We like stories of quick wins. That is why when we read about tech bros, we easily forget the hard work that they put into succeeding in the tech industry. But sometimes we need a reminder that building a career in any industry can be difficult but also immensely rewarding. This is particularly true in the tech industry.
Peter Ayeni is a software engineer. He is also a social innovator who is passionate about helping people to get started and succeed in Tech and Social Entrepreneurship.
Peter Ayeni’s Childhood and Education
Peter was born in 1988 in a little border town between Nigeria and Benin Republic. There, he was raised by his mother until he was forced by a childhood tragedy to move to Ilorin to continue his education at 15 years old.
The many economic challenges aside, he still excelled in school and represented his school and the entire state in the largest competitions for secondary school students in Nigeria – The Cowbell Mathematics Competition and the International Olympiads in Maths, Biology and Science.
A student from a poorly funded public school, with no regular daily meal. I competed with the best of the best in Kwara State and across the Nation.
Peter Ayeni
In tertiary school, he worked during the holidays to save up money for school. But still, he had to defer a semester when he couldn’t meet up to the payments in his fourth semester. That period just might have changed his life.

Getting into and Succeeding in tech
Responding to an ad from a design firm on Facebook with a phone call to the CEO made the difference. After those 3 months of working in design, he had saved enough to complete his education.
After that, he launched his career as one pioneer of tech in Nigeria. Peter remembers when he deployed his first website in 2007, he had to do it overnight at a public cybercafe. Before you know it, he was buying his first laptop and smashing personal milestones. Life comes at you fast.
His journey in this industry has been full of ups and downs. But he notes that succeeding in the tech industry is about having the will. And if you do, then now is the best time to get started because resources to start with are everywhere.
Check what you are passionate about and find an aspect of tech that matches that passion. Find a mentor, a community and resources that will help you grow. Build projects, share what you learn and the sky is your starting point.
Peter Ayeni’s Work and Achievements
In 2017, Peter was the Union Bank Centenary Innovation Award Winner for his social Enterprise. Mbele uses technology to make quality education accessible and fun for people across Africa, no matter their socioeconomic status.
He was also one of 20 Young Social Innovators to participate in the DO School Fellowship ‘Future of Audio Challenge’. There he worked to re-imagine the future of audio entertainment for six top German Radio Stations and Axel Springer.
In 2018, he got into the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young Africa Leaders. From the Emerging African Leaders Academy, he won the ‘Ingenious in Tech’ Award.
Peter’s favourite part of his career is how dynamic it is and how fast things can change since it gives him the freedom to break things and solve problems in new ways. He has worked at Previsico, a flood forecasting company that predicts and prevents the impact of flooding globally. Now, he works at Aya, where he is helping to build a ‘digital mental wellbeing companion.’

Peter Ayeni On Tech in Africa
Peter believes that we are barely scratching the surface of tech in Africa.
He says that when he got started in tech 13 years ago, there were limited opportunities and well-paying jobs for software engineers. Today there are many home-grown startups in Africa that have raised millions of dollars and are impacting lives across the continent.
Young people in Africa continue to take the lead and succeed in using cryptocurrency, drone technologies, AI and Machine Learning to solve our unique problems. In addition, we have seen great partnerships recently with multinational companies to train and upskill young people in tech.
According to Peter, ‘if this trend continues and we continue to advocate for technology inclusion for girls and people in rural areas, Africa will be the future of tech‘.