Who is Shola Akinlade? Biography, Net Worth, Education, Paystack, and Facts
A simple attempt to make online payments easier eventually became one of Nigeria’s most important technology success stories. What started with a software engineer trying to solve a frustrating problem for businesses grew into Paystack. This company attracted the attention of global payments giant Stripe and was acquired in a deal reported to be worth more than $200 million.
Behind that journey is Shola Akinlade, a Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur who went from building enterprise software to co-founding one of Africa’s best-known fintech companies.
His story, however, did not begin with Paystack. Before the company became internationally recognized, Akinlade had already spent years writing software, working with banks, building an open-source product, and learning how businesses struggled with technology and payments.
In 2015, he and his longtime friend Ezra Olubi founded Paystack. Within a year, the company became the first Nigerian startup accepted into Y Combinator, one of the world’s most influential startup accelerators. Paystack subsequently raised funding, expanded its customer base, and became a major player in African payments.
In 2020, Stripe announced its acquisition of Paystack. Although the financial terms were not officially disclosed, multiple reports put the value of the transaction at more than $200 million.
Interestingly, the acquisition of Paystack was not the end of Akinlade’s entrepreneurial journey. By 2026, Paystack had reached its tenth anniversary, expanded into several African markets, and achieved group-level profitability. Akinlade had also moved into another area close to his interests: football, founding Sporting Lagos and later acquiring a majority stake in Danish club Aarhus Fremad.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Shola Akinlade is a Nigerian software engineer, entrepreneur and investor best known as the co-founder and CEO of Paystack.
- He studied Computer Science at Babcock University.
- Before Paystack, he worked at Heineken and co-founded the software company Klein Devort.
- He helped develop Precurio, an open-source enterprise collaboration platform.
- He co-founded Paystack with Ezra Olubi in 2015.
- Paystack became the first Nigerian startup accepted into Y Combinator.
- Stripe acquired Paystack in 2020 in a transaction reported to be worth more than $200 million.
- Akinlade remained CEO of Paystack after the acquisition.
- In 2022, he founded Sporting Lagos Football Club.
- In 2023, he acquired a 55% stake in Danish football club Aarhus Fremad.
- In 2026, Paystack celebrated its 10th anniversary and announced that it had achieved group-level profitability.
- Akinlade’s personal net worth has not been reliably disclosed, so figures circulating online should be treated cautiously.
Quick Facts About Shola Akinlade
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Shola Akinlade |
| Date of birth | March 3, 1985 |
| Age in 2026 | 41 years |
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Profession | Software engineer, entrepreneur, and investor |
| Secondary education | St. Gregory’s College, Lagos |
| University | Babcock University |
| Degree | Computer Science |
| Major company | Paystack |
| Co-founder | Ezra Olubi |
| Paystack founded | 2015 |
| Paystack acquired by Stripe | 2020 |
| Reported acquisition value | More than $200 million |
| Current Paystack position | CEO and Co-founder |
| Football club founded | Sporting Lagos |
| Danish football investment | Aarhus Fremad |
| National honour | Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) |
| Personal net worth, 2026 | Not publicly verified |
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Who Is Shola Akinlade?
Shola Akinlade is a Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur best known for co-founding Paystack, an African payments technology company.
Paystack provides tools that allow businesses to accept payments through different channels and manage transactions.
The company was founded in Lagos in 2015 by Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, two software developers who had known each other since their university days. Their objective was straightforward: make it considerably easier for African businesses to accept payments online.
That problem may sound simple today, but payment infrastructure in Nigeria was considerably more fragmented when Paystack began. Businesses often had to navigate complicated processes to accept online payments, while developers faced technical and regulatory difficulties when integrating payment systems.
Akinlade’s technical background gave him a direct understanding of those problems.
Paystack eventually became one of the most successful technology startups to emerge from Nigeria.
Early Life and Background
Shola Akinlade was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria.
