The Inspiring Vision Driving a Kitchener Entrepreneur’s Passionate Appeal

Ayoola Gbade-Bello experienced a deeply emotional moment while pitching his storytelling platform, Kintrace, at the Communitech Startup Bootcamp Showcase event on January 22, 2025. During his pitch, he shared a poignant story about recording his late father, Misbau Gbadegesin Bello, recounting his life and family history. Overcome with emotion, Ayoola reflected on the importance of this recording, emphasizing that it should not fade with his father’s passing. His father's rich legacy—an engineer with a lineage of a warrior chief and a farmer—fueled Ayoola's desire for his own children to understand their heritage.

Kintrace was born from Ayoola's passion for preserving family narratives using a digital platform that combines user-generated content with AI-driven storytelling. The goal is to close generational gaps and enhance family connections through shared histories. However, Ayoola's journey to develop Kintrace was not without challenges.

From a young age, Ayoola demonstrated entrepreneurial tendencies, recognized and nurtured by his father. In high school, he capitalized on his design skills by creating custom notebooks. His ventures continued in university, where he started a merchandise printing service that helped fund his education. This entrepreneurial spirit laid the groundwork for a successful career in advertising and consulting.

The original concept for Kintrace was sparked in 2017 during a consulting project in Nigeria, where a client requested assistance in creating a family history book. This project revealed a broader opportunity as Ayoola struggled to find compelling tools to document his own family's narrative. Encountering platforms like Ancestry.com, he noticed they did not adequately serve his needs as an African user and realized the necessity for a culturally relevant alternative.

After immigrating to Canada with his family in November 2023, Ayoola joined the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology (MBET) program at the University of Waterloo and became involved in Velocity, where he began refining Kintrace. Through discussions with diverse communities, including those from Pakistan, India, and China, he recognized the universal challenge of tracing family histories and discovered that younger generations, especially Gen Z and Millennials, are increasingly invested in preserving their family stories.

A hallmark of Kintrace is its accessibility, as it integrates with WhatsApp, a platform many families already use. Instead of requiring users to adapt to new technology, the service leverages familiar communication to facilitate storytelling through thoughtful prompts via an AI chatbot. Moreover, Kintrace allows families to share their histories in various formats, including digital archives, printed books, and videos. Ayoola is actively collaborating with publishing companies and film producers to bring these stories to a wider audience.

In December 2024, Ayoola participated in the Communitech Startup Bootcamp, enriching his entrepreneurial knowledge and expanding his network. With Kintrace gaining traction—boasting a growing waitlist of over 50 families and a goal to onboard 100 families by the end of 2025—Ayoola aims to refine the AI model, secure funding, and eventually expand Kintrace into a standalone app.

On a personal note, Ayoola is penning his father's autobiography, capturing the profound impact his father had on those around him. “I want the world to know the type of father that raised me,” he stated, affirming his commitment to preserving his family's legacy as part of his larger mission with Kintrace. As he navigates his grief, Ayoola views this endeavor as a tribute to his father’s life and influence.