Nigerian e-commerce startup Bumpa has announced the passing of its co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Adetunji Opayele. Fondly known as “TeeJay,” Opayele reportedly lost his life in a car accident.

Opayele co-founded Bumpa alongside Kelvin Umechukwu in 2021 with the goal of helping small and medium-sized businesses across Africa streamline their operations. The platform enables merchants to set up online stores, manage inventory, process payments, track sales, and handle customer relationships—all through a mobile app requiring no technical expertise. Bumpa also integrates with social commerce platforms like Instagram and Facebook, allowing users to manage orders seamlessly.

In a heartfelt statement, Umechukwu described Opayele as more than just a co-founder. “This is honestly one of the most distressing things I’ve ever been through, and I imagine it’s the same for all of us who were close to Teejay. He wasn’t just a cofounder to me; he was my friend, my brother, my fight partner, and a brilliant engineer. Teejay was family to me, and this is honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with in life.”

Bumpa has been a key player in Africa’s growing digital commerce space. In 2022, the startup secured $4 million in a seed funding round led by Base10 Partners, the world’s largest Black-led venture capital firm. The funding was aimed at developing innovative solutions to support African sellers.

In December 2023, Bumpa expanded its reach by acquiring Fyyne, a Toronto-based beauty tech startup specializing in a marketplace for beauty services and business management tools for independent beauticians. The acquisition strengthened Bumpa’s service offerings and accelerated its expansion into new markets.

Opayele’s passing is a significant loss to Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, where he was widely respected for his contributions to digital commerce. He will be deeply missed.