Paystack founders Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi and everything they have accomplished
Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi are Nigerian software engineers and entrepreneurs renowned for co-founding Paystack, a leading financial technology company that allows businesses to receive payments from customers worldwide. The Paystack founders' journey is both inspiring and remarkable.
Source: UGC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi studied computer science at Babcock University in Nigeria. They started Paystack in 2016 to help businesses in Africa get paid online and offline. Their hard work paid off in 2020 when Stripe bought Paystack for $200 million.
Profile summary
| Full name | Shola Akinlade | Ezra Olubi |
| Gender | Male | Male |
| Date of birth | 3 March 1985 | 12 November 1986 |
| Age | 39 years old (as of 2025) | 38 years old (as of 2025) |
| Zodiac | Pisces | Scorpio |
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria |
| Current residence | Lagos, Nigeria | Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian | Nigerian |
| Ethnicity | Yoruba | Yoruba |
| Sexuality | Straight | Straight |
| Religion | Christianity | Christianity |
| Hair colour | Black | Black |
| Eye colour | Dark brown | Dark brown |
| School | St. Gregory’s College | N/A |
| University | Babcock University, Illishan Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria | Babcock University, Illishan Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria |
| Profession | Software engineer, entrepreneur | IT expert, software engineer, mobile app developer, entrepreneur |
| Net worth | $100 million | $100 million |
| X | @shollsman | @0x |
| @paystackhq | @paystackhq |
Who are Paystack founders Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi?
Paystack was founded by Shola Akilade and Ezra Olubi. Shola Akinlade is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Ezra is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
On 17 October 2020, during an interview with Pulse Nigeria, Shola shared insights about his journey into software development and entrepreneurship. Reflecting on his early beginnings, he said:
I grew up in Lagos. Started writing software around 2002, 2003. That’s when I met Ezra. We went to school together...Babcock university. Sometime in 2015, I figured out I could charge a card from my computer. I thought it was cool,
Shola Akinlade
Source: UGC
Shola Akinlade is a Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Paystack. Shola was born on 3 March 1985 in Lagos, Nigeria and is 39 years old as of 2025.
He attended St. Gregory’s College in Lagos State for his secondary school and later enrolled at Babcock University, where he studied Computer Science.
Career highlights
According to his LinkedIn profile, Shola Akinlade started his career in tech by working as a Management Trainee for Heineken in 2007, where he specialised in database management. In 2009, he founded Klein Devort, a software development and consulting company. Shola then created an open-source collaboration platform called Precurio, similar to Dropbox.
In 2015, Shola co-founded Paystack with Ezra Olubi, a leading financial technology company that offers payment processing services to businesses. The company was a part of startup accelerator Y Combinator's 2016 batch of startups. Paystack quickly grew and was acquired by American financial services company Stripe, headquartered in San Francisco, for $200 million in 2020.
Source: UGC
On 26 October 2020, during an interview with Business Insider, when asked if selling the company was always part of the plan, Shola Akinlade explained:
Venture-backed companies are generally destined for one of two outcomes. IPO or acquisition. Five years in, neither of these were on the list of things that we care about as a company. We’ve always been focused on building the best payments and growth tools for African businesses and are in it for the long haul. The option to team up with the world’s most sophisticated payments company to accelerate our ambitions happened to show up, and we believe it was fortuitous.
In a 2021 interview with CNN, When asked whether he ever imagined Paystack would become such a significant player in the online payment industry, Shola said:
We started Paystack from a personal pain. I’ve been seeing how things work elsewhere … and I thought, ‘Why can’t we have good things here?’ I think that was where it came from and, personally, just wanting things to be easier. I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh, this is going to be big at all.’ But I got into Y Combinator [which provides seed funding for startups] in Silicon Valley
He continued:
And when I went to San Francisco, we saw people building amazing things. ... I was initially intimidated when they said, ‘What are you guys working on? … How many people are in Africa?’ I was like, ‘One billion.’ That was the moment I realized that this is going to be very big. If you figure out how to move money and commerce around, it’s going to change lives, it’s going to change the continent.
Source: UGC
In 2022, he started a football club called Sporting Lagos F.C., aiming to use it to bring people together and create positive change in the community.
In March 2023, Akinlade bought 55% of Aarhus Fremad, a Danish second-division football club, to help Sporting Lagos F.C. become more professional while Sporting Lagos F.C. serves as a talent academy in return.
What is Shola Akinlade’s net worth?
According to Carmart and The Nation, the Nigerian entrepreneur has an alleged net worth of $100 million. He has amassed this wealth through through Paystack, which he co-founded and sold to Stripe for over $200 million. He also earns through investments in sports, like Sporting Lagos F.C. and Aarhus Fremad.
Ezra Olubi
Ezra Olubi is a Nigerian entrepreneur, human rights activist, and programmer. He is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Paystack. Ezra was born on 12 November 1986 in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria and is 37 years old as of 2025.
Ezra graduated from Babcock University with a degree in Computer Science in 2006. After graduation, he worked as an IT Administrator and Web Application Developer for various companies, including North Ocean Logistics and Solutions Limited and Softcom Limited Nigeria.
Source: UGC
He also served as chief technology officer for companies like Jobberman Ltd. from December 2012 to June 2013 and Delivery Science Inc. from March 2014 to September 2015. He has been a director of magic at Alexander Haring Ltd. since May 2012.
In 2015, Ezra co-founded Paystack with Shola Akinlade and has since served as the chief technology officer. His contributions to the tech industry have earned him recognition, including the National award of Order of the Niger (OON) in 2022.
FAQs
- Who are the Paystack founders? Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi are the founders of Paystack.
- What is the age of the Paystack founders? Shola Akinlade, born on 3 March 1985, is 39 years old as of 2025, and Ezra Olubi, born on 12 November 1986, is 38 years old as of 2025.
- Who acquired Paystack? Stripe, an American financial services and software company with headquarters in San Francisco, California, acquired Paystack in October 2020.
- How much did Ezra sell Paystack for? Nigerian entrepreneurs Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi sold their startup, Paystack, to Stripe for over $200 million.
- Why did Stripe buy Paystack? Stripe is a technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the Internet. It acquired Paystack to accelerate commerce across Africa.
- How much are the founders of Paystack worth? According to The Nation Newspaper, each has an alleged net worth of over $100 million.
- Where is Ezra Olubi now? The Nigerian software engineer currently works for two companies in Nigeria. He is a director of magic at Alexander Haring Limited and the co-founder and chief technology officer of Paystack.
Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi have made significant contributions to the tech industry as the founders of Paystack, a financial technology company that helps businesses in Africa get paid online and offline. They both attended Babcock University, where they studied Computer Science. They achieved financial success in October 2020 after Stripe acquired Paystack for over $200 million.
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