Nigerian Engineer Goes from VR Newbie to MTN Tech Leader

Babatunde Fatai walked into a university lab and saw students excitedly gathered around something unusual: a simple cardboard headset that turned smartphones into portals to virtual worlds.

That moment at the University of Ilorin changed everything for the mechanical engineering student. He realized his phone wasn't just for calls and games but a tool for creating immersive experiences that could transport people anywhere.

Within weeks, Fatai was teaching himself VR development through YouTube tutorials and learning from fellow students. His laptop crashed every ten minutes, but he kept building. He started organizing tutorials for friends, entering competitions, and sharing his projects on LinkedIn.

The competitions became his classroom. Each project built his confidence and portfolio while his mechanical engineering coursework offered little practical application for his growing passion. He chose to follow the excitement of emerging tech over traditional engineering certifications.

Before graduating, opportunity found him. PwC Nigeria was launching an innovation hub focused on VR, AR, blockchain, and AI, skills that were extremely rare in Nigeria at the time. They discovered Fatai through his published work and competition wins, calling him for an interview months before graduation.

He started working at PwC's Experience Center before finishing school and never even attended his convocation ceremony. There, he built immersive training solutions for refineries and developed projects for multinational clients, blending consulting with hands-on product development.

His work caught MTN's attention during a pivotal transformation. The telecom giant was evolving into a full technology company, launching 5G and needing someone who could build tangible experiences showcasing what the new technology could enable. Fatai joined their emerging technologies team, bringing his journey from curious student to industry specialist full circle.

Why This Inspires

Fatai's path proves that career-defining moments often happen outside the classroom. His willingness to share what he learned, teach others, and document his progress created opportunities he never imagined while studying mechanical engineering. Most importantly, he built his expertise with basic equipment and free resources, showing that passion and persistence matter more than perfect conditions.

Today, he's helping shape how one of Africa's largest companies adopts emerging technologies, all because he walked into a lab and let curiosity lead the way.