Sim Shagaya is one of the Nigerian entrepreneurs most closely associated with the country’s digital transformation. He founded Konga at a time when online shopping was still unfamiliar to most Nigerian consumers, built it into one of West Africa’s best-known e-commerce companies, and helped establish a category that attracted significant international investment.
His entrepreneurial record, however, cannot be understood only through Konga’s early rise. The company’s later financial and operational difficulties, his departure from its chief executive role, and its eventual acquisition by Zinox offer a more complicated business story than the usual startup success narrative.
After Konga, Shagaya moved into education technology. He founded uLesson in 2019 and later became the founder and group chief executive of the uLesson Group, which includes Miva Open University. In May 2026, the group announced that he would transition from group CEO to executive chairman when Iheanyi Akwitti formally assumes the CEO role in January 2027.
Shagaya’s career is therefore significant for two reasons. First, he helped prove that large-scale digital commerce could be built in Nigeria. Second, he has continued to apply technology and venture-building methods to structural problems in education and access to higher learning.
The Builder at a Glance
| Field | Verified information |
|---|---|
| Name | Simdul “Sim” Shagaya |
| Known for | Founding Konga, DealDey, E-Motion Advertising and uLesson; building Miva Open University |
| Founder of | Konga, DealDey, E-Motion Advertising and uLesson |
| Current roles | Founder and group CEO of uLesson Group during a transition to executive chairman; Chancellor of Miva Open University |
| Former role | Founder and former CEO of Konga |
| Major institutions | Konga Group, uLesson Group and Miva Open University |
| Core industries | E-commerce, digital advertising, education technology, higher education and digital platforms |
| Konga founded | July 2012 |
| uLesson founded | 2019 |
| Miva Open University | Established within the uLesson Group and licensed by Nigeria’s National Universities Commission |
| Headquarters | Konga and uLesson operate from Nigeria; public sources identify Lagos and Abuja as important operating locations |
| Education | Nigerian Military School; BSc in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University; postgraduate study at Dartmouth College; MBA from Harvard Business School |
| Early career | Rand Merchant Bank in South Africa and Google Africa |
| Major achievements | Built Konga into a major Nigerian e-commerce platform; attracted funding from Kinnevik and Naspers; founded uLesson; launched a NUC-licensed online university |
| Recognition | Forbes Africa recognition, CNBC All Africa Entrepreneur of the Year recognition and inclusion in African technology and entrepreneurship rankings |
Public biographies agree broadly on Shagaya’s education and professional background, although some accounts differ on the exact sequence and description of his postgraduate studies. His own public interviews and institutional biographies identify George Washington University, Dartmouth and Harvard Business School as important parts of his academic journey. techpoint
The Story Behind the Builder
When Konga launched in July 2012, Nigerian e-commerce was a bet on several things that were not yet fully established: reliable internet usage, digital payments, consumer trust, delivery infrastructure and the willingness of people to buy products they had not physically inspected.
Shagaya entered that market with a technology and finance background, but the company he built quickly became more than a website. Konga had to operate warehouses, recruit merchants, manage deliveries, handle customer service, support cash-on-delivery and develop ways to reduce fraud and payment failure.
The company’s early progress attracted major international investors. Konga raised a reported $3.5 million seed investment from Swedish investment firm Kinnevik, followed by a $10 million Series A round and a $25 million Series B round involving Kinnevik and Naspers.
Later reports put Konga’s total capital raised at more than $100 million, although the exact cumulative figure varies depending on whether particular rounds, secondary transactions and investor commitments are included.
The eventual sale of Konga to Zinox in 2018 made the business a case study in both the possibilities and limitations of venture-backed e-commerce in Nigeria. The company had created a recognised brand and a large operating platform, but it had also faced layoffs, cash pressure, logistics costs and difficulty reaching profitability.
Before the Business
Shagaya’s early life is not documented in sufficient detail across primary sources to support an extensive childhood narrative. Public biographies describe him as Nigerian and associate him with Plateau State and the Shagaya family, but some sources disagree on his exact birthplace and date of birth. Those details are omitted here unless independently confirmed.
He attended the Nigerian Military School and later served in the Nigerian Army for a period. In an interview with How We Made It in Africa, Shagaya described the military experience as part of his background before he moved into higher education and business.
