Draft:Idorenyin Obong
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Last edited by Citation bot (talk | contribs) 2 months ago. (Update) |
Idorenyin Obong | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 10, 1997 |
| Alma mater | University of Cross River |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Advancing cross border payment technology in Africa |
| Title | Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Grey (company) |
Idorenyin Obong (born October 1997)[1] is a Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur within the foreign exchange and financial technology sector. He is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grey, a Y Combinator backed fintech company that simplifies international payments for remote workers and freelancers across Africa.
In 2021, Idorenyin co-founded Grey, formerly known as Aboki Africa, alongside Femi Aghedo. The inspiration for Grey stemmed from Idorenyin's personal challenges in converting U.S. dollar payments while working remotely for international companies.[2] His startup experienced a turning point when it joined Y Combinator in 2022 and raising $2 million in seed funding, expanding its services to over 1 million users by August 2024 and extending its operations beyond Africa into Latin America and Southeast Asia.[3]
Early life
[edit]Idorenyin attended the University of Cross River State in Nigeria, where he secured his a bachelor degree in Computer Science. In a November 2024 interview with Forbes Africa, he spoke about his journey, early life as a freelancer and becoming a fintech entrepreneur.[4]
Career
[edit]Idorenyin Obong began his career as a software engineer, working with fintech companies in Africa. He joined Paystack as an Android engineer, where he played a role in the company’s growth before its acquisition by Stripe in 2020.[5] After Paystack, he worked at Yellow Card Financial.
Prior to becoming the CEO of Grey, Idorenyin Obong was an active author and blogger. He contributed technical articles to platforms such as LogRocket Blog. He covered topics like improving Node.js performance and utilizing CSS variables.[6] His writing on Medium focuses on Android development.[7] His writing also extended to the Auth0 blog, where he discussed subjects including building GraphQL APIs with Kotlin and managing state in React applications using MobX. [8]
In 2021, Obong co-founded Grey, originally known as Aboki Africa, alongside Femi Aghedo. The idea for Grey stemmed from his personal experience as a remote software engineer receiving international payments. He encountered difficulties in converting foreign currencies efficiently and realized that many freelancers and remote workers in Africa faced similar challenges.[9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Idorenyin Obong OBONG personal appointments". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-02-22.
- ^ Cousins, James (2024-12-10). "TechTalks with TFN: Idorenyin Obong – from hustling solo to fintech hero". Tech Funding News. Retrieved 2025-02-22.
- ^ Kene-Okafor, Tage (2022-08-29). "Nigeria's Grey nabs $2M for cross-border payments, expansion". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-02-22.
- ^ "Disrupting Fintech And Empowering Digital Nomads Worldwide". forbesafrica.com. 2024-10-23. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
- ^ Chukwu, Ngozi (2022-08-16). "Paystack Mafia: ex-employees turned founders". TechCabal. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Idorenyin Obong, Author". LogRocket Blog. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
- ^ "Idorenyin Obong". Medium. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
- ^ "Idorenyin Obong". Auth0 - Blog. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
- ^ Staff Writer (2024-08-12). "Nigerian Fintech Grey Finance Surpasses 1 Million Users, Fueled by $2 Million Seed Funding". Launch Base Africa. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
- ^ Oluwole, Victor (2024-07-03). "CEO of Grey, Idorenyin Obong shares how his company is transforming international payments for remote workers across Africa". Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 2025-02-26.