Yusuf Haruna
Technologist and ecosystem leader. CEO of Mealtym. Executive Director of iCapture Lab. Ten years opening Nigeria's technology sector to people who were never counted in it.
Profile
Yusuf Haruna designed financial and health products for startups before becoming a founder himself. Today he runs a company, a lab and a studio, and he spends the rest of his time building the people who will run the next ones.
He leads Mealtym, an operating system for Nigerian food businesses. He is Executive Director of iCapture Lab, an AI innovation lab that trains people, backs early ideas and puts a Northern Nigerian voice into Africa's conversation on AI policy. He is Creative Director of iCapture Agency, a brand and storytelling studio.
His conviction is straightforward. Nigeria's next generation of builders already exists in every state. What they need is access: to skills, to tools, and to the rooms where decisions get made.
Impact
Signature initiative
CEO, Mealtym
Co-Convener, Arewa Agric & Innovation Summit 2026
Bayero University, Kano · September 2026
Mealtym puts orders, payments, inventory, delivery, expenses and customers on one screen, so an owner can run the business from there instead of from a dozen notebooks and WhatsApp threads.
Food is the North's oldest industry and one of its least digitised. Mealtym was built to close that gap. In 2026 Yusuf took the argument beyond software.
As Co-Convener of the Arewa Agric & Innovation Summit, he led the effort alongside the Office of the Technical Adviser to the Vice President on Women, Youth Engagement and Impact, in partnership with the Inspire for Impact Initiative. The summit put one question to the region: how does Northern Nigeria move from the groundnut pyramids of its past to the digital platforms of its future?
Its answer was practical. 250 young agripreneurs completed five days of training across horticulture, livestock, fishery, food processing and animal husbandry. A Culinary Skills Competition placed ₦3,000,000+ in enterprise grants behind the region's young food entrepreneurs. The summit filled a hall at Bayero University, Kano, and launched Mealtym.
Ventures
An AI innovation lab and creative hub. It trains young Africans to work confidently with artificial intelligence, backs promising ideas at their earliest stage, and brings a Northern Nigerian voice into the continent's discussion of AI policy.
The aim is for Nigeria to help shape this technology rather than only consume it.
The agency helps brand owners build brands people trust and remember, through storytelling, design and digital experience. Its AI production pipeline delivers campaigns, UGC-style video, product visuals and websites at a fraction of the cost of a traditional shoot.
An operating system for Nigerian food businesses, covering orders, payments, inventory, delivery, expenses and customer records. Launched at the Arewa Agric & Innovation Summit in Kano.
Recognition
Speaking & training
Google I/O Extended, DevFest Katsina, Let's Dev Katsina and the Founders Friday Podcast. He has trained business owners and young technologists through Lumilab's My Digital SMEs Programme and ATC Tech4Dev, and mentored founders at HackKatsina.
Education & certification
In the field
Contact
Working on a product, a programme, a policy or a partnership that widens opportunity in Nigeria? Start a conversation.
