Bolu Abiodun

For years, James Nelson had a habit of using his WhatsApp status to share information. Sometimes it was an observation, sometimes a story. What fascinated him wasn’t what he wrote but how people consumed it. The same people who ignored lengthy blog posts would eagerly swipe through dozens of status updates. They would reply, react, and engage. Something about the format worked. “I realised people consume things in tiny bits,” Nelson notes.

On April 4, 2026, Jesutofunmi Oniyide was crowned the winner of Red Bull Basement Nigeria, beating over 3,000 students and entrepreneurs from across the country. Red Bull Basement is a global innovation programme that empowers student founders and first-time entrepreneurs to turn bold ideas into real-world solutions. It offers mentorship and global exposure, helping young innovators build products that can impact industries and communities. Oniyide’s idea stood out.

Women account for just 4% of ride-hailing drivers in Nigeria, highlighting a gender imbalance in one of the country’s fastest-growing segments of the gig economy, according to a new report by Bolt and Ipsos. The report, which examines gig work across five African markets, found that men make up 96% of ride-hailing participants in Nigeria.