Young Nigerian tech founder Fara Ashiru Jituboh, who co-founded and previously served as CEO/CTO of the fintech company Okra, has departed the startup only a few months after it introduced its internal cloud solution, Nebula.
Jituboh’s LinkedIn profile shows she exited Okra in May 2025 and took on the role of Head of Engineering at the UK-based startup Kernel.
Analysts have attributed Okra’s shutdown to various challenges, including a competitive and regulatory environment, economic volatility, and rising cloud infrastructure costs.
Despite securing over $16.5 million in funding and achieving significant milestones, such as integrating with major Nigerian banks and platforms, the company, perhaps, struggled to maintain relevance.
Okra (2019 – 2025)
Okra, operating from Lagos and founded in January 2020 by Fara Ashiru Jituboh and David Peterside, provided open finance API infrastructure. Its technology allowed apps to easily access financial data and process payments by linking to banks and financial institutions throughout Africa.
Okra served more than 400 business clients, ranging from fintechs and banks to insurers and end users, and maintained an active presence in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa via beta operations.
Achievement and Appreciation
Jituboh shared that the company chose to shut down in May.
The company made the decision to wind down operations in May. It was an incredible journey; we built impactful technology, worked with some of the biggest brands across the continent, and helped pioneer open banking in Africa. I’m proud to have worked alongside some of the smartest and most talented people, and I’m deeply grateful for the community, customers, investors, and team who supported us over the past five years.
Before launching Okra, Jituboh gained professional experience at global firms like Canva, BMW, and JP Morgan. Her decision to return to Nigeria and start the company stemmed from personal frustration with the inability of fintech apps she relied on to sync with Nigerian banking systems.
Jituboh’s Leadership Prowess at Okra
During her tenure, Okra secured integrations with top Nigerian banks and digital platforms such as Renmoney, Branch, Bamboo, and AIICO Insurance. API usage surged by 175% in the early part of 2020, and by its 2021 seed funding round, the company was planning to scale across Africa. Okra also played a foundational role in building open-finance systems that empowered developers to craft modern, digital-first financial tools.
How tech talents can resist job loss
Fara’s seemingly simple transition story illustrates how tech talents can resist job loss in the tech industry. And, serves as a bases to discuss what talents can do, must do to beat the chances of a layoff or job loss.
Upskilling and Reskilling
At Techparley, we cannot overemphasize the place of Upskilling and Reskilling. It is important for talents to focus on acquiring in-demand skills like AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.
Why? Because these skills are highly sought after by employers and can make talents more versatile and valuable. Being currently employed doesn’t end learning as one can utilize online courses, certifications, or workshops to enhance one’s skill set and stay up-to-date with industry trends.
Diversifying Job Opportunities
Also, it is equally important to Diversifying Job Opportunities. In today’s world, a talent should explore job opportunities beyond his current employer or industry all together.
Startups, non-tech companies with tech needs, and solo ventures can provide fertile ground for employment. In this light, a talent may consider freelancing or consulting to gain diverse experience and build a professional network.
Building a Personal Brand
Beyond skilling and diversifying, it is also imperative that a talent no matter the level in one’s career should invest in Building a Personal Brand.
This is professionally done by establishing a strong online presence, including a professional LinkedIn profile and personal website or blog.
At Techparley, we strongly recommend for every talent to showcase their skills and experience through projects, contributions to open-source software, or thought leadership pieces.
Networking and Community Engagement
Staying relevant is beyond doing the job within the office block or the remote framework. Talents should cut out time to attend industry events, conferences, and meetups to connect with peers and potential employers.
A talent is expected to participate in online communities, forums, and social media groups related to their field because building relationships and staying visible can help you stay ahead of the curve and potentially lead to new opportunities, just like the Fara’s story.
Adaptability and Flexibility
In a world full of obsessively rigid employees, a talent needs to be different. It is big job blunder to be rigid in the new era. Hence, a talent should be open to new opportunities, roles, or industries.
Sometimes, a career pivot can lead to new and exciting challenges. When a talent demonstrates adaptability and a willingness to learn and grow with their organization, they grow and get easily noticed.
Career Development and Growth
Too many people forget themselves after an employment. This is a fundamental error. Like it is said: No man knows tomorrow. What is right is to prioritize career growth and development.
A talent should seek out opportunities for mentorship, training, and advancement by focusing on building a strong foundation in your current role, and be prepared to make strategic moves when opportunities arise.
