A $20,000 seed investment for Miracle Nwankwo in 2023 was a foundational stepping stone for a journey that would see him become the 22-year-old CEO of Veefin Nigeria, the African subsidiary of a global fintech giant.
The $20,000 was raised for Nwankwo’s inaugural venture, BookClinic, which he launched at the age of 19. The health-tech platform aimed to solve the frustration of long waiting times at diagnostic centers.
Operating like an ‘Uber for healthcare,’ BookClinic enabled users to pre-book essential medical services, such as X-rays and blood tests, at partner facilities across Lagos.
The company secured $20,000 in 2023, marking its sole funding round, and despite strong initial traction, the operation was eventually paused after about a year, citing ‘founder mistakes and other challenges.’
However, the failure of the first startup was not the end of his entrepreneurial career but a catalyst for his next, far larger, opportunity. The connection that facilitated the small 2023 raise proved invaluable.
Nwankwo stated that an investor from BookClinic introduced him to the founders of Veefin, an Indian-headquartered global fintech company that was seeking to expand into the African market.
This introduction led to a complete pivot as the original BookClinic team transitioned into what became Veefin Solutions Nigeria, with Nwankwo stepping into the CEO role in February 2025.
He is now tasked with leading the company’s expansion across Nigeria and West Africa, which is a significant leap from managing a local health-tech app to running the African arm of a firm that processes over $6 billion annually worldwide.
Veefin provides end-to-end technology infrastructure for banks and financial institutions, specialising in services like supply chain finance, digital lending, and fraud analytics.
