When you think of a Front-end Engineer, you might picture someone writing code behind a screen. But for Olamide Ilori, it’s much more than that—it’s about building trust, delivering value, and helping businesses grow.
With over four years of hands-on experience, Olamide is not only skilled in JavaScript, TypeScript, React.js, Next.js, and React Native, he’s also a problem-solver at heart—one who has led engineering teams, improved user experience, scaled product performance, and contributed directly to revenue growth.
Currently the Lead Engineer at Prospa, a neobank solving complex financial problems for African entrepreneurs, Olamide has helped shape the company’s mission through engineering excellence.
From building the Member Dashboard that allows businesses to open accounts in five minutes, to cutting operational costs by replacing third-party tools with in-house solutions, his contributions go beyond code—they shape the entire business.
In this conversation with Today Africa, Olamide Ilori opened up about how his love for technology was born out of a desire to solve real problems, why he chose to specialize in frontend rather than pursue a full-stack path, and how engineering decisions at Prospa are transforming financial inclusion in Nigeria.
Tell us more about yourself and the moment you fell in love with code
My name is Olamide Ilori, and I’m a front-end engineer by profession and have been doing this for a while. And I currently work as a lead engineer at Prospa.
“I’ve always had an eye for technology,” Olamide says now, calmly but with a voice that hints at the fire underneath. “Even when I didn’t know exactly where in tech I’d land, I knew I wanted to fix things, to create solutions.”
He gravitated initially toward electrical engineering, drawn to the tactile satisfaction of building physical systems. But as he was introduced to other avenues in tech, something shifted. The abstract power of software—its ability to scale, to solve real-world problems with elegance and speed—captured his imagination.
“I fell in love with helping people,” he says. “Especially in financial solutions. The ability to remove friction from someone’s everyday life through code… that was powerful to me.”
Today, Olamide is Lead Front-End Engineer at Prospa, a rising neo-bank reimagining how African entrepreneurs manage their money.
But his love for building didn’t begin with flashy code editors or product sprints. It began with curiosity, an untamed appetite for efficiency, and an almost spiritual desire to help others move through life a little more smoothly.
What made you lean towards front-end engineering, and not full stack or back-end?
In the tech world, generalists often wear many hats, juggling APIs one moment and designing UI layouts the next. Olamide could have been one of them—he has, after all, dabbled in full stack—but early on, he made a deliberate choice.
“I decided to niche down,” he explains. “I believe you can be excellent in one thing rather than trying to do everything.”
It wasn’t about limitation—it was about focus. Front-end engineering, he realized, wasn’t just about making things look good; it was about crafting a user’s experience. It was the theater where functionality met emotion. And for someone obsessed with problem-solving, that interface—where human meets machine—was fertile ground.
“Front-end engineering is broad on its own,” he says, “and being able to focus on just one thing at a time without distraction has really accelerated my growth.”
In other words, mastery, not multitasking, was the real superpower.
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How did you break into the industry?
If you studied computer science in a Nigerian university, you likely share a collective memory: long syllabi, heavy on theory, often light on application. Olamide knows the experience well.
“It’s mostly outdated stuff,” he says, with a polite but pointed honesty. “You’re kind of on your own.”
What separated him from the crowd wasn’t the curriculum—it was initiative. He understood that to thrive in tech, he couldn’t wait for knowledge to be handed to him.
“It comes from taking ownership of your career,” he explains. “Learning things outside the classroom—that’s what makes the difference.”
The real education began when he stepped out of lecture halls and into open-source forums, late-night debugging sessions, and online communities where code wasn’t theoretical—it was practical, imperfect, and constantly evolving.
That hustle transformed him from a student of code into a professional who lives and breathes it.
What was the biggest performance breakthrough that you delivered and how did it shape the business operations?
In Nigeria, opening a business account can be a Kafkaesque nightmare—documents, back-and-forths, dead ends. Prospa set out to change that.
