# Stephen Echeruo (Steve) > Stephen Echeruo (Steve) is a Nigerian software engineer, product architect and founder in Lagos. He builds web, mobile and backend products from idea to production, and is now building Hire Africa. ## About Stephen Echeruo, known as Steve, is a full-stack software engineer, product architect and founder based in Lagos, Nigeria, with 6+ years of experience shipping web, mobile and backend products used by millions of people. He started his career at OPay after winning the OPay Hackathon 2020, which was open to all developers in Nigeria, and joined as a junior software developer. He went on to work as a full-stack engineer at Torre (Torre ATS and Torre Genome), lead mobile developer at VeendHQ, full-stack engineer at CHB Technologies (Switzerland, remote), and lead full-stack developer at EasySpend (2025–2026). He is the co-founder and CTO of Marginplus, an agritech investment company in Nigeria, and the CTO of SellWela, a commerce platform for retail stores, restaurants and online sellers. He built SplitPocket, a subscription-sharing marketplace, end to end. He is now building Hire Africa (hireafrica.io), a platform that connects employers directly with screened professionals across 31+ African countries. His main tools are TypeScript, Node.js, NestJS, Next.js, React, Flutter, React Native, Swift, Kotlin, PostgreSQL and cloud infrastructure on AWS, DigitalOcean, Railway and Vercel. ## Career - OPay: Junior Software Developer, 2020 – 2022, Lagos, Nigeria. In 2020 I won the OPay Hackathon, which was open to every developer in Nigeria. The win put my name in front of the Nigerian tech community. I applied to OPay soon after and joined as a junior software developer. There I learnt what it means to ship software millions of people trust with their money every day. I still work by what it taught me: ship carefully, listen closely, keep it simple. - Torre.AI: Full-Stack Software Engineer, 2022, United States · Remote. At Torre, I worked on Torre ATS and Torre Genome — recruiting and talent technology used by companies and professionals around the world. Scala and Play on the backend, Vue on the front. I saw how good data and good matching can change the course of a career. - VeendHQ: Lead Mobile Developer, 2022 – 2023, Lagos, Nigeria · Remote. I led mobile engineering at Veend, working with designers, product managers and backend engineers to turn ideas into apps used across Africa. Quick loans, transfers, bill payments and card services, plus a dashboard that lets lenders fund and track loans in real time. - CHB Technologies: Full-Stack Software Engineer, 2022 – Present, Switzerland · Remote. With CHB Technologies, I build and maintain enterprise software across backend services, web apps, mobile products and ERP systems. It’s the kind of work nobody tweets about and everybody relies on, systems that have to be right, every day. - EasySpend: Lead Full-Stack Developer, 2025 – 2026, Lagos, Nigeria · Remote. From 2025 to 2026, I led the team that built EasySpend, working closely with product and leadership on a secure, scalable fintech product. We shipped USD and Naira virtual cards, instant loans, transfers, and electricity and cable payments, all in one app for iOS and Android. - Marginplus: CTO & Co-Founder, 2024 – Present, Abuja, Nigeria. As co-founder and CTO, I lead technical strategy and product at Marginplus, a platform for investing in real agribusiness across Africa, starting in Nigeria. We connect investors directly with vetted farms. I built the web and mobile platforms, and the architecture that keeps them reliable. - SellWela: CTO, 2025 – Present, Lagos, Nigeria · Remote. At SellWela, I lead the technical vision and built the whole platform, web, mobile apps, backend, APIs, and the admin dashboard the operations team runs on. Retail stores, restaurants and online sellers use it to manage sales, inventory, orders and profit, online and in-store. - Hire Africa: Building the platform, Now, Remote. Every product in this story was built with brilliant African engineers, designers and operators. Too often, the world never finds them. At Hire Africa, I’m helping build the platform that changes that — screened professionals across 31+ countries, hired directly. ## Selected projects - Hire Africa (Hire Africa, 2026): A hiring platform connecting employers directly with screened professionals across Africa. Role: Lead Engineer. https://hireafrica.io - SellWela (SellWela, 2025): A business management platform for retail stores, restaurants and online sellers. Role: CTO. - SplitPocket (SplitPocket, 2026): A marketplace for sharing subscriptions: pay your share of a plan and get access. Role: Lead Engineer. https://www.getsplitpocket.com - OPay (OPay, 2020 – 2022): One of Africa’s biggest payment apps: transfers, bills, airtime, savings and cards. Role: Junior Software Developer. - Marginplus App (Marginplus, 2024): The Marginplus mobile app for iOS and Android. Role: CTO & Co-Founder. - EasySpend (EasySpend, 2025 – 2026): A fintech app for virtual cards, instant loans, transfers and bills. Role: Lead Full-Stack Developer. - Torre.ai (Torre, 2022): Torre matches candidates, teams and jobs using AI and thousands of data points. Role: Full-Stack Software Engineer. https://torre.ai - Ablxtrade (Ablxtrade, 2024): A fintech app that makes trading crypto and gift cards fast and simple. Role: Mobile Developer. - VeendHQ Lenders (VeendHQ, 2023): Lenders manage disbursements, active loans and portfolios in one place. Role: Lead Developer. https://business.veendhq.com/ - Veend (VeendHQ, 2023): Quick loans, transfers, bill payments and card services. Role: Lead Mobile Developer. - Student Paddy (Student Paddy, 2022): A digital campus where students grow personally and professionally. Role: Mobile Developer. - Student Paddy Web (Student Paddy, 2022): A productivity multiplier for students, higher institutions and employers. Role: Frontend Developer. https://www.studentpaddy.com/ - Regpen Capture (Regpen, 2024): Helps exhibitors and attendees capture leads instantly by scanning badges. Role: Mobile Developer. ## Skills - Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Dart, Scala, Python, Go, .NET - Backend: Node.js, NestJS, Play Framework, FastAPI, REST APIs, Microservices, RabbitMQ, WebSockets, Authentication, Push Notifications, Background Jobs - Frontend: React, Next.js, Vue.js, Angular, Tailwind CSS, Material UI - Mobile: Flutter, React Native, Swift, Kotlin, Expo, iOS, Android - Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Supabase, Firebase - Cloud & DevOps: Docker, CI/CD, AWS, DigitalOcean, Railway, Vercel - Architecture: System Design, API Design, Performance Optimization, Technical Leadership ## Now Building Hire Africa: https://hireafrica.io ## Links - Website: https://stephen-echeruo.com - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/st-stephen - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steve_hireafrica/ - GitHub: https://github.com/thesaintzion