Fara Ashiru Jituboh is a Co-Founder and CEO / CTO of Okra, Inc — focused on building the infrastructure to allow Africans connect their bank accounts to 3rd party applications to enable the acceleration of financial innovation in Africa through data.
Fara Ashiru Jituboh is a software engineer and entrepreneur with over 10 years of scaling products in more than 20 programming languages. She is the Co-founder of Okra and works in the capacity of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Okra is a Nigerian-based fintech startup that empowers companies and developers to build products with seamless access to inclusive financial data and secure payments. Since its launch in January 2020, the startup has been in the business of integrating developers and businesses into existing banking services and takes commissions off subsequent transactions. In April, it raised $3.5 million led by Susa Ventures. In total, it has raised $4.5 million in two rounds.
Fara’s passion for Okra was fueled by the need to provide solutions to everyday challenges. Born in Nigeria with successive years in the United States, Fara decided to make a difference in her home country following some setbacks experienced in the US. While she used fintech products in the U.S to manage her finances, she realised on getting to Nigeria that the applications were not linked to Nigerian banks. This was when the idea for Okra started and in 2019, she started the company with David Peterside.
Fara Ashiru’s completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
With expertise in over 20 programming languages, Fara has worked with top businesses and tech-focused firms including Canva, TechHustle, Sana Benefits, and Dorsata. She started her professional career with BMW, leading the effort in the design and creation of the interactive map for the BMW Museum. She has also worked with JP Morgan Chase, Fidelity Investments and Daimler Mercedes Benz.
Fara also served as a Co-Founder and CTI of Shixels Studios, where she led the design and development of core technology for multiple clients including Airtel, AXA Mansard, RenMoney, MTech, Sanofi Pharmaceuticals and Nestoil.
With Okra, Fara and her team are building an open finance infrastructure that enables access to digital-first experiences and financial products.