He initially attended the University of Lagos but later moved to the United States, where he studied electrical engineering at George Washington University. He subsequently pursued graduate education connected to engineering management at Dartmouth and completed an MBA at Harvard Business School in 2003, according to TechCabal’s interview with him.
His early professional career included working at Rand Merchant Bank in South Africa. In an interview, he said the work exposed him to capital raising and financing transactions involving companies such as Airtel, Globacom and businesses in the oil and gas sector.
He later worked with Google in Africa. Public descriptions of his position vary, with some referring to him as Google’s Head of Africa and others describing him as an African lead for the company’s search and internet advertising activities. The consistent point is that he worked in a senior African technology and digital advertising role before moving fully into entrepreneurship.
That combination of engineering, finance and digital media experience was relevant to the companies he later built. He understood technology platforms, but also had exposure to capital structures, advertising markets and business expansion.
The Problem He Set Out to Solve
Konga was founded within a Nigerian retail system dominated by physical stores, informal markets and fragmented distribution. Consumers could find products in Lagos and other major cities, but the process of comparing prices and accessing branded products was often inefficient.
For sellers, the problem was equally significant. Small retailers and larger merchants needed access to a wider customer base without opening stores in every city. A digital marketplace could potentially connect suppliers and consumers across a country with more than 200 million people.
However, e-commerce in Nigeria faced structural obstacles:
- Low consumer trust in online transactions.
- Weak digital payment reliability in the early 2010s.
- Poor address standardisation.
- High delivery costs.
- Difficult road and logistics conditions.
- Limited consumer familiarity with online shopping.
- A strong preference for seeing goods before paying.
Konga’s response was to combine online discovery with operational control. It used a direct retail model in its early period, later added third-party merchants through Konga Mall, and invested in warehousing, delivery and payment infrastructure.
The company’s decision to support payment on delivery was especially important in its early years. It reduced consumers’ fear of paying in advance, although it later created problems involving failed deliveries, cancellations, delivery costs and fraud.
Building Konga
The launch
Konga was launched in July 2012 with a small team and initially operated from Lagos. Public accounts describe the early business as focused on categories such as baby products, beauty and personal care before expanding into a much broader online retail offering.
The early Konga proposition was straightforward: customers could browse products online, place orders and receive deliveries without visiting a physical store. This required the company to solve practical problems that many software startups could avoid.
Konga needed product sourcing, inventory management, warehousing, order processing, delivery coordination, customer support and payment collection. In that sense, it was not merely a technology company. It was a retail and logistics operation using technology as its distribution interface.
The move from retail to marketplace
Konga initially sold products directly, but later expanded into a marketplace model. In 2013, it beta-tested Konga Mall, allowing third-party retailers to sell through the platform.
The marketplace shift was strategically important. A first-party retail model gives a company more control over inventory, quality and customer experience, but it requires substantial working capital. A marketplace can expand product variety and reduce inventory exposure by allowing independent merchants to list products and fulfil orders.
The trade-off is that marketplace operators must manage seller quality, counterfeit risk, fulfilment standards, returns and disputes. Konga’s later business model combined elements of both direct retail and third-party commerce.
Funding and expansion
Konga’s funding history became one of the most visible in Nigeria’s early technology sector.
| Funding stage | Reported amount | Investors or source | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | $3.5 million | Kinnevik | 2012 |
| Series A | $10 million | Kinnevik and Naspers | 2013 |
| Series B | $25 million | Kinnevik and Naspers | Announced January 2014 |
| Series C | $40 million | Kinnevik and Naspers, according to industry reporting | 2014 |
The Series B round was reported as one of the largest single investments in an African startup at that time. Reports on the Series C financing placed it at $40 million, but the precise structure and total capitalisation of the company should be verified against investor filings before publication as a definitive funding figure.
The presence of Naspers and Kinnevik gave Konga access to international capital and strategic credibility. It also raised expectations. Venture investors typically seek large-scale growth, and Konga was expected to expand rapidly in a market where the underlying infrastructure was still developing.
Building logistics and payments
Konga invested in its own logistics operations through KOS Logistics and related fulfilment initiatives. The strategy reflected a practical reality: third-party delivery providers could not always offer the geographic reach, tracking or speed required by a national online retailer.
