Building financial infrastructure requires vision and grit. One leader who embodies both is the tech innovator behind Nigeria’s pioneering open banking platform. After honing her skills at global giants like JP Morgan and Canva, she returned home to tackle a critical challenge: the disconnect between financial apps and Nigerian banks.
Her solution? A startup that became the backbone of Africa’s financial technology ecosystem. Over five years, this venture secured $16.5 million in funding and partnered with major investors. Yet in 2025, its story took an unexpected turn when operations ceased, marking the end of an era.
What drives a founder to pivot from leading a celebrated company to engineering roles at emerging startups? Her journey offers lessons about resilience, market dynamics, and the realities of building tech solutions in emerging economies. From Lagos to London, her career shifts reflect both personal growth and industry-wide patterns.
Key Takeaways
- Open banking transformed Africa’s financial landscape through innovative tech infrastructure
- Global corporate experience shaped a founder’s approach to solving local challenges
- $16.5 million funding highlights investor confidence in African fintech potential
- Startup closures reveal complex realities beneath surface-level success stories
- Leadership transitions often signal new phases in entrepreneurial journeys
Fara Ashiru Jituboh – Co-founder & CEO – Okra: A Leader’s Journey
Some career paths zigzag across continents before finding true purpose. For one tech leader, years at multinational corporations became the training ground for reshaping Africa’s financial future.
Early Career and Background
International experience at firms like JP Morgan and BMW sharpened strategic thinking. Exposure to global banking operations revealed stark contrasts with Africa’s fragmented systems. A later role at Canva deepened product design skills crucial for building user-friendly fintech infrastructure.
Pioneering Open Banking in Africa
Returning to Nigeria in 2019, the founder faced a glaring problem: financial apps couldn’t sync with local banks. This frustration birthed a startup creating secure APIs to bridge the gap. Within months, partnerships with major institutions like AIICO Insurance and Renmoney took shape.
The platform’s 175% growth in 2020 proved the demand. By 2021, investors backed expansion plans across Africa. What began as personal inconvenience became continental transformation – turning disconnected systems into unified financial networks.
This journey shows how global expertise, when applied locally, can spark revolutions. From corporate strategy sessions to Lagos tech meetups, the blueprint for Africa’s digital economy keeps evolving.
Okra’s Operational Milestones and the Nebula Initiative
In the dynamic world of tech startups, adaptability often separates success from stagnation. When currency fluctuations rocked Nigeria’s economy in 2024, one company transformed market turbulence into strategic opportunity.
Launch of Nebula and Cloud Infrastructure Strategy
The naira’s sharp decline made global cloud services prohibitively expensive. “Local businesses faced a binary choice,” recalls a Lagos tech executive. “Either abandon digital transformation or find affordable alternatives.”
Okra’s response? Nebula – a naira-denominated cloud platform launched in October 2024. This infrastructure play positioned the startup alongside local rivals Nobus and Layer3, creating homegrown alternatives to AWS and Azure.
Early adoption showed promise. Over 60 companies tested the platform within three months. Yet most hesitated to migrate mission-critical operations, creating revenue uncertainty. “We needed guinea pigs, not just window shoppers,” notes a former engineer.
Funding Rounds and Investor Insights
Investors initially bet big on this vision. The company secured $1 million in pre-seed funding from TLcom Capital, followed by $3.5 million from Susa Ventures. A 2022 Series B round led by Base10 pushed total funding past $16.5 million.
This capital injection reflected confidence in both open banking and cloud infrastructure potential. However, economic realities bit hard. Cloud expenses consumed over 40% of operational costs – second only to salaries.
The Nebula experiment reveals crucial lessons for African global tech ventures. While innovative solutions emerge from necessity, sustainable adoption requires more than just cost savings. As one investor observes: “Infrastructure plays need anchor clients, not just good intentions.”
Impact on African Fintech and the Startup Landscape
When a leading tech company chooses closure over survival, it sends ripples across ecosystems. This strategic shutdown reshaped conversations about sustainable growth in Africa’s digital economy.
Lessons from Okra’s Shutdown
The decision to wind down operations with three years’ funding remaining stunned observers. Returning $4-5 million to investors set new standards for accountability. Employees received up to six months’ salary – rare in startup closures.
“Continuing would’ve meant burning capital without clear revenue paths,” explained the CEO. This transparency strengthened trust in African tech leadership. It also highlighted the harsh math of cloud infrastructure costs versus adoption rates.
Implications for Decentralized Finance and Innovation
The shutdown accelerated interest in blockchain solutions. Projects like Celo and Yellow Card now push decentralized services that bypass traditional banking systems. Developers argue these models better handle currency swings and business disruptions.
| Solution Type | Adoption Speed | Cost Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional Banking APIs | Moderate | High |
| Decentralized Networks | Rapid | Variable |
| Hybrid Models | Emerging | Moderate |
This pivot reflects deeper shifts. Startups now prioritize infrastructure resilience over rapid scaling. Investors increasingly reward realistic funding plans that account for Africa’s unique landscape challenges.
As one Lagos developer noted: “The future belongs to solutions built with volatility, not against it.” This mindset could redefine how tech companies approach growth across emerging markets.
Conclusion
True innovation often outlives the ventures that birth it. The story of Africa’s fintech evolution shows how bold ideas reshape entire industries, even when original projects pivot or sunset. One leader’s shift to a British company building decentralized data tools underscores this continuity – proving mission-driven work transcends single organizations.
Key lessons emerge for startups navigating complex markets. Responsible fund management and strategic exits matter as much as breakthroughs. The decision to wind down operations ethically set new benchmarks, while open banking’s lasting influence confirms infrastructure-building creates ripple effects.
Looking ahead, Africa’s startup landscape increasingly blends technical skill with adaptive leadership. Emerging solutions now prioritize data sovereignty and programmable finance – areas where early groundwork laid critical foundations. For startup landscape heroes, the journey continues through new channels.
As covering Africa startup ecosystems evolves, stories like these remind us that progress isn’t linear. They offer both inspiration and hard-won wisdom for builders shaping the continent’s digital future.