The startup Vesicash (Ingressive Capital’s Portfolio Company) provides payment security for businesses and individuals across Africa. We had a chat with one of the Co-founders, Ibrahim Oladele about his business experiences and challenges. Below was how the conversation went;
Hello, it’s great to have you on Ingressive Capital, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Ibrahim Oladele, a graduate of computer engineering from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. After my undergraduate studies, I moved to India where I studied advanced wireless communications and worked with Convergence Labs R&D. In my past life, I wrote about varying topics from Philosophy to sports. A proud Chess player and you will catch me vibing to hip-hop most of the time, and country music takes me to sleep.
What was growing up like and how did your childhood experiences impact the person you are today?
Growing up was fun, firstly I am the first of 5, and that means as the eldest you can just chill and have everything you want to be served for you. That’s a joke though. I grew up in a family where education and political discussion were the foundation. In my formative years, my dad gave me the mandate to use the books in his library. That exposed me to Sciences and arts at an early stage. I didn’t really play around, no holidays, just books and most often mathematics and physics. While at high school, I was the best student in sciences in my school for 3 straight years. As a science student, I had the luxury of having a curious mind, trying to understand how the world works and how everything is interconnected. I guess, the biggest impact my early years had on me is curiosity and the need to understand needs and wants by running hypothetical experiments to understand problems and finding solutions. And as an entrepreneur, that is all you need.
Let’s talk about your business, did you ever foresee it being birthed and growing up to this scale?
Oh Yes, we knew what we were getting into. I am lucky to have co-founded Vesicash with people that have a shared mindset and vision. My co-founders and I connected on the fact that we have always had the desire to build a company that offered value to its users and leaves a lasting impact. I’m also a strong believer in the fact that the effort you put in has a direct effect on the outcome. This is why I push myself to always put in the maximum effort I can because this will inevitably end with a remarkable outcome. Looking back at the last year, we have progressed, moved from a company of 3 co-founders to a 10-person team.
How did your entrepreneurship journey begin and have been the most rewarding aspects for you?
As a ten-year-old with some support from my family, I launched a pig farm. I started with 3 pigs and in the space of a year, I had over 40 pigs on my farm. The growth and expansion of the business were enormous in the space of 4 years before the dreadful Swan Fever killed all my pigs in 2004. After that, I have played with multiple ideas, and run 2 other businesses before Vesicash. Every step of my journey has been rewarding because I prioritize learning in everything, either I win or I lose, for every, Yes and No, they have all been rewarding and impactful.
Are there moments you want to run back to the safety of paid employment and what keeps you going on such days?
Not at all.
Name 2 things you appreciate about your industry?
Fast growth and room for innovation.
What are the most important lessons you have learned in your line of business?
Customer education is a very important and a continuous process.
How has Ingressive Capital impacted your business?
Ingressive Capital came at the right time with the right resources and help we needed as a company to move on to the next stage. Ingressive has been really supportive, and we are better placed to become the main escrow technology company in Africa with Ingressive in our corner.
What excites you most about the work you do? Is there a case study you can share with us that can demonstrate the kind of impact you’re excited to be making?
The need for what we offer as a company is enormous, we have requests for our service not only in Nigeria but from everywhere across the world. We got a request from a client that has been burnt, trying to import some seeds from Thailand. He needed an Escrow company that could facilitate the transaction so that he doesn’t lose his money to fraudsters again. He reached out to us, in a few minutes he had his escrow account up and running, and the transaction was executed seamlessly. That is one case, we have 100 of transactions that we have protected from frauds and unnecessary transactional disputes. Recently Vesicash was recognized by the Hague Institute for Innovation for Law. Reason being that money-related justice problem is the number one problem people are facing in Nigeria according to their research. Vesicash as a company with remarkable traction and cases of preventing frauds and dispute was selected among the 14 innovations across the world. We wake up every day knowing that 17 out of 50 people transacting daily are potential fraud victims, and we are bent on reducing that number to 0.
What excites you about being a part of Ingressive Capital?
I am happy Ingressive has become a part of our journey. We have a long road ahead of us and having Ingressive as a partner makes our path clearer and also going to take us far. Together we are going to achieve our mission of empowering Africans and being at the centre of commerce across Africa together.
Challenges within your industry?
There are a lot of challenges, but collaboration is the missing piece for me. As a company one of our key values is collaboration. From different teams within the company to work with partners, we all need to understand the fact that the sky is wide enough for everyone to fly. We all have something unique to bring to the table and if we collaborate and work together, we will go far as an industry. We can win together.
Describe a time that you failed while building your business/career, and what did you do to bounce back?
I quit my job in India to come back home and build a business around a communication enterprise software that I had developed myself. Unfortunately, I spent over 6 months with zero conversion. I knew it was time for a rethink, and all I just have to do is to find my way to understand the business of technology and being a techy alone doesn’t help in this market that we are.
What excites you about being an entrepreneur?
The feeling of knowing you need to wake up every morning and be ready to fight. For every battle won, I always knew it brings me closer to winning the greater war. So the motivation to keep on fighting and having fun while at it is the best.
3 books you recommend for entrepreneurs?
The principle by Ray Dailio, Theory of Games and Economics by Jon Von Neumann, and Sam Walton Made in America.
3 words that describe you?
Cool, Calm and Collected.
What would you say to your younger self?
Be prepared for the good and bad times the future holds.
Finish this sentence; the career I choose allows me to?
Be curious, innovative and see challenges as an opportunity.
What is the best career advice you have received?
Knowledge is power, try and learn every step of your life. From my former boss Dr Paul Ravi Kumar.
If you had to host 3 iconic people for dinner, who has a seat at your table?
Satya Nadella, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Garry Kasparov
Where can we find you on social media?
@2HVS7 on Twitter. Ibrahim B. Oladele on LinkedIn.
Any advice to entrepreneurs just starting out?
If You Wouldn’t Fight Monsters in a Dark Alley to Protect Your Business, Don’t Start It. The baby steps matter, celebrate every single moment and don’t forget you are human, body no be the engine.