The company also launched KongaPay in 2015 after acquiring the assets and mobile money licence of Zinternet Nigeria Limited, according to later reporting. KongaPay was designed to make online transactions more secure and reduce some of the risks associated with cash-on-delivery.
These investments helped address important market gaps, but they also increased the company’s costs. Warehouses, delivery personnel, payment systems and customer-support operations require significant spending before the underlying transaction volume becomes profitable.
Leadership transition
Shagaya stepped down as Konga’s CEO in January 2016, according to Quartz reporting. The move followed a restructuring process and the dismissal of approximately 10 percent of staff. Shola Adekoya remained in the CEO role during the later 2017 restructuring, despite speculation that Shagaya might return to day-to-day management.
Shagaya’s departure marked a turning point. It separated the founder from the operating management of the company and reflected the pressure Konga was facing as it attempted to reduce costs and secure a sustainable business model.
Restructuring and acquisition
In November 2017, Konga reportedly cut approximately 60 percent of its workforce and moved towards a leaner business model. The company also ended or reduced parts of its warehouse and merchant services.
The restructuring was reported in the context of a difficult Nigerian economy, payment challenges, high operating costs and the broader difficulty of making online retail profitable.
In February 2018, Zinox Group announced that it had acquired Konga after negotiations with major investors, including Naspers and Kinnevik. The acquisition price was not officially disclosed. Some reports circulated a figure of approximately $10 million, while later analysis argued that the transaction value was considerably higher based on Naspers’ reported stake and accounting treatment.
The discrepancy matters. It would be inaccurate to present the $10 million figure as an established purchase price. The defensible conclusion is that Konga was acquired by Zinox in 2018, but the final consideration has not been publicly confirmed in a sufficiently authoritative transaction filing.
The Business Model
Konga’s original business model evolved over time.
Direct retail
In its early years, Konga bought or sourced products and sold them directly to customers. This gave the company greater control over pricing, inventory and fulfilment, but required substantial working capital.
Marketplace commissions
Through Konga Mall, the company allowed third-party merchants to list and sell products. Revenue could come from commissions, listing services, fulfilment charges and related merchant services. This model enabled greater product variety and potentially reduced inventory risk.
Logistics
Konga’s logistics operation supported the movement of goods from warehouses and merchants to customers. It was also intended to create a competitive advantage in a market where delivery reliability was a major barrier to online retail.
Payments
KongaPay was designed to support digital payment and reduce the limitations of cash-on-delivery. Payment infrastructure was not only a financial service but also a trust mechanism. If customers could pay securely and receive predictable refunds or returns, online shopping became more acceptable.
Customer market
Konga served Nigerian consumers purchasing electronics, fashion, home appliances, beauty products, books, personal care items and other consumer goods. Its merchant market included manufacturers, distributors, formal retailers and smaller sellers.
Competitive position
Konga competed most visibly with Jumia, although the two companies differed in their operating structures and market strategies. Both helped normalise online shopping in Nigeria, but both also faced the same infrastructure, trust and profitability challenges.
The Builder’s Strategy
Publicly available evidence suggests that Shagaya’s Konga strategy had five major elements.
Build the missing infrastructure
Konga did not rely on a simple website-and-commission model. It invested in fulfilment, logistics and payments because those were the areas preventing online commerce from working reliably.
This was strategically logical, but expensive. The company took on responsibilities that might otherwise have been left to logistics providers, banks and merchants.
Create trust before optimising margins
Cash-on-delivery allowed customers to inspect or receive products before paying. In the short term, that helped overcome consumer scepticism. In the longer term, however, it created failed-order and delivery-cost problems.
KongaPay represented an attempt to move customers towards more efficient digital payment while preserving confidence in the transaction.
Pursue scale through venture capital
The funding from Kinnevik and Naspers enabled rapid expansion. Publicly available evidence suggests that Konga pursued the high-growth model common among technology startups of that period: build market share, increase transaction volume and develop infrastructure before focusing fully on profitability.
That strategy helped create visibility and scale, but the later restructuring indicates that the company’s cost base became difficult to sustain.
Expand beyond a narrow product category
Konga began with a limited product focus but expanded into many retail categories and opened its platform to third-party sellers. That increased the potential addressable market and made the platform more useful to consumers.
