{"id":"njoku-emmanuel","title":"Njoku Emmanuel","content":"**Njoku Emmanuel** is a Nigerian software engineer and entrepreneur known for his work in the [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) and financial technology (Fintech) sectors. \n\nHe gained prominence as the co-founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency payment gateway Lazerpay. Following the shutdown of Lazerpay, he founded [Ultramarkets](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ultramarkets), a decentralized perpetuals trading protocol. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh) \n\n## Early Life\n\nNjoku Emmanuel was raised in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh) \n\nHis interest in technology began at the age of 13 when his aunt, a robotic engineer, introduced him to computer programming. Initially, he harbored ambitions of creating his own operating system or a social media platform. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr)​\n\n## Education\n\nEmmanuel attended the Niger Delta Science School in Port Harcourt, where he received advanced instruction in subjects such as electronics and physics. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh) \n\nHe demonstrated a strong aptitude for mathematics, achieving A+ grades in both Mathematics and Further Mathematics in his final secondary school examinations in 2017. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr)​\n\nIn 2018, he was admitted to Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) to study Electrical Engineering. However, he dropped out during his first year, stating that he found the curriculum to be \"too elementary\" and less advanced than what he had learned in secondary school. He described his short time at the university as a \"waste of time\" and chose to pursue self-education and a full-time career in technology instead. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr) [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh)​\n\n## Career\n\n### Early Ventures and Entry into Blockchain\n\nBefore focusing on blockchain technology, Emmanuel explored several business ventures that were ultimately unsuccessful. These included dropshipping, building websites for local businesses, and a concept for a water delivery service called QAqua. At the age of 17, around 2019, he decided to specialize in blockchain engineering. He taught himself to code on the blockchain using open-source materials, including Andreas M. Antonopoulos's book *Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain*. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh)​\n\nHis first professional role was an internship at Quiva Games, a gaming company in Enugu, which he undertook while briefly enrolled at ESUT in 2018. During the COVID-19 lockdown period, he intensified his focus on coding, often for 12 hours a day. This led to his first remote job as a mobile application developer at a company named Kwivar, where he earned N70,000 per month. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr)​\n\n### Rise as a Blockchain Engineer\n\nTwo months after starting at Kwivar, Emmanuel transitioned into a dedicated blockchain role with Project Hydro, a company based in the British Virgin Islands, earning a salary of $700 per month. He later joined a Nigerian firm as a blockchain engineer, where his salary increased from N150,000 to N300,000 per month. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr)​\n\nHis skills gained international recognition, leading to a series of high-profile, lucrative positions with global companies. He became the first Nigerian engineer to be employed by the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) company [MakerDAO](https://iq.wiki/wiki/makerdao), where he earned over 3,000 per week. During his time with Avarta, he was responsible for building the company's entire blockchain infrastructure. He also received a contract offer from the DeFi protocol company Instadapp for 20,000 per month at his peak.  [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr) [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh)​\n\n### Lazerpay\n\nIn 2021, at the age of 19, Emmanuel decided to shift from being an engineer to an entrepreneur. He co-founded Lazerpay along with [Abdulfatai Suleiman](https://iq.wiki/wiki/abdulfatai-suleiman) and Prosper Ubi. Emmanuel served as the company's CEO. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr) \n\nHe rejected a significant salary increase from Avarta (from 15,000 per month) and a reported job offer worth $500,000 annually to focus on building his own company in Africa. In December 2021, he resigned from his position at [MakerDAO](https://iq.wiki/wiki/makerdao) to dedicate himself fully to Lazerpay. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr) [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh)​\n\nLazerpay was a [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency) payment gateway designed to help African businesses overcome the challenges of cross-border payments. The platform allowed merchants to accept payments in stablecoins like USDT and BUSD from a global clientele, which could then be settled in the merchant's local currency. This aimed to bypass issues associated with traditional banking systems and local currency volatility. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh) \n\nSpeaking on his motivation in 2022, Emmanuel stated, \"We want to create a solution that helps them (businesses) accept payments from anyone, anywhere in the world... a future where crypto is a major part of the African financial system and we want to be at the forefront of that.