These Nigerian Startups Have Chosen to Defy the Odds

It troubled Bukola Aladesulu seeing young talented Nigerians around her struggle to get opportunities that would allow them live up to their full potential. It was why, last year, she founded UpThrive, an edutech startup that wants to make professional training and opportunities easily accessible to young Nigerians. Aladesulu, however, has set up shop in a thorny terrain: the country is experiencing one of its worst-ever economic crises, in large part due to the removal of fuel subsidy last year without any cushion attending it, causing a significant hike in the prices of goods and services. Reading the room and forecasting even more gloom, several multinational corporations, even those that had previously operated in the country for years, have called it quits, such as GSK Pharmaceuticals, Microsoft, Jumia Food, and recently, Kimberly-Clark. And so choosing to invest in the country, as Aladesulu has done, despite its hostility to business and business owners, is tantamount to an act of stubborn, hopeful courage. 

Like many startups, Upthrive faces several obstacles, ranging from inadequate funding to unreliable internet connection, to restrictive government policies. However, Aladesulu will not be deterred by these problems. 

“There are many Nigerians who built their startups despite all of these odds. If they can, I am hopeful that I also can. I believe Upthrive’s unique value proposition—providing targeted, high-quality skills training and development opportunities and bridging these talents with opportunities—differentiates us,” said Aladesulu.

Aladesulu is matched in her hopeful determination by Oluwaleke Fakorede, also a startup founder. Recognizing the need for platforms through which wagers on sporting events can be placed securely, Fakorede co-founded GoWagr last year. He cited his team’s understanding of the local market as a key competitive advantage that will allow it to stay in business for a long time. 

“We’re an innovative team full of creative minds. What we’ve always done is continue to build what will engage our users, increase product usage, and in turn increase our revenue. And when we get the opportunity to take on a new business decision that could potentially help increase our margin, we do it well,” Fakorede said.

While Fakorede thinks that an understanding of the market will be crucial to his company’s staying power, Oluwadamilare Ololade thinks that what is crucial to surviving as a startup is an ability not only to be unruffled by failure but also to learn from it. “It would amaze you that this is neither my first nor second startup,” said Ololade. “All the times I’ve failed have been learning moments for me. I’m not afraid of failing even if it’s scary, because I believe in what UniversityX is building.”

By UniversityX, he meant the AI-powered e-learning app he created last year after deciding he wanted to contribute to improving the poor state of the country’s education sector. As a student of Lagos State University, he witnessed some of the problems bedeviling tertiary education, such as overcrowded classrooms and a scarcity of modern learning resources. He is confident that his company will defy the odds because of the impact that artificial intelligence is having in several other industries. “UniversityX wants to be at the forefront of the AI infrastructure in our education sector,” he said, and then added, “it’s going to be a difficult job, but we’re confident about our vision.”

The aforementioned startup founders are but a few among the thousands in the country; in fact, a 2022 survey, estimating the number of startups in the country as over 3,000, named Nigeria as having the most startups in the continent. The sheer number of startups, many of which are owned by young Nigerians, despite the dire economic woes, testifies to the innovation and resilience of the startup founders. 

“I hope one day university students can say I use the UniversityX app and I love it because it’s helped me focus on my education and make the best out of it. We want to be the Duolingo of University Education in Africa,” said Ololade.