Veteran African tech entrepreneur and investor, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, has issued a powerful challenge to African talent, urging them to abandon the pursuit of “quick wins” and instead commit their energy to building globally competitive ventures. Aboyeji, a co-founder of major African success stories like Andela and Flutterwave, framed the decision as a fundamental choice: spending the same amount of time and energy on a small local idea versus a big idea that can achieve global scale.
In a recent commentary, Aboyeji shared the central tenet of his decade-long experience building companies from the continent: “The biggest lesson I’ve learned building for the world from Africa over the last decade is that it takes the same amount of time and energy to build small things as it does to build big ideas that can scale globally.”
He acknowledged the systemic difficulties African founders face, noting, “You aren’t automatically disqualified just because we are African (even though it’s much harder).” However, he stressed that the common thread across all ventures—local or global—is the necessity of “long nights, crazy obstacles, solve impossible challenges and power through lots of uncertainty.” Since the effort remains constant, he argued, the reward should be maximized.
“Many of us choose the easy path, the soft life, the quick win that is within reach,” Aboyeji stated, “even though it ultimately still demands as much time, hustle and energy from us as becoming world class.” He emphasized that building for the world, while undeniably difficult and uncomfortable, “guarantees you will earn an outsized reward for your hard labor.”
This philosophy underpins his latest venture, Learn2Earn.ng, which is designed to identify and cultivate world-class technology talent from Africa. The program is intentionally rigorous, embodying the belief that a “comfort mindset” cannot deliver global results.
The Learn2Earn journey is structured as a demanding three-stage process:
- The Game: A 90-minute assessment testing cognitive ability and thinking style.
- The Piscine: A one-month immersive phase designed to test a candidate’s capacity to learn.
- The Journey: A culminating two-year program to test the ultimate limits of their potential.
“None of it is easy. And that’s intentional,” Aboyeji said, explaining that the objective is to instill a “craft mindset” that views every challenge as a crucial chance for growth.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a generation of young people who no longer passively await opportunity. “The people who make it through Learn2Earn aren’t just learning how to code or earn money,” he noted. “They’re learning how to own their future, to take responsibility for their outcomes, their learning, and their success.”
Aboyeji invoked the spirit of self-determination that founded some of Africa’s most notable tech companies. “Every major story of progress from Andela to Flutterwave to Moove to Future Africa, and so on, started with people who decided that if the infrastructure doesn’t exist, they’ll build it. If the opportunity doesn’t appear, they’ll create it.”
Through Learn2Earn.ng, Aboyeji asserts he is “building a system that makes ambition practical” and proves that African talent requires scaling, not saving. He encouraged potential candidates and investors to visit Learn2Earn.ng, challenging them to “choose your hard.”
