FROM BUILDING KONGA TO 25,000 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. ONE NIGERIAN FOUNDER BUILDING BEYOND E-COMMERCE. After founding Konga, one of Nigeria's best-known e-commerce businesses, Sim Shagaya launched The uLesson Group in 2019 with a new ambition: making quality education more accessible through technology. Today, The uLesson Group brings together digital learning and Miva Open University, which reported more than 25,000 enrolled students in 2026.
But the bigger story is the business being built around education. Shagaya is developing a model that reaches learners at different stages: Digital learning for school students. Higher education through Miva. Technology-enabled access to learning. The group is also preparing for its next leadership transition. From January 2027, Iheanyi Akwitti is scheduled to become Group CEO, while Shagaya moves into the role of Executive Chairman.
That marks an important step in building an organisation designed to grow beyond its founder's day-to-day leadership. For Africa's technology ecosystem, the opportunity extends beyond a single EdTech platform. Konga helped shape Nigeria's digital commerce story. uLesson and Miva are building a broader education business. And the ambition is larger than student numbers alone. It is about developing the skills and talent that African economies will need as they grow. The 25,000 students get the attention.
The opportunity to build Africa's next generation of talent is the bigger story.