He attended St. Gregory’s College, Lagos, for his secondary education before proceeding to Babcock University in Ogun State.
His interest in computers developed early. According to accounts of his career, an uncle gave him a computer, which helped spark his interest in programming and software development.
That interest eventually became more than a hobby.
While studying at Babcock University, Akinlade became involved in technology projects and developed the technical skills that would later become central to his career.
It was also at Babcock University that he met Ezra Olubi, who would eventually become his co-founder at Paystack.
Education
Akinlade studied Computer Science at Babcock University, graduating in the mid-2000s.
His university years were important not only because of the degree he obtained but also because of the relationships and technical experience he developed.
His friendship with Ezra Olubi eventually became particularly significant.
The two would later combine Akinlade’s product and software-building interests with Olubi’s technical expertise to create Paystack.
Starting His Professional Career at Heineken
After university, Akinlade joined Heineken/Nigerian Breweries as a management trainee with a focus on database management.
It was a conventional corporate beginning for someone who would eventually become a technology entrepreneur.
However, Akinlade did not remain in the corporate environment indefinitely.
He wanted to build software rather than simply work within an established organisation.
That desire eventually pushed him toward entrepreneurship.
Klein Devort and Precurio
Akinlade’s first significant entrepreneurial experience came before Paystack. He co-founded Klein Devort, a software development and consulting company. One of the products associated with the company was Precurio, an open-source enterprise collaboration and document-management platform. Precurio allowed organisations to manage information and collaborate digitally.
The project gave Akinlade experience in building software products and, importantly, dealing directly with business customers. That experience would later prove valuable when he began working with banks and other financial institutions.
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Working With Banks Changed His Direction
One of the most important developments in Akinlade’s career came when banks began approaching him for software development work. While working on software solutions for financial institutions, he began seeing the difficulties businesses faced when trying to process online payments. This was the problem that eventually led to Paystack.
Rather than seeing payment processing simply as a banking problem, Akinlade approached it from the perspective of a software developer.
He asked a practical question: Could payment infrastructure be made as simple to integrate as other modern software tools?
That question became the foundation for Paystack.
A MAJOR LESSON FROM HIS EARLY CAREER
Sometimes the best business idea is hiding inside a problem you repeatedly encounter while doing something else. Akinlade did not begin by trying to build a fintech giant; he encountered a problem and decided to solve it.
How Shola Akinlade Founded Paystack
In 2015, Akinlade and Ezra Olubi founded Paystack. The company was created to make it easier for African businesses to accept payments from customers. At the time, online commerce in Nigeria was growing, but payment infrastructure still presented significant challenges.
Instead of forcing businesses to navigate multiple complicated systems, the company provided an easier technology layer for accepting and managing payments. This approach immediately appealed to technology-driven businesses.
The Y Combinator Breakthrough
One of the earliest major breakthroughs came in 2015, when Paystack was accepted into Y Combinator. It became the first Nigerian company to enter the prestigious startup accelerator.
Y Combinator had already helped launch companies such as Airbnb and Dropbox, making acceptance a significant endorsement for a young Nigerian startup. The accelerator provided funding, mentorship and access to an international network of investors and technology entrepreneurs.
For Akinlade and Olubi, it also provided an opportunity to demonstrate that a Nigerian payments company could build a product capable of competing internationally.
Paystack publicly launched in January 2016.
Paystack’s Early Growth
Paystack’s growth accelerated after its public launch. The company began attracting businesses that needed simpler online payment tools.
By 2017, Paystack was processing more than ₦1 billion in monthly transaction value. In 2018, it crossed ₦10 billion in monthly transaction value. The company also expanded its products beyond basic payment collection.
It introduced features that helped businesses manage recurring payments, transfers, identity verification, and other financial processes.
This product expansion helped Paystack become more than a payment gateway.
It was becoming a broader financial infrastructure company.
