Aliu Bolade Lawal
Managing Partner · Chief Product Engineer

Aliu Bolade Lawal

I build production financial systems and ship full products end to end, from architecture to live in market. Eight years spanning First Bank of Nigeria's treasury and payments platforms and the consumer fintech products I build and ship at Alpha Global Tech.

Profile

An engineer who builds the systems and ships the products.

I have spent eight years shipping production financial systems end to end, from thesis to live in market. I own the full slice: product thesis, system architecture, database schema, API design, mobile and web frontend, third-party integrations, deployment, and operations.

Through Openfactor Technologies, serving First Bank of Nigeria for three years, I solo designed and built the bank's Treasury Investment Platform (T-bills live in production), led the CBPR+ ISO 20022 converter rollout across all seven subsidiaries, and shipped enhancements to the Smart Account Opening and Smart Corporate onboarding workflows in production.

In parallel I run Alpha Global Tech, where in the last year I have shipped two consumer products: Picki, a multi-vendor commerce platform live with 30+ vendors, and Havyn, a multi-tenant child check-in SaaS with a native mobile app in production at gethavyn.app. AGT also publishes reusable banking middleware under commercial licensing.

Selected work

Systems I have designed and built.

Alpha Global Tech
Product · Live

Havyn

A mobile-first, multi-tenant child check-in and checkout platform for churches, schools, and daycares, built solo end to end. Architected the full org, branch, and session hierarchy with role based admin separation. 33 API routes against a 12 table Supabase schema, QR based parent pairing, and live location verification. Native app built with React Native and Expo, in production on iOS and Android.

React NativeExpo (EAS/OTA)SupabaseMulti-tenant
gethavyn.app
Alpha Global Tech
Product · Live

Picki

A multi vendor commerce platform built solo and shipped to production. 84 REST API routes across vendor onboarding, product management, order lifecycle, payments, and admin operations. Integrates Paystack, Termii, Resend, Fez delivery, and a Groq (Llama 3.3) conversational AI checkout. Launched April 2026, in beta with 30+ active vendors.

Next.js 14SupabasePaystack84 API routes
picki.store
Openfactor Technologies
Treasury · Client: First Bank

Treasury Investment Platform

Solo designed and built First Bank's Treasury Investment Platform end to end. Core Java on the Newgen iBPS framework with services in Spring Boot, integrated with Finacle for account posting. T-bills live in production handling daily multi billion naira flows; FGN Bonds, Eurobonds, and Commercial Paper architected against the same unified instrument lifecycle and in pipeline for release.

JavaSpring BootNewgen iBPSFinacle
Openfactor Technologies
Payments · Client: First Bank

Subsidiary Cross Border Payment Service

A Spring Boot 3 and Java 17 service that ingests payment data from an upstream regulatory application, constructs valid SWIFT messages, and dispatches them to the bank's correspondent network. IBM MQ async backbone, tuned retry orchestration, circuit breakers, idempotency, and a startup recovery routine. Cleared a nine-finding security review with all findings closed. Development complete, code handed over to the Payment Hub team for integration, UAT, and deployment.

Spring Boot 3Java 17IBM MQSWIFT MT
Openfactor Technologies
Payments · Client: First Bank

Estacode USD Payment System

An end to end backend system handling USD payments for staff travelling abroad. Spans a configurable rate engine across a 12 grade by 6 destination matrix, multi stage workflow approval, automated SWIFT message generation, and a configurable multi protocol dispatch switch routing through the converter, the alliance gateway, or IBM MQ. In development at the point of engagement exit; code handed over.

Spring BootNewgen iBPSSWIFT MTRate engine
Openfactor Technologies
SWIFT · Client: First Bank

ISO 20022 Converter Programme

Led the CBPR+ international payment converter rollout across all seven FBN subsidiaries, aligned to the SWIFT ISO 20022 deadline. Planned the local RTGS converter rollout across the same footprint and personally implemented and deployed for Gambia, Ghana, DRC, and Senegal.

CBPR+ISO 20022SWIFT MX7 subsidiaries
Alpha Global Tech
Open middleware

ISO 20022 Converter & SFTP-MQ Bridge

Two reusable banking middleware platforms published under AGT. The converter is a bi-directional SWIFT MT to ISO 20022 MX engine with multi-adapter routing and a full operations console. The bridge moves files between SFTP and IBM MQ for partner integration. Public repositories are architecture previews; full implementations are licensed.

Java 17Spring Boot 3IBM MQLicensed
github.com/aboladelawal
Self-initiated
Prototype · Front-end

Gail's Bakery — concept rebuild

An editorial, typography-led rebuild of the Gail's Bakery site: serif scale, calm rhythm, and warmth without clutter. A self-initiated prototype to show design and front-end range, not a client production site.

