There are lots of options to choose from if you’re looking for inspirational and insightful business people to follow on social media. From executives at traditional corporations to founders at the fastest-growing startups, you’re probably spoilt for choice on this front. All it takes to find them is some diligent digging, to sift quality from the broader mass of mundane chatter.
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But if you’d rather us start this search for you (and there’s nothing wrong with that!), then have a look at our picks for the top 10 Nigerian business people to follow on social media today. This list features a nice mix but also represents some of Nigeria’s finest business minds. You can tell that for yourself; just peruse the lessons they drop about the economy, industry, and enterprise. Here they are, presented in no particular order:
Victor Asemota
David Alade
Also known as “Big Chief”, Victor Asemota has wide-ranging experience in the world of business, including engaging private and public sector concerns. He’s built SwiftaCorp, a pioneering software and technology company (starting over two decades ago), mentored founders in the Google for Startups Accelerator, and sits on the boards of IBM HyperProtect Accelerator, ARM, Flutterwave, and EdoInnovates, among others. His tweets are often a retelling of his experiences and are savoured by the business-inclined and those who just want to feast on a good story. He’s @asemota on X.
Abubakar Suleiman
Entrepreneurs NG
Abubakar Suleiman is a Banker, Economist, and CEO of Sterling Bank. Before his two-decade-long stay at the bank, he worked various roles with KPMG and Citibank. His posts are of the inspirational and exhortatory kind, with a good helping of patriotism and hopefulness for a better Nigeria. He does dive into some interesting details about doing business in the country he calls home. You can find him on X at @suleimana.
Tayo Oviosu
The Guardian NG
Best known for founding and leading Nigeria’s payments giant Paga, Tayo Oviosu has a background in Engineering and some training in Business Administration, both from the United States. Before establishing Paga, he had stints at Cisco and Deloitte. Paga is now recognized as a major player driving financial access for underserved communities. When he’s on social media, he talks about his interests—economics, business, world politics, and sports. He posts at the handle @oviosu on X.
Ikpeme Neto
Pandemic Tech
Ikpeme Neto is a medical doctor turned entrepreneur. After working in Ireland, he returned to Nigeria to build startups at the intersection of health and technology. His latest venture, WellaHealth (which started in 2017), provides healthcare financing and tech-enabled health services to Africans. It has been named among the 100 most impactful companies by the Norrsken Foundation. Neto can be found discussing the challenges, triumphs, and peculiar business environment of the Nigerian entrepreneur on his X handle, @docneto.
Shola Akinlade
Nairametrics
Shola Akinlade cofounded Paystack with colleague Ezra Olubi. After years of impressive growth and fundraises, the payments company was acquired by Stripe for $200 million. Shola has remained at the company as CEO. In the years that followed, he dipped his feet into sports entrepreneurship, founding Sporting Lagos, a football team that now plays in the NPFL, Nigeria’s top-flight football league. If you’re interested in learning what he’s up to, you’ll see him at his X handle @shollsman.
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Tony Elumelu
Punch Newspapers
Tony Elumelu hardly needs an introduction, but we’ll give a few words. An economist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, he’s chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Heirs Holdings, and Transcorp. He’s also the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which selects and awards grants to thousands of entrepreneurs each year. His social media posts are often about his business involvements, his thoughts about vital aspects of the economy, and the ingredients of entrepreneurial success. He’s @TonyOElumelu on X.
Jason Njoku
The Flip Africa
Jason Njoku is the founder and CEO of iROKO TV, an online distribution platform for Nollywood movies. Often referred to as the Netflix of Nigeria, iROKO TV was Njoku’s 11th attempt at starting a business. In addition, he’s invested in several other companies, including Hotels.ng. Given his long history with entrepreneurship, you’d think he has at least a few things to say about it. And he does. There’s a good helping of his thoughts on his X handle, @JasonNjoku.
Subomi Plumptre
Vanguard News
Beginning from her days at Alder Consulting, Plumptre gained a unique voice as an introverted individual in the world of Nigerian business, a hyper-extroverted environment. The fact that she’s succeeded there has inspired not a few who believe they share her kind of personality. These days, she’s heading up her ventures. One of them, Volition Cap, is a fund management firm that pools investments from middle-class Africans and Diasporas. She takes a plunge into her inner and outer lives on her newsletter, Waking Thoughts, and on X as @subomiplumptre.
Ola Brown
LinkedIn
Olamide Brown is the founder of HealthCap Africa, a venture fund that invests in early-stage FinTech and HealthTech startups. She rose to fame after launching and running Flying Doctors, West Africa’s first air-operated medical emergency service. Besides her background in the medical sciences, she’s more recently obtained a PhD in Finance and has certifications from Imperial College London, Wharton, University of Cambridge, and Columbia University. Her thoughts about business, finance, economics, health, and more can be found on X at @NaijaFlyingDr.
Sim Shagaya
Techpoint Africa
Shagaya has two plays in the EdTech space. First, there’s ULesson, an e-learning platform that offers lessons to primary and secondary level students. Then there’s Miva University, a recently launched, fully online university approved by the NUC. Outside of EdTech, he’s forayed into venture capital with the Honey Badger Fund, a VC that invests in seed and pre-seed stage companies. You can find him at @SimShagaya on X.
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Final Words
This isn’t an exhaustive list of Nigerian business people to follow on social media. But it’s a starting point that should lead you to many other interesting figures in commerce and industry. The insights you’ll get from the persons we’ve highlighted here will almost certainly make your following them worthwhile.
Got a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com
Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.
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Mentors are necessary for us, so In Nigeria, their people can follow some mentors that help to grow up.
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