Tech Money Or Scam Money! Which Has More Money
One of the hottest topics in the Nigeria social media space, is the direct confrontation between Tech Bros and the internet scam mercenaries, commonly known as Yahoo Boys, G-Boys or Working Boys.
The earlier success of Interswitch in money transfer changed the game for the tech industry in the country and the Nigerian youths have not looked back since 2002. But no matter how rich a tech bro is, party rockers will still talk about one G-boy that is disrespecting the US dollars.
This endless debate thus begs the question, which is more profitable between Scam and Tech?
Scam Money
It is no longer news that Nigerian youths love and adore Yahoo boys. Some ladies won’t even look at you twice, if you are not into fraud, because you might not be able to afford their lifestyle. But how rich are these guys?
Investor B-Jay: Investor B-Jay is one of the most celebrated Yahoo boy in the country. The party rocker constantly shuffle between Nigeria and Kuala- Lumpur in Malaysia. Word on the street claims Investor BJay is worth almost $75 million.
Badoo Osha: Badoo Osha became an internet sensation when the Alapomeji crooner, 9ice praised him in his song ‘Living things.’ Since then, he’s been shutting down clubs, events and resorts on a steady. Osha is said to be worth around $80 million.
Woodberry: Woodberry was an Instagram sensation between 2018-2020. The flamboyant party rocker was considered one of the biggest boys in the country at a time. Upon his arrest by Interpol, Woodberry was said to be worth around $200 million.
Ray Hushpuppi: Hushpuppi is a household name in the world. He has a hand in virtually every major scam operations in Dubai, scammed companies in America, Nigeria, the UK and other parts of North America. The ‘Gucci Master’ is so popular, he has been spotted with virtually every celebrity in the world, including politicians and even clerics. Upon his arrest by Interpol, Hush was said to be worth around $500 million.
Tech Money
Gbenga Agboola:
After the era of e-commerce, payments became the in thing, and Paystack, founded by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, has been one of the superstar companies, growing year-on-year in revenue and user base and processing over $20 million monthly. His company Flutterwave is worth more than $1 Billion.
Sim Shagaya: In 2014, Sim Shagaya was named one of Forbes’s most powerful men in Africa. Over the years, he has established himself as a father figure to many Nigerian tech entrepreneurs, having successfully founded prominent e-commerce companies like DealDey and Konga.com, where he is currently chairman, and digital advertising company, E-motion. Konga alone is worth about $2billion.
Tayo Oviosu: The story of Tayo and Paga is one of the biggest positives in Nigerian tech. Currently servicing over 11 million users and generating millions of dollars in recurring revenue, Tayo’s company has defied the odds and succeeded where many others have struggled and failed. Paga has processed over $8 billion and worth over $ 1 billion in valuation.
Mitchell Elegbe: Mitchell Elegbe heads Nigeria’s biggest and, perhaps, most important payment company, Interswitch, founded in 2002 long before the age of tech startups and the craze surrounding them. Interswitch was founded and grew during a time when there was almost no infrastructure or technology to support electronic payment in Nigeria. Interswitch is currently worth around $26 billion.
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