Leading disruptive innovations;

EdTech, Cybersecurity, FinTech, & SaaS/No-code

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

EdTech – Microlearning platform

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria facing significant challenges due to lockdowns and skill gaps among founders, I spearheaded the end-to-end product development of a groundbreaking Microlearning platform. I led cross-functional teams and partnered with organizations like MTN and Hawaii to create a micro-eLearning solution. This platform delivered daily byte-sized, localized, and easily digestible knowledge tailored to founders’ needs, helping them navigate the pandemic’s impact and Nigeria’s unique economic landscape. With strategic growth efforts, users grew from 8,000+ to over 1.2 million in just nine months, proving its immense value to entrepreneurs as a subscription-based product.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

EdTech – Skilharvest, Tech & Creative Talent Dev. Platform

As a co-founder of Skilharvest, I spearheaded an EdTech platform focused on nurturing techno-craft talents in Nigeria and Africa. Our mission was to provide affordable virtual and hybrid learning sessions for technical and creative skills, fostering global industry collaborations for career advancement. I led the development of digital products, managed a dedicated Product-tech team, and ensured timely product delivery while shaping the product strategy and implementing innovative digital solutions to drive business growth.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

Cybersecurity – Information Security solution

Building a cybersecurity SaaS solution to assist SMEs and individuals in efficiently managing their security data online. The vision of this product is to create accessible cybersecurity tools in the digital landscape with a user-friendly, cloud-based platform for security data management. This solution aims to empower SMEs and individuals to enhance their online security practices, streamlining data protection and risk management while ensuring ease of use and accessibility.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

FinTech – Ecosystem Sandbox

Co-led in developing West Africa’s inaugural Fintech ecosystem sandbox. This sandbox harnessed the power of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) from entities like NIBSS and commercial banks such as Sterling, Union, Fidelity, and Stanbic. As the product lead, I collaborated with the Financial Services Innovators (FSI) team to oversee product design and technical monitoring, resulting in the successful launch of this groundbreaking sandbox. This led to exponential growth, with the platform boasting over 5000 active developers and incorporating APIs from 30+ institutions. This growth significantly accelerated the impact of Nigeria’s Fintech ecosystem.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

FinTech – VISA Payment Financial Inclusion Product 

I co-led a financial inclusion product innovation initiative at VISA Payment UK, where the situation involved the need for a more inclusive financial product. I applied human-centred design thinking principles to address this challenge to foster collaboration and synergy within a cross-functional team. As a result, we successfully developed an innovative financial inclusion product that met the needs of a diverse customer base while enhancing VISA’s market presence.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

SaaS – No-code Solution

I led the ideation, design, and strategic direction for LUAY, an exclusive invitation-based restaurant review mobile app akin to a close-knit network version of Google reviews featuring verified, trusted individuals. This encompassed defining the app’s unique value proposition, conceptualizing the user interface, formulating engagement strategies, and ensuring seamless user experiences. As a result, LUAY successfully launched, creating an exclusive, reliable platform for restaurant reviews, fostering a tight-knit community of trusted reviewers, and enhancing the dining experience for its users.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

SaaS – Mobile Review Application

To empower creators and solopreneurs, I am building a user-friendly platform that requires no coding expertise. Taking proactive actions, a team of developers and designers collaborates to develop an intuitive interface, enabling users to integrate AI tools into their workflows effortlessly. As a result, this innovative solution unlocked a world of possibilities, allowing creators and solopreneurs to boost their productivity by seamlessly tapping into the transformative capabilities of AI.

Accelerating Tech Talent dev. & STARTUP BUILDING

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

Product Innovation Mentor,  MentorColor 

In February 2022, I started mentoring as Product Innovation on Mentorcolor, joining a cohort of 600 mentors comprised of global tech leaders. To facilitate the career development of more than 5,000 mentees on the Mentorcolor platform, explicitly focusing on bridging the talent gap for Black individuals in the tech industry. Conducting virtual call sessions and providing guidance and support to mentees, ultimately contributing to their professional growth and development within the tech sector.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

Mentee Opportunity Manager,  Mentor Africa project 

As the Mentee Opportunity Manager for the Mentor Africa project from 2018 to 2020, I successfully onboarded approximately 20 mentors and efficiently oversaw the management of more than 500 mentees within the technology track. The Mentor Africa Project is a global community committed to nurturing and empowering young African professionals and startup entrepreneurs, using technology and travel as essential tools for their growth. Additionally, I was a pivotal founding team member for the Map Africa Project (MAP), contributing to its establishment and success during the same period.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

Facilitator, Microsoft 4Afrika and Andela Cloud Computing 

In June 2020, I was a facilitator in the Microsoft 4Afrika and Andela partnership’s #ALCwithMicrosoft Azure Training 2020, aimed at enhancing the skills of over 3000 Azure cloud developers in Nigeria and Kenya. Together with other mentors, our collective efforts resulted in the successful certification of 3000 talented individuals as Cloud Engineers, contributing to the growth of the software engineering industry in Kenya and Nigeria.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

Mentor,  EFInA Financial Service Innovators (FSI-Sandbox) Hackathon

The event, organized by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), aimed to address the financial challenges faced by microenterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the hackathon, I guided various teams participating in the Innovation Challenge, selecting 13 groups with 36 participants and submitting 11 viable products. These innovations included a financial inclusion solution using USSD technology to digitize cash for MSMEs, a real-time credit decision-making lending marketplace, and a spending management solution for individuals and MSMEs.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

Mentor, SecureHack 1.0, Eko Innovation Center

In 2023, I was a Mentor at SecureHack 1.0, an event organized by Eko Innovation Center in Lagos, Nigeria. My role involved mentoring more than 70 teams, aiming to develop innovative security solutions with a product-market fit. By aligning responsibilities with capacity and interest, I enhanced team dynamics and performance, ultimately contributing to the potential rise of over 40 innovators and founders in the information security field, playing a pivotal role in their success.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

Product Manager at the Cybersafe Foundation

In 2020, I volunteered to spearhead the creation of a Data Protection Toolkit for small businesses, recognizing the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic in adapting to online operations. My responsibilities included coordinating the team’s efforts, designing the toolkit, and conducting awareness training. The result of this initiative was the successful education of over 4,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 11,000 employees, significantly enhancing their cyber resilience and safeguarding their data in an increasingly digital landscape.

Fikun speaking as a panelist at the British Council Alumni UK Conference Entrepreneurs & Founders

Mentor, Taxaide (FinTech Firm)

In November 2019, I mentored and trained over 20 staff members at Taxaide Professional Services Limited, a digital tax management startup specializing in user-friendly tax tools. The situation involved enhancing their cybersecurity awareness and data protection practices within the fintech and tax sector. As a result, the organization experienced a significant improvement in information security knowledge among its staff, potentially reducing the risk of cyber-attacks by up to 80%. This accomplishment marked a crucial milestone for a startup in the financial services sector.

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