How Akinsola Jegede is providing seamless CrossBorder payment Solutions

Akinsola Jegede remembers a childhood scheme that foreshadowed a career in finance. He stood on his street in Ibadan, Nigeria, observed neighbours walk to buy biscuits, and decided to bulk‑buy at a discount to sell door‑to‑door.

That first venture taught a lesson in value capture. “From a young age, I’ve always acted on what I believed in, with confidence or not,” he says. Formal schooling followed at Oritamefa Baptist Model School, Ibadan, for primary education and Mayflower School, Ogun, as a commercial student for secondary education.

He studied Accounting and Finance at Ajayi Crowther University. A six‑month stint in Indiana at Ivy Tech Community College added software development to his toolkit. He also “went on to qualify as a Chartered Accountant through ICAN.”

“Throughout my education, I was always intrigued by the financial systems of the world—how money evolved from barter to fiat to crypto, and how these systems impact cross-border trade. I’ve long believed that the way currency exchange works is fundamentally unfair to everyday trade participants, who lose far too much value in the process,” Akinsola notes.

A particular moment during his virtual consulting business, which he launched in 2013, cemented his vision. Clients entrusted him with products worth millions of naira without ever meeting him. He sold those goods, wired the proceeds back, and earned contracts that made household names of their brands.

“We transacted over ₦10 million,” he recalls, before any face‑to‑face meeting. “They extended my contract nationwide, and their products later became household names in Nigeria.”

That proof of trust drove him to question currency exchange fairness. He could not ignore flawed cross‑border systems that cost ordinary traders too much.

He taught himself to code in 2012, “so I can build applications that make life easier for everyday people.” That skill earned him a role as a Salesforce Technical Consultant. He has built enterprise solutions for banks and energy firms. Each project reinforced a core belief that vision matters more than confidence.

“These experiences taught me that you don’t need full confidence to begin; you just need a vision and the will to start where you are,” Akinsola Jegede says. That maxim underpins VitalSwap’s mission to simplify payments for African professionals.

Akinsola Jegede’s vision for inclusion

Akinsola’s turning point arrived on a trip to the United States. He needed dollars for travel expenses and discovered how banks apply steep mark‑ups.

“I tried to send $20,000 for an opportunity in Nigeria. Despite having a legitimate source of this income and clear intentions, moving my own money internationally was difficult. I ended up losing about $5,000 from the money and missed out on the opportunity.”

A cousin, a Nigerian doctor, reached out to him repeatedly to pay exam fees abroad.

“He had the money, the ambition, but the system was the obstacle. He couldn’t access dollars easily, and the platforms available to him were either unreliable, black-market-driven, or riddled with delays and insane markups,” Akinsola explains. That frustration became VitalSwap’s spark.

We’re not just facing a payment problem, we’re facing a systemic problem…[We need] A system that treats professionals and businesses with dignity as they access global opportunities. – Akinsola Jegede

The VitalSwap difference

“At VitalSwap, we’ve rebuilt the value chain to remove middlemen to provide better rates by directly connecting users with liquidity providers and customers who have real-time demand for FX at market rate prices,” Akinsola Jegede says.

So, you are looking at a virtual dollar debit card that boasts 2%–40% better USD to NGN rates than competitors.

Jegede claims that VitalSwap solves the problems of “USD scarcity, regulatory friction, and payment barriers due to de-risking by global platforms,” by building rails that are compliant first but designed for hard-working professionals and businesses who need reliability, not red tape. 

VitalSwap has secured $260,000 from angel investors, Elevate Ventures, and the BeNimble Foundation and Jegede wants to take a bold leap forward.

“We’re eliminating the need for platforms like Stripe and PayPal for Africa-bound businesses.”

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Early obstacles refined his leadership style. He recalls a day in New Jersey when a ticket agent refused a $5 loan to reschedule his bus ticket. A stranger in line paid the difference.

That act of kindness “shaped me into how I lead my team at VitalSwap. We build and respond with empathy to our customers. We treat each other in the organisation with empathy. The only people we show zero empathy for are the fraudsters who try to exploit what we’re building for the community,” Jegede says.

Financial inclusion fuels his passion. He says he noticed how a lack of dollar access has left many without hope. VitalSwap bridges that gap. It offers tools for subscription payments, course fees, farming equipment, or creative software.

There is more to come…

Jegede’s leadership values mirror his upbringing. A family crisis in childhood taught him that value creation matters more than titles. A mentor warned him that unproductive characters erode reputations. He carries that lesson into every boardroom discussion.

“Value creation is at the core of everything that truly matters, whether in relationships, business, or society. It taught me that success isn’t about titles but impact,” he says.

He continues, “This mindset has deeply influenced how I lead VitalSwap. We don’t just process transactions, we solve problems, remove friction, and create tangible value for our customers, partners, and team members.”

Security remains non‑negotiable. He applies scientific problem‑solving – observe, design, test, iterate – to build VitalSwap’s trust model. “Our system is mostly designed with a security-first approach, and we don’t do this to meet regulatory standards only; we do it as part of our trust model.”

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His gaze now turns to the future of AI in fintech. He envisions autonomous AI agents interacting directly with VitalSwap’s infrastructure. “As of today, the rise of Agentic AI will be pivotal to redefining the tasks we do. It is a future (present) where AI autonomously performs actions for us,” he predicts.

“Imagine a world where some AI agents that help businesses complete tasks need tools for cross-border payment. Making our systems safely accessible to these tools is in the future for us.” He plans to open VitalSwap’s APIs to approved AI agents, ensuring secure, compliant, and seamless financial flows.