AI Should Build Trust, Not Just Automate — Babatunde Esanju
AI Should Build Trust, Not Just Automate — Babatunde Esanju
For Babatunde Esanju, co-founder and CTO across multiple ventures, technology must do more than automate processes. It must build trust.
Esanju began his career in LegalTech at LawPavilion Nigeria, digitizing case law and complex workflows. The role sharpened his discipline. In law, he said, compliance and accuracy are non-negotiable. That foundation shaped his work in FinTech and CareTech, where trust and safety carry equal weight.
At the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), he developed a Loan Management Portal that improved productivity by over 40 percent. By automating credit assessments, introducing role-based access, and integrating real-time reporting, the portal turned a slow, paper-heavy process into a dynamic digital system.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning, Esanju believes, are central to financial inclusion in Africa. Traditional credit systems often exclude millions with no formal history. At Wyrr, he applied fraud-prevention models that flagged suspicious activity in real time. At GenCapita, he used machine learning to recommend smarter investment strategies tailored to user behavior. These innovations, he argued, bring fairness and opportunity to underserved populations.
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But speed alone is not enough. In FinTech, Esanju insists on balancing innovation with regulation. At Gen Financial Limited, his team worked hand in hand with regulators on compliance frameworks. “Compliance is not a burden,” he said. “It’s a competitive advantage.”
His work at QOOP on a Buy Now, Pay Later platform highlighted the importance of transparency. By making repayment terms simple and clear, defaults fell, and long-term trust grew. The lesson, he noted, is that financial literacy must go hand in hand with digital credit.
Beyond finance, Esanju co-founded Aisiki, a logistics and AgriTech platform designed to connect farmers directly with markets and logistics providers. He sees agriculture as Africa’s next big opportunity, with IoT, mobile tools, and micro-lending set to drive transformation.
From Caresyntra in healthcare to TixTrack in ticketing, his focus has been consistent: build systems that combine innovation, compliance, and trust. Through his blog tundehub.dev and podcast TechNaija FM, he continues to share knowledge and spotlight African innovation.
“Technology should empower people,” he said. “Build solutions that matter, scale them ethically, and create opportunities for others.”
Content Credit: Moyosola Oni
Image Credit: Google .Com
