If you’ve been following the news on Nigeria’s tech scene, you’ll notice that the buzz around tech companies is getting louder and is not mere hype. Nigeria is growing into a tech powerhouse, with startups and many other established tech companies making waves within the country and internationally.
Now, these tech companies are scattered around Nigeria, and most of them are the top dogs in their various fields, inspiring innovation, creating several job opportunities, and tackling real-life problems—transforming the tech space and making our daily lives easier.
Let’s dive into the top 10 tech companies in Nigeria and what makes them the leaders of their pack.
Top 10 Leading Tech Companies in Nigeria
Cutting across major sectors such as fintech, education, e-commerce, hospitality, and more, these tech giants are transforming the way Nigerians live, work, and do business. And this major change is evident in their revenue, innovation, and growth—breaking the scale and not just becoming leaders but positioning Nigeria as a hub for digital excellence.
So, here are the top 10 tech companies in Nigeria:
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Flutterwave – valued at over $3 billion
Flutterwave is without a doubt one of the biggest tech companies in Lagos, Nigeria. The leading fintech company offers a system that allows people to send and receive payments within and outside Africa. In 2016, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Olugbenga Agboola launched Flutterwave. Since then, the company has become known for its seamless payment gateway.
Their star product is the payment gateway, which helps businesses send and receive payments from their bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets. They also offer diverse payment options, both online and offline.
This payment gateway is also connected with popular systems such as PayPal, as the platform offers diverse services and payment options—accepting up to 150 different currencies.
Flutterwave also offers developers software development kits (SDKs) and APIs. With these tools, developers can plug in Flutterwave’s payment system into their software, enabling them to tailor the payment process to their requirements.
Read also: Top 10 African Countries at the Start of 2024.
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Opay – valued at about $3 billion
Opay is also a tech company in Lagos, backed by Sequoia Capital and Softbank. OPay was launched in 2018 by Opera Software, owned by Chinese billionaire Yahui Zhou, through his web browser company, Opera.
In addition to the online banking services Opay offers, it also offers savings accounts, airtime purchases, money transfers, and much more—providing a wide range of financial services for individuals and businesses.
Throughout the cash crunch in 2023, Opay emerged as the primary bank substitute for bill payments and money transfers. The fintech startup is now a household name and is among Nigeria’s most widely used financial apps.
Along with providing solid returns on savings, the organization also gives cashback rewards for certain transactions.
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Andela – valued at $1.5 billion
In 2014, Jeremy Johnson, Ian Carnevale, Brice Nkengsa, Nadayar Enegesi, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, and Christina Sass launched Andela. Andela is one of the tech companies in Nigeria that is rewriting the story of Africa’s digital talent by supporting IT talent across the continent and giving top international tech companies access to a pool of highly qualified workers.
Andela trains software engineers and developers and connects them to companies worldwide that need their talent and expertise. Their model is groundbreaking. They do more than simply teach developers—they support their professional development and connect them with prestigious organizations like Microsoft and Google. Both the developers and the businesses they partner with benefit from this arrangement.
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Paystack – valued at $1.5 billion
Paystack is a Nigerian-based online payment platform. In 2015, Ezra Olubi and Shola Akinlade launched Paystack. It has grown to become one of Nigeria’s top payment gateways.
Paystack’s platform enables businesses to securely and quickly receive online payments using diverse channels, such as bank transfers, mobile money, and debit and credit cards. Additionally, the platform supports payments in US dollars (USD) and Naira (NGN).
The platform additionally offers a mechanism that enables companies to establish and oversee customer subscriptions or recurring payments, complete with an enhanced fraud prevention system. The Irish-American financial services business, Stripe, purchased Paystack in 2020. Paystack saw great success from the acquisition.
Read also: Top 10 Fintech Companies in Africa.
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ULesson – valued at over $1.2 billion
ULesson, short for “Universal Lesson,” is a tech company in Abuja founded by Nigerian entrepreneur Sim Shagaya in 2019. ULesson is a platform that provides educational technology (ed-tech) solutions for students in Africa.
