While he was born in the U.S, Akinyemiju said, according to an interview with Moguldom, at Africa House (a venue at SXSW 2018), that he returned to Nigeria to “do something bigger”, and he certainly has. Bunmi is a serial entrepreneur, technology innovator and investor. He is the CEO of
Venture Garden Group (VGG) – a high-growth technology investment holding company that has incubated and invested in a group of financial technology (FINTECH) companies that provide powerful and innovative technology platforms addressing payment and data inefficiencies across multiple sectors of the African economy. He is also a Founding Partner at GreenHouse Capital (GHC) – the venture arm of the Venture Garden Group which has invested in almost 25 innovative fintech companies across Africa.
In 2021, GreenHouse Capital launched its 6-week accelerator program, which aimed to provide the selected participants with valuable insight through exclusive sessions with global investors and more than three corporate partners, such as Amazon Web Services, Google for Startups and others. In addition, the selected participants were suspected to have received golden nuggets and advice from established politicians and startup founders. All the selected startups were reported to enjoy $10 000 in investment funding and had the opportunity to be wired an additional $50 000 from the GHC Founders Fund, along with the backing of Greenhouse Capital . This was subject to whether the startup had been accepted into a top global accelerator. According to Bunmi Akinyemiju, MD/CEO, Venture Garden Group (VGG) and Greenhouse Capital, the GreenHouse Capital Founders Fund is based on the ethos of “founders backing founders”, providing established startup founders with a way to give back to the startup community. The programme was specifically aimed at African fintech startups, six of the winners being from Nigeria and two from Kenya.
