Hi, I'm
Lepres K.
VP of Engineering & Tech Advisor
Architecture • Leadership • Strategy
I've been leading engineering teams and building scalable systems for 10 years. Currently VP of Engineering at Akieni, ex-CTO at Cowema. I help organizations build robust tech infrastructure, optimize operations, and scale their engineering capabilities.
Building teams & systems that scale
I've spent the last decade building and leading engineering teams across Africa. Started as a freelance developer in 2015, became CTO at Cowema where I built a marketplace platform from scratch to 30K+ users, and now I'm VP of Engineering at Akieni managing 18+ engineers across Backend, Frontend, Mobile, and UI/UX.
My focus is building enterprise-grade systems across GovTech, E-Commerce, and HealthTech—from cloud architecture and data pipelines to mobile applications and API design. I've trained multiple junior developers to senior level, unblocked stalled government projects, and delivered high-performance, secure platforms serving thousands of users.
I work across the full stack—from defining technical strategy in the boardroom to architecting solutions that scale. If you're scaling a team, modernizing your stack, or need hands-on leadership to deliver something critical, let's talk.
Professional Journey
VP of Engineering
Akieni • Brazzaville
- • Lead 17+ engineers (Backend, Frontend, Mobile, DevOps)
- • Executive member driving technical strategy
- • Scaled team from 7 to 17+ engineers
- • Established engineering processes and structure
- • Integrated Academy talent with mentorship
- • Lead R&D and product development
- • Oversee enterprise systems delivery
Engineering Manager
Akieni • Brazzaville
- • Lead engineering team from 0 to 7+ engineers (Backend, Frontend, DevOps, Mobile)
- • Delivered critical enterprise system after 2+ years stalled
- • Reduced infrastructure costs by 21% through AWS migration and optimization
- • Achieved 99.9% uptime with Kubernetes-based high-availability architecture
- • Built integration middleware connecting government services
- • Mentored 2 junior developers to mid-level within 9 months
Technical Officer, Data and Operations
WHO Regional Office for Africa • Brazzaville
- • Maintained internal tools for 47 WHO Africa member states
- • Database management and optimization (SQL Server)
- • Developed data collection tools
- • Reduced report generation time by 40% with automated pipelines
- • Built interactive PowerBI dashboards
- • Provided technical support across the region
CTO & Co-Founder
COWEMA • Brazzaville
- • Co-founded and scaled e-commerce platform from 0 to 30K+ users
- • Built tech stack and shipped Marketplace + VEC apps
- • Developed internal tools for reporting and back-office operations
- • Recruited and mentored 3 junior devs to senior level
Freelance Developer
Self-employed • Pointe-Noire
- • Delivered 20+ projects for local and international clients
- • Built Lord-Market marketplace app (10K+ downloads)
- • Developed mobile and web solutions across various industries
- • Established client base leading to COWEMA founding
How I can help
Strategic guidance and hands-on execution for your technical challenges
Technical Strategy
Architecture & Planning
Choosing between microservices and monoliths? Evaluating a new stack? Planning a migration? I help you make technical decisions that align with your business goals and scale sustainably. I've architected systems for government agencies, 30K+ user marketplaces, and enterprise platforms—let me help you build a roadmap that actually works.
Engineering Leadership
Team Building & Management
Need to scale your team while maintaining quality? I've scaled teams from 7 to 17+ engineers at Akieni, trained juniors to senior level at COWEMA, and built hiring processes that work. Whether you're structuring your first team or scaling past 10 engineers, I help you grow without chaos.
System Design & Migration
Software Architecture & Design Patterns
Modernizing your application or planning a complex migration? I've architected scalable software systems, designed microservices architectures, and migrated monolithic applications to modern patterns. From domain-driven design to clean architecture, I build solutions that evolve with your business—pragmatic decisions over hype.
Interim CTO / Technical Leadership
Hands-On Leadership & Execution
Need hands-on technical leadership while you scale? I step in as interim CTO/VP to build your engineering foundation, hire and lead your first team, establish processes that last, and deliver critical projects. Not just strategy—I roll up my sleeves, architect solutions, and ship products that work.
Technical Consulting
Code Review & Advisory
Facing a complex technical decision or need validation on your approach? I provide hands-on consulting: architecture reviews, code audits, technology evaluation, and strategic guidance. Think of me as your technical advisor who's actually built what you're trying to build.
Proficient Technologies
Leadership & Management
- Team Management
- Agile / Scrum
- Technical Strategy
- Hiring & Mentorship
- Engineering Culture
Backend Development
- PHP / Laravel
- Node.js / NestJS
- Python / Django
- .NET / C#
- CakePHP
Frontend Development
- React / Next.js
- TypeScript
- Tailwind CSS
- Redux
Mobile Development
- Flutter
- Android (Kotlin)
- Cross-platform Apps
Database
- PostgreSQL
- MySQL / MariaDB
- MongoDB
- Redis
- SQL Server
Platform & Infrastructure
- Docker
- Linux
- CI/CD Pipelines
- GitHub Actions
Selected Projects
A few projects that illustrate my expertise
Cowema - African E-Commerce Platform
Co-founded and scaled an e-commerce platform from 0 to 30K+ users, serving the African market with marketplace and classified ads functionality.
Akieni Enterprise System - Government Integration
Led engineering team to deliver critical enterprise system after 2+ years stalled, integrating with 8+ government services.
Lord Market - Multi-Platform Commerce App
Developed a comprehensive marketplace mobile application reaching 10K+ downloads with real-time features and secure payment integration.
Freeze - Inventory Management System
Desktop application for inventory and sales management with modern UI and robust reporting capabilities.
Latest Publications
Insights on technical leadership, architecture and engineering strategy
Detect User Inactivity System-Wide on Android with AccessibilityService
Most developers think AccessibilityService is only for screen readers. It's actually the only clean way to detect system-wide user interactions from a background service — here's how to build a full inactivity detector with it.
Build a Complete PKI from Scratch in Node.js
Most guides on PKI either rely on fragile OpenSSL CLI calls or skip the why entirely. Here's how to build a production-grade certificate authority in Node.js using node-forge — and how to work around the silent AES-256 decryption bug that will bite you in production.
Integrating OneSignal Push Notifications in Laravel
A complete guide to implementing OneSignal push notifications in your Laravel application with practical examples and best practices.