Modern Trade, Ancient Roots
Heydeo (pronounced hay-DEE-oh) is derived from the Yoruba word “ẹdìọ̀” - the cowrie shell that served as currency across West Africa for centuries. We’re building the future of African exports.
Our Mission
To empower African exporters with world-class technology, connecting them to global markets and helping them compete on the international stage.
Global Reach
Connect with verified buyers in 50+ countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
AI-Powered
Cutting-edge artificial intelligence automates documentation, compliance, and buyer matching.
Community First
Built by Africans, for African exporters. We understand your unique challenges.
Trusted Platform
Enterprise-grade security and compliance with international trade standards.
Founding Team
A high-technical-density founding team with deep domain expertise and 50+ combined years building trust-critical, audit-ready enterprise systems.
HQ in Sweden, starting with Nigeria and Kenya.
Festus Jejelowo
The Architect
CEO & Chief Architect
20+ years building trust-critical enterprise systems that trade off multiple objectives — cost, risk, quality, and sustainability. Deep expertise in AI/ML decision trees, reinforcement learning, and optimization algorithms, extending beyond LLMs to the full spectrum of intelligent systems.
Core Contributions
- • Built the core decision models powering Heydeo’s Deal Dossier and routing logic
- • Ensures AI recommendations are interpretable, traceable, and auditable for banks and partners
- • Architects data pipelines and integrations for enterprise-grade reliability
- • Designs systems that balance competing objectives in high-stakes trade workflows
Dapo Okegbemila
The Domain Expert
Head of Product
10+ years in procurement, sourcing, and supply chain — with hands-on understanding of the real-world constraints that make export deals break: terms ambiguity, supplier/buyer risk, document mismatches, and operational bottlenecks.
Core Contributions
- • Articulated 50+ decision points in the export workflow from lived experience
- • Defines “what good looks like” for AI-assisted decisions across terms, docs, and exceptions
- • Curates training data and validates AI outputs against real-world standards
- • Keeps the product grounded in how exporters, banks, and logistics operators actually work
Philomina Ejegi
Founding GTM & Operations
Head of Growth & Operations
MSc Mathematics. Drives early-stage traction and ensures product-market fit through structured go-to-market execution. Manages key partnerships and coordinates pilot programs with exporters and ecosystem partners.
Core Contributions
- • Manages training data quality, labeling, and feedback loops
- • Coordinates pilot programs and early customer engagements
- • Ensures operational excellence across the organization
- • Keeps the ship running while scaling the team and product
Segun Adebumiti
Platform Engineer
Platform & Integration Lead
MSc Computer Science. Deep expertise in API design, data pipelines, and enterprise integration patterns. Understands the requirements around security, compliance, and audit trails that enterprise partners demand.
Core Contributions
- • Built connectors to ERP systems, partner tools, and document repositories
- • Designed real-time systems with enterprise-grade scalability
- • Strong backend skills with experience in high-throughput, low-latency environments
- • Ensures integrations meet security and compliance requirements
“We didn't just study the problem — we lived it, built systems around it, and are now building the infrastructure to solve it at scale.”
The next generation of infrastructure will not just automate actions — it will help people decide better.
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