EditorialTypographicResponsive
gails-website.vercel.app
Self-initiated
Prototype · Front-end

Liquid Death — concept rebuild

A loud, high-energy rebuild: oversized type, hard contrast, and attitude held under control. A self-initiated prototype demonstrating brand-driven front-end, not a client production site.

High-energyBold typeResponsive
liquid-death-khaki.vercel.app
Self-initiated
Prototype · Front-end

Pop Mart — concept rebuild

A playful, colourful rebuild: motion, character, and colour handled with restraint. A self-initiated prototype demonstrating design range, not a client production site.

PlayfulMotionResponsive
pop-mart-iota.vercel.app
Experience

Where I have worked.

2026 — Present

Senior Product Engineer

Alpha Global Tech (AGT)
  • Operating base for consumer product development and productised banking middleware. Shipped Picki (April 2026, 30+ vendors) and Havyn (mobile and web in production at gethavyn.app); Kaynah in development.
  • Own the full slice on each product: thesis, architecture, schema, API design, mobile and web frontend, integrations, deployment, and operations.
  • Published iso20022-converter and sftp-mq-bridge as productised banking middleware under commercial licensing.
Mar 2023 — May 2026

Senior Software Engineer

Openfactor Technologies · Client: First Bank of Nigeria
  • Solo designed and built the Treasury Investment Platform end to end, engaging senior stakeholders across Treasury, Operations, and IT; T-bills live in production, with FGN Bonds, Eurobonds, and Commercial Paper architected in pipeline against the same lifecycle.
  • Led the CBPR+ ISO 20022 converter rollout across all seven FBN subsidiaries and personally implemented the local RTGS converter for Gambia, Ghana, DRC, and Senegal.
  • Delivered significant enhancements to the Smart Account Opening and Smart Corporate onboarding workflows in production, spanning KYC updates, audit trails, and multi tier authorisation.
  • Refactored the Bulk NIN Linkage utility from seven sequential JARs into a single multi threaded service, live in production and stable at high volume.
  • Lead technical mentor for two junior engineers under a structured engineering development programme.
Aug 2021 — Feb 2023

Software Engineer

TAJBank Limited
  • Designed and shipped event-driven Account Opening and Account Maintenance workflows for Nigeria's first non-interest digital bank, cutting process cycle time by 50%.
  • Integrated KYC gating and customer modification flows with downstream alerts to compliance teams.
  • Owned BPM measurement and reporting to senior leadership.
Nov 2019 — Dec 2020

Automation Engineer

First Bank of Nigeria
  • Built the Finacle Limit Enhancement Application, cutting the operational cost of core banking limit enhancement by 50% by removing manual handoffs.
Nov 2017 — Apr 2019

Software Developer, Intern

Gridworx Systems Strategies Limited
  • Documented requirements and contributed to a KYC address verification solution across design and engineering.
Technical

What I work with.

Languages
Java 17, TypeScript, JavaScript, SQL
Mobile
React Native, Expo, EAS Build, OTA updates, native permission flows, offline-first sync, push notifications (APNs and FCM)
Frontend
React, Next.js 14, server components, Tailwind CSS, responsive design across web and mobile
Backend & systems
Spring Boot 3, Node.js, Next.js API routes, REST APIs, microservices, event-driven architecture, async messaging (IBM MQ), retry orchestration, circuit breakers, idempotency, scheduled background services, double-entry posting patterns, distributed transactions
Databases
PostgreSQL (Supabase and self-hosted), Oracle, schema design, Row Level Security, query optimisation, JPA/Hibernate, safe migrations
Cloud & infrastructure
Vercel, Supabase, EAS (Expo Application Services), RHEL on-premises, Docker, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, structured logging, observability
AI-augmented development
Claude Code, Claude for architecture and design, GitHub Copilot, AI-assisted review and refactoring
Fintech Domain
Investment instrument lifecycles (T-bills, bonds, commercial paper), interest computation engines, double-entry settlement, KYC and AML workflows, payment gateway integration (Paystack), webhook reconciliation, core banking integration (Finacle), SWIFT MT/MX, ISO 20022, CBPR+
Product & Delivery
End-to-end product ownership, solution architecture, design systems, API contract design, schema-first development, multi-tenant SaaS, mobile-first UX, third-party integration discipline, enterprise stakeholder management
Education

Background.

MSc, Information Technology

University of Lagos · 2020–2023

B.Eng, Electrical & Electronics Engineering

University of Ilorin · 2011–2016
  • Certified Scrum Master, International Scrum Institute
  • Certificate in IT, British Computer Society

Work with Alpha Global Tech.

Have a system that needs building, or one that needs to keep running? Let us talk.