Dr Samuel Farohunbi: The Nigerian AI Educator Building Technology for Jobs, Creators and the Next Generation of Innovators

With more than 9,500 young people mentored, two technology platforms serving a growing global audience and a student-led healthcare innovation reaching the Grand Finale of an international competition in London, Dr Samuel Farohunbi is connecting education, entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence in ways that are creating opportunities beyond the classroom.

What if a graduate could build a professional website, get a domain, showcase their skills and attract employers without paying thousands of dollars to a web developer? What if a young content creator could earn from their creativity without first having to build a massive social media following? And what if university students could turn an idea developed during their studies into a healthcare innovation recognised on an international stage?

These are some of the problems Nigerian academic and technology entrepreneur, Dr Samuel Farohunbi, is working to solve.

Through Freebyz, he is building an employment and talent marketplace that helps people find jobs, showcase their skills and build professional websites using AI. Through Payhankey, he is developing a creator platform that helps people turn their content, audiences and communities into income. Both products have mobile applications available on Google Play.

But Farohunbi’s work extends beyond building technology products. As an AI educator, academic and Director of the Career Centre at Thomas Adewumi University (TAU), he has mentored more than 9,500 Nigerian youths in entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence and digital marketing.

His work has also helped more than 3,000 TAU students access professional learning opportunities, collectively earning over 8,000 certifications from international learning platforms.

Now, one of the student innovation projects he has mentored, Medpatch, has reached the Grand Finale of the 2026 NextGen Innovation Challenge in London.

For Farohunbi, these achievements are connected. Whether he is teaching AI, helping a graduate become more employable, building a platform for content creators or mentoring students to develop healthcare technology, the objective is the same: use technology and knowledge to create opportunities that people can actually benefit from.

Building technology that solves everyday problems

Farohunbi’s technology journey is particularly interesting because his businesses address problems that millions of people can relate to.

Consider a young graduate who has completed university but struggles to get noticed by employers. A CV may list qualifications and experience, but it does not always show what the candidate can do.

Or consider a content creator who spends hours creating videos, writing posts and building an audience but struggles to earn a sustainable income from that effort.

These are not abstract technology problems. They affect real people, and they are the kind of challenges Farohunbi is addressing through his technology companies.

Freebyz: Helping people get discovered, build professional websites and get hire https://freebyz.com (https://freebyz.com)

Freebyz has evolved from a remote jobs platform into a wider employment and talent marketplace connecting job seekers, students, freelancers, professionals and employers across different countries.

The platform, developed by Freebyz Technologies Ltd, has grown to more than 350,000 users and provides access to job vacancies, remote work, internships, digital tasks and professional talent discovery.

But one of its most interesting developments is its focus on professional visibility.

Freebyz recognises that finding a job is not the only challenge facing talented people. Many professionals have the skills employers need but lack the resources to present those skills professionally online. The platform is addressing this through its Talent Marketplace and professional website-building services. Users can create professional profiles, showcase their experience, certifications, projects and portfolios, and make it easier for employers and potential clients to discover and contact them.

Freebyz is also making it possible for professionals to build their own websites using AI, access professional website templates and obtain a domain for their online identity.

This means a graduate, designer, software developer, writer, digital marketer or consultant can build a personal professional website without having to learn web development or hire an expensive developer.

Imagine an employer searching for a graphic designer and finding a website displaying the designer’s projects, experience, services and contact details. That is the kind of professional visibility Freebyz wants to make accessible to people around the world.

The idea is simple: your CV should not be the only place where people can see your abilities.

Freebyz wants people to build an online professional identity that works for them even when they are not actively applying for jobs.

With more than 200,000 professional profiles on the platform, its Talent Marketplace is also creating opportunities for employers to discover people based on their skills and experience.

Freebyz is available globally through its website and Android application.

Explore Freebyz: https://freebyz.com

Create a professional portfolio: https://freebyz.com/talent-marketplace

Download the Freebyz app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobile.freebyz

Payhankey: Helping creators turn content into income

https://payhankey.com (https://payhankey.com)

Another technology venture associated with Farohunbi is Payhankey, an AI-powered creator monetisation platform built with African creators in mind.