ULesson aims to make quality education easily accessible and affordable for students throughout Africa, especially in underprivileged areas.
Also, their app provides interactive, curriculum-aligned video tutorials and practice exercises, helping students understand challenging topics and perform better academically. One of ULesson’s best features is the offline mode, which lets you download lessons and study materials and access them without the internet. Fun fact: Sim Shagaya is also the mastermind behind Konga.com.
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Interswitch – valued at $1 billion
Interswitch is no stranger to Nigeria’s tech company space. It’s one of Nigeria’s most prominent and oldest digital payment and commerce businesses, providing integrated payment and transaction solutions throughout Africa. In 2002, Mitchell Elegbe founded Interswitch.
Since then, Interswitch has been leading the change in Africa’s fintech revolution, setting the path for others to follow. Throughout Africa, Interswitch offers transaction processing and integrated payment solutions. Interswitch’s familiar products are Verve and Quickteller.
They made money transfers, bill payments, and shopping easy. Furthermore, their electronic payment systems have significantly increased Nigeria’s financial inclusion.
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Jumia – valued at $0.28 billion
If you’re a Nigerian and you’ve not heard of Jumia, well, that sounds unbelievable! Jumia, known as “the Amazon of Africa,” is a leading player in the e-commerce sector. It was launched in 2012 by Sacha Poignonnec, Tunde Kehinde, Jeremy Hodara, and Raphael Kofi Afaedor.
Like Amazon, they provide a platform that allows customers anywhere in Nigeria to easily find and order anything they need in one online store—their website. Jumia was also the first African tech startup to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2019.
In addition, they have successfully expanded to include Jumia Food, Jumia Pays, and a lot more.
Read also: 11 Effective Strategies for Building a Successful Online Marketplace in Nigeria.
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Moove – valued at $750 million
Another tech company in Lagos leading the pack is Moove. This tech company is also in Ibadan and different parts of Africa. Moove was founded in 2019 by Ladi Delano and Jide Oduns but fully launched in June 2020.
Moove is a mobility company that provides affordable vehicle financing solutions for mobility entrepreneurs in Africa—such as low-interest loans for drivers who wish to purchase cars for commercial use and will make repayments over four years.
They also offer revenue-based vehicle financing and financial services to mobility entrepreneurs across ride-hailing, logistics, mass transit, and instant delivery platforms.
One major move that Moove made was accepting a $100 million investment from Uber, which added the company’s value to $750 million after the deal. Moove is determined to bridge the gap in vehicle ownership in Africa in partnership with Uber.
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Hotels.ng – valued at $50 Million+ yearly revenue
Hotels.ng is one of the first and largest online hotel booking and travel agencies, founded in 2013 by Mark Essien— and the headquarters is in Lagos. The Hotels. ng platform allows users to search, and book a variety of accommodation options, including hotels, service apartments, guest houses, and resorts in Nigeria and beyond.
Furthermore, the platform provides extensive information about each hotel and room type, as well as photos, customer reviews, and ratings. Bookings and reservations can also be made directly on the Hotels. ng mobile app or website. They provide safe online payment options, immediate confirmation, and room to make any changes or cancellations.
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Oracle Nigeria
Oracle is a multinational tech corporation in the United States of America whose CEO and chief technical officer is billionaire Larry Ellison. However, Oracle Nigeria has a branch in Lagos, and Adebayo Sanni is the Managing Director.
Oracle Nigeria caters to customers in various sectors, including government, healthcare, communications, finance, and more.
They provide a range of products like database management software, enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, cloud hosting services, supply chain management tools, and human resources management software.
These products are created to help businesses streamline their operation and optimize productivity.
Conclusion
The Nigerian tech industry is fast-growing, and the companies listed above are the top 10 in the field. Now you know who they are and what they do. These ones have proved that with hard work and dedication, there’s no limit to what you can achieve..
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