Shola Akinlade

{{Short description|Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Shola Akinlade

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date =

| birth_place = Lagos, Nigeria

| nationality = Nigerian

| alma_mater = St Gregory's College

| education = Babcock University (BSc)

| death_date =

| death_place =

| other_names =

| occupation = Software engineer
entrepreneur

| years_active = 2023–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,{{Cite web |date=23 October 2020 |title=Nigeria: "The hard work is still in front of us" - Paystack CEO |url=https://www.theafricareport.com/46814/nigeria-the-hard-work-is-still-in-front-of-us-paystack-ceo/ |access-date=14 June 2021 |website=The Africa Report.com |language=en-US}} a financial technology company acquired by U.S. payments firm Stripe in 2020 in a deal reported to be worth approximately $200 million.{{Cite web |date=15 October 2020 |title=Silicon Valley payments firm Stripe buys Nigerian startup Paystack |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/silicon-valley-payments-firm-stripe-buys-nigerian-startup-paystack-idUSKBN27024G/ |access-date=27 March 2025 |website=Reuters}} 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.

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.{{Cite web|date=8 September 2018|title=Meet Sola Akinlade, co-founder of Nigeria's foremost payment platform Paystack|url=https://nairametrics.com/2018/09/08/meet-sola-akinlade-co-founder-of-nigerias-foremost-payment-platform-paystack/|access-date=14 June 2021|website=Nairametrics|language=en-GB}} 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.{{Cite web|last=Nsehe|first=Mfonobong|title=Nigerian Fintech Startup Paystack Raises $1.3 Million|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2016/12/19/nigerian-fintech-startup-paystack-raises-1-3-million/|access-date=14 June 2021|website=Forbes|language=en}}

Business career

=Zap=

Akinlade created Zap, a system that allows foreigners in Nigeria to make payments using their foreign cards.{{cite web | last=Okafor | first=Chinedu | title=Zap vs Zap: Two tech companies find themselves in the middle of an identity dispute | website=Business Insider Africa | date=26 March 2025 | url=https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/zap-vs-zap-two-tech-companies-find-themselves-in-the-middle-of-an-identity-dispute/zzznr9s | access-date=26 March 2025}}{{cite web | last=Oladunmade | first=Muktar | title=Paystack launches Zap, first consumer play | website=TechCabal | date=25 March 2025 | url=https://techcabal.com/2025/03/25/zap-by-paystack/ | access-date=26 March 2025}} 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.{{cite web | last=Soaga | first=Olayide | title=Paystack launches 'Zap' App for fast bank transfers in Nigeria | website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News | date=25 March 2025 | url=https://guardian.ng/technology/paystack-launches-zap-app-for-fast-bank-transfers-in-nigeria/ | access-date=26 March 2025}}

=Paystack=

{{Main|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.{{Cite web|last=Combinator|first=Y.|title=Helping African Businesses Get Paid, Shola Akinlade of Paystack|url=https://blog.ycombinator.com/helping-african-businesses-get-paid-shola-akinlade-of-paystack/|access-date=29 January 2022|website=Y Combinator|language=en-US}}

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.”{{Cite web |date=15 October 2020 |title=Stripe acquires African payments startup Paystack in €180m deal |url=https://www.independent.ie/business/stripe-acquires-african-payments-startup-paystack-in-180m-deal/39628827.html |access-date=27 March 2025 |website=Irish Independent}}

=Sporting Lagos F.C.=

{{Main|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.{{Cite web |last=Christiansen |first=Dennis Bjerre |date=28 March 2023 |title=Aarhus Fremad får ny ejer: IT-milliardær fra Nigeria køber sig ind i klubben |url=https://stiften.dk/sport/aarhus-fremad-faar-ny-ejer-it-milliardaer-fra-nigeria-koeber-sig-ind-i-klubben |access-date=2 August 2023 |website=Århus Stiftstidende |language=da}}{{Cite web |last=Reporter |first=Samuel Oamen {{!}} Senior |date=2024-09-24 |title=Nigerians who own football clubs in Europe |url=https://thenationonlineng.net/nigerians-who-own-football-clubs-in-europe/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=The Nation Newspaper |language=en-US}}

=Aarhus Fremad=

{{Main|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.{{Cite web |last=Salaudeen |first=Aisha |date=20 April 2022 |title=From fintech to football: With Sporting Lagos, Paystack's Shola Akinlade hopes to change the game in Nigeria |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/20/football/shola-akinlade-paystack-sporting-lagos-spc-intl/index.html |access-date=16 October 2022 |website=CNN|language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |date=16 October 2022 |title=Tech founders Aboyeji, Olubi, Ola Brown, others receive national honours |url=https://businessday.ng/technology/article/tech-founders-aboyeji-olubi-ola-brown-others-receive-national-honours/ |access-date=27 March 2025 |website=Business Day}}

References