Building Find A Biz taught me that product decisions and business decisions aren't separate, they're the same decision viewed from different angles.

I'm the founder of Find A Biz, an AI and blockchain enabled business directory and analytics platform for African markets, and TechTrust, the underlying infrastructure for the consumer app, which I built from first line of code through multiple iterations. That experience of making technical and commercial decisions simultaneously is what I now bring to board roles, strategic advisory, and Fractional CxO work.

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Building in both dimensions

Find A Biz started as a simple business directory for Nigeria's informal economy. Within three months, thousands of businesses registered organically, validating the core need. But as it grew, I faced decisions that required understanding both technical architecture and market reality simultaneously.

Customers couldn't differentiate legitimate businesses from scams. Business owners couldn't create compelling content. The solution wasn't just technical (add blockchain verification, integrate local AI for content generation) or just commercial (charge for verification, monetise content services). It was recognising that architectural decisions are business model decisions.

Through multiple iterations, I learned that the best product decisions emerge when you genuinely understand both the code and the customer. That integrated perspective, technical builder and business operator working as one, is what I now bring to leadership teams facing similar challenges.

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How this applies

Board Work

I bring product and technical insight to governance conversations that typically lack it. Boards need directors who understand both what the technology enables and what the market demands—not just one or the other.

Fractional CxO

I work with technical founders navigating commercial scale, and commercial leaders trying to understand their technical constraints. The value is integrated judgement, not just translation between two worlds.

Strategic Advisory

Available for hands-on advisory work through Ahjayee Consulting—helping leadership teams make decisions that work in both technical and commercial reality.

Speaking

I speak about the intersections: where product architecture meets business model, where technical debt becomes strategic debt, where engineering culture shapes market outcomes.

Recent thinking

Building Africa's Trust Infrastructure

Why solving trust in African commerce required both blockchain architecture and business model innovation—and what it taught me about building infrastructure that enables markets rather than just participating in them.

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Background

Portrait of Banke Ajayi

I spent 15+ years delivering systems at Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and BNP Paribas—environments where understanding both technical constraints and business requirements wasn't optional. That experience taught me to speak both languages fluently, which now informs everything from Find A Biz's architecture to the strategic advice I provide to leadership teams.

I'm also the author of No One Cares About Dashboards, a practical guide to building products that deliver actual value rather than just technical features.

If you're facing decisions that require both technical depth and commercial reality, let's talk.

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