Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi are renowned Nigerian software engineers and entrepreneurs, best known for co-founding Paystack, a leading financial technology company that enables businesses to accept payments from customers globally. Their journey is both inspiring and remarkable, reflecting innovation and perseverance in Africa's tech ecosystem.
Profile Summary
Shola Akinlade was born on 3 March 1985 in Lagos, Nigeria, and is 41 years old as of 2026. Ezra Olubi was born on 12 November 1986 in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, and is 40 years old as of 2026. Both studied Computer Science at Babcock University in Nigeria. They founded Paystack in 2016 to help African businesses process payments online and offline. Their hard work culminated in 2020 when Stripe acquired Paystack for over $200 million.
Who Are Paystack Founders Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi?
Shola Akinlade serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Paystack, while Ezra Olubi is Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In an interview with Pulse Nigeria on 17 October 2020, Shola reflected on his early beginnings: '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
Shola Akinlade is a Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur. He attended St. Gregory’s College in Lagos for secondary school and later earned a degree in Computer Science from Babcock University. According to his LinkedIn profile, he began his career as a Management Trainee at Heineken in 2007, focusing on database management. In 2009, he founded Klein Devort, a software development and consulting company, and later created Precurio, an open-source collaboration platform similar to Dropbox.
In 2015, Shola co-founded Paystack with Ezra Olubi. The company participated in Y Combinator's 2016 startup batch and quickly grew. In October 2020, American financial services company Stripe acquired Paystack for $200 million. In an interview with Business Insider on 26 October 2020, Shola 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. We’ve always been focused on building the best payments and growth tools for African businesses.'
In a 2021 CNN interview, Shola shared: '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 wasn’t thinking, “Oh, this is going to be big at all.” But I got into Y Combinator in Silicon Valley. When I went to San Francisco, I 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 said, “One billion.” That was the moment I realized this is going to be very big.'
In 2022, Shola founded Sporting Lagos F.C., a football club aimed at community building and positive change. In March 2023, he acquired 55% of Aarhus Fremad, a Danish second-division club, to professionalize Sporting Lagos while using the latter as a talent academy.
What Is Shola Akinlade’s Net Worth?
According to Carmart and The Nation, Shola Akinlade has an alleged net worth of $100 million, amassed through Paystack and investments in sports.
Ezra Olubi
Ezra Olubi is a Nigerian entrepreneur, human rights activist, and programmer. He graduated from Babcock University with a degree in Computer Science in 2006. He worked as an IT Administrator and Web Application Developer at companies like North Ocean Logistics and Solutions Limited and Softcom Limited Nigeria. He also served as CTO at Jobberman Ltd. (December 2012 – June 2013) and Delivery Science Inc. (March 2014 – September 2015), and has been a director of magic at Alexander Haring Ltd. since May 2012.
In 2015, Ezra co-founded Paystack and has since served as CTO. His contributions earned him the National award of Order of the Niger (OON) in 2022.
FAQs
- Who are the Paystack founders? Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi.
- What is their age? Shola is 41, Ezra is 40 as of 2026.
- Who acquired Paystack? Stripe in October 2020.
- How much did they sell Paystack for? Over $200 million.
- Why did Stripe buy Paystack? To accelerate commerce across Africa.
- How much are they worth? Each has an alleged net worth of over $100 million.
- Where is Ezra Olubi now? He works at Alexander Haring Limited and Paystack.
Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi have made significant contributions to the tech industry. Both studied Computer Science at Babcock University and achieved financial success after Stripe acquired Paystack for over $200 million in October 2020.
