Like Niccolò Machiavelli, the renowned Florentine diplomat, philosopher, and historian, Idris Bello wears many hats, and wears them quite elegantly —in scholarship, entrepreneurship, mentorship and tech investment.
While Machiavelli is dubbed Father of Modern Politics, the Nigeria gentleman is arguably one of the pioneers of Early-Stage startup investment in Nigeria. Self-styled “Afropreneur,” Idris Bello is an international strategist, award-winning innovator, angel investor and African thought leader whose story is full of inspiration for ambitious youngsters of African descent.
From graduating with a first-class in Computer Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in 2002, to securing his first job with Procter & Gamble, and later transitioning into the entrepreneurship and investment space with funding multiple startups including some of Africa’s biggest brands such as Flutterwave; Idris Bello, like a shutout goalkeeper, has continued to keep an impressive “clean” sheet.
About 15 years ago, when Nigeria’s startup ecosystem was “venture lean” with little funds chasing startup ideas and products, Idris Bello was about the youngest investor (especially for being in his 30s) willing to place a big bet on the market. Now, 15 years later, the right question to ask is: Did he win?
Early life of Idris Bello
Raised by his parents on the campus of the Ilaro Polytechnic, Ogun State, in Southwest Nigeria; Idris, through discipline and embracing reading culture from a tender age, charted a course that would see him become a whiz-kid in nearly all the fields he ever considered. In a 2012 interview he granted Bella Naija, he narrated how his “disciplinarian librarian father” instilled reading culture as a family tradition.
“I was born in Jericho, Ibadan, about thirty-two years ago (in 2012), but my childhood was mostly spent in Ilaro, Ogun State. We lived and schooled on the campus of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, and life was very simple,” he stated. “There were very few distractions and the rule with our disciplinarian librarian father was “Never get caught without a book!” I read Chinua Achebe’s “The trouble with Nigeria” before I was ten, and Kole Omotosho’s “Just Before Dawn” about the same time. Growing up was fun,” he noted.
Education, skills, and jobs
According to Idris, his background shaped his worldview and the skills he had learnt passively and actively provided him with the necessary ingredients of success in later life.
“My parents were not rich, but we also were not poor. In addition to my four other siblings, we had several cousins living with us who had come to pursue polytechnic education. At no point in time did the dinner table have less than thirteen people during my childhood days. In May 2002, I graduated with a first-class in Computer Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. I had learnt to juggle several things and still maintain a stellar academic record. This was helpful as I went straight into employment.”
Gifted and well rounded, his journey, since leaving the Ile-Ife, has been marked with recording strides, and taking career flights to a more challenging space until he landed in the startup investment ecosystem where he has now practiced for nearly two (2) decades.
“Even before finishing at OAU, I was recruited by Procter and Gamble to become the Planning Manager of the Ibadan Plant with responsibilities for production planning, materials management, and warehouse inventory across the West African region.”
For a fresh graduate, and as it should be expected, Idris confessed that the job was challenging. “Coming straight out of school armed with just a degree and a little internship experience I had undergone in my fourth year, P&G was like being thrown into deep waters, but with the knowledge that just as you were about to drown, someone would probably step in to rescue you.
“I remember asking Adeolu Akinyemi, the Recruiting Manager at the time, what it meant to work at P&G. He said, “You will learn a new definition of Challenge!” There were long days and nights (including weekends) spent at the plant, long hours spent on the phone negotiating for raw materials from foreign suppliers, and explaining to Nigerian port officials why our clearing agents were not allowed to give ‘tips’ to get our raw materials released from the port. My time at P&G was like a mini-MBA without a curriculum, and it really built my foundation in entrepreneurship following my technical education at Ife.”
Idris Bello: Man on a mission
Idris Bello says his constant motivation is in achieving his next goals. And that, that motivation shaped his drive, and helped him concentrate on his priorities. He says: “I have been very blessed in terms of the kind of jobs I have had, and how they have moved me closer to my goals. When I choose to accept a position, money has never been at the top of my criteria.
“The bigger question for me has always been: “what value is this employment going to add to me as an individual?” “What experience is this job going to provide me that would help to move me nearer my goal?” In much the same way as the potential employer spends time interviewing me, I spend more time researching them, and interviewing them too.
“With a first class degree in computer engineering, I could have gotten a job in any Telco, or oil company in Nigeria at the time, but what was more important to me then was gaining a global exposure through my job, learning skills which were very different from what I had learned in school, and being giving responsibility from Day 1.
“When I left P&G to go abroad for my Masters, several of my friends questioned my move. I had gotten very comfortable at P&G and was doing quite well. And here was I abandoning such a position to seek out an uncertain future.”
According to the investment specialist, he had always been driven by a desire to take on new challenges. And, after achieving a set objectives, he sets his sights on a new goal.
For instance, when it was time to pick a research area during his MSc, he picked Data Analysis in Particle Physics, a space he had no prior knowledge —all to intentionally push himself beyond his comfort zone. But, like always, though tasking, it proved to be a transformative experience, going on to lay the groundwork for his future career at Chevron.
“At Chevron, I got the opportunity to do several things ranging from upstream technology to digital fields monitoring, from strategy and planning to information management. I also had the opportunity to travel widely overseeing projects across the US, Latin America, Angola, and Asia. Those experiences I believe further helped refine my thinking and decision-making process, and my management and people skills.