\" [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh)​\n\nThe company gained early traction and, in 2022, announced it had raised over $1.1 million in a pre-seed funding round. The round included investors such as Yele Bademosi, founder and CEO of Nestcoin. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr) [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh)​\n\nDespite its initial success, Lazerpay faced significant challenges. In April 2023, the company officially announced it was ceasing operations. The shutdown was attributed to an inability to close a subsequent seed funding round amid challenging market conditions for tech and crypto startups. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh)​\n\n### Ultramarkets\n\nFollowing the closure of Lazerpay, Emmanuel founded his next venture, [Ultramarkets](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ultramarkets), in 2023. This project marked a shift in focus from crypto payments to the broader DeFi sector. \n\n​[Ultramarkets](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ultramarkets) is a decentralized protocol designed for trading perpetuals and other derivatives on-chain, catering to a more specialized segment of the crypto market. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-0ogL3l0h70uAqznh)​\n\n## Personal Life\n\nEmmanuel's career path initially met with resistance from his parents, who had hoped he would become a medical doctor like his older brother. After he dropped out of university to pursue programming, his father confiscated his laptop in an attempt to get him to refocus on his formal studies. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr)​\n\nThe family's perspective shifted once Emmanuel achieved significant financial success as a blockchain developer. He eventually took over the payment of his older brother's medical school tuition. His parents became supportive of his career, going so far as to encourage his youngest sibling to pursue software engineering. At one point in his career, Emmanuel relocated from Nigeria to Dubai to better connect with the global blockchain ecosystem. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr)​","summary":"Njoku Emmanuel is a Nigerian blockchain engineer and entrepreneur. He co-founded the crypto payment gateway Lazerpay and later founded Ultramarkets, a decentralized perpetuals trading protocol, focusing on building financial infrastructure for Africa.","images":[{"id":"QmNkK4d9Ra3QAxWDShYxyXgsFjJcD33QAXGt3j5ddZQDf1","type":"image/jpeg, image/png"}],"categories":[{"id":"people","title":"people"}],"tags":[{"id":"Founders"},{"id":"Developers"},{"id":"PeopleInDeFi"}],"media":[{"id":"QmXHoPx1aNZZZ6H21pnPwESbGNtBF4if8NMYxfqmLh8VMf","type":"GALLERY","source":"IPFS_IMG"}],"metadata":[{"id":"references","value":"[{\"id\":\"0ogL3l0h70uAqznh\",\"url\":\"https://techpoint.africa/insight/njoku-emmanuel-blockchain-journey/\",\"description\":\"Njoku Emmanuel's blockchain journey and Lazerpay shutdown\",\"timestamp\":1775663932269},{\"id\":\"D7lX5pdyeNb0Qysr\",\"url\":\"https://thewillnews.com/meet-emmanuel-njoku-the-19-year-old-disrupting-the-technological-space-with-lazerpay/\",\"description\":\"Profile of Njoku Emmanuel and Lazerpay founding\",\"timestamp\":1775663932269},{\"id\":\"weSGf7eXk35JUgtk\",\"description\":\"Njoku Emmanuel LinkedIn page\",\"timestamp\":1775664168522,\"url\":\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/njokuscript/\"}]"},{"id":"twitter_profile","value":"https://x.com/njokuScript"},{"id":"linkedin_profile","value":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/njoku-emmanuel/"},{"id":"github_profile","value":"https://github.com/njokuemmanuel"},{"id":"website","value":"https://www.ultramarkets.io/"},{"id":"commit-message","value":"\"Added wiki page for Njoku Emmanuel\""}],"events":[{"id":"c820a24c-3f0b-41e7-894a-e7210d58fb97","date":"2018-09","title":"Dropped Out of University","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Dropped out of his Electrical Engineering program at Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT) to pursue a career in technology, finding the curriculum outdated.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null},{"id":"9ec8ae08-16bd-471f-82f4-7cd0c67bc873","date":"2021-10","title":"Co-founded Lazerpay","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Co-founded Lazerpay, a cryptocurrency payment gateway designed to simplify cross-border transactions for African businesses, serving as its CEO.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null},{"id":"7ed07aa1-db1f-42b6-a491-849a7c559a5c","date":"2023-04","title":"Lazerpay Ceased Operations","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Lazerpay officially ceased operations after failing to secure a seed funding round amidst challenging market conditions.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null},{"id":"cfe3bfab-9a45-496e-af53-d3a601ee1dce","date":"2023-05","title":"Founded Ultramarkets","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Founded Ultramarkets, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol focused on perpetuals and derivatives trading, shifting focus from payments to DeFi.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"continent":null,"country":null}],"user":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"author":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"operator":{"id":"0x212Cb3F4aE6611054637f9f78F18fB628AD258bb"},"language":"en","version":1,"linkedWikis":{"blockchains":[],"founders":[],"speakers":[]}}