Outside Lagos: How Sam Aiyesoro Is Building a Multi-Vertical Tech Company in Nigeria

By Chikezie Nnmadi

In Nigeria’s fast-growing tech ecosystem, the centers of gravity are often predictable: Lagos, Yaba, and, increasingly, Abuja, yet,outside these well-known hubs, a quieter wave of founders is shaping digital infrastructure on a different scale — more localized, less capital-intensive, but no less impactful.

Among them is Sam Aiyesoro, the founder of Wiseki, a multi-vertical tech company headquartered outside Nigeria’s main startup corridors.

Wiseki functions more like a holding company than a traditional startup. It encompasses several digital ventures built to solve specific problems in Nigerian markets: Plug.ng, a digital bill payment services platform; Sekiapp, a digital asset trading platform with recent Web3 integrations; MyNig Homes, a tech-enabled real estate platform; Sekidev, a software development firm; Shades of Sam, a relatable YouTube show on education, entertainment and lifestyle, and GistLoop, a blog delivering daily news, trends, and engaging conversations

The company’s most notable recognition came recently when Sekiapp was awarded Web3 Company of the Year at Ibadan Tech Expo which was held in September 2024, positioning it among the few Nigerian startups publicly acknowledged for integrating blockchain or decentralized tech into their offerings. While the exact criteria for the award were not made public, the recognition points to increasing interest in the application of decentralized technology in African contexts; particularly in sectors like payments, identity management, and microtransactions.

Aiyesoro’s trajectory into tech entrepreneurship has been non-linear. He began experimenting with small-scale e-commerce in Ondo State while he was in school . What started as a localised gadget store eventually evolved into ShopNig, a now-absorbed venture that helped lay the foundation for Wiseki.

While not a household name in Nigerian tech, Aiyesoro has received some recognition. He was nominated for the Oyo State PaceSetter Awards in 2022 and included in the Oyo State 100 Most Influential Young Persons list in 2021. He also received an Award of Excellence from the Oyo State government.

Wiseki’s model is diversified.
Plug.ng offers users access to on-demand digital bill payment services. Sekiapp, its most high-profile product, is positioned as a digital exchange trading platform that recently began experimenting with decentralized features, including wallet integration and token-based task management.

MyNig Homes focuses on the real estate market, aiming to simplify housing searches, rental management, and listings through a mobile-first approach. Meanwhile, Sekidev functions as the in-house development agency, building and maintaining the digital infrastructure for Wiseki and its external clients. Sam also hosts Shades of Sam, a relatable YouTube show on education, entertainment and lifestyle and GistLoop, a blog delivering daily news, trends, and engaging conversations.

This multi-platform approach isn’t new in Nigeria, larger companies like Flutterwave and Paystack also operate across verticals but Wiseki’s expansion into real estate, freelance services, and lifestyle tech is relatively unusual for a startup not yet tied to significant external investment.

Wiseki’s headquarters is based in Ibadan, a city outside Nigeria’s tech mainstream. Operating from a secondary city presents logistical challenges; infrastructure, connectivity, and talent pool limitations but also offers certain advantages, such as lower operational costs and closer proximity to under-served markets.

The startup’s decentralized operating model mirrors broader shifts in the African tech landscape, where founders increasingly seek to bypass Lagos’s cost structure and congestion in favor of leaner, distributed teams.

Still, operating outside the capital has consequences. Media coverage is limited, and access to venture capital is more difficult. While Wiseki’s platforms have gained traction among regional users, their national visibility remains modest.

Sekiapp’s recognition as Web3 Company of the Year is notable, but it comes amid a complicated adoption landscape for decentralized technologies in Africa. While blockchain and Web3 solutions have gained momentum in fintech circles, broad user adoption remains limited by regulatory ambiguity, infrastructural gaps, and digital literacy.

For a platform like Sekiapp to gain credibility in this space suggests some degree of experimentation, if not yet widespread user traction. Whether this translates into long-term adoption remains to be seen.

In interviews and public statements, Aiyesoro has expressed an interest in building sustainable, user-oriented products that prioritize utility over virality. That approach may account for Wiseki’s relatively low media footprint despite managing four active brands.

The tech space in Nigeria remains competitive and often skewed toward startups with investor backing, press relationships, or global expansion strategies. For companies like Wiseki, growth depends more on product retention and market fit than media presence.

It’s unclear what the long-term strategy is for Wiseki or its portfolio. The company has not announced any funding rounds, partnerships, or expansion outside Nigeria, and its digital footprint remains largely national. Still, its sustained focus on practical applications rather than speculative scaling distinguishes it from many of its peers.

In the absence of traditional startup hype, founders like Sam Aiyesoro are quietly building digital systems that reflect lived realities rather than aspirational ones. Whether that model can scale remains an open question. But in a tech ecosystem often shaped by narratives from the center, Wiseki’s story suggests there’s room—and need—for different models of innovation.