A sit-down with Samuel Olamide on building global tech giants from the heart of Lagos

In an era where Nigerian engineers are increasingly shaping global products, Samuel Olamide stands out as a “Founding Engineer”, the rare technologist who takes startups from zero to one. From architecting fintech solutions that drive behavioural change in Lagos to building scalable transport logistics infrastructure, Olamide’s career reflects the evolving role of African talent in high-stakes innovation.

In this conversation with BusinessDay, he reflects on building for US-based firms such as Bunny Studio and Remote Roofing, leading engineering teams, and why the Nigerian tech ecosystem is producing more architectural leaders than ever before. Excerpts.

You describe yourself as a “Founding Engineer.” What does that term really mean to you?
A Founding Engineer is not just the first developer hired; it’s someone who translates vision into reality. When you join at zero, there’s no playbook, no legacy codebase, sometimes not even a validated product idea.

You’re thinking about architecture, scalability, hiring strategy, product-market fit and technical debt, all at the same time. You’re asking: If this works, can it scale? If it scales, can it survive?
Going from 0 to 1 means building the first functional version of a product under uncertainty. You’re solving business problems with technical decisions. That’s very different from joining a mature company where processes are already defined.

What was your first real “0 to 1” moment as a Founding Engineer?
My first true zero-to-one experience was at myStash, a Lagos-based fintech focused on helping young Nigerians build a savings culture through a “save-as-you-earn” and “save-as-you-spend” model. When I joined, there was no existing infrastructure, just a vision. We had to design the entire system architecture from scratch: the backend logic, the transaction flows, the savings automation engine and the database structure that would support scale as adoption grew.

It wasn’t just about building features. It was about translating financial behaviour into code. How do you design a system that nudges users to save consistently? How do you automate contributions without creating friction? Those were architectural questions as much as product questions. We built secure transaction handling systems, user dashboards and backend processes that ensured reliability and transparency. The challenge was balancing speed, because startups must ship quickly, with long-term scalability.

The biggest lesson was discipline under pressure. When you’re building from zero, every shortcut becomes tomorrow’s technical debt. So even at the MVP stage, you must think about growth, compliance, performance and user trust.

You’ve worked with companies like Bunny Studio and Remote Roofing. How did those experiences shape your leadership style?
Each environment demanded something different.
At Bunny Studio, the focus was on operational efficiency, building systems that could reduce errors and automate repetitive processes in the creative gig economy. That taught me precision and user empathy.

Remote Roofing was different. There, I led a team of over 12 interns while architecting backend systems. Managing that many junior engineers required clarity of structure. You can’t just assign tasks; you must design frameworks for collaboration. Leadership, for me, is about creating systems that outlast you. If a team depends entirely on one person, that’s fragile architecture, both technically and organisationally.

You’ve had a lot of experience with some US-based startups. How do you balance building for them while remaining rooted in Nigeria?
For me, geography has never limited technical contribution. The internet equalises opportunity.
Remaining rooted in Nigeria keeps me connected to emerging talent and local innovation challenges. At the same time, working with US startups exposes me to high standards, competitive pressure and global benchmarks.

That combination is powerful. You get resilience from Nigeria’s ecosystem and exposure from global markets.
It’s also important symbolically. Young engineers here need to see that you don’t have to relocate permanently to build world-class systems.

The perception of Nigerian engineers has shifted in recent years. How do you see that evolution?
There has been a clear transition from “outsourced labour” to “architectural leadership.”
In the past, African developers were often hired for execution, implementing predefined tasks. Now, we’re increasingly responsible for system design, strategic technical decisions and scaling infrastructure.
That shift comes from competence and consistency. Nigerian engineers are proving that we can handle high-concurrency systems, AI integrations and Web3 infrastructure at scale.
I believe that the global tech industry is beginning to recognise that talent density here is deeper than many assumed.

You’ve also contributed to local fintech innovation with myStash. Why was that important for you?
Working on myStash was important because it connected technology to social impact. We built a model aimed at encouraging digital savings among young Nigerians.
It reminded me that engineering is not abstract. Systems shape behaviour. When you design fintech tools, you’re influencing financial habits.

Balancing global projects with local fintech innovation keeps my perspective grounded. Technology should not only scale globally; it should solve real problems locally.

With your experience as a founding engineer, what technical mindset would you consider a requirement for building products that may eventually serve millions?
That’s a very important question because the mindset is definitely important. First, you must design for stress from day one. That means understanding distributed systems, database optimisation, concurrency management and security fundamentals. It also means anticipating growth before it happens.

A lot of engineers build for current traffic. Founding Engineers build for projected traffic. You ask: If 10,000 users become 1 million, what breaks first? Then you design to prevent that break.
It’s less about fancy frameworks and more about architectural clarity.

What practical advice would you give Nigerian engineers who want to lead US-based AI and Web3 projects?
First, master fundamentals. Architecture principles, clean code practices and system design thinking matter more than trendy tools.
Second, build real products. Side projects teach more than tutorials. Try taking an idea from scratch to deployment, even if it’s small.
Third, communicate effectively. Many talented engineers struggle because they can’t articulate trade-offs or defend design decisions. In global teams, clarity is currency.
Finally, think beyond execution. Ask strategic questions. Offer solutions, not just code.
If you position yourself as someone who thinks about the business impact of technical decisions, you move from contributor to leader.

Looking ahead, what excites you most about the next phase of your journey?
I’m excited about building infrastructure that connects AI, Web3 and scalable consumer systems.
We’re entering an era where decentralised systems and intelligent automation will merge. The engineers who can bridge those worlds will define the next generation of global platforms.
For me, the goal remains the same: build from zero, design for scale and create systems that outlast trends.
Being based in Lagos while contributing to global innovation proves something important — excellence is not geographical. It’s architectural.
And if we continue investing in our talent ecosystem, the next wave of global tech giants may very well have their engines designed from right here.