Accept that the market required adaptation
In later interviews, Shagaya has discussed Konga’s difficulties and the lessons he drew from the experience. In a 2024 interview, he acknowledged that the company struggled to remain financially sustainable and was eventually sold to Zinox. techpoint
His more recent public commentary has emphasised profitability, operating discipline and building businesses around real economic needs rather than headline valuations. Those statements are his retrospective interpretation and should not be treated as an independently verified explanation of every decision made at Konga.
Major Challenges and Turning Points
Payment failure and consumer trust
In Konga’s early years, online payment infrastructure was unreliable. Cash-on-delivery reduced the psychological barrier to purchasing online but introduced logistical and financial costs.
Failed orders meant that the company could pay for delivery attempts without completing a sale. Customers could also cancel orders or reject products at the point of delivery.
Last-mile logistics
Nigeria’s fragmented addressing system and difficult transport environment made delivery expensive and unpredictable. E-commerce companies had to build capabilities that were not readily available from postal networks or third-party logistics providers.
Konga’s investment in KOS Logistics attempted to address the problem, but the effort also made the company more asset-heavy.
Macroeconomic pressure
The naira devaluation and economic deterioration around 2015 placed pressure on consumer spending and business costs. In a 2025 interview, Shagaya described the period as a major macroeconomic shock that affected Konga and other businesses.
The company also faced competition from Jumia and other online retailers that were raising substantial capital and expanding aggressively.
Layoffs and restructuring
Konga reportedly dismissed approximately 10 percent of its workforce in early 2016 and around 60 percent in November 2017. The company described the later process as a move towards a leaner business model.
These events are important because they challenge the simplified image of Konga as an uninterrupted success. The company’s growth created a major platform, but its operating model was not immune to cash constraints and efficiency problems.
Sale to Zinox
The 2018 acquisition ended Shagaya’s control of Konga. Whether the transaction represented a failure, an orderly exit or a necessary strategic sale depends on the metric used. Konga had created significant market awareness and attracted major capital, but the publicly reported restructuring and undisclosed purchase price show that the original venture-backed model did not produce an uncomplicated outcome.
A fair assessment is that Konga was commercially influential but financially difficult to sustain under its original structure.
Beyond Konga
E-Motion Advertising
Before Konga, Shagaya founded E-Motion Advertising, an out-of-home media business launched in Lagos in 2005. The company participated in the development of digital and outdoor advertising infrastructure and gave him experience in building a business around media inventory and audience reach.
Public profiles report that E-Motion was later acquired by Loatsad Promomedia. The transaction details are not sufficiently documented in major primary sources, so the acquisition should be described as publicly reported rather than presented as a fully disclosed deal.
DealDey
Shagaya founded DealDey in 2011. The company was a daily-deals and group-buying platform modelled on the international Groupon concept. It offered discounted products and services to consumers and gave participating merchants access to digital demand generation.
DealDey was an early experiment in online consumer behaviour in Nigeria. It tested whether customers would discover and purchase offers digitally before the infrastructure for full-scale e-commerce had matured.
Public profiles associate DealDey with Ringier Africa, but the exact transaction terms and structure require additional verification from corporate records.
uLesson
Shagaya founded uLesson in 2019 after stepping away from Konga’s day-to-day leadership. The platform was designed to deliver curriculum-aligned digital learning to primary and secondary school students across Africa.
uLesson’s product suite has included recorded lessons, curriculum content, assessments, live classes and personalised academic support. Its business model has combined technology, educational content and subscription access.
In December 2021, uLesson announced a $15 million Series B investment led by Nielsen Ventures and Tencent, with participation from existing investors including Owl Ventures, TLcom Capital and Founder Collective.
The funding was directed towards expanding uLesson’s educational products and reach. Unlike Konga, whose principal challenge was transaction fulfilment and retail logistics, uLesson’s central challenge is content quality, learning outcomes, user retention, affordability and the cost of reaching households with suitable devices and connectivity.
Miva Open University
Miva Open University is part of the uLesson Group. The institution received an Open Distance eLearning licence from Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council in 2023 and is licensed by the National Universities Commission.
Miva offers degree programmes through open and distance learning. Its relevance to Shagaya’s wider career is clear: he moved from improving access to consumer goods through Konga to improving access to structured learning through uLesson and higher education through Miva.
