A simple challenge within a church community has evolved into one of Nigeria’s emerging technology platforms, demonstrating how everyday problems can inspire solutions with broader commercial potential.
In an exclusive interview with TECHORIJIN, RIDIM Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Mayowa, shared the story behind the platform, the obstacles of building a startup in Nigeria’s challenging economic environment, and his ambition to make RIDIM a household name across Africa.
Although many startup founders describe themselves as lifelong entrepreneurs, Mayowa’s journey followed a different path. “I was not an entrepreneur. But my mom was an entrepreneur; she owns a beauty salon,” he said.
According to him, the idea that would eventually become RIDIM was born while serving in his church. He had been assigned the responsibility of distributing mobile data to members but found the existing process inefficient because it required manually collecting recipients’ information.
“The idea behind Ridim came to me when I was being tasked with sending data to our church group, but I didn’t want to collect all this information. I just needed a way for people to get this data without having to collect their information manually. Honestly, I checked and could not see any platform that does this at all.
“So I built Ridim, and now it does more than just airtime/data disbursement. https://www.ridim.com.ng/
Despite the platform’s growth, Mayowa says he remains actively involved in the same church activities that inspired the idea when he was asked if he still goes to the church; “Of course, I am still actively engaged in church activities.”
RIDIM officially launched on March 6, 2026, making it only four months old at the time of the interview. While the original concept focused on frictionless airtime and data distribution, Mayowa explained that the platform has evolved significantly through continuous refinement.
“We had to add layers of value that are tied to the original idea behind Ridim. I was puzzled, but with the help of advice from mentors, we were able to move at a very good pace.”
Today, RIDIM has grown beyond its initial use case into a digital platform that combines payments, event management, gaming, payroll services, rewards, and instant digital gifting.
Its offerings include event ticketing with split payment options, a ‘Pay For Me’ crowdfunding feature, an AI-powered X (formerly Twitter) giveaway bot that automatically selects winners and distributes rewards, live trivia and puzzle games, transparent raffle draws, business payroll solutions, digital vouchers, cashback tools for brands, and instant airtime, data and cash transfers that do not require recipients to register before receiving funds.
Like many early stage African startups, however, RIDIM’s biggest challenge has not been building the technology itself but scaling its reach.
“Because I know what it takes to build, having someone to commit with the way the economic situation of the country will be challenging.”
He added that while product development came naturally, attracting committed team members and achieving widespread adoption has proven far more difficult.
“We did face a couple of challenges with registrations, having to get new team members to commit on the basis of stipend.
Because building was never the problem. It is distribution. Also, most of our challenges boil down to the lack of sufficient funding.”
Building the company has also required significant personal sacrifice.
“I have sacrificed my time. I had to sacrifice over 80% of my income to pay stipends, registrations, free demo. At some point we had to hire people to get some level of excellence, and I also had to pay their salary. I barely sleep because I have to work and then build Ridim alongside.”
Beyond financial constraints, Mayowa admitted that his biggest personal hurdle was transitioning from a technical mindset into leadership and business development.
“I have always been a technical person. I do not have much social skills as well as marketing skills.
That set me back for some time before having to start getting the grasp of how these things work.”
His approach to adversity, however, reflects the resilience required of many startup founders navigating uncertain markets.
Speaking on pressure, criticism and setbacks, he said: “Pressure, I have been under pressure most time of my life in my career, family, so I have found a way to work with pressure without being burned out. Also, pressure either brings the best or the worst, and I always make sure to give my best each time pressure presents itself.
“Criticism is very important because it helps you see where you need to work on, so I take criticism fairly serious and I work on them almost instantly.
Difficult moments are but for a specific time; they are not there to stay.”
Looking ahead, Mayowa’s ambition extends beyond Nigeria. As he sai; “That Ridim becomes a household name nationwide and with high hopes across Africa.”
To achieve that vision, the startup is actively seeking external investment while focusing on expanding its user base. As he said, “We are actively looking for investors. While looking, we are trying to get as much traction as possible.”
RIDIM enters Nigeria’s competitive technology ecosystem at a time when startups are increasingly building solutions tailored to local needs while pursuing regional expansion. Its blend of payments, event technology, engagement tools and business services reflects a growing trend toward integrated digital platforms that solve multiple everyday challenges within a single ecosystem.
For Mayowa, however, the company’s journey remains rooted in the simple problem that sparked its creation a reminder that some of the most impactful innovations begin by solving an ordinary challenge.
As the interview concluded, Mayowa expressed appreciation to TECHORIJIN for highlighting the company’s story. “Thank you so much. We really do appreciate it.”