“We’re a neo bank for African entrepreneurs,” Olamide explains. “And one of our biggest value props is that you can open a business account in five minutes.”
That speed isn’t a marketing gimmick—it’s a technical reality. And a big part of making it real was the Member Dashboard Olamide helped build.
“The dashboard automates account approvals, documentation checks, and keeps us in line with regulations,” he says. “It’s basically the backbone of our onboarding system.”
For Prospa, the dashboard isn’t just a tool—it’s a promise kept. What once took days or weeks at a traditional bank now happens in minutes.
And behind that transformation? Clean, scalable, performance-optimized code from Olamide and his team.
What role does front-end engineering play in building trust for a fintech platform like Prospa?
“In fintech, trust is everything,” Olamide says.
He doesn’t say it as a slogan. He says it like someone who’s stared down the pixels and knows exactly how fragile a user’s faith can be.
“The front-end is often the first—and sometimes only—touchpoint users have with a brand,” he explains. “So if that page is inconsistent, slow, or buggy, it instantly damages trust.”
In Nigeria, where many still lean on traditional banks for their sense of security, the visual clarity and performance of a fintech app is more than cosmetic—it’s existential.
“You’re not just designing a UI,” Olamide says. “You’re designing confidence.”
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What’s the difference between a front-end engineer and a UI/UX designer?
To Olamide, the distinction is clear—and deeply important.
“Think of it like building a house,” he says. “The UI/UX designer draws the blueprint. The front-end engineer builds the structure.”
The process begins with research: understanding users, mapping flows, sketching journeys. That’s the designer’s world. Tools like Figma and Adobe XD come into play as they bring ideas to life visually.
“Then it comes to us,” Olamide explains. “We take those blueprints and translate them into actual, functioning applications.”
He respects the dance between the two disciplines. But he’s also firm: they are not interchangeable.
How do you balance speed on delivery with code quality and performance?
For Olamide, the key lies in prioritization—and humility.
“You can’t do everything at once,” he says. “So I always ask: What’s the most critical part of this product?”
That’s where MVP—Minimum Viable Product—comes in. Strip away the fluff. Focus on the core.
“Breaking things into smaller chunks helps you move fast and maintain quality,” he explains. “Because if you try to build too much at once, you sacrifice both.”
In his world, fewer features with flawless execution beat bloated, buggy code every time.
What’s one design that makes Prospa products more inclusive to Nigeria’s small business owners?
Prospa doesn’t just want to be used—they want to partner with their users. That mindset shapes every pixel.
“We don’t just want to charge people,” Olamide says. “We want to see their businesses grow.”
That philosophy led to features like invoice generation, team role management, business name account creation, and sub-accounts for salary, tax, and payouts.
It’s a banking platform, yes—but also a growth engine.
“We even help businesses get visibility, raise funds, and access resources,” he says. “It’s not just software—it’s support.”
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Can you list these tools that help business owners?
Olamide doesn’t rattle off features like a salesman—he lists them like tools in a survival kit.
- Invoicing: “Send professional invoices to your clients.”
- Team permissions: “Assign roles and manage staff.”
- Sub-accounts: “Organize your finances—salary, tax, clients—all in one place.”
- Web store: “Sell online, directly from the Prospa app.”
- Virtual cards and spend management
- Loans: “Borrow based on your credit score.”
“It’s all in one place,” he says. “Not just for convenience, but for control.”
How have your engineering decisions directly influenced growth at Prospa, whether in user acquisition, retention, or revenue?
The front-end may be the face of the product, but Olamide’s impact runs deeper.
“One of the biggest changes was cutting our reliance on external services for customer support,” he says. “I helped architect a tool in-house.”
That one decision saved significant operational costs—money that could be redirected to scaling the platform or enhancing user experience.
But the bigger win? Trust. Performance. Ownership.
What did you do differently to scale both the Prospa platform and the team sustainably?
Clear communication, Olamide says, is everything.
