Sim Shagaya

Sim Shagaya
Born Sim Shagaya
1975
Nationality Nigerian
Alma mater George Washington University
Dartmouth College
Harvard Business School
Occupation
Years active 2005-present
Known for Konga.com
DealDey
Notes
Sim Shagaya is a Nigerian businessperson who is recognized as the founder of Konga.com and DealDey.

Sim Shagaya is a Nigerian entrepreneur and business mogul.[1] He is the founder and C.E.O of one of West Africa's largest electronic commerce website Konga.com and he is also the executive chairman of DealDey, a daily deal website. In 2014, he was named in Forbes' list of "10 Most Powerful Men In Africa".[2]

Early life and education

Sim Shagaya was born in Nigeria where he served in the Nigerian Army after completing the Nigerian Military School.[3] He completed most of his education in the U.S. He is a graduate of George Washington University and Dartmouth College, he also holds an M.B.A. certificate after graduating from Harvard Business School in the early 2000s.[4]

Career

Early career

Prior to the establishment of DealDey and Konga.com, Sim worked as a banker in South Africa under Rand Merchant Bank. He later moved to Nigeria where he became Google's head for Africa and went on to found a Lagos-based billboard advertising business called E-Motion in November 2005. He cites Hakeem Bello-Osagie as the "biggest impact" in his career.[5]

DealDey and Konga.com

Before Sim started DealDey and Konga.com, he created several websites like Alarena, Jobclan, Gbogbo and iNollyWood which were relatively unsuccessful. In March 2011, DealDey was launched after he convinced the board of the billboard company he owned to invest in DealDey. On 3 July 2012, he founded Konga.com with a capital from Swedish investment firm Kinnevik. According Sim Shagaya, the primary aim of Konga.com is to “aggregate the youngest and fastest-growing market that was dispersed, under-served and that traditional retailers were simply failing to reach”.[5]

Awards and recognition

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Year Award ceremony Award description Result
2013 CNBC/All Africa Business Leaders Award in West Africa Entrepreneur of the Year Won[6]
2014 The Leadership Conference/Awards Leadership CEO of the Year Won[7]

References

  1. ↑ Alexa Dalby (24 January 2015). "15 CEOs to watch 2015: Sim Shagaya". African Business Magazine. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Farai Gundan (31 January 2014). "The 10 Most Powerful Men In Africa 2014". Forbes. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Sim Shagaya talks serving in the Nigerian Army, setting up Konga". Pulse Nigeria. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "15 CEOs to watch 2015: Sim Shagaya". 31 January 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 Jaco Martiz (27 March 2013). "Meet the Boss: Sim Shagaya, founder, Konga.com & DealDey.com". How we made it in Africa. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Sim Shagaya: Konga.com CEO Wins Entrepreneur Of The Year". Daily Mail. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Sim Shagaya Wins Leadership CEO Of The Year award". Naij. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
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