# Sefa Ikyaator

> Sefa Ikyaator is co-founder and CEO of Suplias, the Nigerian company behind Obtainly, which supports consumer-goods distributors with payments and inventory financing. His background includes sales and trade marketing at Procter & Gamble, Philip Morris International and GB Foods. A Y Combinator Summer 2021 founder, he also mentors early-stage African founders and writes Life, Business and Jollof Chronicles.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Suplias
- **Organizations:** Suplias, Procter & Gamble, Philip Morris International, GB Foods, Y Combinator, Future Africa, Be A Miracle Network, GIGREE
- **Nationality:** Nigerian
- **Education:** Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Leadership By Design Program (executive program, not a degree), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Master’s studies in nuclear engineering; left before completion
- **Known for:** Co-founded Suplias and participated in Y Combinator Summer 2021., Reported eightfold Obtainly revenue growth in 2023; this is a founder-reported figure, not an audited result., Received four sales and commercial awards from Procter & Gamble between 2012 and 2016.

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Began coordinating volunteer projects at Be A Miracle Network, according to his LinkedIn profile.
- **2012** — Received P&G’s ACE Award.
- **2013** — Received P&G’s West Africa Key Account Manager of the Year award.
- **2016** — Received P&G’s Power of You Award and Ultimate Sales Champion recognition.
- **2020** — Suplias launched in May, following a shopkeeper pilot; YC lists the company’s founding year as 2019.
- **2021** — Suplias joined Y Combinator’s Summer batch.
- **2022** — Publicly shared his participation in MIT’s Leadership By Design Program.
- **2023** — Began mentoring with Future Africa’s Accelerate Africa program; later reported Obtainly’s eightfold 2023 revenue growth.
- **2024** — Published essays about store expansion, collaboration and handling bad news.
- **2026** — Published arguments for manufacturing incubation and factory-led agricultural supply chains.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Suplias and participated in Y Combinator Summer 2021.
- Reported eightfold Obtainly revenue growth in 2023; this is a founder-reported figure, not an audited result.
- Received four sales and commercial awards from Procter & Gamble between 2012 and 2016.
- Mentors early-stage founders through Future Africa’s Accelerate Africa program.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Published “Want to Transform Nigerian Agriculture? Build Factories.” on October 9, connecting his farm childhood and distribution career with his argument for reliable industrial buyers.
- **2026-01** — Published “Nigeria Will Not Industrialise by Accident” on January 30, proposing an incubator and accelerator ecosystem for manufacturing.
- **2024-12** — Published an essay about how leaders should respond to bad news.

## Links

- Website: https://lbjchronicles.substack.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sefa-ikyaator/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sefa-ikyaator
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12