Why Olugbenga’ G.B.’ Agboola is building credit in Africa
Olugbeng Agboola is building a company that helps small businesses get the credit they need to grow their companies and create jobs. He moved from Nigeria to the U.S. at age 16 to join his father, who had come here 20 years prior. None of his family members had ever attended college before he did, but he knew that he wanted to create something new and make an impact through education. People worldwide can learn from each other through MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), including those in developing countries with limited resources.”
Olugbenga Agboola is determined to fix a problem in Africa
On the surface, he’s trying to solve something that doesn’t exist. Africa has been doing just fine without him thus far. But you should dig deeper into what he’s doing and why. In that case, it becomes clear that his efforts impact more than just his life or Nigeria’s economy: he’s building a company that helps small businesses access the credit they need to grow their companies and create jobs.
He moved from Nigeria to the U.S. at age 16 to join his father, who had come here 20 years prior
As a 16-year-old, Olugbenga moved from Nigeria to the U.S. to join his father, who had come here 20 years prior. He was an immigrant like many others who have made it to America; he worked hard and did everything right but also encountered some challenges.
Olugbenga’s story began when he was just 12 years old: His father left Nigeria for America in search of better opportunities for himself and his family members who were still there including young Olugbenga. The move paid off: After working as an auto mechanic for over two decades, this man built enough credit history and assets (like property) to sponsor his son’s green card application once Olugbenga reached adulthood 21 (as required). This meant that even though Olugbenga hadn’t been able to contribute financially toward the process during those five years abroad, he could only legally work once turning 18 and still come back under certain conditions.
It was an insightful discussion with @chongsibi, our Head of Corporate Development/M&A and other experts at @AfriFintech as she shared her thoughts on what's next for Fintech in Africa and Flutterwave's growth plans in the coming dispensation. ????????#AFTSDC2023 pic.twitter.com/LB9Z9i8XaT
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Agboola grew up in Nigeria, where there were few opportunities for young people like him who wanted to go beyond secondary school but did not come from wealthy families. His parents worked hard as teachers but could only fund his tuition through scholarships. Despite this financial challenge, he graduated with honors from the University of Lagos in 2013 and has been building on that accomplishment ever since.
Know more about Olugbenga Agboola on crunchbase.com
He went for it and took on a leadership role at Digital Promise
In 2014, Olugbenga joined Digital Promise as a senior director of product management. He led the team that built the Digital Promise platform and worked with teachers and school leaders to help them understand how technology could be used to improve their teaching. Olugbenga has always been interested in education–he grew up in Nigeria, where he went to university on scholarship; later, he earned his MBA at Stanford University while working full-time in I.T. at Microsoft (MSFT).
Technology has opened up many opportunities for people living in developing countries around the world
In Africa, technology has helped solve some of the most pressing health care problems, education and financial inclusion. With the help of mobile phones and Internet connectivity, millions of Africans are accessing the information on a variety of topics that were previously inaccessible to them — from news updates about their local communities to how-to videos showing them how to build an irrigation system or grow crops better than they ever could before.