Oluseun Onigbinde is a Nigerian entrepreneur and open data analyst who co-founded and serves as the Chief Executive Officer of a popular Nigerian civic startup known as BudgIT. He is a fiscal transparency advocate and firm believer in the power of open data.
Oluseun was born on 18th September 1985 in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. He was raised as a Baptist in Ibadan, Oyo State. He had his primary and secondary school education in Ibadan, Oyo State. Oluseun was an intelligent lad in his secondary school days. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Loyola College, Ibadan, where he excelled in the sciences. Oluseun earned the best result in the West African Examinations Council’s exam of his set in 2001 where he scored 9 distinctions.
Oluseun attended the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta where be bagged a Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng) in Electrical/Electronics Engineering. He went ahead to Stanford University Graduate School of Business where he completed the executive program in social entrepreneurship.
Oluseun had always wanted to work in the financial industry. During his NYSC year, he got a job at Access Bank at Benin City where he was posted. He later joined First Bank for a period of three and half years. It was while he worked at First Bank that he conceived the idea about BudgIT. According to him, his interest in banking was from the strategy angle, a space where he could contribute his ideas.
In 2011, Oluseun Onigbinde and Joseph Agunbiade formed a team during a hackathon held at the Co-Creation 
Hub. It was here that he came up with the idea for a need to publicize government spending to the general public, leading to the startup BudgIT. In 2014, the Omidyar Network invested $400,000 in BudgIT; this has always been listed on their website. In June 2015, the Kaduna State government under the administration of Mallam El-Rufai, signed BudgIT to build Open Budget mobile portal similar to the Buharimeter; a platform which was built by BudgIT for Center for Democracy and Development to hold President Buhari accountable for his campaign promises. In January 2017, BudgIT raised an additional $3 million grant from Omidyar Network and Gates Foundation. In February 2016, Oluseun Onigbinde was honoured to make a presentation at the Chatham House under the African Project on issue of accountability and governance.
Onigbinde has always been a big believer in data-driven journalism and participated in a health journalism project as part of the Knight Innovation Fellowship of the International Center for Journalists. In 2014, BudgIT launched Tracka, a project tracking tool.
He is currently an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow and a recipient of numerous awards both in Nigeria and internationally. Seun resides in Lagos with his wife, Oluwaseun, and daughter Wuraola.
We at The Bridge Leadership Foundation wish Oluseun well in his quest of making the Nigerian government transparent and accountable.
You can each Oluseun on:
Facebook: Oluseun David Onigbinde
Twitter: @seunonigbinde
Instagram: @gbainde
