Free Reads How A Bootstrapped Nigerian Startup Survived A Death Spiral To Outdo Global Giants By Henry Nzekwe  |  June 24, 2026 Chuma Chukwujama graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University in 1996 with an electrical engineering degree and a clear conviction that he did not want to be an engineer. Instead, he walked into a Nigeria where computers were exotic curiosities, banks still ran on paper, and the word “startup” meant nothing to anyone. Nigeria, at the time, was transitioning from military to civilian rule. That coincided with a period when computers were just becoming a real thing and small banks were trying to figure out how to connect their systems and computerise their operations. Chukwujama stepped into that gap early; one might say he’s been there since the actual Day 1. Twenty-five years later, his company Xceed365HR counts First Bank, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, Union Bank, and Seplat Energy among its clients. It has grown into a thriving business without raising a kobo of venture capital. And this…