About 50% of startups dissolve within five years, according to the International Bureau of Labour Statistics.

However, the following startups founded and co-founded by Nigerians have survived over five years of their existence and have become multibillion Dollar international startups.

Here are six billion-dollar startups founded by Nigerians

1. Cityblock Health ($5 billion)

Industry: Primary Healthcare

Co-founded by Toyin Ajayi (Female)

Cityblock Health was created to help low-income and elderly Americans access health care, primarily those who qualify for Medicaid.

Nigerian Toyin Ajayi co-founded Cityblock Health with Bay Gross, and Iyah Romm in 2017.

Cityblock is regarded as the first tech-driven provider for communities with complex health and social needs–bringing better care to neighbourhoods where it’s needed most.

2. Calendly ($3 billion)

Industry: Tech

Founder: Tope Awotona

Calendly is a software company that develops a business communication platform used for teams to schedule, prepare and follow up on external meetings.

The company was founded in Atlanta, Georgia by Nigerian-born entrepreneur Tope Awotona who is the current CEO.

He founded the company with his savings and by taking out a small-business loan, while working at the co-working incubator Atlanta Tech Village.

As of July 2021, Calendly operates an all-remote workforce without an official headquarters. Tope Awotona is the company’s CEO.

3. Flutterwave ($3 billion)

Industry: Fintech

Founder: Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Olugbenga Agboola, and Adeleke Adekoya

Flutterwave is a Nigerian fintech company that provides a payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent.

The company was founded in 2016 by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Olugbenga Agboola, and Adeleke Adekoya and is headquartered in San Francisco, California with operations in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, and seven other African countries.

In 2021, Flutterwave raised a US$170 million Series C funding round.

At the time, this was the largest amount ever secured by an African tech startup and gave it a valuation of over US$1 billion, making Flutterwave a unicorn.

Investors in Flutterwave include Y-Combinator, Visa Ventures, Mastercard, Avenir Growth Capital, and Tiger Global Management.

Flutterwave raised a US$250 million Series D funding round at over US$3 billion valuation in 2022 as well.

In December 2021, Flutterwave launched Send, an African-focused remittances service, and immediately appointed Nigerian Grammy Award-winning international musician, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid as its global ambassador to further push the company’s brand among the Africans in the diaspora.

4. Andela ($1.5 billion)

Industry: Software Engineering Place Network

Co-founded by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji

Andela is a global job placement network for software developers.

Andela focuses on sustainable careers, connecting technologists with long-term engagements, access to international roles, competitive compensation, and career coaching through the Andela Learning Community.

Andela was founded in 2014 by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Jeremy Johnson, Nadayar Enegesi, Brice Nkengsa, Ian Carnevale, and Christina Sass.

In May 2014, Andela launched its first recruitment cycle in Lagos by putting its first call for applications on Twitter. The company hired their first cohort—four Nigerian software engineers—after receiving 700 applications for 4 spots.

In 2018, Andela celebrated the first two sets of engineers to complete the four-year program.

As of 2021, Andela provides technologists from six continents to access opportunities with global companies on long-term embedded contracts.

Andela’s applicants can undertake training in software languages such as Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, React Native, Node, PHP, and more.

5. InterSwitch ($1 billion)

Industry: Fintech

Founded by Mitchell Elegbe

Interswitch is a leading African integrated payment and digital commerce platform company headquartered in Lagos.

Founded in 2002 in Nigeria, as a transaction switching and processing company with a national focus, Interswitch progressively evolved to incorporate consumer financial services with the successive launches of Quickteller, a retail payments ecosystem linking merchants and billers with consumers, as well as Verve, a homegrown, EMV-certified payments card scheme.

After using an ATM for the first time in Scotland, Mitchell Elegbe developed an idea to create electronic payment infrastructure in Nigeria while he was working on implementing SWIFT.

In 2011 Interswitch took a 60 per cent stake in Bankom in Uganda.

6. Esusu ($1 billion)

Industry: Software Company

Co-founded by Wemimo Abbey

In 2015, Samir Goel and Wemimo Abbey Founded Esusu, a platform designed to empower users to better save, access capital, and build credit through community savings.

Electronic Esusu is a unified finance management solution designed to simplify and automate the process of thrift savings, collection and microcredit.

The solution explores the use of Digital Payment Technology and Global System Mobile Devices to manage and enhance transactions of the Esusu scheme.

The solution explores the use of Digital Payment Technology and Global System Mobile Devices to manage and enhance transactions of the Esusu scheme. (The Nation)

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