# Stephen Igwue

> Stephen Igwue is a Nigerian software engineer and co-founder of Suplias (YC S21), a Lagos-based B2B fintech that lets FMCG distributors and retailers buy inventory on credit through its Obtainly app. He leads the company as Chief Executive Officer, having earlier driven its technology as CTO, and describes his work in the language of Arthur C. Clarke: building software good enough to look like magic.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Suplias
- **Organizations:** Suplias, Obtainly
- **Nationality:** Nigerian
- **Education:** MSc, Communication Systems, Lancaster University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Suplias, accepted into Y Combinator's record-setting Summer 2021 batch of African startups, Helped build a platform that grew roughly 40% month-on-month for 11 consecutive months, Built Obtainly, a mobile app that disburses inventory financing to distributors within 24 hours with no collateral

## Career timeline

- **2014** — Placed third at Lancaster University Startup Weekend
- **2015** — Completed MSc in Communication Systems at Lancaster University
- **2019** — Co-founded Suplias in Lagos with Sefa Ikyaator (and Michael Adesanya)
- **2021** — Suplias joined Y Combinator's Summer 2021 batch and raised seed funding
- **2021** — Served as CTO, leading Suplias' engineering and product
- **2024** — Leading Suplias as Chief Executive Officer, focused on B2B inventory financing via Obtainly

## Achievements

- Co-founded Suplias, accepted into Y Combinator's record-setting Summer 2021 batch of African startups
- Helped build a platform that grew roughly 40% month-on-month for 11 consecutive months
- Built Obtainly, a mobile app that disburses inventory financing to distributors within 24 hours with no collateral
- Placed third at Lancaster University Startup Weekend in 2014

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Suplias profiled for its work transforming B2B financing in Nigeria, with Stephen Igwue leading as CEO.

## Links

- Website: https://suplias.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stigwue
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/suplias
- GitHub: https://github.com/stigwue
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/suplias

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/stephen-igwue
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-31