This founder is taking a Nigerian retail solution to Canada and the US
Inspired by Nigeria’s Jump n Pass, SKAAP is building a scan-and-go checkout system in North America. But after slow traction in Canada, founder Samuel Oyedemi is betting the US and its retail density will finally make it stick.
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When Jump n Pass launched in Nigeria, it felt like a glimpse into the future of African retail. Scan your items, skip the queue, pay a small fee, and walk out. No waiting. No cashier drama. No long holiday lines stretching to the back of the store.<br />
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On paper, it was brilliant. In reality, adoption has been slower than many expected despite its partnership with Justrite. Retailers were cautious; customers were curious but inconsistent. And like many friction-reducing technologies, the idea seemed more exciting than the execution.<br />
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Now, thousands of kilometres away, a Nigerian founder in Canada believes the experiment deserves another shot — just not in Nigeria.<br />
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SKAAP, founded by Lagos-born entrepreneur Samuel Ayo Oyedemi, is building a similar scan-and-go system, first in Canada and now with its eyes firmly set on the US.<br />
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But Oyedemi says this isn’t a copy-and-paste job. He already had the idea; Jump n Pass just validated it. Perhaps the solution could be more promising outside Nigeria.<br />
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“I saw a company in Nigeria doing something similar, and I said to myself, if this technology can exist there, then there’s definitely a problem worth solving.”<br />
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From Agege to Saskatchewan <br />
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Before Canada, Oyedemi was born and raised in Lagos, growing up in a household where entrepreneurship wasn’t a buzzword; it was survival. As a teenager, he sold doughnuts in secondary school, sometimes making ₦2,500 a week.<br />
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He washed cars. He experimented. He partnered with his father to co-found a borehole installation business. He tried an adire clothing venture that failed. He ran a small lending operation with his mother. At one point, he worked at Access Bank, learning how money moves and how investment works.<br />
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In 2023, he relocated to Canada. His first job was a commission-based sales role for a US startup expanding northward. It taught him that Canadians value trust; if you break it, you don’t get a second chance.<br />
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Victoria Fakiya – Senior Writer<br />
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Techpoint Digest<br />
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