Obinna Chukwujioke, Founder of Maplerad, Champions Africa’s Fintech Infrastructure Revolution

Nigeria’s fintech sector has experienced rapid growth since the early 2000s, enabling digital payments, online lending, and business transactions nationwide. Yet beneath the surface, critical challenges persist.

A 2022 study by Anietie Udoma highlights five major structural hurdles: limited independence of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), low financial inclusion, unreliable internet access, weak cybersecurity, and a lack of digitally literate law enforcement.

Today, 36% of Nigerian adults—nearly 38 million people—remain unbanked, and just 12% of citizens enjoy stable internet access in a country frequently affected by power outages.

Meet Obinna Chukwujioke Founder of Maplerad

While many experts continue to call for reform, Obinna Chukwujioke, a first-class engineering graduate from FUTO, is actively building practical solutions.

With over 14 years of professional experience across oil and gas, IT, and fintech—including roles in the UK and US—Obinna chose not to remain abroad after co-founding successful startups. Instead, he returned to Nigeria with a mission: to design the financial infrastructure that would make reliable, secure, and scalable services accessible to businesses and individuals alike.

Obinna is more than a founder. He is a specialist in fintech infrastructure, regulatory compliance, and secure systems architecture.

As a certified ISO 27001 Lead Implementer, he brings global standards in information security to Africa’s financial systems.

His early work at Lara.ng—a smart routing platform improving commuter access and pricing in Nigerian cities—gave him first-hand insight into how technology could simplify complex logistics in emerging markets. This formative experience reinforced his belief that user-focused infrastructure is key to large-scale impact.

In 2020, he co-founded Maplerad, a fintech infrastructure company that enables businesses to build and launch financial products in minutes instead of months.

In an interview with The Guardian, he summarised his vision: “Our mission is simple yet ambitious: to fuel ambition and help businesses go global from day one by solving the deep-rooted infrastructure challenges in Africa’s financial ecosystem.

Since day one, we’ve believed that access to reliable and scalable banking infrastructure shouldn’t be a privilege; it should be a standard.”

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Obinna’s Giantstrides in Nigerian Fintech Ecosystem

One of his early innovations was Wirepay, a cross-border app that enabled users to transact in both local currency and cryptocurrency. Wirepay quickly amassed over 50,000 users, underscoring a clear demand for smarter, more flexible financial tools.

But Obinna recognised an even greater opportunity: to move beyond consumer fintech and create the rails upon which others could build. This idea laid the foundation for Maplerad.

Today, Maplerad powers over 3,000 businesses with multi-currency capabilities across five+ payment corridors, and has processed over $100 million in transaction volume.

Under Obinna’s agile and democratic leadership style—anchored by respect, integrity, transparency, and accountability—the company has rapidly scaled its impact. His approach fosters a culture where innovation thrives, decisions are inclusive, and execution is consistent.

In 2022, Obinna led Maplerad to secure $6 million in seed funding at a $30 million valuation, backed by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures. That same year, he repositioned the company from a consumer-facing app into a full-scale Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform. This pivot enabled fintechs to embed services such as account creation, card issuance, compliance management, and cross-border transactions, using Maplerad’s infrastructure.

Today, Maplerad quietly powers leading African fintech players, including Payourse, CredPal, Prospa, Cashbuddy, and Chipper Cash. These companies rely on Maplerad to streamline backend processes, reduce time-to-market, and operate compliantly in complex regulatory environments.

This infrastructure-led model sets Obinna apart. While many founders compete for end users, he builds the invisible foundation supporting the ecosystem. It’s a model that echoes the insights of Parthian Partners CEO, who recently noted: “The future of the Nigerian FinTech industry relies on effective policy makingpolicymaking, collaboration, and embracing AI-driven innovations to foster financial inclusion and growth.”

Obinna isn’t just aligned with that future—he’s helping shape it. Maplerad integrates AI into its core platform to enhance compliance, detect fraud, and optimizeoptimise transaction workflows in real-time. Rather than react to regulation, Obinna collaborates with policymakers to ensure innovation and governance move forward together.

This quiet infrastructure revolution has placed Obinna Chukwujioke among Africa’s top transformational founders—alongside Shola Akinlade (Paystack), Etop Ikpe (Autochek), and Tosin Eniolorunda (Moniepoint)—as one of the few leaders reshaping the continent’s digital infrastructure from the ground up.

Mentorship Engagement

Beyond innovation, Obinna remains committed to mentorship and legacy. He serves as a mentor at the San Francisco-based Alchemist Accelerator, one of Silicon Valley’s top incubators backed by firms like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.

There, he guides early-stage founders on scaling across global markets and building regulatory-compliant fintech products. His peers at Alchemist include heavyweights like Mike Olson (Cloudera), Vinod Khosla (Sun Microsystems), and Steve King (DocuSign).

Obinna Chukwujioke Founder of Maplerad is also a regular speaker at platforms like the Nigeria Fintech Forum and JCI’s Metropolitan Business Garage, where he shares insights from his journey across energy, IT, and finance. His message to young entrepreneurs is clear:

“As you rise, lift others with you. Empower your communities, mentor those coming after you, and always remember: greatness is not just about personal success, but about making a difference. The future is yours to shape. Be bold and never stop believing in the power of your dreams. The world is waiting for your light to shine.“

It’s a belief system that defines Obinna’s leadership. He often describes himself as “an innovative leader reshaping Africa’s financial landscape”—a title he’s earned by building platforms that enable others, leading with purpose, and leaving the ecosystem better than he met it.

Obinna is open to strategic collaborations, mentorship programs, and speaking opportunities that align with his vision for a more inclusive and future-ready fintech ecosystem. To connect, reach out via obinna@maplerad.com or visit linkedin.com/in/obinna-chukwujioke.