Abiola Olaniran, the creator of Gamsole and one of Nigeria’s biggest names in mobile gaming, has passed away at 36.
Abiola, an engineer well-known for his impact on tech across Africa, died and was buried on June 16 in Lagos. While the cause of his death has not been shared publicly, his passing has shocked the technology community, both in Nigeria and abroad.
Abiola started coding when he was just 15. As a student at Obafemi Awolowo University, he became a Microsoft Student Partner. By the time Windows Phone launched in Nigeria, he was already uploading his own games to the platform. One of his first releases, “Road Blazer,” quickly hit 40,000 downloads.
In 2012, after winning seed funding from the 88mph accelerator, Abiola founded Gamsole in Lagos. The startup became one of Africa’s first big gaming exports, recording more than 10 million downloads in just three years. Gamsole’s games, such as Gidi Run, Monster Ninja, and Sweet Candy, reached audiences in over 191 countries.
Abiola’s talent and drive earned him global recognition. He was named to Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 list in 2015 and became known as Nigeria’s highest-earning Windows mobile developer. A year later, Forbes listed him among the “30 Most Promising Young African Entrepreneurs.” He also won the 2016 Future Awards Africa Prize for Technology.
Beyond awards, Abiola helped attract investors to the African gaming ecosystem, proving that success was possible even with limited resources. His work convinced more people to look at games from Africa as both innovative and commercially viable.
Abiola didn’t only build games. He served as CTO at EdTech firm eLimu Kenya, guiding a full rebuild of its mobile platforms to support literacy for East African students. After this, he shifted his focus from Gamsole to mentoring other tech startups and new angel investors across Africa.
People who knew Abiola often called him generous and humble. According to Adewale Yusuf, co-founder of Techpoint Africa, Abiola was the company’s first angel investor, helping out with office space and seed funding at a critical time.
Abiola leaves behind a powerful legacy. His journey inspired many Nigerian students and young professionals to pursue tech and build their own startups.
