Nigerian Lawyer Leaves Oil for Crypto, Now Leads 20+ Markets

A Nigerian lawyer who spent years preparing for a corporate career in oil and gas just walked away from it all to build Africa's digital currency future.

Lasbery Oludimu started as head of chambers at a law firm, earning extra qualifications most trial lawyers skip. She completed advanced courses in arbitration and corporate governance, learning everything from finance to human resources to prepare for life inside companies.

In 2018, she landed exactly what she'd trained for: head of legal at Broron, an oil and gas services firm. She managed transactions, ran the legal department, and did the work she'd spent years preparing to do.

Then a conversation changed everything. Chris Maurice, founder of Yellow Card, walked her through his vision for stablecoin infrastructure across Africa. What started as a consulting gig while she was still in private practice became impossible to ignore.

By 2021, Oludimu left oil and gas completely. She joined Yellow Card as in-house counsel, handling registrations and regulatory filings as the company expanded across African markets.

But she didn't stop at legal work. To write proper terms and conditions for Yellow Pay, the company's payment gateway, she had to understand how the product actually worked. That curiosity pulled her deeper into operations.

In 2024, she made it official. Oludimu became Vice President of Operations, now supervising product and regulatory operations across more than 20 African countries.

Her approach to work traces back to boarding school, where she had to account for every naira of pocket money to her housemaster before getting more. As the youngest of seven children, she watched her siblings leave home one by one and learned early that you don't dodge responsibility when things matter.

Why This Inspires

Oludimu's story represents a larger shift happening across Africa. Professionals with traditional credentials are choosing to build the continent's digital infrastructure instead of following safer, more established paths.

She believes Africa's digital asset future depends on collaboration and strong digital identity systems as much as technology itself. Her willingness to cross from law into operations shows the kind of versatility African tech companies need as they scale across borders and regulatory landscapes.

When she talks about responsibility, she means it practically. If something goes wrong on her watch, she owns it, fixes it, and moves forward. That's the kind of leadership turning African fintech companies from startups into regional powerhouses.

Africa's next generation of tech leaders might not look like Silicon Valley founders at all.