Chidi Nwaogu

Chidi Nwaogu
Personal details
Born (1990-05-20) 20 May 1990
Lagos State, Nigeria
EducationUniversity of Lagos
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forCo-Founder and CEO of Publiseer
AwardsAfrica's Business Heroes by Jack Ma Foundation
Websitenwaogu.com

Chidi Nwaogu Listenⓘ (born 20 May 1990) is a Nigerian[1] tech entrepreneur and software developer,[2] who is presently one of the founders of Efiwe, a mobile-first, AI-powered coding platform[3], and Publiseer, a Lagos-based digital publishing company.[4] Before the creation of Publiseer, he founded and sold two startup companies,[5] which includes LAGbook, a social network with more than one million registered users, which was acquired in 2013.[6]

In 2021, Chidi was recognized by the Jack Ma Foundation as one of the Top 10 Africa's Business Heroes[7] and listed on the YNaija Power List as one of the 100 Most Powerful Young Nigerians.[8]

Early Life

Chidi grew up in a family of entrepreneurs with no university education. At the age of 7, his mother lost her job because she wasn't a computer literate. This made her buy a computer so Chidi and his twin brother, Chika, wouldn't experience the same problem. Chidi and Chika taught themselves to code, and had developed a video game at the age of 16.[9]

Career

LAGbook

LAGbook was a social networking service from Nigeria, which targeted young individuals between the ages of 18 and 30, looking to make friends online.[10] With 4,000 daily new registrations,[11] the social network also had users from India, Germany, Canada, and Spain.[10] Founded in 2010 by Chidi and his brother, Chika, while they were still studying at the University of Lagos,[12] LAGbook reached one million registered users within three years.[13]

Publiseer

Founded in 2017 with his twin brother,[14] Publiseer works with independent African creators[15] to monetize their creative content in 100 countries.[16] As of September 2022, the company has worked with 8,000 creators in Africa,[17] including Nigerian recording artists, Erigga and CDQ.[18] In partnership with Google, Publiseer is available in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and Egypt.[19] Based on the number of creators on its platform, Publiseer has been referred to as, "one of the largest independent digital publishers in Africa".[20]

Savvy

Chidi is one of the founders of Savvy, a program that trains, supports, and funds entrepreneurs.[21] In partnership with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Savvy has trained 7,500 entrepreneurs.[22] Savvy was founded in 2020, and the virtually conducted program is available in about 100 languages[23] and is funded by the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.[24]

Efiwe

Efiwe is a Nigerian startup that allows people to learn coding from a smartphone. Supporting 33 languages, the platform combines interactive gamified challenges and real-time AI feedback to achieve this.[25] Launched in August 2025, Efiwe has an offline mode for people who do not have stable internet.[26] Once the platform is completely loaded, it can function with no internet, which allows those in areas with expensive or unstable internet to learn without interruption.[27]

Awards and recognition

In 2020, Chidi received the Migration Entrepreneurship Prize by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.[28] Other awards include the African Entrepreneurship Award by Bank of Africa,[29] Roddenberry Foundation Catalyst Award, the International Telecommunication Union Award for Global Innovation,[30] and the HundrED Global Collection Award for Leading Education Innovation.[21]

In 2025, Chidi was recognized by Legit.ng as one of the "Young Nigerian Investors That Will Shape 2025",[31] and in 2022, as one of the "8 most outstanding business personalities in Nigeria".[32] In 2024, The New Africa Magazine listed Chidi as one of the "100 Young and Exceptional Africans".[33] Also, in 2019, he was recognised by Tekedia as one of the "most sought-after young Nigerian entrepreneurs"[34], and in 2025, by Vanguard as one of the "innovators shaping Africa’s digital future"[35].

Other recognitions include:

  • YNaija New Establishment 2025: A list of 100 young Nigerians "who continue to inspire despite the odds stacked against them."[36]
  • Top 5 African Tech Founders Under 40 that are "driving innovation across the continent", by Empire Magazine Africa.[37]

