5 NIGERIA’S FUTURE BUSINESS MOGULS UNDER 30
TOMORROW’S BILLIONAIRES
Abiola Olaniran, 26
Founder, Gamsole
Olaniran, 26, is the founder and CEO of Nigerian gaming company, Gamsole. Olaniran founded the company in 2012, and it has venture backing from 88mph, a Kenyan seed fund. The company’s games now have more than 9 million downloads both locally and internationally on the Windows Phone store.
Affiong Williams, 29
Founder, Reelfruit
ReelFruit, founded, in March, 2012 is an emerging fruit processing company focused on packaging and branding and processing of locally, and quality fruit products.
The first product is a range of dried fruit snacks and nuts. The products are currently stocked in over 80 stores in Nigeria, including two airline customers.
ReelFruit is an award-winning brand, winning both an international Women In Business Competition in the Netherlands, as well as an SME exhibition (Creative Focus Africa) in Lagos, Nigeria.
The company, which employs 11 people, is well on its way to establishing the country’s first commercial dried fruit factory in Nigeria to process fruits for local consumption and export.
Williams is trying to expand her nut business into the lucrative airline market. She is raising capital to build a factory on the outskirts of Lagos next year.
“I hope to be on the cover of FORBES AFRICA in five years’ time,” she says.
Emeka Akano, 28
Co-Founder, Founder2Be
Finding your perfect match is never easy but Akano and his co-partner, Chinedu Onyeaso, have made it easier through Founder2Be.
The cupids of commerce introduced a match-making service for business owners in Africa. Like online dating, a deal is just a click away.
The Nigerians are not strangers to entrepreneurship; they also started Entarado, a web development company empowering small businesses with web and mobile solutions.
Ola Orekunrin, 29
Medical Doctor & Founder, The Flying Doctors
Orekunrin is founder and Managing Director of Flying Doctors Nigeria Ltd., an air ambulance service based in Lagos, Nigeria. Orekunrin’s company is the first air ambulance service in West Africa to provide urgent helicopter, airplane ambulance and evacuation services for critically injured people.
She is a 2013 New Voices Fellow at the Aspen Institute and was named a Young Global Leader in 2013 by the World Economic Forum.
Bankole Cardoso, 26
Co-founder, Easy Taxi Nigeria
Cardoso was the founding chief executive of online taxi hailing app, Easy Taxi Nigeria, a Rocket Internet-backed startup. While still affiliated with Easy Taxi, he is moving on to new projects. Easy Taxi, under Cardoso’s watch, grew to be one of the most used taxi hailing apps in Lagos and Abuja.
It has been a tough year for Cardoso. His mother, Stella Ameyo Adadevoh, died of Ebola this year. Adadevohwas one of the doctors in Nigeria that helped to ensure a more devastating outbreak was avoided.
