Sim Shagaya is a renowned Nigerian entrepreneur and investor. Popularly known as the founder of one of West Africa’s largest e-Commerce websites, Konga, Sim is also the founder and CEO of uLesson Education – the region’s fastest-growing education technology platform.
Sim studied at the Nigerian Military School. After this, he moved to the United States. where he obtained a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University and a Master of Science degree from Dartmouth College. He also holds an MBA Business School certificate from Harvard Business School.
In his early days, Sim worked with the South African Rand Merchant Bank, from where he moved on to become Google’s Head for Africa. In 2005, he established E-Motion, an out-of-home advertising agency located in Lagos. He then went on to set up DealDey in 2011 and Konga in 2013, the latter of which became one of the leading e-commerce companies in West Africa.
Sim Shagaya founded uLesson in 2019 and in the same year, he raised a $3.1 milion seed round led by TL Com Capital. The uLesson app, which was officially launched into the African market in March 2020, is a learning platform targeting primary and secondary school students in Africa, Europe, and North America. Headquartered in Abuja uLesson is an education technology business whose mission is to deliver high-quality, affordable, and accessible education to all Africans. The uLesson app hosts thousands of educational video lessons delivered by subject experts, with digital animation and illustrations that explain key concepts.
Due to his impressive entrepreneurial successes, Sim Shagaya has received a number of awards and accolades over the years. In 2015, Sim was named the Entrepreneur of the Year at the CNBC/All Africa Business Leaders Awards in West Africa. In 2014, he was named Leadership CEO at the Leadership Conference/Awards. In 2014, Forbes included him in their list of the 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa.
Sim is very passionate about effective leaming. He raised a Series A funding round of $7.5million with the backing of Owl Ventures. LocalGlobe. Founder Collective, and Ticom. He also recently raised a Series B funding of $15 million backed by Nielsen Ventures and Tencent, as well as existing investors, Owl Ventures, TLcom Capital, and Founder Collective. This financial support will be implemented to deliver exceptional services to more age segments across various countries.