Career

From computers to a career in technology

Olubi first gained hands-on experience with a computer around 1996. Around two years later, his family got its first computer at home. He taught himself hardware fundamentals, including CPU overclocking, and wrote his first program in QBasic.

In 2002, he began studying Computer Science at Babcock University. During his first year, Olubi won Programmer of the Year at the university’s annual student software exhibition. He received the award again in a later year.

In 2004, he built his first computer himself. He graduated from Babcock University in 2006. From 2006 to 2012, Olubi worked in software development and product roles at software houses and client-service companies, including several years at Softcom. Between 2012 and 2015, he ran the technology function at a succession of technology companies, beginning as Chief Technology Officer at Jobberman.

Ezra Olubi and the building of Paystack

In 2015, Ezra Olubi and Shola Akinlade founded Paystack, with Olubi serving as CTO. In November of that year, Paystack became the first Nigerian company accepted into Y Combinator. The company launched publicly in January 2016 and built payment technology for businesses operating in Africa.

Stripe acquired Paystack in October 2020. International coverage of the acquisition identified Olubi as Paystack’s co-founder and CTO. In 2022, Olubi received the Nigerian national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).