Nine startups raised a combined $11.3 million in September 2026, as funding for Nigerian startups fell sharply from the $364.1 million recorded by 20 companies in August.
The September total represents a 96.9% month-on-month decline, or $352.8 million less than the previous month’s figure.
Despite the slowdown, investors continued to back businesses operating across fintech, mobility, semiconductor technology, cybersecurity, waste management, agriculture and food, and other services.
The funding transactions included debt facilities, seed investments, pre-seed rounds and venture investments, highlighting the different ways startups are financing expansion and operations.
Behind these businesses are founders and chief executives responsible for setting strategic direction, managing operations and attracting capital to support growth.
Here are nine startup CEOs whose companies secured funding in September 2026.
1. Yinka Adewale — CEO, Nomba ($3 million)
Yinka Adewale is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Nomba, a Lagos-based fintech company focused on payment and financial services infrastructure.
The company raised a $3 million debt facility through CardinalStone Finance Company Limited in September to expand its cross-border payments infrastructure.
Adewale co-founded Nomba in 2017 alongside Pelumi Aboluwarin. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University.
In 2023, Nomba raised $30 million in a pre-Series B funding round led by Base10 Partners, with participation from Helios Digital Ventures, Shopify, Partech and Khosla Ventures.
The latest financing adds to the company’s funding history as it continues to develop payment solutions for businesses.
2. Oluwaseyi Adefemi — CEO, Drive45 Mobility ($3 million)
Oluwaseyi Adefemi is the founder and chief executive officer of Drive45 Mobility, a Lagos-based transportation company established in June 2021.
The company secured a $3 million senior debt facility in September to strengthen its balance sheet and support expansion into Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna.
Drive45 provides mobility solutions to local and international businesses, using a vehicle subscription and rent-to-own model that gives companies and individuals access to vehicles without the full upfront cost of ownership.
Adefemi holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology and Earth Science from the University of Ado-Ekiti and a master’s degree in Business Management from Harvard University.
The latest financing is expected to support the company’s expansion into additional Nigerian markets.
3. Ola Fadiran — CEO, ChipMango ($2.1 million)
Ola Fadiran leads ChipMango, a semiconductor technology company headquartered in California, with secure engineering design centres in Lagos and operations or sites in South Africa, Rwanda and Malta.
In September, the company raised $1.9 million in a seed round involving Atlantica Ventures, DFS Lab, Madica, Kaleo Ventures, Trilinear Technologies and other investors. It also secured a separate $200,000 venture investment from Madica, bringing the combined amount to $2.1 million.
Founded in 2022 by Fadiran and Chief Operating Officer Jovan Andjelich, ChipMango operates in the deep-technology sector, where semiconductor design and engineering capabilities underpin a wide range of computing and electronic products.
Fadiran previously spent more than six years at Intel Corporation as an artificial intelligence hardware designer and architect. He also worked at Boeing for six years in roles including Lead ASIC Architect, Lead FPGA Design Engineer, and Director of Marketing and Business Development.
He holds an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business.
4. Samuel Ogbonyomi — CEO, Aeon Cyber Defense ($1 million)
Samuel Ogbonyomi is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Aeon Cyber Defense, a Nigerian cybersecurity startup that raised $1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by defence technology company Terra Industries.
Ogbonyomi co-founded Aeon with Ben Eluan and Alex Idowu. The founders initially built the business in 2026 from within PipeOps, a cloud infrastructure management platform where Ogbonyomi also serves as co-founder and CEO.
