Securing Africa’s Fintech Future: Why Strong Engineering Leadership Matters Now More Than Ever

By Ugo Aliogo

Africa’s fintech ecosystem is booming, but beneath the surface of rapid innovation lies a deeper concern. As digital products multiply and investments soar, one question demands more attention than ever. Who is anchoring the technology behind the hype?

Michael Akinyemi, a senior software engineer with extensive experience across leading financial institutions like Interswitch, Union Bank, and Access Bank, believes the next phase of fintech growth in Africa will depend not on product ideas alone, but on engineering leadership.
He has built and scaled systems that handle millions of transactions, upgraded legacy architecture, and trained engineers across teams. And he is sounding the alarm. “We celebrate how fast products are launching, but we rarely talk about how stable, secure, or scalable those products actually are,” he says.
Michael’s concern is grounded in hard reality. He has seen brilliant fintech ideas falter because technical leadership was treated as an afterthought. In some cases, backend systems could not support user growth. In others, poorly managed infrastructure led to frequent outages or data exposure.
“You cannot just build for today. You need engineers who are thinking two, five, ten steps ahead,” he explains.

To him, engineering leadership is not simply about writing clean code or deploying features. It is about understanding the entire lifecycle of a product. From architecture and system design to performance optimization and incident response, strong engineering leaders make sure products can endure. “If you are managing people’s money, speed should never come at the cost of reliability,” Michael adds.
He emphasizes that many fintech teams still operate without clear technical roadmaps or governance structures. Developers are often stretched thin, shipping code under pressure, with little time for documentation, testing, or reflection. “The problem is not that our engineers lack talent. It is that they are not being empowered to lead with intention. They are chasing delivery deadlines instead of owning the systems they build.”

Michael points to culture as a key starting point. He believes startups need to foster an environment where engineers can speak up, challenge decisions, and think strategically. “Give your tech team a seat at the table. Involve them early in product discussions. Encourage them to think in terms of value, not just velocity.”

He also stresses mentorship and investment in engineering maturity. This includes building for scale, implementing strong devops practices, and creating time for system audits and documentation. “We need to stop treating technical debt as normal. Every shortcut now becomes a crisis later.”

Michael’s vision is clear. Africa’s fintech revolution will only be sustainable if the technology holding it up is built with the same care as the ideas that inspired it. “It is not enough to be disruptive. You have to be dependable,” he says. “And that only happens when engineering leadership becomes non-negotiable.”
In a digital economy where trust is everything, the silent architecture of a fintech app can make or break its legacy. Africa’s fintech future will be secured not just by innovation, but by engineers who know how to lead.