Every day, millions of people create content online. Students share knowledge, comedians entertain audiences, educators teach, musicians publish their work, and entrepreneurs build communities around their businesses.

Yet, creating content and earning from it are two different things.

Many creators spend years building their social media audiences before gaining access to meaningful monetisation opportunities. For emerging creators, the required follower thresholds and platform restrictions can make earning difficult.

Payhankey is designed to provide another route.

The platform allows creators to publish content, build communities and explore multiple ways of earning from their creativity and audience. These include eligible content rewards, creator memberships, community subscriptions, referrals and other monetisation opportunities.

Creators can publish posts, share short-form videos through Payhankey Rolls, build public or private communities, and connect with their audiences.

The platform also supports payment options designed around African markets, including local currency payouts and other supported payment methods.

Its goal is to help creators move beyond simply collecting likes and views and begin building sustainable digital businesses.

With more than 32,000 users and over 1,700 creators paid, Payhankey is growing its presence in the creator economy.

Farohunbi’s vision is to help 30 million creators by 2030 gain better access to digital monetisation opportunities.

The platform is also developing AI-powered creator tools to help users generate ideas, improve their content and grow their digital presence.

Payhankey is available through its website and Android application.

Explore Payhankey: https://payhankey.com

Download the Payhankey app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.payhankey.app

For Farohunbi, Freebyz and Payhankey represent two sides of a changing digital economy: one helps people showcase their professional value and access employment opportunities, while the other helps creators turn their knowledge, creativity and communities into income.

Both are built around a common belief that technology should make opportunities more accessible.

Mentoring 9,500 young Nigerians: Changing how students prepare for work

Long before Medpatch reached London, Farohunbi had been working on another important challenge: preparing young people for a world of work that is changing rapidly.

As Director of the Career Centre at Thomas Adewumi University, he has championed a model of career development that goes beyond helping students write CVs and prepare for interviews.

His approach focuses on industry readiness.

Students are encouraged to acquire additional skills, obtain professional certifications, explore entrepreneurship and understand the opportunities available in the global economy.

Through the Career Centre, more than 3,000 students have been guided towards professional development opportunities, collectively obtaining over 8,000 certifications from platforms including Coursera, IBM SkillsBuild, edX, Commonwealth of Learning and Saylor Academy.

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For students, these opportunities can make a practical difference.

A student studying biochemistry can learn data analytics or artificial intelligence. A management student can develop digital marketing and project management skills. A computer science student can explore machine learning and product development.

The aim is to help students graduate with more than academic qualifications.

Farohunbi has also mentored over 9,500 Nigerian youths in entrepreneurship, AI education and digital marketing through wider capacity-development and training activities.

This work reflects his belief that young Nigerians should not have to wait until they graduate before developing the skills required to compete in the modern economy.

His approach is particularly relevant as artificial intelligence begins to change the way businesses operate, employees work and entrepreneurs build products.

KnowledgeX: Why university staff must also keep learning

Farohunbi’s interest in professional development extends to the people responsible for educating and supporting students.

At Thomas Adewumi University, he organises KnowledgeX, a monthly capacity-development programme designed to help university staff improve their professional knowledge and skills.

The programme creates opportunities for staff members to learn about emerging technologies, explore new approaches to their work and engage with developments in education and professional practice.

This is important because preparing students for the future requires universities to continually improve the skills of their own workforce.

Through KnowledgeX, Farohunbi is encouraging a culture where professional learning does not end with a qualification or a job appointment.

The objective is to build an institution where both students and staff continue to develop.

From a university idea to an international innovation stage

Perhaps the most visible demonstration of Farohunbi’s mentorship approach is Medpatch, the student-led healthcare innovation that reached the 2026 NextGen Innovation Challenge Grand Finale in London.

The project is a wearable, hydrogel-based microneedle patch concept that integrates Internet of Things technology and machine learning for real-time health biomarker monitoring.

Its development brought together students from different disciplines, demonstrating how collaboration between healthcare and technology can lead to new approaches to medical challenges.

The team comprises Oluwatodunni Obafemi, Team Lead, alongside Aimas-Love Lily, Erioluwa Ajayi, Eniola Fonahanmi-Idris and Adeoye Favour.

The project received mentorship and technical guidance from Dr Farohunbi and Miss Aimas-Love Lily, a Graduate Assistant in Computing Science at the university.

