Olabanji Ajayi

Olabanji Ajayi is a Mastercard Foundation Scholar pursuing a Master of Business Administration at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, where he is a member of Oriel College.

He is a product management leader working at the intersection of technology, business and social impact. Olabanji has expertise in leading multidisciplinary teams to develop financial products and infrastructure across digital payments, banking, risk and compliance.

Before Oxford, he was a Product Manager at Paystack, where he led cross-functional teams to build and scale the infrastructure behind millions of everyday transactions across Sub-Saharan Africa, supporting access to digital financial services for individuals and businesses of all sizes. He has over eight years of experience spanning product management and consumer intelligence, having previously worked on product development and strategy at Paga and advised global consumer goods brands on market and commercial strategy at Nielsen.

Olabanji has also served as a Global Shaper and Welfare Lead with the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, Lagos Hub, where he led projects that improved access to digital skills and empowered social entrepreneurs to build more sustainable ventures.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos. At Oxford, Olabanji continues to deepen his business and leadership capabilities while exploring how technology and artificial intelligence can help reimagine products, strengthen businesses and expand access to opportunity across Africa. In his free time, he enjoys travelling and racquet sports.