“Everyone needs to understand the product vision,” he emphasizes. “Once that’s in place, the roadmap becomes clear.”
He’s also a firm believer in documentation and onboarding. No one is left floundering.
“New engineers should hit the ground running,” he says. “Their first week should already feel productive.”
For a growing startup, time is currency. Clarity is gold.
How does your team gather and use feedback to shape product direction?
There’s no guesswork at Prospa. Feedback comes straight from the actual users – business owners.
“We run something called Member Stories,” Olamide explains. “We sit down with business owners and listen.”
Not surveys. Not analytics dashboards. Actual conversations.
“So, having this discussion with them, where they share their business story, the challenges they face in their business, and even the reason why they chose to use Prospa and whatever features they like most.”
“Being able to have close and direct communication with those who use the product has helped us gather feedback even before it becomes an issue for us.”
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What’s your vision for how engineering in Prospa and other fintechs could shape financial inclusion over the next five years?
For Olamide, inclusion starts with empathy—and optimization.
“Many of our users don’t have high-end devices or strong internet,” he says. “So our platforms need to run on minimal architecture.”
That means faster load times, smaller data footprints, and interfaces that still feel world-class.
“But trust is also key,” he adds. “People still trust traditional banks more.”
The antidote? Impeccable performance, transparent features, and a UX that never breaks faith with the user.
“Over time,” he says, “that’s how you make fintech feel familiar—even essential.”
When you hit a tough bug or a deadline slip, what kind of mindset helps you push through?
“Progress over pride,” Olamide says without hesitation.
It’s his mantra. His anchor.
“Knowing when to ask for help—that’s what’s gotten me through the hardest moments.”
He seeks advice, studies case studies, and leans on collaboration.
“There’s really nothing new,” he says. “It’s how well you translate what exists into something better.”
That mindset—that humility—is what turns a front-end engineer into a leader. Not just of code, but of people, progress, and possibility.
What’s the red flag you watch for in interviews—and the green flag?
Not technical skills. Not education. Vision.
“There’s something I always watch for,” he said later. “It’s when someone is nonchalant about the product vision. That’s a red flag.”
For someone who builds software and leads people, hiring is more than checking off a list of competencies—it’s about finding builders who believe.
Engineers who show up just to code and collect their paycheck, he explained, aren’t inherently bad. But they’re not the ones who will help a company scale.
“Passion is what you fall back on when you’re out of options,” he said, his voice steady, thoughtful. “Money can only drive you so far. But when it gets tough, what keeps you going is the reason you started—the product, the impact, the why.”
He wants people who own the mission. Those who roll up their sleeves and dive in without needing to be told at every turn. That’s the green flag: a sense of ownership and proactive energy.
“People that take initiative, people that know what they’re supposed to do without you breathing down their neck—that’s who I look for.”
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What tool in your stack can you not live without—and Why?
The answer comes with zero hesitation. “JavaScript,” he says flatly, as if naming a lifelong friend.
For a man deeply embedded in front-end development, Olamide regards JavaScript not merely as a tool, but as a canvas.
“With JavaScript, you have almost everything you need. It powers most of what we do,” he says, the kind of simplicity that comes only from years of complexity.
In a world of evolving frameworks and fleeting tech trends, his loyalty to the language is a quiet declaration of technical clarity.
What’s the best way to find engineering mentors – Deck or DMs?
“I’d go with DMs,” Olamide answers with a slight smile, the kind that suggests he’s speaking from repeated success. For him, the personal nature of direct messaging outweighs the polished polish of pitch decks.
“There’s something about being able to explain your journey, your goals, and what exactly you need help with.
Mentorship thrives on specificity,” he explains. “When you send a message that says, ‘Hi, my name is this, I’ve done this, and here’s how I’d love you to help me, the mentor knows if it’s what they can do or not.”
He’s not just an engineer who codes – he believes in connection.
His voice softens when he says, “Real progress happens through conversations, through trade-offs and failure stories. Encouragement at the right time—it matters.”
