We build what
Nigeria deserves.
WorkWave was born from a simple frustration: every ERP on the market was built for London or San Francisco and then half-heartedly adapted for Lagos. We decided to build something different — from scratch, for Nigeria.
800+
Businesses trust WorkWave
₦45B
Payroll processed to date
22K+
Government filings automated
₦0
Late filing penalties incurred
Why we exist
A ₦4.2M payroll error that should never have happened
In 2020, our co-founder Emeka's family business — a 38-person logistics firm in Lagos — received a ₦4.2M penalty from LIRS for PAYE under-remittance going back three years. The accountant had been using a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet had a formula error.
The business survived — barely. But the experience revealed something: Nigerian SMEs are carrying enormous operational and compliance risk, and the tools available to them are either too expensive, too foreign, or too broken.
We quit our jobs. We spent 8 months talking to 200+ Nigerian business owners, accountants, HR managers, and compliance officers. We built WorkWave to be the platform we wish had existed.
PAYE under-remittance for FY 2017–2020. Total outstanding including penalties and interest:
₦4,218,000
What we believe
Our principles
Trust, earned daily
We handle the financial lifeblood of Nigerian businesses. We earn trust through reliability, transparency, and honest pricing — not marketing.
Built for here, not adapted
We refuse to import Western SaaS and slap a ₦ sign on it. Every feature is designed from first principles for the Nigerian business environment.
Relentlessly useful
We ship features that reduce real work hours, not impressive demos that gather dust. If it does not save you time or money, we do not build it.
SME-first, always
We are not SAP for enterprises who also have an SME tier. We are built for the 60,000+ Nigerian businesses with 5–200 employees who are underserved.
The people behind WorkWave
Meet the team
We are a team of 31, based primarily in Lagos with satellite offices in Abuja and Kano.
Chukwuemeka Obi
Co-founder & CEO
Former MD at Guaranty Trust Bank SME Division. 14 years building financial infrastructure for Nigerian businesses.
Adaeze Nwosu
Co-founder & CTO
Ex-Flutterwave engineering lead. Built payment rails used by 2M+ Nigerians. MSc Computer Science, University of Lagos.
Babatunde Fashola
Chief Product Officer
Previously Head of Product at Paystack. Obsessed with building software that actually fits how Nigerian SMEs work.
Ngozi Eze
VP People & Compliance
Certified Pension Administrator. 10+ years advising Nigerian firms on PenCom, FIRS, and labour law compliance.
Emeka Okonkwo
Head of Engineering
Full-stack engineer who has shipped products used by 500K+ Nigerian users. Loves Rust, TypeScript, and suya.
Fatima Al-Hassan
Head of Customer Success
Former KPMG audit manager. Personally onboarded 200+ SMEs across Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt.
How we got here
Our journey
Founded in Lagos after watching a family business collapse due to payroll compliance errors
Launched payroll & PAYE module; first 50 customers across Lagos and Abuja
Raised ₦180M seed round from Lagos Angel Network and Ventures Platform
Launched all 9 modules; crossed 300 active business customers
Awarded "Best SME Fintech" at Nigeria Startup Awards
Raised $3.2M Series A; expanded to Port Harcourt, Kano and Abuja
Crossed 800 businesses, ₦45B in payroll processed, 22K+ filings automated
Backed by
Join the WorkWave team
We are hiring engineers, designers, and operators who care about Nigerian businesses.