Olajide Abiola, co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kiakia, one of Nigeria’s pioneer digital lenders and leading peer-to-peer marketplace, has announced his decision to step down as the Chief Executive Officer of Kiakia with immediate effect.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Mr Abiola announced that Chiemeziem Anyadike, co-Founder and COO of Kiakia will be taking over as the new CEO, while Mikhail Adeniyi will step in as the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Having served as CEO since the company was founded almost 8 years back, Abiola stated that his decision to take a bow comes “with a bittersweet emotion of gratitude”. According to him, this decision came as a result of increasing demand for his time by other ventures. “Over the last 18 months, I have been more focused on new ventures in manufacturing, retail, real estate and hospitality, leading to my decreased involvement in the day-to-day operations of Kiakia and I believe it is time to pass on the baton to new leaders who will drive Kiakia to even greater heights.”
Reflecting on his tenure as CEO, Abiola expressed his delight that under his leadership, Kiakia onboarded over 300,000 users and facilitated over 13 billion Naira in loan transactions to small business owners through its peer-to-peer loaning programme. “I am particularly pleased to note that not a single lender lost money during this period, a testament to our commitment to providing reliable financial solutions to our users. It has been an incredible journey building Kiakia with Chiemeziem, fondly called my Alobam, along with Ime Udoh, and I am so proud of everything we have accomplished together. We have created a company that provides access to credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises with huge growth potential. I am particularly thankful to Individuals and corporates, including banks, who have entrusted us with funds that enabled us to carry out the task of helping a lot of MSMEs differentiate and grow.”
He expressed confidence that Chiemeziem Anyadike will lead the company with the same passion, vision, and values that they have always upheld. He expressed gratitude to all members of Staff at Kiakia, assuring that he will not only continue to be a member of the Board of the company, but also continue to support the company in every way, going forward. “I am confident that Kiakia will continue to grow and thrive under the leadership of Chiemeziem and Mikhail. I am excited about the future of Kiakia, and I am confident that together we will achieve even greater success in the years to come,” he assured.
Olajide Abiola has in recent years overseen different ventures in manufacturing, retail, and real estate and hospitality, which he says will now be his primary focus. KiaKia (a trading name of KiaKia Bits Ltd RC:799552) is a licensed non-banking financial technology company, which was founded in 2016. One of Nigeria’s pioneer digital lenders, it has since grown to become the one of the leading peer-to-peer platforms in Nigeria. KiaKia offers secured and unsecured loans while also participating in well-structured profit-sharing business transactions.
