In a landmark celebration of youth leadership and technological advancement, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) has conferred the prestigious Tech Founder of the Year 2024 Award upon Olusegun Enitan Dada (OED), recognizing his transformative contributions to the African tech industry. As the founder of ZojaPay, ZojaTech, and IT Horizons, and co-founder of Smartsend Finance, Dada has been lauded for over 15 years of driving digital transformation, financial inclusion, and economic empowerment across the continent.
The award was presented during the National Summit and International Youth Day Celebration conference, held on November 25-24, 2024, at the iconic Ibom Hall in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. This high-profile event gathered visionary young leaders from across West Africa to underscore the pivotal role of youth in fostering societal progress, innovation, and sustainable development. The summit featured keynote addresses, panel discussions on emerging technologies, and showcases of groundbreaking initiatives aimed at empowering the next generation of African innovators. YALI, a flagship program of the U.S. African Development Foundation and the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, highlighted Dada’s work as a beacon for aspiring entrepreneurs, emphasizing how his ventures have bridged critical gaps in fintech, software development, and ICT infrastructure.
Olusegun Enitan Dada’s journey as a serial entrepreneur exemplifies resilience and foresight in Africa’s dynamic tech ecosystem. Starting with IT Horizons in 2009, he addressed the acute challenges that Nigerian businesses faced with basic ICT infrastructure, offering enterprise-grade solutions in networking, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and intelligent building systems. This foundational company laid the groundwork for his expansive portfolio, expanding operations to Ghana, the UK, and beyond, serving multinational corporations and local enterprises alike.
Building on this success, ZojaTech emerged as a creative powerhouse for custom software development and a venture studio, turning complex business ideas into scalable digital applications tailored for African contexts—such as performance management tools for business operation efficiency, logistics optimisation amid unreliable infrastructure or patient management systems for healthcare providers. Smartsend Finance, co-founded by Dada, revolutionised remittances for the African diaspora, providing instant, low-cost transfers from the UK and Europe to Nigeria, bypassing traditional banking delays and exorbitant fees. His latest venture, ZojaPay, launched in late 2023, introduces a groundbreaking peer-to-peer financial inclusion platform that delivers cash directly to users’ locations via a smartphone-powered agent network, targeting underserved communities where ATMs and banks fall short.
OED’s innovations have not only generated sustainable revenue streams but also created real-world impact. For instance, ZojaPay’s 24/7 network has enabled emergency cash deliveries in remote areas, such as a late-night medical aid scenario in Lagos, which was resolved in under 30 minutes. His B2B model with IT Horizons ensures predictable growth through long-term enterprise contracts, while consumer-facing solutions like Smartsend Finance scale rapidly via network effects. Navigating Africa’s diverse markets—from Nigeria’s cash-first economy to Kenya’s mobile money dominance—Dada emphasises local partnerships, designs for low-end devices and intermittent connectivity, and compliance with evolving regulations, including Nigeria’s Central Bank fintech frameworks.
Beyond business, Dada’s commitment to ethical leadership shines through his advocacy for financial inclusion over mere innovation. He advises aspiring entrepreneurs to solve personal pain points, prioritise regulatory foundations, and focus on underserved populations, warning against Silicon Valley transplants that ignore cultural nuances. Looking ahead, he envisions embedded finance, AfCFTA-driven cross-border payments, and biometric authentication as key drivers for African fintech growth in 2025 and beyond.
Upon receiving the YALI award, Dada expressed his profound gratitude and shared his vision for the future. “This honour from YALI is a testament to the power of African ingenuity and the unyielding spirit of our youth. As a 4X founder, I’ve dedicated my career to building ‘invisible bridges’—apps and systems that connect people to essential services, from sending money home to securing businesses against cyber threats. But true success lies in giving back; this award motivates me to scale our impact further, empowering millions more through technology that serves the continent’s unique needs. To every young innovator out there: stumble into entrepreneurship if you must, but stay deliberate—solve real problems, partner wisely, and never underestimate the ripple effect of one bold idea.”
OED’s recognition cements his status as a trailblazer, inspiring a new wave of African tech leaders to blend profit with purpose. With his blueprint for success—rooted in persistence, local relevance, and inclusive growth—he continues to shape a digitally empowered Africa, proving that homegrown solutions can rival global giants.