However, the educational sector has a different regulatory and operating logic from e-commerce. A university must meet academic, governance and quality requirements in addition to building a viable technology platform.
The Numbers Behind the Builder
The figures below are historical or company-reported and should not be interpreted as current unless specifically dated.
| Metric | Figure | Date and source |
|---|---|---|
| Konga founding | July 2012 | Konga histories and contemporary profiles |
| Konga early team | 20 employees | Historical company account, reported in 2013 and later sources |
| Konga seed funding | $3.5 million | 2012, reported by TechCabal |
| Konga Series A | $10 million | 2013, reported by TechCabal and industry publications |
| Konga Series B | $25 million | Announced January 2014 |
| Konga Series C | $40 million | Reported in 2014, requires confirmation from investor records |
| Konga staff reduction | About 10 percent | January 2016, Quartz |
| Konga staff reduction | About 60 percent | November 2017, Quartz and TechCrunch |
| Konga acquisition | Acquired by Zinox Group | February 2018 |
| Konga acquisition price | Not publicly confirmed | Reports differ between approximately $10 million and substantially higher estimates |
| uLesson founding | 2019 | uLesson official announcement |
| uLesson Series B | $15 million | 9 December 2021 |
| Miva licence | Open Distance eLearning licence | 2023 |
| uLesson CEO transition | New CEO to assume office on 1 January 2027 | Announced 18 May 2026 |
The most important caution concerns Konga’s total funding and sale valuation. Several secondary sources cite cumulative investment of more than $100 million and a sale price of approximately $10 million, but those numbers are not supported here as definitive audited or filed transaction figures.
Awards and Recognition
Shagaya received significant attention during Nigeria’s early technology boom.
Forbes included him in its 2014 list of 10 Young African Millionaires to Watch, describing him as the founder of Konga and noting that the company had raised more than $38 million at that time.
He was also associated with the CNBC All Africa Business Leaders Awards as West Africa Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013. That recognition reflected the growing importance of Nigerian technology entrepreneurship and Konga’s role in bringing African e-commerce to international attention.
uLesson received further recognition when it was ranked among Fast Company’s most innovative companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2023, according to Miva’s institutional profile. uLesson was also recognised by TIME among the World’s Top EdTech Rising Stars for 2025.
These awards do not prove commercial success on their own. Their significance is that they show how Shagaya’s companies became reference points in discussions about African technology, digital commerce and education.
Education and Thought Leadership
Shagaya’s public biography includes:
- Secondary education at the Nigerian Military School.
- A Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University.
- Graduate study in engineering management at Dartmouth College.
- An MBA from Harvard Business School in 2003.
His professional development included investment banking at Rand Merchant Bank and a senior African role at Google.
Unlike some business builders who have published formal books, Shagaya’s thought leadership has primarily appeared through interviews, masterclasses, conference appearances and company communications.
Recurring themes in his public commentary include:
- Building around structural problems rather than superficial consumer trends.
- The importance of timing in African markets.
- The dangers of pursuing growth without a path to sustainability.
- The need to understand local infrastructure before copying foreign business models.
- The role of education and technology in expanding opportunity.
- The importance of institutional succession.
In a 2024 Techpoint interview, he discussed lessons from his entrepreneurial career and the difficulty of building capital-intensive companies in Nigeria. His participation in Miva Open University masterclasses also places him within the growing community of Nigerian founders teaching the next generation of technology entrepreneurs.
The Builder’s Playbook
Treat infrastructure as part of the product
Konga’s experience showed that an e-commerce platform cannot be separated from payments, logistics, warehousing, customer support and returns. The digital interface may attract customers, but the physical infrastructure determines whether the transaction succeeds.
Do not confuse funding with business viability
Konga attracted substantial international funding and market attention. Its later restructuring demonstrated that investment capital can accelerate expansion without guaranteeing profitability.
This lesson is supported by the company’s staff reductions, operational retrenchment and eventual acquisition. Capital creates time and capacity, but it does not remove the need for a viable unit economics model.
Use local behaviour as a design input
Cash-on-delivery emerged because Nigerian consumers were cautious about paying for unfamiliar online services. The model created problems, but it also reflected real market behaviour.
The broader lesson is not to copy Silicon Valley assumptions about payments, trust or delivery. Products have to be designed for how customers actually live and transact.
