Imagine tracking your finances, only to realise that the tools that help millions manage their money elsewhere don’t work in your country. That was the frustrating reality Fara Ashiru Jituboh faced when she returned to Nigeria long before birthing Okra.
Born in Nigeria and raised in the U.S., Fara Ashiru Jituboh had spent a year in Nigeria as a teenager but never imagined she would move back permanently. Yet, during a visit, she spotted an opportunity so vast in Africa’s financial space that she couldn’t ignore it.
Today, she is reshaping the continent’s economic ecosystem with Okra. This fintech enables businesses of all sizes to develop fairer, more inclusive financial products by retrieving real-time financial data from bank accounts. She co-founded Okra in 2020 with David Peterside, creating an open finance powerhouse to digitise financial services in Africa.
“At Okra, we fundamentally believe that convenience trumps everything, and part of our mission is to constantly improve the experience consumers have with their favourite Bank & Fintech apps by enabling the builders,” Fara Ashiru Jitiboh shared.
A stark reality
With a background in computer science and mastery of over 20 programming languages, Jituboh has already built technology solutions for global giants like BMW, JP Morgan Chase, and Fidelity Investments. She even launched a tech studio in Nigeria, helping firms like AXA Mansard, Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, and Airtel develop digital products.
Then came 2019. After briefly relocating to the U.S. to have her son, Jituboh would have to rely on fintech apps like Mint to manage her money. However, upon returning to Nigeria, she found those apps useless as they didn’t connect to local Nigerian banks. Managing finances the way she was used to became suddenly tricky. Instead of accepting the status quo, she built a solution herself.
Okra: Africa’s ‘Super-Connector’
Before Okra, many startups had to process payments outside their apps, losing control over cash flow and scalability. Okra solves this by connecting businesses to every bank in Nigeria and is now expanding into Kenya and South Africa. The platform offers core products such as authentication, identity verification, income tracking, and spending insights.
Its rapid success has been remarkable. Within six months of launching in the middle of a pandemic, the company secured a $1 million pre-seed round. By April 2021, it had raised another $3.5 million, led by Susa Ventures, bringing its total funding to $4.5 million. Okra boasts 99.9% bank uptime today, with over 400 businesses using its infrastructure and 20-plus integration options.
In a LinkedIn post, the fintech founder announced the launch of Nebula – Okra’s newest development to create cloud infrastructure that speaks to Africa’s needs.
“For too long, Africa has leaned on imported solutions, paying premiums for software and services – But as we say, ‘Yes, there is rice at home!’ And now, there’s a cloud built here for us, and it’s just as good, not better.”
Nebula allows users to pay in their local currency without unpredictable exchange rates. It also offers lower latency and tier 3/4 data centres, ensuring reliability like AWS or Azure.
Jituboh, the relentless engineer and CEO
Despite leading a rapidly growing fintech company, Jituboh remains actively involved in coding, balancing her roles as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Technical Officer (CTO). She didn’t just identify a problem in the African market; she developed a solution. In doing so, she has unlocked financial access for millions across the continent.
