Fara Ashiru, the co-founder and CEO of Nigerian fintech company Okra, has joined UK-based Kernel, a revenue operations startup focused on building AI-powered tools. Her transition marks a significant leadership shift for Okra, a company that rose to prominence in Africa’s open finance scene. Ashiru’s new role raises questions about the future direction of Okra, particularly following a period of pivots and product closures.
From Fintech Trailblazer to RevOps Engineering Head
At Kernel, Ashiru will take over all engineering responsibilities, bringing with her a track record of scaling technical teams and securing investor backing. Known for her hands-on leadership style and product-minded approach, she is expected to build a high-performing, lean engineering team. Kernel’s leadership expressed strong confidence in her ability to lead, citing her architectural acumen and founder mindset as critical assets.
A Pivotal Time for Okra
Ashiru’s departure follows years of growth and turbulence at Okra, which she co-founded in 2019 alongside David Peterside. Peterside exited the company in 2022, leaving Ashiru at the helm to navigate regulatory delays and intensifying market competition. During her tenure, she grew the engineering team to 40 and secured $16.5 million in funding from global investors including Susa Ventures, TLcom Capital, and Base10 Partners.
Strategic Shifts and Product Retirements
Despite its early promise in the open banking space, Okra struggled to maintain momentum against rivals like Mono and Stitch, which raised $17.6 million and $52 million respectively. In response, the company quietly sunset three of its flagship products—Balance, Income, and Transaction—due to lack of traction and commercial viability. According to internal sources, retaining those services “did not make any business sense.”
Pivot to Cloud Infrastructure
In July 2024, Okra shifted its strategy by entering the cloud infrastructure market, offering data hosting and workload management services. The move represented a significant departure from its original open finance mission and placed it in direct competition with regional players such as Nobus Cloud Services, MainOne Cloud, and Web4Africa. While the African cloud market presents growth potential, Okra's late entry and limited differentiation add layers of complexity to its pivot.
Kernel’s Vision and Engineering Future
Kernel’s leadership views Ashiru’s arrival as a key moment in accelerating their engineering capabilities. With a lean product and engineering team in place, the goal is to enhance customer-centric AI tools for revenue operations. Ashiru will collaborate closely with Stefan, who leads product development, and Marcus, who focuses on technical aspects of positioning, pricing, and sales efficiency.
Implications for Okra's Team and Direction
Ashiru’s exit leaves a leadership vacuum at Okra, which is now being steered by a team that includes Head of People Bodunrin Akinola, Senior Financial Analyst Gbenga Oyedele, Business Development Lead Abiodun Oni, Customer Success Lead Dayo Fasan, and Senior Legal Counsel Habib Akinpelu. These leaders had been reporting directly to Ashiru, and it remains unclear who will step into the CEO role or guide the company’s strategy moving forward. Okra’s future—especially its bet on cloud infrastructure—now hinges on its ability to execute without its founding visionary.
Fara Ashiru’s move to Kernel reflects both her personal evolution as a founder and the dynamic realities facing African fintechs. While her time at Okra highlighted the potential of open banking and digital finance in Africa, her pivot to a UK-based startup underscores the global demand for seasoned engineering leaders with startup resilience. As Okra navigates its next chapter, the broader industry will be watching to see whether it can sustain its new direction without one of its original architects.