Hello! I'm Francis Odeyemi.

I grew up in Ile-Ife, Osun State, and moved to Lagos in 2018. In 2010, during the BlackBerry boom, I wanted to create collages with PixArt but only had a Nokia C1. I taught myself Photoshop — and that was the start of my design journey.

In 2013, I earned my first ₦18,000 from design. Since then, I've grown from brand to product design, product management, and team leadership, collaborating with agencies and professionals across Nigeria, the UK, and the USA on B2B, SaaS, and software solutions. My expertise spans UX/UI, user research, content design, design leadership and leading global teams.

In 2022, I was selected as one of 23 designers (from 1,000+ applicants) for a Product Design Fellowship with Meta, working directly with their designers.

In 2023, I founded Ninthgrid to build meaningful digital products and solutions. We create bespoke software for businesses, offer a stock platform to showcase African creatives, and are beginning an editorial journey to tell authentic African stories. We're also exploring African-centered AI datasets, providing data labeling services and LLM fine-tuning to make models more diverse and representative.

I've spoken at over 50 tech events, including Meta, Lagos Startup Week, and Google Developers Group, sharing insights on technology, design, leadership, and growing the African tech ecosystem.

I am a Y Combinator Startup School alumnus, a member of the Design Leadership Forum, and have completed executive education at Stanford GSB. Beyond work, I mentor designers, write on Substack and LinkedIn, cycle, take photo walks, explore science, and cook.

For collaborations, speaking engagements, or consultations, feel free to reach out.