Build in regulated sectors with institutional discipline
Miva’s licensing by the National Universities Commission shows a different approach from launching an unregulated digital product. In education, regulatory approval, academic quality and governance are central to the business model.
Move from one category to another without abandoning the underlying method
Konga, uLesson and Miva operate in different sectors, but all attempt to improve access through technology and organised distribution. Public evidence suggests that Shagaya’s repeatable method is to identify a fragmented market, build a platform and add the infrastructure needed to make the platform useful.
Make succession part of scale
The planned transition of uLesson Group leadership from Shagaya to Iheanyi Akwitti is evidence of a founder preparing the organisation for a different stage of development. Shagaya is expected to become executive chairman in January 2027, while Akwitti takes over as CEO.
The Business Ecosystem
The major organisations connected to Shagaya’s documented career include:
- Konga Group.
- Zinox Group.
- Kinnevik.
- Naspers.
- Jumia, as a major competitor in Nigeria’s e-commerce market.
- KOS Logistics.
- KongaPay.
- E-Motion Advertising.
- Loatsad Promomedia.
- DealDey.
- Ringier Africa.
- uLesson Education.
- uLesson Group.
- Miva Open University.
- National Universities Commission.
- George Washington University.
- Dartmouth College.
- Harvard Business School.
- Rand Merchant Bank.
- Google Africa.
- Tencent.
- Nielsen Ventures.
- Owl Ventures.
- TLcom Capital.
- Founder Collective.
Where They Are Today
As of 10 August 2026, Shagaya remains founder and group CEO of the uLesson Group during a planned leadership transition. The company announced on 18 May 2026 that Iheanyi Akwitti would become CEO-designate from 1 June 2026 and formally assume the CEO position on 1 January 2027. Shagaya will then transition to executive chairman.
He is also Chancellor of Miva Open University, which is licensed by Nigeria’s National Universities Commission. The university represents the higher-education component of the uLesson Group and offers degree programmes through open and distance learning.
Konga, meanwhile, is no longer Shagaya-controlled. The company’s current website identifies Leonard Nnamdi Stanley Ekeh as founder and chairman and Prince Nnamdi Ekeh as co-CEO. That current leadership information should not be confused with the company’s original founding history.
Shagaya’s current public work is concentrated more heavily on education, digital learning, university access and founder-led institutional development than on day-to-day e-commerce management.
What Comes Next
The clearest announced development is the uLesson Group leadership transition scheduled for 1 January 2027. Shagaya is expected to become executive chairman while Iheanyi Akwitti becomes CEO.
Miva Open University is also positioned for continued expansion as a NUC-licensed open university. The institution has publicly announced its focus on flexible, technology-enabled degree education, but specific future enrolment targets and financial projections are not included here unless supported by formal institutional announcements.
Shagaya has also discussed the need to build businesses with stronger profitability and operational discipline. Those comments represent his current public thinking, not a confirmed announcement of a new company or sector. No specific future venture is presented as fact.
Brands.Ng Perspective
Sim Shagaya’s business story is more useful when it is examined without the usual startup mythology.
Konga was an important Nigerian business because it made online retail visible, attracted international capital and forced the market to confront problems involving payments, fulfilment, trust and logistics. It also revealed the limits of a growth-first model in a difficult operating environment. The company’s staff reductions, leadership changes and eventual acquisition demonstrate that market influence and financial sustainability are not the same thing.
His post-Konga career is equally significant. uLesson and Miva show a shift from commerce to human capital, but the strategic pattern remains recognisable: identify a large access problem, build a technology platform and add the institutional infrastructure required to serve the market.
Shagaya’s legacy will therefore not be determined only by whether Konga became a lasting independent company. It will also be assessed through the markets he helped create, the founders and operators he influenced, and whether his education businesses can achieve the sustainability and learning outcomes that Nigerian education requires.
His career offers a more honest lesson about African entrepreneurship. Vision and capital can open a market, but infrastructure, economics, regulation and institutional leadership determine whether the business endures.
