Over the years, internet entrepreneurship have become a big business across the globe. Internet entrepreneurs have taken hold of the digital space to proffer digital solutions to societal problems. Suffice it to say the advent of internet has not only made life easy, but have become a career path to those who see it as an opportunity.
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As much as everyone seem to be an ‘internet guru’ today, there are several entrepreneurs who have made a huge success in the internet business.
Therefore, in no particular order, I have compiled a list of successful internet entrepreneurs in Nigeria transforming the world with digital solutions.
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Uche Pedro, Bella Naija
Nigerian-born Uche Pedro, is the founder of BellaNaija, a media tech brand known for entertainment and lifestyle content. Founded in 2006, BellaNaija.com, BellaNaija Weddings and BellaNaija Style have grown to be the largest lifestyle platform in African with over 200 million impressions every month.
Uche began BellaNaija during her undergraduate days at the Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Canada where she studied business administration. The brand showcase exciting positive developments in the Nigerian entertainment and fashion industry.
Basically, Uche has been recognised locally and internationally. For instance, Forbes Africa named her one of the 30 most promising Young entrepreneurs. Also, Ventures Africa named her one of the most influential CEOs in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
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Linda Ikeji, Lindaikejablogs.com
Linda Ifeoma Ikeji, is one of the successful internet entrepreneurs in Nigeria. She is a blogger, writer, and a former model. She started blogging in 2006. Since then, lindaikejisblogs.com have grown to become her biggest venture.
In 2016, she began Lindaikeji TV. Subsequently, she started an online radio broadcasting platform, a social network platform and other ventures.
As a result of her online influence, Linda was named one of Africa’s 20 most prominent women in 2012. Also, in August 2018, she was conferred an Honorary Doctorate Degree by Trinity International University, Georgia along with other eminent personalities.
Linda is a graduate of the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and is known for her blog which attracts millions of visitors monthly.
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Seun Osewa, Nairaland
Seun Osewa is one of the successful internet entrepreneurs in Nigeria. He is the founder of the popular internet forum, Nairaland. Established in 2005, Nairaland has grown to be the biggest African forum and one of the largest online forums in the world.
Basically, Seun is one of the pioneers of internet business in Nigeria. He is regarded as an innovative Nigerian in technology and one of the most influential Nigerian Online entrepreneurs in 2015 by YNaija and T.I.N Magazine respectively.
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Sim Shagaya, Konga
Nigerian born Simdul Shagaya, is an internet entrepreneur. After completing his education at the Nigerian Military School, Shagaya went to the US for further studies. He is a graduate of George Washington University and Dartmouth College. He also holds an MBA certificate from the Harvard Business School.
Sim has established some unsuccessful online platforms prior to DealDey and Konga. In 2012, he established Konga.com, a platform that became one of the largest West Africa’s largest e-commerce company.
Shagaya has been recognized for his exploits in the online space. He was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in 2013, and named one of the 10 most powerful men in 2016 by CNBC and Forbes Africa respectively.
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Jason Njoku, iROKOtv
Internet entrepreneur, Jason Chukwuma Njoku, is the co-founder of iROKOtv. Having studied the industry from afar and failed in some business ventures, Jason came up with a Nollywood online distribution business.
In 2010, he launched NollywoodLove, a YouTube channel with his former partner Bastian Gotter. After some time, a US-based venture capital firm, Tiger Global invested in the business. Thereafter, it launched a stand-alone video-on-demand platform, iROKOtv in 2011. Currently, iROKOtv has viewership from about 178 countries of the world.
Additionally, Jason is the co-founder of Spark, an investment vehicle for Lagos-based internet startup. He is also the co-founder of Rok Studios, a television and movie production house based in Lagos, Ghana and the UK.
Jason is a British Born Nigeria entrepreneur and a graduate of the University of Manchester. In 2012, Forbes Africa named him one of the Ten Young African Millionaires to Watch.
