Lagos Armed Robbers Killed His Father When He Was 12, Moved to US at 15, Becomes a Billionaire Before 40
- Forbes has profiled Nigeria's Tope Awotono as one of the most successful African-American tech entrepreneur in the world
- This follows his exploits as the founder and chief executive of $3 billion worth Calendly, a meeting scheduling platform
- According to reports, the 40-year-old lost his father in the hands of daredevil armed robbers in Lagos state
Tope Awotono who lost his father in the hands of armed robbers in the bustling city of Lagos has now been confirmed a billionaire by Forbes.
The young Awotona was said to have witnessed the killing of his father when the criminals wanted to hijack their car.
The 40-year-old Awotona is the founder and chief executive of $3 billion worth Calendly, a meeting scheduling platform.
Source: UGC
According to the magazine, Awotona was born in Lagos, Nigeria, into a middle-class family. His father was a microbiologist and entrepreneur; his mother worked at the Central Bank in Lagos.
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In 1996, when he was 15, he moved with his family to Atlanta. He studied computer science at the University of Georgia, then switched to business and management information.
According to David Cummings, founder of Atlanta Ventures, which led a $550,000 seed investment in Calendly seven years ago, Tope could be the most successful African-American tech entrepreneur of his generation.
7 Nigerian start-ups in the tech space raised combined cash of over N142bn in the first 3 months of 2022
Meanwhile, Nigerian startups started the year 2022 at the same pace, it ended in 2021, as more foreign investors back their ideas and dreams with billions of Naira.
Seven Nigerian start-ups in the tech space raised combined cash of $343 million in the first three months of this year.
2021 was extraordinary as the startup raised about $5 billion, surpassing the record of $4.3 billion in 2020.
In late January, a Nigerian tech start-up with an investment platform that allows Nigerians to trade in United States (U.S.) stocks in real-time from their mobile phones or computers, Bamboo, raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by American venture capital firms Greycroft and Tiger Global.
Three Nigerians, Ikenna, Chidi, Oghenetega get N197.7m
Meanwhile, three young Nigerians recently won nearly half a million dollars from Chinese billionaire, Jack Ma.
Legit.ng reported that the funds were given to startups across Africa that set out to solve major problems within their countries.
Among the 10 finalists listed, Nigeria's Ikenna Nzewi came 2nd as Jack Ma foundation disclosed over 12,000 applications were submitted.
Source: Legit.ng
