On Friday, June 27, Julian Duru, a Nigerian software engineer, retired from his role at Moniepoint Inc., bringing to an end a 10-year journey that began when he was barely 20.
Duru’s departure was met with respect and emotion from peers and tech colleagues.
“Almost feels like Ezra leaving Paystack back then,” said a customer success manager.
“Leaving is not easy,” Duru admitted. “When you’ve poured your heart into something, it becomes more than just work; it becomes a part of who you are. But growth often means letting go.”
Born in Nigeria, Duru studied at the University of Lagos. He began programming at age 15, after a chance encounter with a book on algorithms in the school library.
“I stood in the aisle of UNILAG’s library looking for something fun to read. I stumbled on a book about solving math problems using algorithms. That’s how I discovered ALGOL and began learning to code,” he recalled.
He would go on to explore various domains, from building mobile games to medical diagnostics software, long before entering professional work. His first industry roles included an internship at Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and a developer role at Traclist, where he focused on mobile app development.
In 2015, Duru joined a small team of engineers working out of an apartment in 1004 Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos, led by Tosin Eniolorunda. Then called TeamApt, the startup was building foundational financial infrastructure for Nigerian banks.
“We started this company from nothing. Just a few of us writing code late into the night. I was fresh out of school, obsessed with building great products,” Duru shared in his farewell post on LinkedIn.
Over time, TeamApt evolved into Moniepoint Inc., a digital banking and payments platform.
Today, Moniepoint is a privately held startup valued at over $1 billion, processing over a billion transactions monthly and serving millions of users across Africa.
Over a decade, Duru helped shape many of the systems that power Moniepoint today. These include:
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Payments infrastructure and switching systems
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Settlement and reconciliation engines
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Fraud detection tools
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Monnify virtual accounts
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Moneytor (a project that later evolved into Moniepoint’s business banking platform)
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Credit and loan systems
He also played various roles, from software architect to product manager and test automation engineer, contributing across multiple layers of Moniepoint’s technology stack.
“I’ve written trivial code and momentous code. I’ve built apps, games, diagnostic tools, and financial systems. I’ve worked with brilliant people and learned immensely,” he noted.
While stepping down from his role as a Principal Engineer, Duru made it clear that he wasn’t retiring from purpose.
“This is a resignation from paid employment, but not from purpose. I will continue to do everything I can to support my fellow humans with the resources the universe has blessed me with.”
He said his focus will now be on building technology for decentralized intelligence, systems where humans and machines collaborate peer to peer, without central control, using cryptography and incentive design to unlock value in proprietary data while preserving privacy.
He believes that decentralized systems, privacy preserving AI, and sustainable infrastructure represent the next frontier in tech.
Moniepoint Today
Moniepoint is now Africa’s largest merchant acquirer, responsible for most of Nigeria’s POS transactions. In 2025, it was named to the TIME100 Most Influential Companies list.
CEO Tosin Eniolorunda commented on the recognition:
“This recognition by TIME is a powerful validation of the work we do every day to create financial happiness for millions of people and businesses in Africa.”
Despite its success, Moniepoint continues to face the operational challenges typical of large fintechs, including occasional customer service lapses.
Bamidele, an electro mechanical technician, said the company still offers poor service as “his money has been stuck with one of [its] representatives till date.”