Odunayo Eweniyi is well known in Nigeria as a successful tech start-up expert. She has founded several startups with other techies. These include PushCV, PiggyVest and FirstCheck. She is also popular as a women’s rights defender and the empowerment of girls and women. She helped to raise about$1.1 million in support of the #EndSARS movement in 2020 due to police brutality in Nigeria.
In place of her women empowerment schemes, she launched two women’s empowerment non-profits, Feminist Coalition and Wine & Whine Nigeria.
Early Life and Education
Odunayo was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State, South West of Nigeria to professor parents. Being born in an academic home inspired her to be top of her class. Upon graduation, she gained admission to study computer engineering at Covenant University. Computer engineering was her second choice since she had this dream of becoming a doctor. She made the decision when it dawned on her that she lacked the much-needed compassion to be a doctor. She graduated in 2013 with First Class Honours and received her Bachelor of Engineering (BEng). Later she will go on to obtain her Full Stack Web Development certificate in Computer Software Engineering, from Free Code Camp in 2018. And a master’s degree in finance at SOAS, the University of London, in 2020. She speaks both French and English fluently.
Career
Total Energies: Industrial training at Total From March 2012 to August 2012.
Tech Cabal: she worked as a writer for the information tech company between April 2014 to July 2014.SAJ Parolz Entertainment Limited: Odunayo joined the team at SAJ from August 2013 to December 2014. She worked and served as a Content and Social Media Manager.
Techpoint Africa: She left SAJ to join TechpointFrom January to July of 2015. There, she served as an Editor.
Zikoko: Zikoko is a sister publication to Tech cabal. Odunayo worked as a writer in Zikoko from July 2015 to July 2016.
Startups She Co-Founded
Odunayo has partnered with people to build very successful startups. They include:
PushCV: This was formerly known as CV Flash. The platform helped people who have poor English skills or little experience in writing resumes. After a while, it started sending CVs to companies and employers on behalf of their clients. That was how PushCV was born in 2014. It was co-founded by Odunayo Eweniyi, Joshua Chibueze, Somto Ifezue, and two other people in Lagos State.
PiggyVest: This was formally known as Piggy Bank. It was founded after PushCV became a huge success in January 2016. Odunayo started PiggyVest with Joshua Chibueze and Somtochukwu Ifezue. She is also the Chief Operations Officer at PiggyTech Global Limited. PiggyVest enables people to save money and achieve their savings goals among other features.
FirstCheck Africa: Odunayo started this venture with Eloho Omame in January 2021. FirstCheck is a female-ledstartup that writes checks for startups owned by women. It was founded on the belief that women in the tech industry deserve a level playing ground like their male counterparts. Thus, they make it possible for African women to raise capital for their projects. It provides pathways for more African women to invest in technology startups.
Career awards and achievements
Odunayo is a woman that has made several impacts in the technology sector. A testimony that women are breaking barriers and redefining what it means to be a woman and winning in Life. She has won many awards and achievements. Some of which include:
Future Awards Africa Prize in Technology in 2018
She made Forbes Africa’s list of 20 New Wealth Creators in Africa 2019.
She also made Forbes Africa’s list of 30 under 30 in Technology in the same year.
Again in 2019, she was mentioned as one of 30 Quartz Africa Innovators.
She was nominated for The Future Awards Africa Prize for Young Person of The Year in 2020.
In that same 2020, she was also featured on Bloomberg 50 2020.
She was listed on Time 100 Next 2021 due to the contributions she made in October 2020, during the End SARS protests in Nigeria.
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