Skip to main content
Case Studies3StarData
VTU / Digital Services · Fractional CTO

3StarData:
Fractional CTO — active engagement

This is an ongoing engagement. Details disclosed here are public — what we can share about the structure and scope without breaching the active COA. [PLACEHOLDER: Xavier to confirm what content is cleared for public disclosure.]

Active engagement
3StarData
Nigeria
Client
VTU / Digital
Services reseller
Sector
Fractional CTO
Retainer + equity
Engagement type
Active
Ongoing
Status

Context

3StarData is a Nigerian VTU (Virtual Top-Up) and digital services reseller platform. As the company scaled, the founders recognised they needed enterprise-level technical leadership — a CTO who could build the technology roadmap, manage vendors, and prevent the compounding technical debt that kills growth-stage companies.

Rather than making a premature full-time CTO hire, 3StarData engaged Xavier through CAXiE Technologies Ltd as incoming fractional CTO — a retainer + equity model with a defined clause for transitioning to full-time CTO as the company reaches target scale.

Engagement structure

Engagement model

Retainer + equity

Title

Incoming Fractional CTO

Transition clause

Full-time CTO at defined milestone

Scope

Technology strategy, vendor mgmt, roadmap

What the engagement covers

Technology roadmap development — 12-month plan aligned to 3StarData's growth objectives
Vendor evaluation and management — assessing and managing technology suppliers
Architecture decisions — ensuring build decisions don't create future technical debt
Security posture — establishing a security model appropriate for a payments-adjacent digital platform
[PLACEHOLDER: additional scope items to be confirmed by Xavier]

Why the fractional CTO model matters for growth-stage companies

The typical growth-stage company faces a technology leadership gap: they need a CTO-level thinker, but the full-time hire is financially premature. The result is that technical decisions get made by developers without strategic context, by founders without technical depth, or by expensive consultants with no skin in the game.

The retainer + equity model CAXiE operates under for 3StarData is designed to close this gap: Xavier has a financial stake in 3StarData's success, which means the incentives are aligned — not just commercially, but structurally.

Learn more about CAXiE's Fractional CTO service →

Looking for the same kind of technical leadership?

If you're a growth-stage company or SME that needs a senior technical voice without a full-time hire, let's talk about whether the fractional CTO model fits your situation.