Raising $1.3 Million in Seed Funding
In 2016, Paystack raised approximately $1.3 million in seed funding from investors including Tencent, Comcast Ventures and Ventures Platform. This was important because it gave the company additional resources to build its infrastructure and expand its team.
The company later raised an $8 million Series A round in 2018, led by Stripe and joined by Visa, Tencent and Y Combinator. Stripe’s participation would eventually become particularly significant. At the time, however, the relationship was primarily an investment and partnership.
Neither Akinlade nor the Paystack team could know with certainty that it would eventually lead to an acquisition.
Major Challenges and Setbacks
Building Trust in Digital Payments
One of Paystack’s fundamental challenges was trust.
People and businesses had to be comfortable putting financial transactions through a relatively young technology company.
A payment platform cannot afford frequent failures.
If a customer pays but the merchant does not receive the money, or if transactions fail repeatedly, confidence disappears quickly.
Paystack therefore had to build reliability into its product from the beginning.
Navigating Nigeria’s Payment Ecosystem
Nigeria’s financial system involves banks, payment processors, regulators, card networks and other participants.
Creating a smooth payment experience required Paystack to integrate with that ecosystem.
This meant that some of the company’s hardest problems were not necessarily visible to customers.
A simple-looking payment button could depend on a complicated network of systems working correctly behind the scenes.
Competing in a Rapidly Growing Fintech Market
Paystack also emerged during a period when Nigerian fintech was becoming increasingly competitive.
Other companies were developing payment products and financial services.
The company therefore had to differentiate itself through product simplicity, reliability and its understanding of African businesses.
Its technical approach became one of its major advantages.
The Risk of Building in Africa
Building a technology company in Africa also presented challenges related to infrastructure, access to capital and the relatively young venture-capital ecosystem.
Paystack’s acceptance into Y Combinator helped address some of these problems.
But the company still had to prove that its business model could work at scale.
The Stripe Acquisition
On October 15, 2020, Stripe announced that it had agreed to acquire Paystack. Although the financial terms were not officially disclosed, Reuters and other major technology publications reported that the transaction was worth approximately $ 200 million or more. At the time, Paystack had more than 60,000 businesses using its platform.
The company was processing a substantial share of Nigeria’s online transactions and had begun expanding beyond Nigeria. The acquisition was one of the most significant exits in the history of Nigeria’s technology ecosystem. It also demonstrated that a company built in Lagos could become strategically important to one of the world’s leading financial technology companies.
Why Stripe Bought Paystack
Stripe’s interest in Paystack was not simply about acquiring another payment processor.
The African digital economy was expanding, while payment infrastructure remained fragmented across many countries.
Paystack had already built relationships with African businesses and understood the local payment environment.
Stripe therefore gained more than software.
It gained:
- Local market expertise
- Payment infrastructure
- Relationships with African businesses
- A strong technology team
- Experience navigating African payment systems
For Paystack, the acquisition provided access to Stripe’s global resources and expertise.
THE BIG LESSON
Building a valuable company does not always mean remaining independent forever. Sometimes the right partnership can give a successful business the resources and reach needed to pursue a much bigger mission.
Did Shola Akinlade Sell Paystack?
Yes, but it is important to describe the transaction accurately.
Stripe acquired Paystack, meaning Paystack became part of Stripe.
The exact financial terms were not publicly disclosed by Stripe or Paystack.
Reports from Reuters and TechCrunch placed the transaction at more than $200 million.
The acquisition price was for the company, and the proceeds would have been distributed according to the ownership structure and agreements involving the founders, employees, and investors.
The precise amount received personally by Akinlade has not been publicly established.
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What Happened to Paystack After the Acquisition?
Paystack did not disappear after the acquisition.
Instead, it continued operating as a business within the Stripe group.
Akinlade remained CEO and co-founder.
The company continued expanding its payment services across Africa.
By 2026, Paystack had reached its tenth anniversary.
