Gokada described the death of its CEO as “sudden and tragic.
Saleh’s friends in Nigeria remember a passionate entrepreneur committed to making a difference in emerging markets and creating economic opportunities.
“He was thoughtful and had an air of clarity of purpose in life. His passion was contagious. As far as the Nigerian tech ecosystem is concerned, Fahim was one of us and loved by us,” Enegesi added.
Gossy Ukanwoke, Nigerian tech entrepreneur and education investor, says his enduring memory of Saleh is his cheekiness and “really big smile.”
Ukanwoke says he met Saleh through a mutual industry friend and recalls that he was always making jokes.
“Fahim was a very sharp and smart thinker, he knew exactly what he wanted. In conversation, he could think on his feet and was able to see things differently to everyone else,” he added.
‘Tragic and senseless’
Saleh was the son of Bangladeshi immigrants, and created his first company PrankDial.com as a high schooler, the website for prerecorded prank phone calls generated over $10 million since its start, he wrote in 2018.
He continued to found and sell sites throughout his teens and his time at Bentley University in Massachusetts.
Gokada provided delivery services for Lifestores during a lockdown imposed in Lagos in March.
He described Saleh as a “funny guy who liked to tell jokes.”
Saleh and Garza met in 2018 at a sendoff party organized by Gokada for one of their staff.
“We met a few times after that for coffee and spoke quite a bit about entrepreneurship and fundraising. We sometimes discussed our company strategies together,” Garza told CNN.
Garza says he will continue to have fun memories of the young CEO, describing his death as “tragic and senseless.”
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, entrepreneur and co-founder of tech company Andela, expressed his shock as he paid tribute to Saleh, whom he described as ‘his brother.’
He visited the West African nation the same year to explore the market and make a decision on whether to start Gokada.