Sim Shagaya

Sim is a technology entrepreneur whose journey spans advertising, e-commerce, and education. Before building some of Nigeria's most recognised businesses, he studied Electrical Engineering at George Washington University, earned a master's degree from Dartmouth College, and completed an MBA at Harvard Business School.

His entrepreneurial journey includes E-Motion Advertising, DealDey, and Konga, an e-commerce platform he founded in 2012. Building Konga meant tackling challenges around online shopping, payments, logistics, and customer trust in a market where e-commerce was still developing.

But his journey hasn't been without setbacks. Konga faced significant economic challenges, and Sim has spoken openly about decisions he would approach differently today. Rather than allowing those experiences to end his entrepreneurial journey, he carried the lessons into new industries.

In 2019, he founded uLesson to make quality learning resources more accessible to African students. He later expanded that vision through Miva Open University in 2023, creating a flexible path to university education for people who may not be able to attend traditional institutions.

What I find particularly interesting about Sim's journey is how his focus has evolved from helping people buy products online to helping people access education. Across these ventures, he's continued exploring how technology can address problems that affect millions of Nigerians.

What I admire most is his willingness to learn from difficult experiences and keep building. His story reminds us that entrepreneurship isn't always about getting everything right the first time, and that lessons from one industry can become valuable when solving problems in another.

For founders interested in entrepreneurship, education technology, and building businesses that address important challenges in Africa, Sim Shagaya is definitely someone worth learning from.

Africa is Building! ❤️