Building Joyet and Vernsa · Candleben is live

Nnamchi Israel

I build software where the numbers have to be right: wallets, ledgers and trading tools, from Nigeria for anywhere.

Email me See Candleben live Download CV

Role: Founder and CEO of Apaxaa, systems architect
Company: Apaxaa Technologies Ltd, RC 9886261
Live now: Candleben
Open source: Rael, a fraud engine
Studied: Computer Science, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT)
Based in: Lagos and Enugu, Nigeria
Open to: Partnerships, advisory and consulting. Not salaried roles.

10Age I started coding, at a cyber cafe

2026Founded Apaxaa Technologies Ltd

70Markets to replay on Candleben

5Languages Joyet speaks

01About

I started learning to code at 10, paying a cyber cafe to let me get online.

That's where I picked up Python, my first programming language. I kept learning during computer time at school, and on the school's systems I built my first program, a simple question-and-answer game I called pygame. I kept improving it, and in 2021 I sold a newer version to a friend for ₦10,000. By SS3 I had moved into web development, building simple websites on my phone and at cyber cafes.

After secondary school I took a job as a POS attendant, and it opened my eyes to how money and transactions really flow. I saw how limited people were, and that's where the idea for Vernsa started. A job at a hotel came next, where I saved up to buy my own laptop and kept sharpening my programming and web development. In 2021 I served as Co-CEO of Trednix until the project was shut down.

In 2026 I established Apaxaa Technologies Ltd, along with Joyet and Vernsa. Many Nigerians earn or save in crypto, yet paying an electricity bill with it usually means finding a stranger on P2P and waiting, and Joyet is built to fix that. I also trade forex, which led me to build Candleben, a way to find out whether a strategy works before real money is on the line.

I'm from Enugu State. I spent my early years in Kaduna, moved to Lagos when I was 9, and now work between Lagos and Enugu. I studied Computer Science at Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). Along the way I have become good with AI and machine learning, built working knowledge of cyber security and data science, and created a range of my own algorithms.

I saw how limited people were, and that's where the idea for Vernsa started.

On working as a POS attendant after secondary school

02How I build

Four rules, one from each product

i.
The numbers have to be right.
Money lives on a double-entry ledger in whole units, with a balance for every user and a record of every entry. Nothing is rounded away and nothing is guessed.
Joyet · Vernsa
ii.
Only what you could have known.
Candleben keeps later candles hidden, so a strategy is tested the way it would really have been traded, not with hindsight.
Candleben
iii.
No black box.
Rael returns a score, a decision and the plain-language reasons behind it, so a support team can always explain the result to a customer.
Rael
iv.
Never tied to one partner.
In Joyet, crypto deposits, bank payouts and identity checks can each switch provider with a flag, so no single company can stop the app.
Joyet

03Try the ideas

Two small demos, running in your browser

Market replayMade-up market, for illustration

Balance: $10,000.00
Open trade: None
Trades: 0
Win rate: –

Price –

The future is hidden. Buy or sell, then step forward.

Later candles stay hidden, so every decision is made with only what you could have known. That is the idea behind Candleben. Replay 70 real markets ↗

Double-entry ledgerExample accounts

No entries yet. Post a transfer.

Debits − credits₦0.00 · balanced

Money in the system₦37,500.00

Every transfer is written twice, a debit and a matching credit, so money is never created or lost. It's how Joyet and Vernsa keep balances.

04Work

Six entries

Joyet

Built under Apaxaa, established 2026

Preparing for launch

An app that turns crypto into naira you can spend. Deposit USDT, USDC, BTC or ETH, and it converts to your naira balance on its own, with no P2P trader and no waiting for a bank alert.