Its first major recognition came in June 2025 at the AFRETEC-UNILAG Innovation-in-Health Challenge.

Out of 102 teams comprising 339 students from 24 Nigerian universities, Medpatch advanced to the final 14 teams and eventually secured second position, earning a ₦1.5 million proof-of-concept grant.

The funding provided an opportunity to further develop the innovation.

In 2026, the project progressed to the NextGen Innovation Challenge organised by Nigeria’s National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI).

Medpatch was among 298 innovators shortlisted and recommended to attend the Grand Finale at ExCeL London on October 9, 2026, from more than 3,000 applications.

For the students, the achievement offered an opportunity to present their innovation on an international stage.

For Farohunbi, it was also a demonstration of what can happen when students are encouraged to move beyond classroom learning and work on real problems.

The Medpatch journey shows that university mentorship can go beyond academic supervision. It can help students develop ideas, work with people from different disciplines, compete for funding and gain exposure to international innovation opportunities.

A scientist who became a technology entrepreneur

Farohunbi’s work in technology is particularly interesting given his academic background.

He holds a PhD in Biochemistry, with research interests in enzymology, drug development, toxicology, bioinformatics and digital health.

His scientific training has shaped his interest in solving problems through research and innovation.

Over time, this interest expanded into artificial intelligence, digital education and technology entrepreneurship.

He is also an AI educator, helping people understand how artificial intelligence can be applied to business, professional development and everyday problem-solving.

His work reflects an important shift in how technology is being adopted across industries. AI is no longer a subject reserved for computer scientists. Healthcare professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, researchers and business owners are increasingly finding ways to apply it in their fields.

This is the perspective Farohunbi brings to his work: people should not only learn about AI but understand how to use it to create value.

Taking global opportunities to Nigerian students

His work has also involved connecting Nigerian students with international learning and mentorship opportunities.

In 2025, he secured a ₦53 million technology mentorship grant for Thomas Adewumi University through Mentors Without Borders, Romania, in partnership with Financial Services Innovators, Lagos.

The six-month programme was designed to equip 50 outstanding students with practical digital skills and mentorship from professionals associated with the technology industry.

Its focus areas included web development, machine learning, AI product management, digital marketing, project management and technical sales support.

The initiative demonstrated the value of connecting universities with external expertise and resources.

Rather than waiting for students to graduate before they encounter industry expectations, the programme sought to introduce them to relevant skills and professional guidance while they were still in school.

It is consistent with the approach that has shaped Farohunbi’s work across the Career Centre, KnowledgeX and Medpatch: create opportunities for people to learn, build and compete.

What comes next?

Farohunbi’s work now spans several areas that are becoming increasingly important to the global economy.

Freebyz is expanding the way professionals showcase their skills and connect with employers. Payhankey is building tools that help creators earn from their content and communities. His AI education and mentorship activities are equipping young people with skills for the changing world of work. Medpatch has demonstrated the potential of student-led innovation to reach international platforms.

These activities may appear different, but they are connected by a clear objective: making technology useful to people.

In a world where artificial intelligence is changing the rules of employment, education and entrepreneurship, the challenge is no longer simply to have access to technology. It is to know how to use it to create opportunities.

That is the space Farohunbi is working in.

His journey also offers a lesson for universities and technology entrepreneurs: some of the most valuable innovations can emerge when education is connected to real-world problems and people are given the tools to develop solutions.

From a young graduate building a professional website on Freebyz to a creator earning from a community on Payhankey, or a university student taking a healthcare innovation to an international competition, the underlying ambition is the same.

To move people from having potential to creating impact.

And for Dr Samuel Farohunbi, that is what building technology, teaching AI and mentoring the next generation should ultimately achieve

About Dr Samuel Farohunbi

Dr Samuel Farohunbi is a Nigerian biochemist, academic, AI educator and technology entrepreneur. He is the Director of the Career Centre at Thomas Adewumi University, Chief Executive Officer of Freebyz Technologies Ltd and Co-Founder of Payhankey Ltd. His work spans artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, digital marketing, career development, digital health, employment technology and creator monetisation. He has mentored more than 9,500 Nigerian youths and continues to develop technology and education initiatives focused on expanding access to global opportunities.