Shola Akinlade co-founded Paystack in 2016 to solve one specific problem: Nigerian businesses that wanted to accept online payments faced a fragmented, unreliable landscape that was limiting e-commerce growth. His solution was an API-first payment gateway whose technical reliability he treated as a non-negotiable product requirement rather than a cost to manage. Stripe acquired Paystack in 2020 for approximately 200 million dollars, the largest acquisition of an African tech startup at that point, and kept Akinlade as CEO, which is the important detail in that transaction.
He treated technical reliability as a non-negotiable requirement, building a payment gateway adopted by tens of thousands of African businesses. Paystack became the first Nigerian company admitted to the Y Combinator accelerator. Its acquisition by Stripe in 2020 was a landmark for African fintech.
His work helped demonstrate that a Nigerian startup could build world-class technology. He has since become a mentor and reference point in the ecosystem. This profile examines his rise, his company and his impact.
In brief
Full name
Shola Akinlade
Born
1985, Nigeria
Profession
Tech entrepreneur, CEO
Net worth (est.)
$50 million to $100 million
Company
Paystack (acquired by Stripe)
Milestone
Largest reported African fintech acquisition by Stripe
Background and education
Shola Akinlade was born in Nigeria and pursued a degree in Computer Science at Babcock University in Ogun State. His technical education gave him the engineering foundation to build payment infrastructure, while his early career experiences in Nigerian software development exposed him to the friction that businesses faced when accepting payments online. That friction became Paystack’s founding problem.
He co-founded Paystack in 2015 with Ezra Olubi. The company was accepted into Y Combinator, the prestigious Silicon Valley startup accelerator, in 2016, becoming one of a small number of African startups to receive that validation. The Y Combinator backing provided capital, mentorship, and the credibility to raise subsequent investment rounds from international venture capital firms.
Building Paystack
Paystack addressed a genuine pain point in the Nigerian business environment: accepting online payments was technically complicated and unreliable for small and medium businesses. The company built payment processing infrastructure that allowed any Nigerian business to accept card payments, bank transfers, and mobile money through a simple integration. It rapidly became the payment processor of choice for Nigerian e-commerce, subscription businesses, and enterprises.
By the time of its acquisition, Paystack processed payments for over 60,000 businesses in Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa. Its share of the Nigerian online payment processing market was dominant among technology-forward businesses. The company’s reputation for reliability, good developer documentation, and responsive customer support set it apart from competitors in a market where payment failures could destroy business reputations.
The Stripe acquisition
In October 2020, Stripe announced its acquisition of Paystack for a reported $200 million, subject to regulatory approval. The deal was described as the largest acquisition of an African technology company at the time and generated enormous attention in the African startup ecosystem as evidence of the maturity of Nigerian tech businesses. Akinlade remained as CEO of Paystack following the acquisition, operating it as a semi-autonomous unit within the Stripe ecosystem.
The acquisition validated years of work by the Nigerian startup ecosystem and inspired a generation of younger Nigerian founders who saw it as proof that building a globally significant technology company from Lagos was achievable. Akinlade himself has spoken about the responsibility this places on him to continue demonstrating what African founders can build.
Net worth and wealth
Shola Akinlade’s net worth is estimated at between $50 million and $100 million following the Stripe acquisition. As a co-founder with equity in the company, his personal proceeds from the acquisition placed him among Nigeria’s wealthiest self-made technology entrepreneurs. He continues to build Paystack’s business within the Stripe family.
Personal life and public role
Shola Akinlade is known for his low-key personal style despite his prominence in the African tech world. He is a thoughtful public speaker who engages with Nigerian startup ecosystem discussions and mentors younger founders. He has spoken about the importance of building businesses that genuinely solve problems for African people rather than simply replicating Western tech models in African contexts.
Why Paystack mattered
Shola Akinlade co-founded Paystack in 2015 and it became the first Nigerian company admitted to the Y Combinator accelerator. The company built payment infrastructure adopted by tens of thousands of African businesses, and its 2020 acquisition by Stripe, in a deal reported to exceed 200 million dollars, stood as one of the largest startup exits to come out of Nigeria and a landmark moment for African fintech.
Questions readers ask
What is Paystack?
Paystack is a Nigerian payment technology company that enables businesses to accept online payments via card, bank transfer, and mobile money. Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, it became the dominant payment processor for Nigerian businesses before being acquired by Stripe in 2020.
How much did Stripe pay for Paystack?
Stripe acquired Paystack in 2020 for a reported $200 million. The deal was described as the largest acquisition of an African technology company at the time and generated widespread coverage as a validation of the Nigerian startup ecosystem.
Did Paystack go through Y Combinator?
Yes. Paystack was accepted into Y Combinator’s 2016 batch, becoming one of a small number of African startups to complete the prestigious Silicon Valley accelerator programme. The Y Combinator validation was an important early signal of the company’s potential and helped Paystack raise subsequent investment rounds from international venture capital firms.
Is Shola Akinlade still the CEO of Paystack?
Yes. Following the Stripe acquisition, Shola Akinlade remained as CEO of Paystack, which operates as a semi-autonomous business within the Stripe ecosystem. The continuation of his leadership was a condition of the deal that preserved Paystack’s African market focus and company culture.
Where did Shola Akinlade study?
Shola Akinlade studied Computer Science at Babcock University in Ogun State, Nigeria. His technical degree gave him the engineering skills to build Paystack’s payment infrastructure, while his subsequent early career experience in Nigerian software development gave him direct exposure to the payment friction that Paystack was built to solve.
Conclusion
Shola Akinlade co-founded Paystack, one of the most important fintech companies to come out of Nigeria. The company built payment infrastructure adopted by tens of thousands of African businesses. That achievement placed it at the centre of the continent’s digital economy.
Paystack became the first Nigerian company admitted to the Y Combinator accelerator. Its acquisition by Stripe in 2020, in a deal reported to exceed 200 million dollars, was a landmark for African fintech. That exit was one of the largest to come out of Nigeria.
His work helped demonstrate that a Nigerian startup could build world-class technology. He has since become a mentor and reference point in the ecosystem. He remains one of the most influential figures in African tech.
Sources and further reading
Information draws on profiles and reports published by TechCabal, Techpoint Africa, The Punch, and Guardian Nigeria, as well as Stripe and Paystack official announcements regarding the acquisition and Y Combinator programme records.
Max Adeyemi is a Lagos-based writer covering Nigerian and African entertainment, sport, business, and culture. He has spent over a decade tracking the careers, controversies, and quiet achievements of the people who move the culture. He writes all profiles on Nolly.
