Meet the Cenoan: How Mofe built a decade-long global remote career

From his first lines of code in a Nigerian university to shipping products used by millions worldwide, software engineer Mofe has spent over a decade mastering the art of remote work—infrastructure battles, payment hurdles, and all. He sat down with us to share what he’s learned, what he regrets, and what he’d tell his younger self.

Tell us about yourself and what you do.

I’m a software engineer with over a decade of experience, primarily in mobile development, but also across the full stack. I currently work remotely with a global company, and one of my biggest strengths is the ability to evolve—staying relevant as the industry shifts is something I’ve had to actively work at.

What drew you to software engineering, and what has made it worth it beyond the paycheck?

I started programming in 2014 while still at university, partly because I simply wanted to build things. I’ve been fortunate to work on products that reach millions of users. That scale of impact—knowing that a single code push or design change lands in the hands of millions—still feels like a huge responsibility and a genuine privilege.

Beyond that, this career has given me access to remarkably smart, diverse people. Learning from colleagues across different cultures and backgrounds has expanded my thinking in ways no formal training could replicate.

What was your transition to remote work actually like?

Honestly? Chaotic at first. In 2020, I was working at Branch in Lagos when the company went fully remote. My international colleagues already had solid home setups; I was on a mobile hotspot, dealing with patchy internet and constant power outages. There were calls where the connection just died mid-sentence.

It took months of feedback—and a few complaints from colleagues—before things improved. The turning point was treating infrastructure like a professional investment: I moved to a new apartment, went off-grid for power for three years while I figured out the right setup, built multiple internet backups, and eventually jumped on Starlink the moment it launched here. Remote work in Nigeria is essentially about having a backup for every backup.

Any regrets looking back?

Two things.

First, not leaving Nigeria sooner. I stayed because I wanted to, but the post-COVID global job market became far more competitive. Layoffs normalized, and landing a new role as a foreigner in an international market got genuinely difficult for a while. Now I find myself constantly thinking about the next move—migration or building something as a founder are the realistic paths forward.

Second, not talking about my work. I built great things, and almost none of it is visible—it’s buried in private GitHub repos and internal Slack channels. I wish I’d written more, attended more developer events, and shared more of what I was building. I’ve started doing that now, but earlier would have been better.

What are the real perks of working with global employers?

The most obvious one is earning in foreign currency. Living in a country where the naira can lose ground weekly, getting paid in dollars is a genuine financial edge. There was a stretch where it genuinely felt like getting a passive raise every month.

But the less-talked-about perk is professional exposure. Having access to more experienced engineers in more developed ecosystems is invaluable. Global companies also tend to be more structured around things like annual leave and sick days—even for contractors.

How has your experience been with getting paid internationally—and how did you find Cenoa?

I started with Deel, which worked reliably. Then I moved around and tried a few other products before landing on Cenoa. Someone pointed me to it, I did my research, and what sold me was the actual bank account infrastructure. The early transactions just felt seamless and natural—no drama, no friction. That kind of reliability is what I’m looking for.

What’s kept you with Cenoa?

A few things stood out from the start. Cenoa is built on blockchain technology, and as someone who’s always been interested in the crypto and blockchain space, non-custodial wallets are genuinely reassuring—you stay in control.

Earning annual yield on my wallet balance is a nice bonus. But the main thing is that Cenoa has done exactly what it said it would—fast payments, yield on balances, security without giving up control. I’m not impressed by flashy marketing. I’m impressed when a product just works.

Start receiving global payments in USD, EUR, and GBP with your Cenoa account for FREE.

What habits make you a more effective remote worker?

Three things:

Communication. Working across cultures means understanding how different people communicate and what they expect. This is a learnable skill and one of the most high-leverage investments you can make.

Managing upwards. Don’t wait to be managed. Proactively share progress, flag blockers early, and treat your manager as a stakeholder you need to keep aligned.

Documentation. In a remote, global team, visibility matters. Writing down what you’re working on and why it matters to the bigger goal is how you stay visible without being loud.

What would you tell someone just starting out today?

Get out of isolation. Go to meetups, join communities, talk to people. The “building alone in my bedroom becoming a billionaire” story is the exception, not the model. I spent a lot of my early years doing lone-ranger work. I got tough, but I also missed out on community and a strong network. Recovering that took years.

Also: learn best practices early. I picked up bad habits at the start and had to unlearn them as I joined bigger, more diverse teams. It’s much easier to build right from the beginning than to spend years correcting the foundation.

Meet the Cenoan features real users doing real work and getting paid globally.