Ayodeji (Ayo) Popoola

Most of my work is in markets where the infrastructure is still being written.

It sits at the intersection of retail, fintech, and distribution. I have spent the last several years close to the ground in these spaces, working across startups, venture studios, and a top-tier financial institution with operations across Africa and beyond. I care about practical execution and building things that actually work at the last mile.

I was born in Nigeria and live in Toronto. I trained as a geophysicist, applying physics to understand what lies beneath the earth. Along the way I stumbled on Petrel, software that reads seismic data to pinpoint oil reserves, and fell in love with it. That is how I ended up building software.

I have worked across finance, insurance, clean energy, mobility, and retail. My definition of a great product, so far: simplicity plus taste, working well for every one of its users.

I travel a lot, for the people, the cultures, the food, and of course the sights. I speak three languages. I used to play three sports; now it is only lawn tennis, partly because a Copenhagen study credits it with nearly ten extra years of life.

I am a huge fan of music as a concept, and genre agnostic: J. Cole for depth (Love Yourz), Dlala Thukzin, weirdly great for focused work beyond the rave (Sohlala Sisonke), Asake for motivation (Gratitude), Tems because she is Tems (Burning), Jacob Banks for reminiscing (Slow Up), the great orchestral composers, and yes, nobody touches Michael Jackson, ever (Bad).

I have an endless interest in the arts, from image to voice to expression in every form, including writing, which I need to publish more of. I write occasionally on Substack. I am working on it.