African social commerce startup, Bumpa has lost its Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Adetunji ‘TeeJay’ Opayele, after he passed away on March 5, 2025, resulting from a car accident.
Alongside co-founder Kelvin Umechukwu, Opayele played a significant role in the founding of the Nigerian-based retail automation startup where both met as students at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).
“This is honestly one of the most distressing things I’ve ever been through, and I imagine it’s the same for all of us who were close to Teejay. He wasn’t just a cofounder to me; he was my friend, my brother, my fight partner, and a brilliant engineer. Teejay was family to me, and this is honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with in life,” Umechukwu reacted.
The CTO’s death is a huge blow to the four-year-old startup where he led its technology efforts. In honour of his legacy, the startup has decided to build an AI assistant named Teejay which will always be on Bumpa, providing business insights and solving problems just like he did.
“Though his presence will be missed, we commit to keeping Teejay’s legacy alive by ensuring that the Bumpa app is fully functional and we continue to meet your business needs with it,” Umechukwu said in an email to customers on Wednesday.
Opeyemi Awoyemi, Partner at Fast-Forward Fund, a Bumpa investor, also reacted by describing Opayele as a committed, resourceful, and energetic individual.
“Tunji loved life and lived it to the fullest. We had the privilege of working closely with him from day 0 at Bumpa, and his tenacity always stood out. He was deeply committed to his vision, yet he also had a curiosity for life beyond work—always exploring new ideas and passions. His energy and determination were truly inspiring, and he will be deeply missed,” he expressed.
Before his work with Bumpa, Opayele had gathered a couple of experiences. He had an extensive career in software development, holding roles in both Nigeria and the United States, including positions with Nigerian financial services provider E-Settlement and web hosting company HostCabal, which he founded.
Similar Read: Nigerian e-commerce startup, Bumpa closes $200k pre-seed round to improve support for merchants.
Bumpa thrived under Opayele
In 2022, the startup raised $4 million in a seed funding round which it utilized to execute its mission goal of helping underserved SMEs efficiently manage their business.
The round was led by automation-focused VC, Base10 Partners. It saw participation from Plug & Play Ventures commerce fund, SHL Capital, Jedar Capital, Magic Fund, DFS Labs, FirstCheck Africa Angel Program, E62 Ventures, Club14, and Fast Forward Ventures (led the last pre-seed round).
Also in 2022, it secured a partnership with Meta thereby allowing merchants to manage their direct messages (DMs) from Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp directly on Bumpa without having to go to any of the Meta platforms. This stood as one of the most important features giving it a significant edge in the social commerce ecosystem as it bridged the gap between social media and digital commerce for online sellers.
In September 2021, Bumpa raised $200k in pre-seed funding as well as a $50k grant from the Google Black Founders Fund a few months after the round. This funding at that time was focused on staff expansion and the introduction of new features.
The startup likewise acquired Fyne, a beauty marketplace, in 2023. The company noted then that the move will facilitate its entry into new markets. Fast forward to two years later, Bumpa acquired PaperCloud.
Currently, Bumpa employs 40 individuals and has processed over 160 billion for the 60,000 onboarded SMEs.
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