Exploring the Intersection of Technology and Industry
Babatunde Esanju is a senior software engineer, open-source contributor, and technology entrepreneur. His career has spanned multiple industries, including LegalTech, FinTech, and CareTech. He shares insights into what drives his passion for exploring different sectors and how he sees technology bridging gaps across these fields.
Esanju explains that his fascination with technology stems from its ability to solve real-world problems. This curiosity led him from LegalTech to FinTech and now to CareTech. In law, his goal was to streamline processes for lawyers and banks. In finance, he aimed to make tools like remittances and investments accessible to ordinary people. In care, his focus is on enabling carers to spend more time with people rather than on paperwork. What ties these industries together for him is the common thread of inefficiency and the role of technology in closing that gap.
Overcoming Challenges in Case Management Systems
At LawPavilion, Esanju enhanced case management systems for major banks. He discusses the challenges faced during this project and how they were overcome to achieve a 40% reduction in case processing time. The biggest challenge was fragmented information. A single case often involved paper files, countless emails, and disconnected systems. Professionals were wasting time chasing documents instead of resolving cases. To address this, a platform was built that consolidated everything, automated repetitive tasks, and delivered real-time updates. Initial resistance to change was met with training sessions and highlighting small wins. Once users experienced the time savings firsthand, adoption followed, leading to the significant reduction in processing time.
Innovations in Loan Management Portals
At LSETF, Esanju worked on the Loan Management Portal, which increased productivity. He highlights specific features or innovations that contributed to this success. Manual processes were slowing everything down, with loan officers buried in spreadsheets. A digital portal was created to handle applications, credit scoring, and repayments automatically. Productivity rose as staff could focus on decision-making rather than paperwork. The bigger vision is scaling platforms like this across Africa to give small businesses faster, easier access to funding.
Financial Inclusion Through Technology
As the Chief Technical Officer of Gen Financial Limited, Esanju led the creation of Wyrr and GenCapita. These platforms were inspired by personal experiences and observations of gaps in the financial system. Wyrr was created to offer a cheaper, faster way to transfer money, addressing the frustration of high remittance fees. GenCapita aimed to provide young professionals with global investment opportunities. Both projects focused on financial inclusion and dignity.
Optimizing BNPL Solutions
At QOOP, Esanju designed a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform that increased revenue. He shares lessons learned from this project and how BNPL solutions can be optimized for different markets. The key lesson was that BNPL is less about the tech and more about trust. A transparent system with no hidden fees, flexible repayment schedules, and fair risk scoring drove adoption and revenue growth. Local context shaped success, with different approaches needed in Nigeria and the UK.
Reducing Food Waste Through Technology
As co-founder and CTO of Aisiki, Esanju built a logistics and agriculture-tech platform that greatly reduced food waste. He discusses the challenges faced in developing this platform and its impact on the agricultural supply chain. The problem was farmers losing tons of produce due to inefficient systems connecting them to buyers or transport. A platform was built to match farmers with buyers and optimize delivery routes. The challenge was low digital literacy among farmers, so the app was mobile-first, simple, and available in local languages. Seeing food waste drop by 90% and farmers earn more was a proud moment.
Modernizing Care Services
Esanju is leading development on Caresyntra, a care management platform. He discusses how technology can improve care services and the specific features being focused on to modernize compliance and communication. Digital records, automated compliance checks, and tools for seamless communication between managers, carers, and families are part of the solution. Real-time updates are a feature he is particularly proud of, ensuring families see medication logs instantly.
Ensuring Scalability in Ticketing Systems
At TixTrack, Esanju built enterprise-grade ticketing systems. He outlines the key technical challenges encountered and how they were addressed to ensure scalability and performance. High-pressure scenarios where thousands of people try to buy tickets in seconds required distributed caching, asynchronous messaging, and scalable cloud infrastructure. Fraud prevention was also critical, with strong validation layers implemented. The result is a smooth, stress-free ticket-buying experience for millions.
Open-Source Contributions
Esanju’s open-source project, PayBridge.SDK, simplifies payment integration for developers. He explains the inspiration behind it and how it benefits the developer community. Frustration with tedious steps in integrating payment gateways led to the creation of PayBridge, offering a consistent API that saves weeks of work. Making it open-source was important to allow others to benefit, freeing developers to focus on building real value.
Sharing Knowledge and Driving Innovation
Through his technical blog, tundehub.dev, Esanju shares insights on microservices, cloud computing, and more. He discusses his motivation for contributing to the developer community and how knowledge sharing can drive innovation. Starting the platform was a way to give back, as he learned much from blogs and open resources. Writing sharpens his own thinking and helps others avoid repeating mistakes, fostering innovation.
Amplifying Voices in Tech
With TechNaija FM, Esanju amplifies voices in fintech, edtech, and digital transformation. He outlines his goals for this platform and how it contributes to the tech ecosystem in Africa and the UK. Initially a passion project, it has grown into a bridge between Africa and the UK. The goal is to evolve it into a hub for networking, mentorship, and collaboration, inspiring young people to believe in their potential.
Measuring Impact and Success
Esanju reflects on the most impactful aspect of his career and how he measures the success of his projects. For him, impact isn’t just about numbers but stories—such as the farmer who earned more because his produce reached buyers in time, or the young professional who invested for the first time through GenCapita. Metrics matter, but human outcomes stay with him.
Addressing Challenges in Tech Fields
Esanju identifies the most pressing challenges in FinTech, open source, and community building. In FinTech, the challenge is trust. In open source, it’s sustainability. In communities, inclusivity remains a gap. The solutions lie in collaboration: regulators working closely with startups, companies funding open-source maintainers, and communities creating space for diverse voices.
Leveraging Technology for Socioeconomic Gaps
Technology plays a crucial role in bridging socioeconomic gaps, according to Esanju. Mobile banking gave millions of unbanked Africans access to financial services, and GenCapita opened global investment opportunities for those previously excluded. However, he emphasizes that simply copying Western models rarely works. Breakthroughs come when solutions are designed around local culture, income levels, and habits.
Future Aspirations
Looking to the future, Esanju outlines his aspirations for his career and the impact he wants to make through his work in technology and innovation. He aims to keep building technology that makes life easier and fairer. In the near term, he is focused on scaling Caresyntra to improve efficiency and humanity in care services. Long-term, he hopes to expand open-source projects like PayBridge and grow TechNaija FM into a global platform for African and UK innovators. At the core, his aspiration is to create solutions that outlive him and continue empowering people.
