Looking for a job

Paul Akolade

@paulakolade

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I build and scale fintech, e-commerce and digital products that improve revenue, retention and customer experiences.

Nigeria

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What I'm looking for

I'm looking to build and scale digital products in fintech, e-commerce or related sectors, leading customer discovery, strategy, roadmaps and cross-functional delivery to create measurable commercial and customer outcomes.

I've built and scaled digital products across fintech, e-commerce, telehealth and enterprise development for Vant, Essenza, Eaglion Global and BuyASAP Africa.

At Vant, I own the strategy and roadmap for a SaaS fintech platform serving underserved MSMEs. I defined the Vant App, Storefront and open API suite for payments, sales tracking, budgeting and partner integrations.

At Essenza, I increased online sales by 50% and customer retention by 20% through platform migration, conversion optimisation and customer experience improvements across Nigeria and Ghana. At BuyASAP Africa, I helped increase digital sales by 40% while building operating infrastructure and scaling the team beyond 30 employees.

I'm also active in Nigeria's startup ecosystem through Ogun Startups and Founders Friday Abeokuta, and have trained more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and mentored more than 50 startups.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Growth and Community Lead

Current

AfriLabs Connect Deal Room

Mar 2026 - Present (6 months)

Manage startup and investor pipeline for a deal infrastructure platform, using insights to improve founder and investor journeys.

Pipeline Management Stakeholder Engagement Community Management Data Analysis

Current

Digitalisation Consultant

Current

ECO Consult GmbH and Co KG

Aug 2025 - Present (1 year 1 month)

Diagnose MSME needs for a GIZ-backed programme and recommend digital products and workflows, delivering advisory and training on e-commerce and digital finance.

Digital Transformation Ecommerce Digital Finance Advisory Training

Current

Product Manager

Current

Vant

May 2023 - Present (3 years 4 months)

Own product vision, strategy and roadmap for a SaaS fintech platform serving underserved MSMEs, leading cross-functional teams from discovery to launch.

Product Strategy Roadmapping Agile Delivery Fintech SaaS Payments Customer Discovery Stakeholder Management

Product Manager

Eaglion Global LLC

Sep 2023 - Jan 2025 (1 year 4 months)

Defined product strategy and roadmaps for fintech, e-commerce and telehealth products, aligning distributed teams through agile planning and delivery reviews.

Product Strategy Roadmapping Agile Delivery Fintech Ecommerce Telehealth Cross functional Leadership

Chief Operations Officer

BuyASAP Africa

Jan 2022 - Jul 2023 (1 year 6 months)

Built operating model for finance, inventory, logistics and customer experience, scaling team to over 30 employees and increasing digital sales by 40%.

Operations Management Team Scaling Process Improvement Ecommerce Logistics Customer Experience

ICT Training and E commerce Consultant

Eaglion Solutions

Aug 2017 - May 2022 (4 years 9 months)

Designed and delivered digital skills, ICT and e-commerce programmes for SMEs, converting programme needs into practical learning products.

IT Training Ecommerce Program Design SME Development

Head of E commerce

Essenza

Jan 2020 - Nov 2021 (1 year 10 months)

Owned e-commerce experience across Nigeria and Ghana, increasing online sales by 50% and improving customer retention by 20% through platform migration and conversion optimisation.

Ecommerce Conversion Rate Optimization Platform Migration Magento Shopify Customer Retention Cross functional Leadership

IT and Brand Manager

Bedmate Furniture Nigeria International Limited

Oct 2018 - Jan 2020 (1 year 3 months)

Managed digital systems, brand activity and operational support across eight retail branches, designing internal software solutions and supporting campaigns.

IT Management Brand Management Software Solutions Operations Support