Pay for electricity on 12 DisCos, airtime, data, DStv and GOtv, WAEC and JAMB PINs, and 14 betting sites
Send money free and instantly to other Joyet users by @username or email, or pay out to a bank
Request money, ask a friend to pay a bill, and chat in the app
Available in English, Pidgin, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo
PIN and fingerprint protection, NIN verification and tiered identity checks
A Telegram bot, ready to open at launch

How it's built

Most money logic runs inside Postgres, on a ledger of every entry with a balance for each user
Crypto deposits, bank payouts and identity checks can each switch provider with a flag, so the app is never tied to one partner
Every money-out, login and signup is scored by Rael, my open-source fraud engine
About 60 backend functions and 110 database migrations so far

FlutterDartSupabasePostgresDenoFirebase

joyet.site

Joyet home screen with a naira balance and services — Joyet: home, add money and electricity screens

Joyet add money screen for choosing a coin and network — Joyet: home, add money and electricity screens

Candleben

Creator, established 2026

Live

A market replay simulator for testing a trading strategy on real history. Later candles stay hidden, so every decision is made with only what you could have known.

70 markets across forex, metals, crypto, stocks and synthetics
Stops and targets fill through price gaps, with spread and commission charged
When one candle touches both stop and target, shorter candles decide which came first
124 automated tests on the simulation and account logic

Next.jsTypeScriptLightweight ChartsTursoVercel

candleben.com

The Candleben chart mid-replay, with Fibonacci levels, a zone, RSI, an open trade and the order panel — Candleben mid-replay: EUR/USD 1h with an open paper trade

Rael

Built under Apaxaa in 2026, MIT licence

Open source

A self-hostable fraud engine. Send it an event such as a signup, login or payment, and it returns a score, a decision and the plain-language reasons behind it, so a support team can always explain the result to a customer.

Decisions are allow, challenge, review or block, with no black box
Starts in shadow mode, so it can be watched on real traffic before it stops anyone
Device IDs, IP addresses and bank details are stored only as salted hashes
Runs one app or many, with each one's data kept separate

DenoPostgresSupabase

github.com/Apaxaa/rael

Vernsa

Founder, established 2026

In development

A digital banking platform being built to connect Nigerian naira accounts with stablecoins, including sending money to someone by email or phone number.

FlutterNode.jsExpressPrisma

vernsa.com

Apaxaa

Founder and CEO, established 2026

Active

The technology company behind Joyet and Rael, building financial software and developer tools for Africa and other emerging markets.

apaxaa.com

Earlier work

2020 to 2023

Stylet: a CSS framework I created, with class names that are easy to remember
Awesome Editor: a code editor that works like CodePen, powered by Stylet
Client websites: blogs, social platforms and data analysis sites

05Record

From age 10 to now

2026 to now
Founder, VernsaLeading the product and app design for a naira and stablecoin banking platform, an idea that began during my POS job.
2026 to now
Founder and CEO, ApaxaaEstablished the company, and building Joyet and Rael under it.
2026 to now
Creator, CandlebenDesigned and built the replay engine, chart tools and trade journal.
2021
Co-CEO, TrednixHelped lead the project until it was shut down.
After school
Hotel jobSaved up for my first laptop and kept improving my programming and web development.
After school
POS attendantSaw first-hand how money moves and where people get stuck. The idea for Vernsa started here.
SS3
Started web developmentBuilt simple websites on my phone and at cyber cafes.
Age 10
Started codingLearned Python at cyber cafes and in school computer time, and built my first program, a question-and-answer game. Sold a newer version to a friend in 2021 for ₦10,000.

06Skills

Financial systems

Double-entry ledgersInteger money amountsBank payoutsCrypto deposits and settlementFX quotes

Market simulation

Candle replayRealistic fillsSpread and gap modellingFutures data aggregationMulti-timeframe charts

Backend

TypeScriptNode.jsGoPythonDjangoFlaskPHP and LaravelPostgreSQLPrismaSQLite and TursoSupabaseRedisBullMQDocker

AI and data

Good with AI and machine learning, with working knowledge of data science. I have created a range of my own algorithms.

Security

Working knowledge of cyber security.

PIN and password hashingRate limitingSigned webhooksIdempotency keysTiered KYCFraud scoring

Client

Flutter and DartReactNext.jsAngularTailwind CSSTouch-first chart controls

Contact

Building in fintech or trading? Let's talk.

nnamchiisrael@yahoo.com

Email me Download CV

GitHub: phaxadstudios X: @nnamchiisrael Lagos and Enugu, Nigeria