Sim Shagaya built Konga alongside Jumia in the early years of Nigerian e-commerce, and the competition between the two platforms, one more Nigerian in its infrastructure approach, one more globally templated, shaped a decade of the sector’s development. After divesting from Konga, he moved into education technology with uLesson, a mobile-first curriculum delivery platform targeting the quality gap in Nigerian secondary education. The pivot from e-commerce to EdTech looked arbitrary from outside; from inside, it reflected a consistent thesis about where Nigerian consumer internet opportunity actually lived.
After building Konga during the formative years of Nigerian e-commerce, he moved into education technology with the mobile-first platform uLesson. The pivot reflected a consistent thesis about where Nigerian consumer-internet opportunity actually lived. His willingness to start again after setbacks became part of his reputation.
His experience across e-commerce, education and other sectors has made him a respected figure. He is often cited for the lessons of building companies in a challenging market. This profile examines his ventures and his influence.
Fast facts
Full name
Sim Shagaya
Born
Nigeria
Profession
Tech entrepreneur, investor
Net worth (est.)
$10 million to $30 million
Companies
Konga, uLesson
Former role
Google Sub-Saharan Africa executive
Background and education
Sim Shagaya studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point and later at Harvard Business School, an unusual educational combination that shaped his approach to leadership and strategic thinking. His military training instilled the discipline and long-term planning orientation that informed the ambitious scale at which he built Konga.
After business school, he joined Google’s operations in Sub-Saharan Africa, where he developed deep knowledge of the digital economy and internet infrastructure across the continent. His Google experience gave him insight into what internet-enabled businesses were possible in Africa and which consumer behaviours were ready to be addressed by well-resourced digital platforms.
Building Konga
Sim Shagaya founded Konga in 2012 as Nigeria’s answer to Amazon, building a full-stack e-commerce operation that included product listing, payment processing, and a proprietary logistics and delivery network called KOS. Konga attracted significant venture capital funding and grew to employ thousands of people across Nigeria, making it one of the largest private employers in the Nigerian tech sector at its peak.
The company competed directly with Jumia for dominance in the Nigerian e-commerce market. The intense competition, combined with the challenges of building logistics infrastructure in a country with poor road networks and unreliable address systems, required enormous capital expenditure. Konga was eventually sold to Zinox Group in 2018 under circumstances that many in the tech ecosystem viewed as a distressed acquisition driven by cash constraints.
uLesson and subsequent ventures
After Konga, Sim Shagaya founded uLesson, an education technology startup that provides video-based learning content for African secondary school students. The company raised significant venture capital funding and has been piloted in Nigeria and other African markets. uLesson represents a pivot from e-commerce to edtech, applying Shagaya’s entrepreneurial energy to one of Africa’s most pressing challenges: quality secondary education for millions of students who cannot access it through existing public infrastructure.
Net worth and career legacy
Sim Shagaya’s net worth is estimated at between $10 million and $30 million. His wealth reflects proceeds from Konga’s sale, his equity in uLesson, and investment activities. His legacy in Nigerian tech is significant as one of the first entrepreneurs to build a venture-backed e-commerce company at scale in Nigeria, proving that the model was viable even before it became commercially sustainable.
Personal life and advocacy
Sim Shagaya is a regular speaker at technology and entrepreneurship conferences in Nigeria and internationally. He speaks frankly about the challenges of building internet businesses in Nigeria, including infrastructure limitations, regulatory complexity, and access to capital. His candour about what went wrong at Konga alongside what went right has made him a valuable voice for the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs.
Key ventures
Founded Konga, a pioneering Nigerian e-commerce platform
Founded the deals site DealDey
Founded uLesson, an edtech company
Common questions
What is Konga?
Konga was a Nigerian e-commerce platform founded by Sim Shagaya in 2012, built as Nigeria’s version of Amazon. At its peak it was one of the country’s largest online retailers, with its own logistics and delivery network. The company was sold to Zinox Group in 2018 after facing intense competition and capital constraints.
What is uLesson?
uLesson is an education technology company founded by Sim Shagaya after Konga. It provides video-based learning content for African secondary school students and has raised venture capital to expand across Nigeria and other African markets. It aims to address the quality gap in secondary education through affordable digital content delivery.
Where did Sim Shagaya work before founding Konga?
Sim Shagaya worked as an executive at Google for Sub-Saharan Africa before founding Konga. His Google experience gave him deep knowledge of the digital economy across Africa and the understanding of which internet business models were viable in the region at scale.
Why was Konga sold?
Konga was sold to Zinox Group in 2018 amid intense competitive pressure from Jumia and significant capital demands from its full-stack logistics and e-commerce operations. Industry observers described the sale as a distressed transaction driven by the difficulty of sustaining Konga’s operational costs in a market where e-commerce profitability remained elusive despite strong growth.
Is Sim Shagaya still active in Nigerian tech?
Yes. Sim Shagaya remains active in Nigerian and African tech through uLesson and his advocacy work. He speaks regularly at conferences and mentors younger entrepreneurs, drawing on his experience building, scaling, and ultimately selling Konga to advise the next generation of Nigerian tech founders.
Conclusion
Sim Shagaya is one of Nigeria’s most experienced serial entrepreneurs. He founded Konga, one of the country’s pioneering e-commerce platforms. That venture placed him at the forefront of Nigeria’s digital economy.
He went on to build ventures across several sectors, including the edtech company uLesson. His willingness to start again after setbacks shaped his career. That resilience became part of his reputation.
His experience across e-commerce, education and other fields has made him a respected figure. He is often cited for the lessons of building companies in a challenging market. He remains an influential voice in African tech.
Further reading
Information draws on profiles and reports published by TechCabal, Techpoint Africa, The Punch, and Guardian Nigeria, as well as Konga and uLesson company announcements and venture capital industry reporting.
Max Adeyemi is a Lagos-based writer covering Nigerian and African entertainment, sport, business, and culture. He has spent over a decade tracking the careers, controversies, and quiet achievements of the people who move the culture. He writes all profiles on Nolly.
