How an accidental VR encounter shaped the career trajectory of this emerging technologies specialist from PwC to MTN
In this edition of After Hours, Babatunde Fatai shares how discovering virtual reality while studying mechanical engineering led to an early job offer at PwC and leading emerging tech at MTN.
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From a chance encounter with a Google Cardboard VR headset in a university lab to helping shape how large organisations adopt emerging technologies, Babatunde Fatai’s journey has been driven by curiosity, community, and careful experimentation.<br />
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In this edition of After Hours, he recounts how competitions and community led him from university labs to PwC’s Experience Center and later to leading emerging technologies at MTN.<br />
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Early interactions with technology <br />
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If I had to pick a moment that truly changed how I saw technology, it would be my first experience with a Google Cardboard VR headset.<br />
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This happened around my first or second year at the University of Ilorin where I studied mechanical engineering. I remember walking into a laboratory on campus and seeing a group of students gathered around a system, visibly excited about what they were doing. Naturally, I was curious. When I approached them, I realised they weren’t just playing a game; they were building simple 3D scenes and uploading them to their phones.<br />
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With the Google Cardboard headset, they inserted their phones and stepped into these basic virtual environments. It wasn’t sophisticated by today’s standards, though, but for me, it was eye-opening. That moment completely reframed what I thought was possible with a mobile phone. It stopped being just a device for calls or casual games and became a tool for building experiences.<br />
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That was my introduction to virtual reality, and it stuck with me. I became excited by the idea that technology, especially something as accessible as a phone, could be used to create immersive, meaningful experiences. That experience was the foundation for my interest in virtual reality.<br />
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Before all of this, the first tech products I owned were basic. It was a mobile phone and later a laptop. At the time, they were mostly tools for schoolwork, calls, and casual use. It wasn’t until I started downloading tools like Unity and Blender that those devices truly came alive for me as creativ...