“It also exposed me to what it meant to do business at a global level. Hence, after six years, when I felt it was time to move on from Chevron and pursue a degree in Global Health at the University of Oxford, it was also a conscious choice. I felt I had proven myself and gained very valuable skills, and it was time to move on from individual success to making significant impact.”
Remarkable scholarship journey of Idris Bello
- First Class Honours in Computer Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.
- MSc in Computer Science & Data Mining from the University of Houston.
- MBA in Entrepreneurship & Strategy from Rice University, where he earned several awards, including the prestigious Sallyport Award (2011).
- MSc in Global Health Science from the University of Oxford, where he was the first Nigerian-American recipient of The Lord Weidenfeld Scholarship.
While at Oxford, Bello led the Oxford University Africa Society and organized the 2012 Pan-Africa Youth Leadership Conference, attracting participants from 51 countries.
The value in failing forward
Idris believes that failure is part of success. And, that real failing is in not learning from failures. “I have failed in several initiatives. But I am not frightened by failure. The perfume business I ran as an undergraduate folded up because I could not secure a reliable supply chain. I also gave up on the laptop business at a point when the market was flooded with laptops by some people who were apparently using it as a means of laundering money back to Nigeria, and did not really care to make profit.”
On what he learnt from his initial failed investments, he emphasized understanding the market —its scope and size. “There have also been instances, in which I misjudged the size of the market for my product/service. But all in all, these have been value-adding experiences that have made me into who I am currently.
“Some of the lessons I have learnt include people selection. I now pay the utmost attention when forming a team around a business idea. If I do not have oversight over a business, or cannot put someone on the management, I do not invest in it. If my stake in the business does not afford me the opportunity of having a say, I would prefer to join up with a few other folks to collectively put someone on the board to ensure we have a say.”
The founding of LoftyInc Capital
In an interview with Techsoma, Bello revealed his organic journey into angel investing. “I didn’t start with a defined plan. After working in oil & gas, supply chain, and healthcare in the U.S., I returned to Nigeria in 2010. I saw immense potential in the tech ecosystem and wanted to support entrepreneurs solving real problems.”
Idris Bello initially focused on job creation, backing innovators like Iyinoluwa Aboyeji in Fora, later in Andela, and subsequently Flutterwave. Like many trailblazers, Bello encountered significant challenges early on.
“My first investment, Hutbay, was one of the few companies attempting to build something in tech. Without accelerators or structured support, I relied on local networks to identify opportunities,” he noted.
“One of the biggest challenges I faced early on was the lack of structure in the market. I lost a lot of money in those early days, which is why I developed the ‘LBLM philosophy’—Learning By Losing Money. Each failure was a lesson that taught me what to look for in a founder and a business model.”
Later in 2010, and together with Wole Odetayo, Dami Agboola, and Michael Oluwagbemi, he co-founded LoftyInc Capital, the force and brains behind The Wennovation Hub, Nigeria’s first technology incubator that has independently accelerated numerous startups in healthcare, education, and e-commerce.
Today, LoftyInc as a venture capital firm has under its belt an impressive portfolio of over 130 companies spanning technology, healthcare, education, energy, consumer goods, NGOs, and government.
Some of these notable companies include:
EdTech:
Abwaab (Jordan): An online learning platform
AlumUnite (USA): A networking platform for alumni
Craydel (Kenya): An e-learning platform
ScholarX (Nigeria): An education financing platformFinTech:
Flutterwave (Nigeria): A payment processing company
Moove (Nigeria): A vehicle financing company
EMTECH (USA): A financial inclusion platformHealthTech:
Chefaa (Egypt): A pharmacy benefits platform
Ilara Health (Kenya): A healthcare financing platform
RxAll (Nigeria): A pharmaceutical e-commerce platform
Constantly in pursuit of excellence
Today, his expertise extends to fostering networks across five continents, connecting established and emerging African innovators and leaders.
At the core of his mission is his interest in leveraging innovation and technology to create social enterprises that uplift underserved communities.
A fluent speaker of English, Yoruba, and Arabic, he balances his time across the United States, Egypt, and Nigeria.
Notable achievements of Idris Bello
Having proved himself over the years, Bello’s work has earned him global recognition, with highlights including:
- CNN’s Top Ten African Technology Voices (2012)
- Huffington Post’s “Greatest Person of the Day” (2011)
- Fellowships from prestigious organizations like StartingBloc (2011) and the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (2010).
- Multiple awards for innovation, including the Dell Best Social Innovation Leveraging Technology
- Award (2011, 2012) and the New York Ideas
- Marketplace Top Social Enterprise Pitch Award (2011).
- Named a Dell Global Innovation Ambassador (2012) and an MIT Global Startup Fellow (2012).
- In 2012, his Wennovation hub’s initiatives earned the 2012 SAP Ashoka Global Changemaker Competition award.
- Kauffman Fellow, Class 28
- Advocacy presentations at global forums, including the British House of Lords, parliaments of Ghana and South Africa, and The Vatican.
- Serving as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the board of Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited.
During the West African Ebola epidemic, Bello emerged as a voice of reason, advocating against stigmatization.
Advice for aspiring investors
The investment chief encourages patience and market understanding. “Africa is complex but rewarding. Be ready to learn from setbacks and adopt a long-term view,” he said.
Having invested $25–30 million across 160 companies, Bello is now raising a $50 million fund to expand into Egypt, Kenya, and Francophone Africa.
