Onyeka Akumah
Onyeka Akumah is a digital entrepreneur using innovative technology to provide solutions in the Agriculture, Transportation and Real Estate sectors. He is the proud founder of Farmcrowdy, Nigeria’s first digital agricultural platform that connects farmers with sponsors, market access, and technical expertise across the country. With a network of over 420,000 farmers as of January 2021, Farmcrowdy has leveraged innovative technology to boost agricultural production on the continent while engaging Nigerians to digitally participate in Agriculture.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Information Technology from the Sikkim Manipal University, India, and completed both Project and Website management courses in 2009.
Apart from founding Farmcrowdy, Onyeka is credited with building some of the most successful startups in Nigeria, either as a marketing leader, founder or as part of the management team. He is co-founder of Crowdyvest, the investment arm of Farmcrowdy Group; Plentywaka, Nigeria’s foremost bus hailing platform; and RentSmallSmall, a leading home rental platform that allows monthly rental payment in Nigeria.
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Before launching these startups, he was the Chief Commercial Officer for Travelbeta, one of Nigeria’s leading online travel agencies; Vice President – Marketing at Konga, Director of Marketing & Partnerships at Jumia, Online Marketing Manager, Wakanow; E-Marketing Coordinator for Deloitte, West, East and Central Africa and Webmaster for British Council in Nigeria, extensively from 2007 to 2016.
In recognition of his entrepreneurial demonstrations and impact in boosting the African economy, Onyeka has received several awards and recognitions. He was appointed as a Faculty Member by the Rome Business School, Nigeria in 2021, to teach students in the Master of Entrepreneurship & Innovation program. He also recently flew the Nigerian flag proudly by winning the Agricultural Champion of the Year 2020 for the significant impact of Farmcrowdy on thousands of farmers in Africa as well as being recognized as the Most Innovative Tech Entrepreneur of the Year by ICT Hall of Fame Awards, Entrepreneur of the Year at the Gage Awards and Vanguard Newspapers Top Nigerian CEOs Under 40.
Onyeka is one of Africa’s 30 Innovators in the 2018 Quartz list and one of the Top 20 Young Entrepreneurs to Watch in Africa by the African Youth Forum in Egypt. An exceptional leader in his field, Onyeka won the Tech Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 and 2018 at the Nigeria Technology Awards and also received an award for being one of the 100 (under 40) Most Influential Young Persons in West Africa.
In 2017, he was appointed to the E-Agric Stakeholders Forum by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Nigeria and was recently made one of the youngest members of the Honorary Council of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce & Industry for his innovative use of technology in the Agricultural sector whilst also empowering thousands of farmers.
Additionally, in his capacity as a public speaker, he has been invited to speak on various platforms including the Department of International Trade’s UK-Africa Economic Summit, the Economist Summit in Kenya, and others. Onyeka has mentored at the Tony Elumelu Foundation and at the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria.