Flutterwave co-founder Iyinoluwa Aboyeji has set social media ablaze after saying he does not see investing as a path to wealth, and that “investing is for lazy people.
The comment came during a fireside chat in Lagos on Tuesday, where Aboyeji was asked about wealth creation, entrepreneurship, and role models in tech.
“I have not seen Elon Musk build wealth through investing,” Aboyeji said. “Musk builds companies. He takes risk, he hires, he ships product, he solves hard problems. That’s how you create wealth.”
He went further: “Investing is for lazy people. If you want to be rich, build. Start something. Make something people need. Stop waiting for your money to ‘work for you’ while you do nothing.”
According to Aboyeji, Africa’s biggest opportunities are still in building infrastructure, fintech, logistics, health, and energy. He argued that too many young people are chasing trading, crypto flips, or passive portfolios instead of creating jobs and companies.
The clip went viral within hours. Supporters said Aboyeji was speaking to a generation that glorifies “hustle culture” without actual output. “He’s right. We can’t all be investors. Somebody has to build the thing we invest in,” one X user wrote.
Critics pushed back hard. Many pointed out that Musk’s wealth is largely tied to equity in Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures — which is, by definition, investing and holding assets. Others said investing is how capital scales, and calling it “lazy” dismisses founders, pension funds, and retail investors who fund innovation.
Financial analysts noted that most billionaires combine both: they build, then they invest retained earnings and equity to compound wealth.
Aboyeji co-founded Flutterwave in 2016 and later Andela. He has consistently preached “operator-first” wealth: starting, scaling, and staying close to product and customers. He has also spoken about moving away from comfort and short-term gains toward long-term company building.
“Lazy” in his framing, he clarified in follow-up comments, meant “waiting on returns without creating value.” He did not say people should avoid stocks, bonds, or venture funding entirely.
The statement has reignited Nigeria’s long-running ‘build vs invest’ debate. For many students and early-career professionals, Aboyeji’s words are a call to action: learn a skill, start small, solve real problems.
For others, it’s a reminder that wealth strategy is not one-size-fits-all. Building companies is risky and capital-intensive. Investing, done right, is how many people preserve and grow what builders create…See More
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