Muhammad Maigari
Hotoro Quarters
Summary
Results-oriented Project Manager with extensive experience in managing complex projects, notably the creation of Paymish’s competitive payment gateway. Proficient in strategic partnerships, budgeting, and execution, with a focus on stakeholder engagement. Skilled in aligning teams and managing project timelines to achieve successful outcomes. Dedicated to fostering innovation and maintaining high standards in dynamic work settings.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
Paymish Tech Limited
Abuja
04.2024 - Current
- Strategic direction and execution of Paymish’s product roadmap, aligning core payment offerings with CBN regulations, customer needs, and market competitiveness.
- Directed the multi-phase project that resulted in Paymish securing its CBN Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) license, managing compliance documentation, product audits, and regulatory liaison.
- Oversaw three successful PCI DSS certifications, and led the organization through ISO 27001 (ISMS) certification to ensure enterprise-grade information security and regulatory alignment.
- Application process for a Digital Sub-broker license with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), expanding Paymish’s financial services capability.
- High-impact strategic partnerships with VISA, Mastercard, Moniepoint, Opay, Kuda Bank, Zenith Bank, GT Bank, and NIBSS, from negotiation through technical integration, and go-live.
- Managed cross-functional initiatives that led to the onboarding of Gombe State Internal Revenue Service and all MDAs, Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service and all MDAs, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO), and four tertiary institutions within 5 months.
- These initiatives are projected to generate over ₦50 billion (~USD $35 million) annually in transaction volume.
- Drove the company's IP protection strategy, overseeing the copyright and trademark registration of Paymish’s brand and technology assets.
- Delivered a full-scale, CBN-compliant payment platform with parity to leading competitors like Paystack, Flutterwave, and Interswitch, focusing on merchant experience, API flexibility, and security.
Co-Founder & Engineering Manager
Paymish Tech Limited
Abuja
05.2020 - 04.2024
- Provided organizational leadership and collaborated with executive partners to establish long-term goals, strategies and company policies.
- Designed and implemented core architecture of Paymish’s payment gateway, ensuring scalability and security for enterprise-grade transactions.
- Developed secure APIs for payments, merchant onboarding, transaction history, and settlement management.
- Architected system components to comply with industry standards, including tokenized card processing and role-based access controls.
- Established engineering team responsible for delivering merchant dashboards and fraud detection mechanisms.
- Coordinated technical deliverables for compliance audits and infrastructure reviews during licensing and partner onboarding.
- Introduced Agile/Scrum practices to enhance feature delivery and streamline deployment pipelines.
- Led internal code reviews and incident response drills to uphold product stability and resilience.
- Facilitated system design sessions to promote collaboration between tech and product teams.
Software Engineering Intern
eHealth Africa (eHA) iNGO
Kano
10.2019 - 01.2020
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver and support LOMIS Deliver—a last-mile logistics management information system that optimized vaccine and health commodity distribution in Northern Nigeria by improving supply chain visibility and delivery tracking.
- Contributed to the development of Kano Connect, a digital community engagement platform used to collect real-time feedback, and connect local stakeholders with eHA initiatives, enhancing project monitoring, and grassroots impact.
- Participated in sprint planning, user story development, bug tracking, and QA testing across multiple software projects, ensuring timely delivery and stakeholder satisfaction.
- Produced documentation, including training guides, system specifications, and a final internship report, to communicate key learnings and results to project stakeholders.
- Actively engaged in team stand-ups, project meetings, and knowledge-sharing sessions, supporting the coordination of project timelines and communication between developers, analysts, and program teams.
Software Engineering Intern
FlexiSAF EduSoft Limited
Abuja
10.2018 - 12.2018
- Contributed to the development and maintenance of SAFLearn, an e-learning platform designed to facilitate virtual classrooms and online assessments for Nigerian schools, improving remote learning accessibility and teacher-student collaboration.
- Supported feature enhancement and bug resolution on SAFSMS, a comprehensive School Management System used by over 1,000 institutions for academic records, student performance tracking, and administrative reporting.
- Assisted in sprint activities—capturing user requirements, participating in stand-ups, and tracking progress using task boards to meet delivery milestones.
- Conducted manual and automated testing of new features and fixes, and provided technical feedback to ensure alignment with user expectations and project objectives.
- Collaborated with designers, QA testers, and senior engineers to document system behaviors, refine UI components, and improve the user experience for both students and administrators.
Education
Master of Science - Computer Science (Software Engineering)
Baze University, Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria11-2024
Mini-MBA - Business Administration
Tekedia Institute
Boston, US12-2023
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
Al-Qalam University, Katsina
Katsina, Nigeria08-2021
Nanodegree - Product Management
Udacity
California, US10-2020
Skills
- Project management
- Payment processing
- Regulatory compliance
- API development
- Agile methodologies
- Visionary leadership
- Strategic business planning
- Quality Assurance & Control
Certification
- Certified Information Security Auditor (ISO 27001:2022 Information Security Management System)
- CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS
- Young Directors Course I (Introduction to Corporate Governance and Entrepreneurship)
- Young Directors Course II (Enterprise Governance)
- Young Directors Course III (Managing Finance and Stakeholder Relationships)
- EHEALTH AFRICA
- Prince2 Project Management Methodology
- Project and Risk Management
- Accessing Grant
- Sensitivity in the Workplace
OPERATING SYSTEMS
- MacOS
- Windows
- Linux
- Windows Server
- Ubuntu
- iOS
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
Paymish Tech Limited
04.2024 - Current
Co-Founder & Engineering Manager
Paymish Tech Limited
05.2020 - 04.2024
Software Engineering Intern
eHealth Africa (eHA) iNGO
10.2019 - 01.2020
Software Engineering Intern
FlexiSAF EduSoft Limited
10.2018 - 12.2018
Master of Science - Computer Science (Software Engineering)
Baze University, Abuja
Mini-MBA - Business Administration
Tekedia Institute
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
Al-Qalam University, Katsina
Nanodegree - Product Management
Udacity
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