Shola Akinlade is a Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Paystack, a Nigerian-based fintech company that provides payment services to businesses. In 2020, Stripe acquired Paystack for $200 million, making it one of the largest acquisitions of an African startup. In this article, we will delve into Shola Akinlade’s biography, early life, career, personal life, and net worth.
We’d be seeing Shola Akinlade’s biography, date of birth, age, early life, family, personal life, net worth, houses, cars, social media handles and more.
Full name: Shola Akinlade
Date of birth: 12 November 1986
Age: 37 years
Nationality: Nigerian
Education: Babcock University
Occupation: Entrepreneur
Position: CEO, Paystack
Net worth:
Shola Akinlade Biography and Early Life
Shola Akinlade was born on November 12, 1986, in Lagos, Nigeria. He attended St. Gregory’s College for his secondary education and later enrolled at Babcock University, where he studied computer science and graduated in 2006. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree, he worked as a management trainee at Heineken, where he worked on their database management. He later moved on to become a software engineer with banks.
Career
In 2016, Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi founded Paystack, a fintech company that enables businesses in Africa to get paid online and offline. Paystack was part of startup accelerator YCombinator’s 2016 batch of startups. The company has since grown to become one of the leading payment systems in Nigeria, attracting the attention of Stripe, a payment processing, and software programming company. Stripe acquired Paystack in 2020 for $200 million, making it one of the largest acquisitions of an African startup.
In 2022, Shola Akinlade founded Sporting Lagos F.C., a football club that he notes is a platform for community development and social change. The club currently plays in the Nigerian National League, the country’s second-tier. In March 2023, Akinlade further expanded his sports business by acquiring a 55% stake in the Danish 2nd division football club Aarhus Fremad. The plan is for Aarhus Fremad to support the professionalization of Sporting Lagos F.C., relying on Sporting Lagos F.C. as a talent academy in return.
Personal Life
Shola Akinlade is a private person who keeps his personal life out of the public eye. However, he is known for his philanthropic activities, especially in education. He supports various initiatives to improve access to quality education for young people in Nigeria. He is married and has children.
Net Worth
Shola Akinlade’s net worth is estimated to be around $100 million. This is due to his success as an entrepreneur and his role as the co-founder and CEO of Paystack, which was acquired by Stripe in 2020 for $200 million.