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Akin Alabi, Nairabet
Otunba Akin Alabi, is an internet entrepreneur, politician, author and philanthropist. He is the founder of NairaBET.com, Nigeria’s first sports betting website.
The idea of owning a betting website came to him during one of his visits to the UK. After visiting a betting shop with his brother who introduced him to the game, a thought of owning one set in. Owing to the fact that Nigerians love football, most especially European football, it became a big venture for him. He officially kick started NairaBET.com in 2009.
According to Alexa ranking, Nairbet.com is the most visited African sports website in Nigeria. And it has over 1,000 outlets across the country.
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Florence Chikezie Entrepreneurs.ng
Florence Chikezie is the founder of ReDahlia, a brand that houses ReDahlia Workspaces, Entrepreneurs.ng and The Business Clinic. Before ReDahlia, Florence had worked in different business environments and gained practical business experience. And in 2015, she took the bull by the horn by starting ReDahlia.com which metamorphosed into Entrepreneurs.ng.
Today entrepreneurs.ng has grown to an international online business magazine with wide readership across the globe. Entrepreneurs.ng also tells the stories of entrepreneurs to motivate aspiring and budding entrepreneurs.
Florence is an alumna of the Hult International Business School, London. She is experienced with building businesses from scratch up and is readily available to help other startups thrive.
Florence received the Eloy awards for young entrepreneur of the year, 2019.
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Chude Jideonwo, YNaija
Chude Jidenwo is one of the successful internet entrepreneurs in Nigeria creating a landmark in the media industry. He is the co-founder of YNaija.com, a Nigerian news website and blog.
He launched YNaija in May 2010 with Adebola Williams. YNaija covers news content on business, environment, entertainment, lifestyle, comedy, politics, and also displays credible job vacancies.
Apart from YNaija, Chude also established the Joy, Inc. and led the Red Africa for 13 years, working on national elections and social movements in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Liberia.
Chude has been recognised by Forbes, BusinessDay and The Punch.
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Okechukwu Ofili, Okadabooks
Nigerian-born Okechuku is a writer, blogger and illustrator. He launched Okada Books in 2013 with the aim of bridging the gap between writers, publishers and readers.
After school, he worked with a top oil and gas firm in Nigeria. Then in 2010, he began to write for BellaNaija and YNaija, while exploring his passion for public speaking and storytelling. Later on, he launched his platform Okadabooks.
Basically, Okadabooks platform have become a source of income for many writers. As at January 2018, the app recorded over 180,000 registered users and million ebook downloads.
Also, Ofili has authored two books; How Intelligence Kills and How Stupidity Saved My Life. He was recognised by Venture Africa as one of 40 African innovators to watch. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Houston.
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Ogugua Belonwu MyJobMag
Ogugua Belonwu is one of the internet entrepreneurs in Nigeria making serial impact with his brand. He is the founder and CEO of Myjobmag, a job publishing platform in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa with plans to expand to other African countries. Myjobmag is one of the most visited job sites and has helped to improve hiring and job search experience in Nigeria.
It began in 2010 as a product of Best Value Providers and was later incorporated in 2015. Through Myjobmag, Ogugua have provided solutions to numerous HR challenges. He believes great people can do great things and that everyone has a chance to succeed.
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Ademola Ogundele NotJustOk
One of the successful internet entrepreneurs in Nigeria is Mola Ogundele, the founder of the music website, Notjustok.com. It was launched in 2006 as a personal blog but later evolved into a music download website after Mola posted a clip of 9ice’s performance.
Today, from over 183 countries of the continent, Notjustok has over 1.2 million viewers per month. It’s one of the most visited website in Nigeria according to Alexa.
Due to its impact in the music industry, NotJustOK have received popular awards. From 2011 – 2014, it won the Music Website of the Year Award from the City People Entertainment. It also won the Blog of the Year in the Nigerian Entertainment Awards in 2013.
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In summary, internet entrepreneurship is good business, if you dedicate time to it. Are there other internet entrepreneurs you know making a difference in Nigeria, feel free to let us know in the comments.
