Every day, Nigerians send money to online sellers they have never met, hoping their purchases will arrive as promised. For 18-year-old Jos native Nokshuwan Sekyen Sati, that trust gap became an opportunity to build a solution.
A first-year cybersecurity student at MIVA Open University, Nokshuwan is the founder of Swift Marketplace, a platform designed to make online transactions safer through an escrow system that holds payments until buyers confirm delivery.
His interest in technology began in 2024, after secondary school, while he waited for university admission. He spent the time taking online courses, learning programming and exploring cybersecurity. His first project was Swift Scanner, a small cybersecurity application he built to test his skills.
Soon, he wanted to do more than build projects for practice. Frustrated by the trust issues surrounding online transactions, he began developing Swift Marketplace at 17, aiming to create an e-commerce platform where both buyers and sellers feel safe.
“Nobody initially understood the vision,” he said of his decision to build alone.
So he did. Over nearly a year, including five months of intensive development, Nokshuwan built the platform solo, teaching himself everything from economics to new technical skills along the way.
It was not without sacrifice. Balancing university with building Swift Marketplace meant giving up time he could have spent gaming, watching movies or simply relaxing with his family.
His family initially wondered why he spent so much time in his room. When he finally showed his father what he had been working on, the response was a mix of surprise and pride.
“I worked day and night,” he said.
Now, with nearly 250 people on the waitlist, Swift Marketplace is preparing for its September launch. Nokshuwan hopes it will eventually create jobs, contribute to the local economy and grow into a larger business hub. But the ambition extends beyond the platform itself.
“People are often shocked to hear something like this was built in Jos.”
Plateau is often celebrated for tourism, but Nokshuwan wants people to see another side of the state: its young people building, innovating and solving problems.
As International Youth Day is marked, Nokshuwan’s story is a reminder that young people don’t have to wait for the “right” age or location to start building. From a room in Jos, an 18-year-old is creating technology he hopes will serve thousands of Nigerians.
To other young people in Jos who may be afraid to start, his advice is simple:
“Go for it. You have nothing to lose.”