by Kayode Nubi

I do hope I don’t get crucified for this list, as there are so many techies to look out for in 2013. However, I have gone ahead to filter with techies already doing stuff. I also tried to cover the different areas of tech – from mobile to web development, as well as creative development to new media.

Zubair Abubakar: Developer turned startup founder and BlackBerry enthusiast. With bragging right of his Nigerian Constitution app downloads in the hundreds of thousand, Zubby is one techie you want to be friends with. He believes developing for feature phones is the route to mobile market domination and when not developing he’s talking Azonto, BlackBerry, and mobile technology.

Celestine Ezeokoye: He says he wants to bring order to the chaotic transportation sector in Nigeria and then Africa. Another developer turned startup founder, Celestine after winning the popular Microsoft Imagine Cup as a student recently launched Tiketmobile.

Bayo Puddicombe: If you have played or heard of the danfo game, then meet the brains behind it. Having enjoyed initial success, Bayo and Zubby joined forces as pledge51 to roll out Danfo Reloaded that has experienced bigger success. Pledge51 is almost closing the gap on the 500,000 download mark, but the best is yet to come of this duo.

Constance Okoghenun: Perhaps the youngest developer and startup founder in the Nigerian tech ecosystem, Constance is still a student of University and co-founder of Tiketmobile – oh, these fella knows all there is to know about the bus transport sector, and wants to own it. He believes technology puts everybody on level plain. “Forget the industrial age, Africa’s skipped that to the information age” – he says.

Udeze Kene: This is 1 of 2 people I respect in the local tech space when it comes to design – web design, user interface and user experience. Udeze knows his stuff and it’s quite evident in works he has contributed to, including: Cchub, Growth Academy, I-HQ. Forget Themeforest or Wix, Kene is your go-to guy for designs. He codes them hard.

Clive Uche: This is second person. Clive’s got an eye for design and aesthetics. Very strong willed about his opinions. Partner at interesting tech startup, Bloovue, I see a whole lot more coming from this young lad.

Samson Aligba: A front and back end developer, Samson has proven himself with the birth of Eventiso – a startup that helps  manage online ticketing, registration, and automate promotion for events, where he serves as Chief Product Officer. He has also gone one step further to kick-off TIG Weekly – a live internet radio show accessible from any mobile device to discuss Tech In General.

Ahmad Mukoshy: Having rebranded from Aimtech to Gigalayer Q3, 2012, Ahmad is definitely heads-on in conquering the local space in terms of web hosting and domain name registration. Having met with him one-on-one, I see a young man with a focus and yearning to provide world class offerings across board in terms of product, support, and customer service.

Oluwatobi Soyombo: He has a core interest in social media, and also runs a web development outlet on the site. Brains behind socialmeep.com – a blog focused on social media and its application in everyday living including business, branding, technology, government, and more.

Makinde Azeez: Founder and C.E.O. of Naijaloaded is last but not least on this list. Created in 2009, Naijaloaded has climbed into the top 50 websites in Nigeria – according to Alexa. According to his bio, he has contributed to the growth and development of the Internet in Nigeria, and that may not be too far-fetched, housing +500,000 users, as compared to Seun Osewa’s +1,024,423 on Nairaland.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.