In January 2026, Akinlade announced that Paystack served businesses in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, while also having regulatory approvals for Egypt and Rwanda.
He also announced that Paystack’s total payment volume had grown more than twelvefold since the Stripe acquisition.
Most significantly, the company had achieved group-level profitability.
That was an important milestone because it demonstrated that the business had moved beyond rapid expansion toward sustainable operations.
Paystack at 10
In January 2026, Paystack marked ten years since its public launch.
The company also announced the creation of The Stack Group, representing the next phase of its development.
According to Akinlade, Paystack had grown substantially since becoming part of Stripe and was now serving markets representing a significant share of Africa’s economic output.
The tenth anniversary was therefore less about celebrating the past and more about preparing for another decade of expansion.
Shola Akinlade’s Net Worth in 2026
There is no reliable publicly verified figure for Shola Akinlade’s personal net worth in 2026.
This is particularly important because the frequently reported $200 million+ Paystack acquisition value should not be confused with Akinlade’s personal wealth.
There are websites that publish specific net-worth figures for him, sometimes ranging from tens of millions of dollars to much higher amounts.
However, these estimates generally rely on assumptions about his Paystack ownership, acquisition proceeds, investments and other assets.
Those assumptions cannot be independently verified.
What We Can Establish
| Item | Information |
|---|---|
| Paystack acquisition | Stripe acquired Paystack in 2020 |
| Reported transaction value | More than $200 million |
| Akinlade’s exact proceeds | Not publicly disclosed |
| Current Paystack ownership | Paystack is part of Stripe |
| Other known investments | Sporting Lagos and Aarhus Fremad |
| Personal net worth in 2026 | Not publicly verified |
Shola Akinlade and Sporting Lagos
Akinlade’s interests eventually moved beyond technology. In 2022, he founded Sporting Lagos Football Club.
The club was created with ambitions extending beyond football results. Akinlade described the project as a platform for community development, social change and opportunity creation.
His interest in football was influenced by memories of Nigeria’s football successes in the 1990s, particularly the country’s participation in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1996 Olympic Games.
Rather than simply becoming a spectator or sponsor, he chose to create a club. Sporting Lagos subsequently competed in Nigeria’s professional football system.
Sporting Lagos and Aarhus Fremad
In 2023, Akinlade expanded his football interests internationally by acquiring a 55% stake in Danish second-division club Aarhus Fremad.
The investment was intended to create a connection between Sporting Lagos and European football.
The idea was to provide a pathway through which Nigerian football talent could potentially develop and access opportunities in Europe.
This reflected a pattern visible in Akinlade’s broader career.
He tends to approach industries through platform-building.
ANOTHER LESSON FROM AKINLADE’S JOURNEY
A platform can create opportunities far beyond its original purpose. The strongest platforms connect people, solve practical problems and create pathways for others to grow.
National Honour
In 2022, Shola Akinlade was among Nigerian technology entrepreneurs who received national honours.
He was conferred with the title of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
The honor recognized his contributions to technology, finance, and business.
It came two years after Paystack’s acquisition by Stripe and reflected the growing recognition of Nigeria’s technology sector.
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Shola Akinlade’s Leadership Philosophy
Akinlade’s approach to business has generally centred on solving difficult, practical problems.
His Paystack story illustrates this clearly.
The company did not begin by trying to become a global financial institution.
It started by making a frustrating process easier for businesses.
Akinlade has also spoken about the importance of building strong teams, hiring carefully, communicating clearly and maintaining high standards.
Paystack’s own company values include:
- Transparency
- Clear communication
- Kindness
- High standards
- Growth and learning
- Commitment to the mission
Interesting Facts About Shola Akinlade
- Shola Akinlade was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
- He attended St. Gregory’s College.
- He studied Computer Science at Babcock University.
- He met Paystack co-founder Ezra Olubi at Babcock University.
- He worked at Heineken after university.
- His early corporate work involved database management.