What inspired your open-source project on African states and tribes?
There’s a flicker of intensity when this question lands. “Africa is very undocumented,” Olamide says, his voice carrying the weight of frustration and responsibility.
“You’d be surprised – some people in the West still think Africa is one country.”
The open-source project he created wasn’t just a coding exercise; it was cultural reclamation.
He was building a product that needed cultural data – African states, tribes, and histories – and found a gaping void. “We’ve been taught, maybe even subconsciously, to do away with some of this cultural knowledge. And over time, it just gets lost.”
That silence, he decided, needed to be filled with code, data, and pride. The project is his quiet rebellion against erasure.
With the rise of AI tools such as Copilot and ChatGPT, is traditional coding becoming obsolete or more valuable?
“Traditional coding is becoming more valuable,” Olamide says with conviction. “AI hasn’t reached that point yet.”
He acknowledges the role of tools like Copilot and ChatGPT, calling them companions rather than replacements.
“They save time. They make some tasks—especially repetitive ones—faster. What used to take me 30 minutes can now take one minute.”
But even as AI tools whisper solutions, Olamide insists on the irreplaceability of human judgment.
“We still need experience. We still need human understanding to build real products. AI complements, it doesn’t replace.”
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If you were mentoring a junior dev today, would you teach them how to code or how to prompt?
He didn’t even blink. “How to code.”
To him, prompting without foundational understanding is like navigating a city without a map.
“When you know how to code, you understand how things work under the hood. That’s what helps you prompt better.”
He draws from personal experience.
“I’m a front-end engineer, but I’ve done some backend too. So even when something’s not working on the backend, I know how to suggest alternatives. That only comes from understanding.”
How are you personally using these AI tools in your workflow at Prospa?
“I use ChatGPT. I use Cursor too, an AI-powered code editor,” Olamide says, cataloging them like well-worn instruments.
His voice lights up as he describes the freedom they offer. “Sometimes, I just need to write a quick script. Not because I can’t, but because it would take time.”
The tools, for him, are about velocity. “What would take me 30 minutes? Now, seconds. It’s like having a silent teammate.”
At Prospa, where time equals product velocity, these tools aren’t novelties. They’re accelerators.
What skills will be more valuable in the next five years – Writing code or architecting systems?
“Architecting systems,” he says, with the certainty of someone already standing in the future.
His reasoning is stark and logical: “AI already writes code. But it doesn’t understand trade-offs. It doesn’t design for scalability or performance.”
For Olamide, the emerging battlefield isn’t syntax—it’s systems thinking. It’s understanding how parts move and where they break. “The ability to architect? That’s what will set you apart.”
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What mindset would you advise a junior dev to have?
His answer starts with a warning. “Tech is glamorous, yes. But the glamour fades. Passion is what keeps you going.”
Olamide’s tone grows firmer. “If you don’t have passion for the work—the real work—you’ll get tired fast. That’s why I always tell junior devs: develop passion first.”
Then comes his second commandment: focus. “There are too many tools. Too many tutorials. And too many distractions,” he warns. “You don’t want to become a collector of abandoned projects.”
His voice edges into philosophy. “Master one thing. Become known for something. That’s how careers are built. Not by chasing every shiny thing.”
What advice would you give to others who want to study computer science?
He chuckles, the kind that comes from explaining something repeatedly.
“I don’t think the syllabus has changed much,” he says. “But the mindset should.”
For Ilori, the first step is intent. “Don’t study computer science just to get a BSc. If that’s what you want, pick another course. This one demands more.”
He recalls his own school days. “I learned Java while still in school. So when we had programming courses—Java, C++, C# – they were easy for me. I didn’t even need to attend every class.”
His secret? Practical knowledge. “When you understand how things work, you don’t need to cram. You just execute.”
And then he delivers the most striking line:
“It wasn’t my degree that made me a software engineer. It was my skill that helped me get better grades.”
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