Shola Akinlade is a Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder and CEO of

Paystack Paystack is a Nigerian financial technology (fintech) company that provides online and offline payment solutions to businesses across Africa. Founded in 2015 by Nigerian computer science graduates Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, the company was a ...

, a financial technology company acquired by U.S. payments firm

Stripe Stripe, striped, or stripes may refer to: Decorations *Stripe (pattern), a line or band that differs in colour or tone from an adjacent surface *Racing stripe, a vehicle decoration * Service stripe, a decoration of the U.S. military Entertainment ...

in 2020 in a deal reported to be worth approximately $200 million. In 2022, he was conferred with the national honour of

Officer of the Order of the Niger An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

(OON) by Nigerian President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

for his contributions to the advancement of technology in finance and business.

Early life

Akinlade was born and raised in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Nigeria. He had his secondary education at

St Gregory's College, Lagos St. Gregory's College, Lagos, is a Catholic Boys' School with boarding facilities, located 1.0 km from Tafawa Balewa Square in the vicinity of Ikoyi – Obalende, Lagos State, Nigeria. History The college, originally a coed campus before th ...

. In 2006, he obtained a degree in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

from

Babcock University Babcock University is a private Christian co-educational Nigerian university owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria. The university is located at Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria, equidistant between Ibadan and La ...

. He started working at

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer (), or simply Heineken (), is a Dutch pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 February 1864, ...

as a trainee for the company's database management. He later worked as a software engineer with several banks. In 2016, he founded

with Ezra Olubi.

Business career

Zap

Akinlade created Zap, a system that allows foreigners in Nigeria to make payments using their foreign cards. 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 Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

Paystack

Akinlade's company Paystack was a part of startup accelerator

Y Combinator Y Combinator, LLC (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm launched in March 2005 which has been used to launch more than 5,000 companies. The accelerator program started in Boston and Mountain View, Californi ...

's 2016 batch of startups. The company was created to help businesses in Africa get paid online and offline. 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.”

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.

Aarhus Fremad

In March 2023, Akinlade acquired a 55% stake in the Danish 2nd division football club

Aarhus Fremad Aarhus Fremad (, "Aarhus Forward") is an association football club located in Aarhus N, the northern part of Aarhus, Denmark. The club will compete in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league system in the 2025� ...

. 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.

Awards

In October 2022, Akinlade was conferred with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by President

of Nigeria in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of technology in finance and business.

References

{{Reflist Nigerian business executives Babcock University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Nigerian technology businesspeople Yoruba businesspeople