He writes and tweets about programming and software development-related topics.
Connect with Prosper on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Seun Runsewe
Seun Runsewe is a Senior Product Manager at Chipper Cash, an African unicorn valued at $2 billion, and a seasoned business leader in the technology space in Nigeria.
Her expertise in building businesses that improve payments in the expanding digital economy has made her a significant figure in the Nigerian tech scene.
Connect with Seun on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Layo Ogunbanwo
Layo Ogunbanwo has helped build, launch, scale, and drive the adoption and retention of products in the US, Africa, and Latin America.
She is a founding member of the Feminist Coalition, which champions equality for women in Nigerian society.
Additionally, she serves as a mentor for Google for Startups Africa Accelerator, sharing her knowledge and expertise to help startups grow.
You can connect with Layo on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Tayo Oviosu
Tayo Oviosu is the Founder and CEO of Paga, a mobile payments company that digitises cash in emerging economies, with Nigeria as their first market. With a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
His passion for helping entrepreneurs bring ideas to life led to co-founding Kairos Angels.
In recognition of his achievements, CNBC named him the Entrepreneur of the Year in West Africa in 2014. The African Leadership Network selected Paga as the outstanding growing company of the year in Africa in 2015.
Connect with Tayo on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Babajide Durushola
Babajide Durushola is the GM for M-kopa Nigeria. He has extensive experience in tech, banking, and consulting.
Babajide previously led Safeboda’s growth in Nigeria from scratch and worked as a Community Manager with Andela.
He is skilled in management, planning and execution of strategy, business operations, expansion, and marketing. He firmly understands startup ecosystems and technology ecosystems across West and East Africa.
He writes and tweets about management, strategy and business operations. Connect with Babajide on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Seni Sulyman
Seni Sulyman is a Nigerian entrepreneur with various leadership roles in notable companies such as Andela and Bristow Group. He has also worked as a consultant at Bain & Company and Hewlett-Packard. Sulyman holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
During his tenure at Andela, he oversaw significant growth in the company’s Nigeria branch and was later promoted to Vice President of Global Operations. Andela was recognised under his leadership, receiving the US Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence and ranked as the best place to work in Nigeria by Jobberman in 2018.
Connect with Seni on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Bayo Adekanmbi
Bayo Adekanmbi is a highly accomplished Analytics, AI, Business, and Digital Innovation executive with over 22 years of industry experience.
He has a patent on final approval in the USA for a Data Science product on Social Pricing Recommender Software. He is the founder and lead consultant at Data Science Nigeria non-profit.
The US-based Corinium Intelligence recognises him as one of the Top 100 global innovators in Data and Analytics. Additionally, Bayo has won the MTN Yello Star and the MIPAD Most Influential People of African Descent (Class of 2018) awards.
Connect with Bayo on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Eric Okafor
Eric Okafor, also known as Knewkeed, is a Nigerian YouTuber and tech influencer who creates content ranging from unboxing videos to spec comparisons and gadget reviews.
He has established himself as a trusted source for informative and engaging tech content. He has a significant social media following, including on YouTube, where he shares his range with over 340,000 subscribers.
Join Knewkeed’s over 60,000 followers on Twitter, and also subscribe to his channel on YouTube.
Mark Essien
Mark is an entrepreneur, tech business developer, software developer and the founder and CEO of Hotels.ng. He is a TEDx speaker, having spoken at TEDxEuston and TEDxGbagada, where he shared on leveraging networks to build a business and how Africa can lead in the global technology space.
Mark is also the founder of HNG Internships, a virtual internship program for people learning design, code, project management and other tech skills.
In 2015, Mark was on the list of the 30 most promising young entrepreneurs in Africa by Forbes and was also a nominee for the Future Africa Awards in 2014.
Connect with Mark on Twitter and Linkedin.
Fisayo Fosudo
With over 400,000 YouTube subscribers, Fisayo is a famous visual storyteller, video creator, and finance and tech reviewer. He has amassed millions of views on YouTube with his reviews on tech gadgets, smartphones, and applications. P
In recognition of his contribution to the Nigerian tech ecosystem, Fisayo was awarded the title of “Tech Influencer of the Year” at the 2021 edition of Techpoint Awards. He was also one of the 26 Africans in the YouTube Black Voices Creator class of 2022.
Connect with Fisayo on Twitter and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Osaretin Victor Asemota
Asemota Victor Osaretin is a highly regarded tech influencer in Nigeria. He is a tech entrepreneur and Venture capitalist with over two decades of experience in the tech industry.
He is a co-founder of multiple successful startups, including Swifta Systems. Asemota has also been on the board of high-profile companies like Flutterwave and a Launchpad Accelerator Mentor at Google.
He is also a frequent contributor to tech publications and a sought-after speaker at industry events.
Asemota is known for his expertise in emerging technologies, and in 2018 he was included in the Nigeria presidential tech-entrepreneurs advisory group list.
He talks and tweets about the business of tech to his over 250,000 followers.
Connect with Asemota on LinkedIn and Twitter
Hacksultan (Sultan Akintunde)
Hacksultan is a software developer, Co-Founder and Technical officer at AltSchool Africa and TalentQL. He is a tech influencer with more than 150,000 followers on Twitter. His NTBTS weekly newsletter is acclaimed to be the most significant tech newsletter, with over 60,000 subscribers. He is also the founder of DevCareers, a non-profit organisation that provides mentorship and learning resources for aspiring developers.
His face-covering style has built an air of mystery around him, as his followers are eager to glimpse the man behind the mask.
In 2022, Sultan won the Going the Extra Mile (GEM) in Tech Education Award at the second edition of The Nigeria Education Conference, And Awards (NECA) themed: Reimagining the Role of Technology in the Nigeria Education System.
Connect with Sultan on Twitter and LinkedIn.
As the tech industry in Nigeria continues to grow, it’s inspiring to see such a talented and diverse group of individuals leading the way. These influencers significantly impact the Nigerian tech scene, from their contributions to startups, tech events, and publications to their engaging social media presence. As we look to the future, we can only anticipate the many more groundbreaking innovations these tech influencers will inspire from the observing population and bring to Nigeria and the rest of the world.
