By Yinka Ajayi

For most Nigerians, paying an electricity bill or buying airtime means navigating multiple applications, remembering login credentials, and tolerating failed transactions. Wisdom Innocent Nnaemeka, a 19-year-old final year Software Engineering student at Babcock University, believes there is a simpler way, and he has built it.

Nnaemeka is the founder of Firstoption Digital Services, a Nigerian technology company that has reimagined how everyday Nigerians access essential utility services. Rather than requiring users to download yet another application, Firstoption operates entirely within WhatsApp the messaging platform already installed on virtually every Nigerian smartphone.

“Most Nigerians already live on WhatsApp,” Wisdom says. “Firstoption meets them exactly where they are.”

Through a simple chat interface, users can pay electricity bills across all major distribution companies, purchase airtime and data for all networks, renew DSTV and GOtv subscriptions, fund betting wallets, and convert airtime to cash , with transactions completing in under two minutes and confirmations delivered instantly.

The platform currently offers nine core services, all fully automated through integrations with major Nigerian payment infrastructure providers. For a population where smartphone penetration continues to rise but app fatigue remains a real barrier to adoption, the model addresses a genuine gap.

Wisdom brings considerable experience to the venture. A former software engineer at IHS Towers, one of Africa’s leading telecommunications infrastructure companies, he also co founded MoneyHive, a UK based remittance fintech developed in partnership with the Scottish Government , an achievement that speaks to both his technical depth and his understanding of financial systems across markets.

His drive to build solutions grounded in real consumer needs was sharpened when he won the Babcock University regional WEMA Bank Hackathon, a competition that challenges participants to develop technology with tangible market relevance.

“That experience pushed me from building things for fun to building things people actually need,” he said.

Firstoption Digital Services is formally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Wisdom says the long term vision extends beyond the current service offering with plans to expand the platform’s capabilities as its user base grows.

“Every Nigerian pays bills. Every Nigerian buys airtime,” he says. “We just want to be the easiest, most trusted way to do both.”