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Meet 42-year-old Richest US-based Nigerian Who Owns $3bn Rech Company

Published

2 years ago

February 1, 2024

Forbes has named a 42-year-old man, Tope Awotona, as the richest immigrant and Nigerian-American residing in the United States.

Awotona is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Calendly, a scheduling software company, worth $3 billion.

He was born in Lagos but migrated to the US in his teenage years, and previously worked as a salesman for tech firms like EMC (now Dell EMC).

Forbes disclosed that Awotona started Calendly in response to his frustration with the time-consuming back-and-forth emails needed for meeting scheduling.

Having self-funded Calendly for an extended period, Tope Awotona secured a substantial $350 million investment in 2021, propelling the company’s valuation to $3 billion.

Before the creation of Calendly, Awotona ventured into other businesses, such as a projector-selling venture and a garden tools enterprise, both of which did not succeed. The majority of his wealth, however, comes from the software he created.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia, Awotona resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his family.

Calendly, the software company he founded, specialises in a business communication platform designed for teams to efficiently schedule, prepare, and follow up on external meetings.

Awotona started Calendly, after investing all his life savings of $200,000 into it and later quitting his job selling software for EMC.

As part of the success of his initiatives, the company has 10 million users and counts Lyft, Ancestry.com, Indiana University and La-Z-Boy among its customers.

The American business magazine said Awotona’s revenue last year passed $100 million, double what it booked the previous year.

It further said that the company, which was founded in Atlanta but no longer has any physical offices, has been profitable since 2016.

Last year it raised $350 million in funding from OpenView Venture Partners and Iconiq Capital at a price that values the business at $3 billion.

That means Awotona’s majority stake is worth at least $1.4 billion, after the 10% discount that Forbes applies to shares of all private companies.

Awotona is one of just two Black tech billionaires in the United States, along with David Steward, the 70-year-old founder of Missouri-based IT provider World Wide Technology.

Attesting to his success, David Cummings, founder of Atlanta Ventures, which led a $550,000 seed investment in Calendly seven years ago, said, “Tope could be the most successful African-American tech entrepreneur of his generation.”

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U.S. Lawmaker Reacts To Nigeria, U.S. Airstrikes

Published

2 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

United States Congressman, Riley Moore, has stated that President Donald Trump is determined to put an end to the killing of Christians in Nigeria, warning that further action may follow if the violence persists.

Moore made the statement on Friday via his official X handle.

According to the lawmaker, the strike represents the first step in addressing what he described as the ongoing slaughter of Christians and the broader security crisis affecting Nigerians across religious and ethnic lines.

“President Trump has been clear that the killing of Christians in Nigeria must end,” he said.

He that the administration’s resolve on the matter should not be underestimated.

“As I stated at the outset: Do not test President Trump‘s resolved in this matter.

“Tonight’s strike in coordination with the Nigerian government is just the first step to ending the slaughter of Christians and the security crisis affecting all Nigerians,” he said.

He stressed that the operation signals a stronger stance by the United States in support of Nigeria’s efforts to tackle terrorism and violent extremism, noting that further measures could be taken if the situation does not improve.

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US Dept Of War Shares Video Of Air Strikes In Nigeria

Published

3 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

A video footage of the US military air strikes in Nigeria has emerged.

The video was released by the US Department of War following its air strikes against terrorists in Sokoto.

Earlier, the US secretary of War, Pete Hegseth had confirmed that military air strikes hit terrorists in Nigerians, saying it was deadly.

Later on, the US. African Command, confirmed that it conducted the attacks described as very deadly by President Donald Trump.

Trump said he was only keeping the promise he made earlier last month to strike the terrorists he believes are killing innocent Christians.

Although described as powerful and deadly, the casualty caused by the attack is yet to be released.

Explaining further, security expert, Brant Philip, said the strikes may have been launched “from the USS Paul Ignatius, using a Tomahawk missile.”

The Nigerian government through its ministry of foreign affairs has also confirmed that the strikes were successful.

Watch video here

Headline

JUST IN: US Forces Bomb Terrorists Camps In Nigeria

Published

4 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

United States President Donald Trump said US forces conducted deadly strikes against Islamic State terrorists in northwestern Nigeria, and vowed more attacks if the militants keep killing Christians.

“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that “the Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes.”

Trump stated that the Department of War “executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.”

The US president wished everyone Merry Christmas, “including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”

Details later.