TIME Names Moniepoint CTO Felix Ike Among 50 Global Executives of the Year
By Aboki Forex —
TIME magazine has named Felix Ike, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Nigerian fintech Moniepoint, to its inaugural Executives of the Year: Tech and Data list. Ike is the only executive representing an African company among the 50 leaders selected for the 2026 list.
The list, unveiled on Tuesday, September 22, recognises chief information officers, chief technology officers, chief data officers and chief product officers whose decisions are shaping how major organisations deploy technology and use data. Moniepoint is also the only African company represented on the inaugural list.
On a list with Netflix, OpenAI and Shopify
Ike was named alongside executives from Netflix, CrowdStrike, Dell, Duolingo, AT&T, OpenAI, Anthropic, Shopify and Reddit, among others. In its citation, TIME said Ike "has helped to establish the business as one of Africa's leading financial platforms."
The recognition follows Moniepoint's inclusion in TIME's 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential Companies, giving the Lagos-founded fintech another global distinction.
A first-class Computer Science graduate of the University of Lagos, Ike co-founded Moniepoint with Tosin Eniolorunda in 2015. As CTO, he has overseen the development of the technology infrastructure powering the company's financial services for businesses and individuals. Moniepoint has since evolved from providing back-end payment infrastructure to banks into a broader business banking and financial services platform.
Unicorn status and eight in 10 payments
The company attained unicorn status in 2024 and says it now powers about eight in every 10 in-person digital payment transactions in Nigeria. It says it currently serves more than 10 million businesses and individuals in Nigeria and other markets.
Moniepoint has appeared for three consecutive years on the Financial Times' ranking of Africa's Fastest-Growing Companies and has featured on CNBC's World's Top Fintech Companies list.
TIME Executive Editor and Chief Strategy Officer Dan Macsai said the new Executives of the Year franchise was created to spotlight executives responsible for adopting emerging technologies, protecting systems and putting corporate data to productive use.
"Technology built in Nigeria"
Reacting to the honour, Ike said the recognition demonstrated the growing global relevance of technology built in Nigeria and Africa. "This is a deeply significant honour, and one I do not take lightly. But beyond what it means personally, it says something bigger," he said.
He added that Nigerian engineering built to address local and African challenges could now compete on the same global stage as technology developed in established markets such as Silicon Valley. Ike said Moniepoint would continue building resilient systems for the millions of businesses and individuals relying on its services.
Moniepoint founder and Group CEO Tosin Eniolorunda described the recognition as a major moment for the company and Nigeria's technology ecosystem. "Felix has contributed significantly to building infrastructure that now carries the weight of millions of livelihoods, and to see that acknowledged on a global stage is a proud moment," Eniolorunda said. He added that the recognition reflected the growing profile of Nigerian technology internationally.
Separately, Moniepoint has announced it is winding down MonieWorld, its remittance product built for UK-based Nigerians, citing a strategic decision to concentrate capital and attention on its core African markets. The company confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday, saying the Group had completed a thorough review of its portfolio and long-term priorities before reaching the decision.