Fact-Check Pass
| Claim | Source | Date | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shagaya founded Konga | Konga historical material and contemporary profiles | 2012 to 2013 | High |
| Konga was founded in July 2012 | Konga histories and Forbes | 2012 and 2014 | High |
| Shagaya studied at George Washington University, Dartmouth and Harvard | Techpoint interview and institutional biography | 2024 and 2026 | High |
| Shagaya worked at Rand Merchant Bank | Techpoint interview | 16 April 2024 | High |
| Shagaya worked in a senior Africa role at Google | Miva and Platform Technology profiles | 2014 and 2024 | Medium-high |
| E-Motion was founded in 2005 | Disrupting Africa and industry biographies | Historical claim | Medium |
| DealDey was founded in 2011 | How We Made It in Africa and industry biographies | 2013 and later | Medium-high |
| Konga received $3.5 million seed funding | TechCabal | 3 January 2014 | High |
| Konga raised $10 million in Series A funding | TechCabal and industry reporting | 2013 | High |
| Konga raised $25 million in Series B funding | TechCabal | 3 January 2014 | High |
| Konga raised $40 million in Series C funding | Industry reporting | 2014 to 2015 | Medium |
| Konga launched Konga Mall | Industry case account | 2013 | Medium-high |
| Konga developed KongaPay | African Exponent account and related reporting | 2015 | Medium |
| Shagaya left Konga’s CEO role in 2016 | Quartz | January 2016 | High |
| Konga cut approximately 60 percent of its staff | Quartz and TechCrunch | November 2017 | High |
| Zinox acquired Konga | Vanguard and Guardian | February 2018 | High |
| Konga acquisition price was approximately $10 million | Secondary reporting only, disputed | 2018 and 2022 | Low-medium |
| uLesson was founded in 2019 | uLesson official announcement | 9 December 2021 | High |
| uLesson raised $15 million Series B funding | uLesson official announcement | 9 December 2021 | High |
| Miva Open University received an open university licence | Miva official announcement | 23 October 2023 | High |
| Miva is licensed by the NUC | Miva official website | Accessed 2026 | High |
| Shagaya is founder and group CEO of uLesson Group | Miva and uLesson institutional pages | 2024 to 2026 | High |
| Shagaya will become executive chairman of uLesson Group | uLesson official announcement | 18 May 2026 | High |
| Iheanyi Akwitti will become CEO on 1 January 2027 | uLesson official announcement | 18 May 2026 | High |
| Shagaya is Chancellor of Miva Open University | Miva official website | Accessed 2026 | High |
| Konga’s current website identifies Leonard Ekeh as chairman | Konga official website | Accessed 2026 | High |
Claims requiring additional verification include Shagaya’s exact birth details, the full amount raised by Konga, the exact Konga acquisition price, the reported sale of E-Motion to Loatsad, the reported DealDey transaction with Ringier Africa and any current enrolment or revenue figures for Miva Open University.
Related Entities
Konga, Zinox Group, Jumia, Kinnevik, Naspers, KOS Logistics, KongaPay, E-Motion Advertising, DealDey, uLesson, Miva Open University, National Universities Commission, Google Africa, Rand Merchant Bank, Tencent, Nielsen Ventures, Owl Ventures and TLcom Capital.
FAQ Questions
Who is Sim Shagaya?
Sim Shagaya is a Nigerian technology entrepreneur best known as the founder of Konga, uLesson and Miva Open University.
When did Sim Shagaya found Konga?
He founded Konga in July 2012.
What happened to Konga?
Konga experienced rapid growth, major international investment, restructuring and staff reductions before being acquired by Zinox Group in February 2018.
How much money did Konga raise?
Public reports identify a $3.5 million seed round, a $10 million Series A round, a $25 million Series B round and a reported $40 million Series C round. The precise cumulative total should be treated cautiously because public sources differ.
Is Sim Shagaya still the CEO of Konga?
No. He is identified as Konga’s founder and former CEO. Konga’s current website lists Leonard Nnamdi Stanley Ekeh as founder and chairman and Prince Nnamdi Ekeh as co-CEO.
What is Sim Shagaya doing now?
As of August 2026, he is founder and group CEO of uLesson Group during a planned transition to executive chairman. He is also Chancellor of Miva Open University.
What is uLesson?
uLesson is an education technology company founded by Shagaya in 2019. It provides curriculum-linked digital learning products for students across Africa.
Is Miva Open University accredited?
Miva Open University is licensed by Nigeria’s National Universities Commission and operates as a degree-awarding open and distance learning institution.
