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In every generation, some builders quietly shape the way people live, work, and connect. Babatunde Ademuyiwa is one of those builders.
His journey from digital printing to financial technology, and now into the world of hardware and the Internet of Things, is a story of consistent innovation and a deep understanding of everyday people’s needs.
Designing for real life: From Speaking Cards to Kiakia Print
Babatunde’s early work began with products that communicated care and connection. His first project, Speaking Cards, allowed people to create personalized greeting cards with meaningful messages.
That creative spark quickly evolved into something larger. He founded Kiakia Print, an online print platform that enabled thousands of small businesses, churches, and individuals to design and order print materials quickly and reliably.
In a country where printing services were traditionally opaque and inefficient, Kiakia Print brought transparency, convenience, and trust. It was more than just a printing platform. It was a digital solution to a legacy problem.
Fintech with a local pulse: JumpNPass and the Zenith Bank Award
After establishing a strong presence in the print industry, Babatunde turned his focus to finance. With the rise of mobile transactions and digital banking in Nigeria, he saw an opportunity to make financial access more inclusive.
He launched JumpNPass, a fintech platform that enables users to make quick, cashless payments and reduce friction in everyday microtransactions. The platform quickly scaled to over one million transactions, proving both product-market fit and user trust. It caught the attention of national institutions.
In November 2024, Babatunde won the Zenith Bank Tech Fair Hackathon Grand Prize. The award, which came with a twenty-five million naira grant, recognized their innovative approach to solving Nigeria’s payment problems.
The hackathon was a high-stakes competition with thousands of applicants, judged by a panel of experts from Nigeria’s financial and government sectors. Winning it was more than a financial boost. It was national validation.
Global support for a borderless entrepreneur
Babatunde’s work did not go unnoticed outside Nigeria. He was selected by Techstars, a Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator that helps promising founders build and scale companies worldwide, investing between $150,000. Later, he joined Founders Inc., one of the most competitive and respected accelerator programs globally, also based in San Francisco, investing between $100,000 and $200,000 in entrepreneurs and their companies.
These programs are known for their rigorous selection process. Founders must demonstrate traction, a compelling vision, and the capacity to build scalable solutions. Babatunde cleared all these hurdles and joined an elite community of founders who have gone on to raise venture capital and impact global markets.
A bold move into IoT: The launch of Masoos
In 2025, Babatunde took an even bolder step. He launched Masoos, a smart massage seat system that operates inside private ride-hailing vehicles and other public waiting areas. The product allows riders to enjoy short massage sessions during their commute, paying through local mobile payment methods. At the same time, it gives drivers a new way to earn extra income during their trips.
What makes Masoos unique is its ability to layer innovation onto existing infrastructure. It does not require a new network or behavior. It taps into what already exists and creates new value. It is an elegant blend of hardware, software, real-time analytics, and business thinking. It is one of the rare examples of consumer IoT built for Africa’s informal economy.
A founder who builds for people, not just for hype
Through each venture, Babatunde has maintained one clear focus. He builds for people. He does not chase trends. He looks at how people live, identifies friction, and creates simple solutions that work. Whether it is helping a business print flyers, allowing someone to pay instantly with their phone, or turning idle moments in a car into a revenue stream and wellness experience, Babatunde’s products always meet real needs.
His work has earned him national recognition, global validation, venture capital investment, and ongoing public interest. More importantly, it has proven that African founders can build world-class products from within the continent while creating systems that serve local communities.
As Babatunde continues to grow his ventures and explore new layers of technology, one thing is clear. He is not done yet. Whatever comes next will likely be as bold and people-centered as everything that has come before.
