Some founders start with funding. Others start with a problem they’ve seen too many times to ignore.
At 22, Adeyemi Akitoye is building something many African creators have needed for years, a way to distribute digital content without losing control of it. You can get the full report via TechPoint Africa.
The problem is familiar. Once a book, audio file, or creative work is downloaded, it spreads. Copies move fast, ownership disappears, and the creator is left out of the value chain.
Akitoye’s platform, Knowvas, is designed to change that.
Instead of allowing downloads, it works more like a controlled access system. Users can read or consume content, but they can’t easily extract or redistribute it. The idea is simple, limit access in a way that still feels usable.
That small shift changes a lot.
For creators, it means they can still earn from their work over time instead of losing value immediately after release. For the ecosystem, it introduces a different way to think about distribution, not just reach, but control.
The project itself is also personal. Built with his father, who leads as CEO, Akitoye handles the technical side, applying his background in cybersecurity to a problem that sits right at the intersection of content and protection.
In a market where piracy has quietly shaped how digital products are consumed, solutions like this don’t just compete, they challenge the structure itself.
Because for many creators, visibility has never been the biggest problem.
Ownership is.
