UK-Based Nigerian Founder Building Technology to Transform the Job Application Process

For millions of people around the world, applying for jobs has become an exhausting and repetitive process. Candidates often spend hours filling the same information across multiple job platforms, rewriting cover letters and navigating fragmented recruitment systems that were never designed for efficiency. Despite advances in digital technology across many industries, recruitment workflows remain largely manual and time consuming.

For Nigerian entrepreneur Olasunkanmi Lawal, now based in the United Kingdom, this inefficiency revealed a deeper structural challenge within modern recruitment infrastructure. Rather than seeing the problem as a personal inconvenience, Lawal began examining how technology could fundamentally improve the way job applications are handled.

Lawal is the cofounder of UseHirable, a technology platform being developed to automate parts of the job application workflow and improve how candidates and organisations connect. He conceived the idea after experiencing first-hand how repetitive and fragmented the job application process had become, and now leads the product vision behind the platform.

“Many job seekers spend an enormous amount of time repeating the same tasks across different platforms,” Lawal explained. “From filling identical forms to rewriting information already contained in their CVs, the process is unnecessarily complex. I began asking how better digital infrastructure and automation could simplify that experience.”

UseHirable is being developed as a recruitment automation platform designed to reduce repetitive application steps while helping candidates identify opportunities that better match their skills and goals. By introducing automation into parts of the recruitment workflow, the platform aims to reduce friction for both job seekers and organisations.

Beyond simplifying job applications, the platform also focuses on improving access to meaningful opportunities for people early in their careers. Many graduates and young professionals struggle to gain practical experience because they cannot easily find organisations willing to allow them to contribute their skills.

Lawal believes technology can play a critical role in addressing this gap by creating systems that connect organisations with motivated early career professionals who are eager to contribute and learn.

“Many organisations need support across areas such as marketing, research, operations and digital work,” he said. “At the same time, many early career professionals are eager to gain experience but struggle to find entry points. Technology can help bridge that gap.”

The platform is currently in its early development stage, with an initial group of users already testing parts of the system. Over the coming weeks, the team plans to begin designing a dedicated recruiter portal that will allow organisations to post opportunities and collaborate more effectively with early career talent.

Lawal says the development process will involve working closely with organisations across multiple sectors including charities, startups, social enterprises and small businesses to ensure the platform reflects the real needs of employers.

“We want to build the recruiter portal with direct input from organisations that will actually use it,” he explained. “Their feedback will help us design a system that works for both organisations and candidates.”

The development of UseHirable has also been supported by participation in startup and innovation programmes that provide mentorship, product development support and access to technology resources. Through these initiatives, Lawal and his team have been able to refine the platform’s early architecture while preparing it for broader testing with users and organisations.

Lawal’s work reflects a broader trend of African entrepreneurs building technology solutions within global innovation ecosystems. As more founders from the continent participate in international technology communities, they are increasingly applying their perspectives to solve problems that affect people worldwide.

For Lawal, the long term ambition is to build digital infrastructure that simplifies recruitment workflows while making career opportunities more accessible to people entering the workforce.

“The recruitment system has not evolved as quickly as the rest of the digital economy,” he said. “Our goal is to build technology that removes unnecessary friction and creates better pathways for people to gain experience and move forward in their careers.”

As UseHirable continues its development, the platform represents another example of Nigerian founders contributing to the global technology landscape through innovation aimed at solving everyday challenges.