• Victor Daniyan's AI startup is proving that Nigerian founders can build globally competitive fintech solutions with artificial intelligence
• The win could inspire a new generation of Nigerian developers, founders, and creators to solve local financial problems using AI
• Beyond the headlines, the biggest opportunity is for young Nigerians willing to build products instead of simply chasing trends

If you've ever hustled on empty pockets, built something nobody believed in, and still got laughed out of a boardroom... this one's for you.

Because Victor Daniyan just proved that Nigeria's ingenuity doesn't need Silicon Valley's permission to shine.

Victor Daniyan is the Founder and CEO of Nearpays, an AI-powered fintech startup out of Abuja that's quietly been changing how small businesses collect money. 

Daniyan studied at City University Kaduna and previously worked at global tech giants Nokia and Huawei before founding Nearpays.

Before the fame, he was building with nothing but grit and his own pocket money. Nearpays was reportedly bootstrapped for its first two years with no outside funding.

At the 2026 AI for Good Global Summit, Nearpays walked away with the grand prize at the Innovation Factory competition, a stage that pulls in innovators from all over the world.

What does Nearpays do?

Nearpays turns your regular smartphone into a POS machine. No hardware, no expensive terminal, no wahala.

Merchants just download the app, and they can collect card payments and contactless transactions straight from their phone. Nearpays currently serves over 60,000 SMEs and individuals and processes 650,000+ monthly transactions.

This is financial inclusion, but make it street-smart.

The airport story

Before all the wins, he was once stuck at an airport, visa denied, unable to attend an event he'd prepared for months. Daniyan missed a major international pitch event due to a visa delay, as reported in a 2025 feature on African founders.

That's the reality for a lot of African founders chasing global capital. The system wasn't built with us in mind, and yet, some still find a way to break through.

The big names backing him

It's not just the AI for Good win. Nearpays has also pulled serious institutional attention.

The startup reportedly secured investment from Visa, through the Plug and Play accelerator programme.

Daniyan himself has been named a Forbes 30 Under 30 nominee in 2024 and a "Best Fintech" award at GITEX.

At this point, this is a man building a receipt of wins, one hustle at a time.

What this means for the next hustler

Because Daniyan's story is a live blueprint. Three things every young Nigerian fintech hustler should be picking up right now:

1. Bootstrapping isn't a weakness

Building without funding first forces you to actually understand your market before you scale it. Investors notice that.

2. Local rejection doesn't mean the idea is dead

If Nigerian VCs are dragging their feet, that doesn't mean your product isn't good enough. Sometimes you have to widen the net.

3. AI + fintech is where the next wave of jobs and wealth is forming

While everybody's chasing crypto trends and dropshipping, the real infrastructure play, building tools that solve payment problems for millions of underserved Nigerians, is where founders like Daniyan are quietly winning big.

Nigeria's fintech scene has always had talent. What's shifting now is global rooms finally paying attention and AI is the new lever pulling that attention our way.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has also been pushing for open banking and cross-border licensing arrangements with countries like Ghana, Kenya, and Senegal.

This means that the ecosystem is opening up, slowly but surely. The next Victor Daniyan could be somebody reading this right now.

10 ways to protect your business from AI-themed malware scams

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier compiled 10 practical 10-point checklists that explained simple cybersecurity habits every small business can adopt without needing a full IT department.

AI-themed malware scams are rising, and many Nigerian businesses are falling for fake AI software, chatbots, and productivity tools that secretly install malware.

From verifying AI tools to training staff and enabling multi-factor authentication, these steps can save your business from costly attacks