Omolara Sanni: The Nigerian Entrepreneur Simplifying Nigeria-China Trade 

The ability to trust stands as a vital business element because Omolara Sanni from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic created an effective remedy for enduring business problems. The business partners Omolara Sanni and Adeola Owosho established Midddleman in 2023, as they started by providing escrow services to businesses operating online.

The expanding intricacy of international commercial deals compelled the company to introduce new services for Nigeria-China trading, which they saw as the key to leading in escrow and payment solutions for African and Nigerian businesses.

Their expansion comes at a crucial time. According to The Observatory of Economic Complexity, Nigeria exported $2.51 billion worth of goods to China in 2023, with petroleum gas ($995M), crude petroleum ($409M), and other minerals ($293M) among the top exports. Over the past five years, exports from Nigeria to China have grown at an annualised rate of 5.39%, rising from $1.93 billion in 2018 to $2.51 billion in 2023. Meanwhile, United Nations COMTRADE reported Nigeria’s total imports from China at $11.95 billion in 2023.

Despite this growing trade relationship, many Nigerian businesses still struggle with trust issues, payment security, and transaction inefficiencies when dealing with Chinese suppliers. This is where Midddleman steps in—offering a secure, transparent, and seamless way for African businesses to engage in international trade without fear of fraud or payment disputes.

As the co-founder and chief operating officer of Midddleman, Omolara’s journey is one of resilience, adaptability, and a deep-rooted passion for solving real-world problems.

From her early days in Abeokuta to scaling Midddleman into a key player in the Afro-Asia trade, her story is a testament to the power of purpose-driven entrepreneurship.

In an exclusive interview with African Folder for Founders Folder, Omolara shares insights into her transition into product marketing, the birth of Midddleman, and her vision for empowering African entrepreneurs.

Transition to product marketing

Omolara’s career didn’t begin with entrepreneurship in mind. Growing up in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in what she describes as a “normal, average family setting,” she was surrounded by a blended family and a community where side hustles were the norm. Her mother ran a grocery shop in front of their home, planting early seeds of business acumen. 

Yet, it wasn’t until her final year of tertiary education that Omolara’s entrepreneurial spark ignited. A training in project management and lean entrepreneurship opened her eyes to the startup world, followed by a conference introducing e-commerce—buying from China and selling in Nigeria. “That was the beginning for me,” she recalls.

Her professional path took her through cybersecurity and digital marketing before landing in product marketing—a field she stumbled upon while seeking a way into tech. “I started researching how to break into tech, and that’s when I found product marketing as a career path,” she says. Her first role at Catlog, where she was the inaugural employee alongside two co-founders, thrust her into a whirlwind of learning. “I’ve always been the first product marketer at the companies I’ve worked for,” she explains. “It’s tough—wearing multiple hats—but I enjoyed every bit of it.”

Key lessons? Maximising limited resources and involving marketers early in product development. “You don’t build something sophisticated right away,” she advises. “Start small, launch, get feedback, and expand.”

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Founding African Product Marketing Pioneers

While carving her niche in product marketing, Omolara noticed a gap in Nigeria and Africa at large. “There weren’t many people with that job title here,” she says. Resources like the Product Marketing Alliance were foreign, and local communities focused on broader marketing, leaving product marketing underserved. Seeing an opportunity, she co-founded African Product Marketing Pioneers (APMP) with a collaborator already hosting a product marketing podcast.

“The goal was to create awareness about the role and help people navigate the journey,” she explains. APMP became a space for seasoned professionals to share experiences and guide newcomers, fostering a community around a burgeoning field. 

For Omolara, it was a chance to give back while cementing her place in Africa’s tech ecosystem.

Omolara Sanni and the birth of Midddleman

Midddleman’s origin story is rooted in a problem Omolara and her co-founder faced firsthand. For five years, they ran e-commerce businesses, importing goods from China to sell across Nigeria. The biggest hurdle? Trust. “People didn’t trust us,” she admits. “They wanted delivery before payment, but we couldn’t scale that beyond Lagos without losing money.” Scams and unclaimed shipments piled up, pushing them to innovate.

You don’t build something sophisticated right away. Start small, launch, get feedback, and expand.

Omolara Sanni, 2025.

In response, they built Midddleman—an escrow platform mirroring how transactions unfold on social media. Vendors sign up, create a payment link with a unique account number, and buyers pay into an escrow account. Funds are held until delivery is confirmed, ensuring security for both parties. “That was the initial idea,” Omolara says. “A solution to the trust problem.”

Evolution and the challenges of Midddleman

Two months after launching the escrow service, reality hit. Vendors adopted it readily, but buyers remained sceptical. “They didn’t trust the vendor, and they didn’t trust Midddleman either,” Omolara notes. Building awareness required hefty marketing funds they didn’t have. Pivoting became inevitable.

Drawing from another e-commerce pain point—payment restrictions after Nigeria’s naira cards lost international functionality—they launched a cross-border payment solution in May 2024. Midddleman now converts naira to Chinese yuan, funding Alipay wallets for businesses buying from China. “It took off almost immediately,” she says. Last year, the platform hit a billion naira in transactions—a milestone celebrated widely online.

Challenges persist, though. “Working with limited resources—cash and manpower—is the biggest hurdle,” Omolara admits. Yet, with nearly double last year’s transaction volume already in 2025, Midddleman’s trajectory is upward.

Future plans and vision for Midddleman

Midddleman isn’t stopping at China. “We hope to become the platform that powers Afro-Asia trade,” Omolara reveals, eyeing Vietnam and India next. Beyond payments, they’re exploring shipping solutions, all while staying true to their core market: African businesses trading with Asia.

In five years, she envisions Midddleman as a must-have app for e-commerce entrepreneurs. “If someone says, ‘I want to start importing and selling online,’ people will tell them, ‘Just download the Midddleman app—it’s all you need,’” she says. Currently fundraising, the team aims to bolster marketing, partnerships, human resources, and technology to turn that vision into reality. Their audacious goal? One billion naira in monthly transactions. “We’ve almost doubled last year’s number already,” she hints. “We’re on track.”

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Co-Founder dynamics and advice for Young Co-Founders

Omolara’s partnership with her co-founder, Adeola Owosho, a friend from before their e-commerce days, is a study in complementarity. “I’m more organized, so I handle operations,” she says. “He loves building tech—working with designers and engineers.” While she thrives on logistics and content marketing, he excels at product innovation, a dynamic unchanged since their early ventures.

What’s evolved? Maturity. “The magnitude of what we’re doing is bigger now—managing a team, larger funds,” she reflects. “We’ve learnt together how to handle that.” Her advice for young co-founders is grounded in this experience: “If possible, start with a friend—it makes the journey easier and more fun. If not, find someone passionate about your vision who complements your skills.”

She adds, “Build friendship along the way. Care about each other beyond work.” For Omolara, success isn’t just about profit—it’s about trust, connection, and impact.

Through Midddleman, Omolara Sanni is not only solving trust and trade challenges but also inspiring a new generation of African entrepreneurs to dream big with whatever they have. As she puts it, “Start small, learn fast, and grow.”