Honey Ogundeyi is a Nigerian entrepreneur who is significantly impacting the education technology landscape in Africa. As the founder of Edukoya, Honey is on a mission to revolutionise learning experiences and empower students across the continent. With a trailblazing spirit and a commitment to bridging the digital divide, Honey inspires many, demonstrating how technology can unlock the potential of every learner, regardless of their background or circumstances.
Honey’s Background
Honey is a technology entrepreneur recognized as one of the luminaries shaping Africa’s technology sector. Honey is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Fashpa.com, Nigeria’s pioneering fashion e-commerce platform, and Edukoya, an e-learning platform dedicated to Africans.
Honey began her secondary education at Queens College Yaba in Lagos and completed it at Alexandria College in Dublin, Ireland. She then attended the University of Birmingham and obtained a Public Policy and Management degree.
Honey’s Career and Impact
Honey’s career started with her stint as an associate with UBA Group from 2004 – 2006. Later, she moved to McKinsey & Co., where she worked as a consultant in Brussels and Johannesburg. After her spell with McKinsey & Co., she became the Head of Brand Management for Sub-Saharan Africa with Ericsson from 2009 to 2012. While working at Ericsson, she was the Brand Capability Manager in Stockholm, Sweden. Honey then worked with Google as an Industry Manager in 2012, leading commercial development and offering advertising solutions to clients.
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Building Fashpa.com
In 2014, Honey’s entrepreneurial zeal was sparked by her inability to get the shoes she wanted from the famous Balogun Market in Lagos Island. Her experience prompted her to create Fashpa.com, an e-commerce site that designed and sold its products online and in-store. The site also sold fashion and lifestyle brands from international markets to Nigerians.
Starting a vlog
In 2017, she launched an entrepreneurial vlog called Side Hustle to Empire, where she gave tips on how she started and ran her business. In 2018, she was appointed to the Facebook SME Council for Nigeria.
Co-founding Kuda
After starting her first company, Honey co-founded the popular Nigerian digital bank Kuda and led the marketing team until 2019. With her team, Kuda reached millions of customers in less than two years.
Starting Edukoya
Honey founded Edukoya in 2021. The education technology company was created to connect African learners to the world’s finest educators through online learning. The company aimed to make high-quality education more widely available and reasonably priced.
Edukoya is designed to assist primary and secondary school students in preparing for exams and completing homework. It offers educational content, a question bank with step-by-step guidance, and a personalised performance tracking system. With the help of European venture capital firm Target Global, Edukoya raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding.
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Awards and Recognitions
Edukoya’s strides in the tech industry have earned her several accolades and recognition nationally and globally.
Honey was included in Forbes’ list of the ten African emerging women entrepreneurs to watch in 2014. As one of the guest speakers at the Africa Rising Summit in London, she discussed the unexplored prospects of online retailing in Africa.
In 2016, the World Economic Forum named her among the top 10 innovators in Africa and one of the 10 most influential young Nigerians under 40 in technology.
In 2019, she became the country director of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS)’s UK-Nigeria Tech Hub. Her tenure drove partnerships and investment between the UK and Nigerian tech ecosystems.
Honey has also received recognition as a One Young World Ambassador and a Junior Achievement Nigeria Ambassador.
Honey Ogundeyi is leveraging technology to solve everyday problems and challenges and make life easier. Her entrepreneurial journey reflects this, and we celebrate her.