Africa’s tech ecosystem is valued at an estimated $480 billion primarily based on current stories.
Already, the continent boasts 9 startups which have hit the $1 billion valuation mark and past, a proof of idea of the capital raised and the arrogance traders have in Africa’s startups.
But behind the applause for CEOs and co-founders, the true engine of each enterprise lies in its operational buildings.
Chief Working Officers (COOs), or leaders performing equal operational roles, are the unsung architects of development. They be sure that the imaginative and prescient set by founders interprets into environment friendly execution, creating programs and processes that permit companies to scale quickly with out collapsing beneath their very own weight. In Africa’s fast-evolving markets, the place challenges vary from regulatory hurdles to infrastructure gaps, these leaders maintain the organizational machine operating easily.
That mentioned, not all of the African unicorn has a COO at the moment. Andela has no COO; Flutterwave’s COO resigned in 2024 with no alternative but. Chipper Money’s COO was laid off, and at MNT Halan, the pinnacle of operations position transitioned to go of account administration. These gaps present simply how dynamic and generally risky the operational aspect of Africa’s tech unicorns could be.
As Africa continues to provide unicorns, it’s these operational leaders who flip ambition into actuality. They’re the silent drivers of development, effectivity, and scalability, making certain that billion-dollar corporations not solely survive however thrive in dynamic and difficult markets.
Dotun Daniel Adekunle was appointed Chief Working Officer and Chief Expertise Officer of OPay in July 2024, bringing with him over 18 years of expertise in funds, monetary know-how, and enterprise programs throughout Africa.
In his twin position, Dotun oversees OPay’s operations, product innovation, and know-how technique, making certain seamless service supply and driving the corporate’s mission to deepen monetary inclusion throughout rising markets. His management comes at a pivotal time for OPay, following its $2 billion valuation milestone in 2021, which cemented its standing as certainly one of Africa’s main fintech unicorns.
Earlier than rejoining OPay, Dotun served as Senior Vice President of Offline Funds at Flutterwave, the place he spearheaded the corporate’s bodily funds growth throughout Africa. His earlier tenure at OPay, from 2018 to 2022, noticed him lead the engineering and product groups that constructed the spine of OPay’s fee infrastructure.
A graduate of Yaba College of Technology, Dotun additionally holds an MBA from the College of Roehampton and a postgraduate diploma in synthetic intelligence and machine studying from Texas McCombs School of Enterprise.
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