- He later co-founded Klein Devort.
- He was involved in developing Precurio, an open-source enterprise software product.
- His work with banks helped expose him to problems in payment processing.
- He co-founded Paystack in 2015.
- Paystack became the first Nigerian startup accepted into Y Combinator.
- Paystack launched publicly in 2016.
- Paystack raised $1.3 million in seed funding in 2016.
- Stripe led Paystack’s $8 million Series A in 2018.
- Stripe acquired Paystack in 2020.
- The transaction was reported to be worth more than $200 million.
- Paystack had more than 60,000 businesses using its platform around the time of the acquisition.
- Akinlade remained Paystack’s CEO after the acquisition.
- He founded Sporting Lagos in 2022.
- He acquired a 55% stake in Aarhus Fremad in 2023.
- He received the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) national honour.
- Paystack celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2026.
- Paystack announced group-level profitability in 2026.
- Akinlade’s personal net worth has not been reliably disclosed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Shola Akinlade
How old is Shola Akinlade?
A commonly reported birth date is March 3, 1985, which would make him 41 years old in 2026. However, this date is not clearly confirmed by a primary source, so BioPlaza treats the exact birth date cautiously.
Where is Shola Akinlade from?
He was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria.
What did Shola Akinlade study?
He studied Computer Science at Babcock University.
Who is Shola Akinlade’s business partner?
His best-known business partner is Ezra Olubi, with whom he co-founded Paystack.
When was Paystack founded?
Paystack was founded in 2015.
Who bought Paystack?
Stripe, the global payments technology company, acquired Paystack in 2020.
How much did Stripe pay for Paystack?
Stripe and Paystack did not publicly disclose the financial terms. However, Reuters, TechCrunch and other reputable outlets reported that the deal was worth more than $200 million.
How much money did Shola Akinlade personally make from Paystack?
His exact proceeds have not been publicly disclosed. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to claim that he personally received the full reported $200 million-plus acquisition value.
What is Shola Akinlade’s net worth in 2026?
His exact personal net worth is not publicly verified. Online figures should therefore be treated as estimates rather than established facts.
Is Shola Akinlade still the CEO of Paystack?
Yes. Paystack’s current website identifies him as CEO and Co-founder.
What is Sporting Lagos?
Sporting Lagos is a football club founded by Shola Akinlade in 2022. The club was established with an emphasis on football development, community and opportunities for young people.
Does Shola Akinlade own a football club in Europe?
Yes. In 2023, he acquired a 55% stake in Aarhus Fremad, a Danish football club.
What national honour has Shola Akinlade received?
He was conferred with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in 2022.
Major Lessons From Shola Akinlade’s Journey
1. Solve a painful problem
Paystack was built around a problem businesses were already experiencing.
The founders did not have to convince the market that the problem existed.
They simply needed to create a better solution.
2. Experience can reveal opportunities
Akinlade’s work with banks exposed him to the weaknesses in payment infrastructure.
His previous career therefore became a source of insight for his next business.
3. Technical skills can become entrepreneurial assets
Akinlade’s computer science background allowed him to understand technology at a deep level.
But his success came from combining that technical ability with product thinking, business understanding and customer needs.
4. A successful exit does not have to mean walking away
After Stripe acquired Paystack, Akinlade continued leading the company.
The acquisition gave Paystack additional resources rather than ending the mission.
5. Think beyond one industry
Akinlade’s move into football demonstrates that entrepreneurship can extend beyond a person’s original field.
His football investments are another example of his interest in creating platforms and opportunities.
FINAL LESSON
Shola Akinlade’s journey shows that some of the biggest opportunities are hidden inside ordinary frustrations. He saw how difficult payments were for African businesses, built a simpler solution, and stayed with the problem long enough for the world to notice.
Final Thoughts
Shola Akinlade’s rise from software developer to one of Nigeria’s best-known technology entrepreneurs was not built around a single lucky break.
