Utiva started in 2020 as a platform teaching Africans digital skills like cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics, product marketing and product management. Founders built the training programs to prepare learners for globalopportunities. Over four years, Utiva trained more than 20,000 students and watched many land jobs with Amazon, Samsung, Mastercard, Shopify without Utiva orchestrating their job placements.
In 2024, Eyitayo Ogunmola, Utiva’s founder and CEO, paused to measure impact. He discovered that while the education side succeeded, many alumni earned global roles without direct hiring support. He saw a chance. He realized that helping more global employers hire African talent would multiply impact. So, Utiva changed direction. It moved from “skills-only” training to building tools that help companies hire, onboard and pay African talent.
Utiva Hire And Pay Is Closing The Gap Between Talent And Opportunity
Utiva now operates three main areas which are learning, hiring and payments. Of those, Utiva Hire and Pay receive over 70% of its current focus.
Through Utiva Hire, the company acts as an employer of record for global-north companies. It handles recruitment, compliance, payroll and all the legwork that companies outside Africa often find tricky. It also uses AI agents that scan LinkedIn and other sources to match employers with qualified African professionals. These AI agents also help talent optimize their CVs or cover letters, target relevant roles and refine profiles.
Utiva Pay supports payroll and compliance across borders. Companies that just need payment solutions can use Utiva Pay for a flat fee per employee. That flexibility lets Utiva serve both firms that want full services and those who just want to simplify payments.
From Learning To Earning
Utiva’s pivot builds on its strong learning foundation. It trained over 20,000 students by early 2025 through its edtech arm. Learning remains central as Utiva continues to deliver technical skills and plans a mini-MBA programme to deepen leadership, communication and other soft skills.
The business model charges global companies between US$500 and US$950 per month per talent when using the full hire-and-pay service. For companies that want only payroll or payment services, Utiva charges about US$29 per employee per month. Utiva says training remains a revenue source as well.
Utiva also says it has been profitable since 2022. It keeps expanding its team across Nigeria and global regions, handling growth, compliance, product and client partnerships.
Obstacles Utiva Faces and Its Path Forward
Utiva competes with global players that offer employer-of-record, hiring, payroll and compliance tools. Companies like Deel, Rippling and others have already serve some of the same markets. Yet Utiva thinks its strength lies not in trying to build the most powerful tech in every dimension but in focusing on the niche of foreign companies seeking African talent but lacking infrastructure. Utiva understands regulatory and cultural, logistical and payment hudles in Africa.
Compliance remains a challenge. Cross-border payroll requires navigating tax, labour law, currency, and banking rules across jurisdictions. Utiva must maintain trust, ensure that payments and contracts conform to laws in all involved countries, and build technology to automate much of those processes without compromising security.
Utiva now aims to onboard 600 companies globally within the next 12 months. It plans version 2 of its tech platform with upgraded payment rails, stronger compliance engine, and more sophisticated role-matching and assessment tools. It carefully balances scaling with preserving quality and trust.
Why Utiva’s Reinvention Matters
Many Africans learn technical skills. Many global companies want talent. But a disconnect persisted: hiring, payroll, compliance, remote onboarding made many opportunities hard or too risky. Utiva bridges that gap. It helps turn learners into earners with fewer friction points.
When an employer doesn’t know how to pay someone in Africa legally, Utiva provides the infrastructure to do so. When a job seeker tries to build a CV that matches international standards, Utiva tools help. When payment systems cross borders, Utiva Pay helps resolve trust, speed, and regulatory gaps.
This evolution holds promise not just for people in Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, or Kigali, but for the whole continent. Utiva imagines a future where African talent doesn’t just prepare. It competes, collaborates globally, earns fairly, and designs its own paths