Before Paystack, he had already spent years developing software, working with businesses and learning how technology could solve practical problems.
That experience eventually led him to payment infrastructure.
With Ezra Olubi, he built Paystack around a straightforward objective: make it easier for African businesses to get paid.
The company grew rapidly.
It became the first Nigerian startup accepted into Y Combinator, attracted major international investors and eventually caught the attention of Stripe.
In 2020, Stripe acquired Paystack in a deal reported to be worth more than $200 million.
Yet perhaps the most interesting part of the story is what happened next.
Akinlade did not simply disappear after the acquisition. He remained at Paystack, continuing to build the company across Africa.
By 2026, Paystack had reached its tenth anniversary and announced that it had achieved group-level profitability.
Outside fintech, Akinlade also created Sporting Lagos and invested in Danish football, showing that his interests increasingly extend into building platforms for talent and community development.
His exact personal net worth remains unknown. While the Paystack acquisition created substantial value, there is insufficient public information to determine exactly how much wealth Akinlade personally accumulated from the transaction and his subsequent investments.
That uncertainty, however, does not diminish what is known.
THE BIGGEST LESSON
The most valuable idea is not necessarily the most complicated one. Sometimes it is simply the solution that makes something difficult feel easy.
From software development to Paystack, from a Nigerian startup to a global acquisition, and from fintech to football, Shola Akinlade’s career demonstrates the power of identifying a problem, building patiently and continually looking for ways to create opportunities for others.
Last updated: August 27, 2026
Sources
- Paystack — About / Our Story
Paystack’s official history, founding, Y Combinator participation, funding milestones, Stripe acquisition and current operations. (Paystack) - Paystack — “10 years of Paystack, and the beginning of The Stack Group”
January 2026 update from Shola Akinlade covering Paystack’s tenth anniversary, geographic expansion, payment-volume growth and group-level profitability. (The Paystack Blog) - Stripe — “Stripe will acquire Paystack to accelerate online commerce across Africa”
Official announcement of the 2020 acquisition and background on Paystack’s growth and customer base. (Stripe) - TechCrunch — “Stripe acquires Nigeria’s Paystack for $200M+ to expand into the African continent”
Details of the acquisition, reported transaction value, investors and Paystack’s growth before the acquisition. (TechCrunch) - Reuters — “Silicon Valley payments firm Stripe buys Nigerian startup Paystack”
Independent reporting on the 2020 acquisition and reported $200 million valuation. (Investing.com) - International Finance Corporation (IFC) — “The Maker”
Background on Akinlade’s early career, Paystack’s development and its role in African digital payments. (IFC) - TechCabal — Shola Akinlade Profile
Background on Akinlade’s education, Heineken experience, Precurio and the origins of Paystack. (TechCabal) - TechCabal — “Building the Future, with Shola Akinlade”
Interview covering his software-development background, Babcock University, Precurio, banks and the early Paystack journey. (TechCabal) - Fidelity Bank — SME Forum, “Securing Seed Funding Through Accelerator Programmes – The Paystack Example”
First-person account from Akinlade about his career, Precurio, the Paystack idea, early funding and Y Combinator. (Fidelity Bank) - Nairametrics — “Shola Akinlade: The inspiration behind Paystack’s success”
Background on his education, Heineken career, Klein Devort and early entrepreneurial development. (Nairametrics) - WISCAR — Shola Akinlade Profile
Background on his education, early software career and the development of Paystack. (Wiscar) - Punch — “Sporting Lagos: New generation club brace for life in the NPFL”
Background on Akinlade’s motivation for establishing Sporting Lagos and his football ambitions. (Punch Newspapers) - Lagos State Football Association
Current information identifying Shola Akinlade as owner of Sporting Lagos. (Lagos FA) - Paystack — “Paystack x Stripe”
Official account of the relationship between Paystack and Stripe and the 2020 acquisition. (Paystack)