References

  1. ^ "Chidi Nwaogu from Nigeria is OD Young Person of the Month for June 2019! – Opportunity Desk". 2019-06-01. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  2. ^ Foundation, French-African (2022-02-01). "Spotlight - Chidi Nwaogu". French African. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  3. ^ Idajili, Anibe (2025-10-01). "How Infrastructure Shortfalls are Crushing Nigeria's AI Revolution". TechCity. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  4. ^ "Lagos-based digital publisher Publiseer wins Startup World Cup Nigeria finals". Ventureburn. 2019-02-12. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  5. ^ "How One Platform Helps African Artists Pave Their Way to Success". Seedstars. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  6. ^ "Young Nigerian Receives Africa's Business Heroes Prize by Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma - THISDAYLIVE". This Day. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  7. ^ Benson, Emmanuel Abara (2021-11-21). "10 entrepreneurs from Nigeria, Kenya and 5 other countries announced as the 2021 Africa's Business Heroes winners". Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  8. ^ Okafor, Chinedu (2021-09-01). "#YNaijaPowerList2021: Davido, Ola Brown, Tacha, Dare Adekoya, Tunde Ednut listed among most powerful young Nigerians » Page 7 of 11 » YNaija". YNaija. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  9. ^ Goerg, Sierra (2020-12-21). "Publiseer: Allowing Creatives Worldwide to Monetize Their Work". Yunus&Youth. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
  10. ^ a b "The top African social networks you probably don't know about". htxt. 2014-02-17. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  11. ^ Floyd, Ignacio (2019-01-08). "Top 5 African Social Networks". Good Christian Chat. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  12. ^ Busayo (2012-10-11). "Nigerian Social Network Partners South Africa's Umuntu Media". Ventures Africa. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  13. ^ Kojo (2019-09-16). "Nigerian entrepreneur wins first prize at the Africa 35.35 Awards". IT News Africa | Business Technology, Telecoms and Startup News. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  14. ^ "Nigeria's Publiseer is a finalist at Harvard Business School's New Venture Competition 2018". 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  15. ^ Anderson, Porter (2019-06-12). "Nigerian Entrepreneurs Chidi and Chika Nwaogu: Publiseer". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  16. ^ "Nigeria's Publiseer to distribute songs on YouTube Music". Music In Africa (in French). 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  17. ^ Olukotun, Oluwasegun. "African Digital Content Distribution Platform Publishers Secures Distribution Partnership with Citeste.ro". innovation-village.com. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  18. ^ Egbedi, Hadassah (2019-01-08). "Brothers, Chidi and Chika Nwaogu, founders of Publiseer, are on a mission to take over Africa's digital publishing space". Ventures Africa. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  19. ^ Staff Writer (2019-01-09). "Nigeria's Publiseer partners with Google Play Books, targets Egypt". ITWeb Africa. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  20. ^ "This Nigerian Startup Is Allowing Creatives Independently Publish And Distribute Their Work". 2018-03-14. Archived from the original on 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  21. ^ a b Ibemere, Dave (2022-10-28). "Nigerian tech entrepreneur Chidi Nwaogu beats 3,488 nominees to win global award". Legit.ng. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  22. ^ "Savvy to train 1 000 start-up founders in Kenya". Ventureburn. 2022-09-19. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  23. ^ "Fellowship programme for entrepreneurs expands". Ventureburn. 2021-03-24. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  24. ^ Ibemere, Dave (2021-12-03). "After Jack Ma award, Chidi Nwaogu gets funding from UN to grow his company". Legit.ng. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  25. ^ Jackson, Tom (2025-09-24). "Nigeria's Efiwe launches AI-powered mobile platform to make coding accessible for all". Disrupt Africa. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  26. ^ "Tech Today Africa - Leading African Technology News & Innovation Insights". techtodayafrica.com. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  27. ^ Nkosi, Mamsi (2025-08-18). "Efiwe Enters EduTech with AI-Powered Mobile Coding Platform". IT News Africa | Business Technology, Telecoms and Startup News. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  28. ^ Staff Writer (2020-04-06). "Chidi Nwaogu Wins Migration Entrepreneurship Prize by Swiss Government". CIO Africa. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  29. ^ "Young Nigerian shines at 2018 African Entrepreneurship Award". Daily Trust. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  30. ^ "Chidi Nwaogu". Meaningful Business Community. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  31. ^ Ibemere, Dave (2025-01-05). ""We believe": Nelson Elemi and 3 other young investors that will shape 2025". Legit.ng. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  32. ^ Enengedi, Victor (2023-01-10). "Tunji Andrews, Tito Ovia, others make Legit Business Names of 2022 for Startups". Legit.ng. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  33. ^ "Young and Exceptional Africans 2024". The New Africa Magazine. 2025-02-10. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  34. ^ Pius, Ohemu Godwin (2019-08-06). "Entrepreneurial Young People Are Driving Nigeria's Development Efforts". Tekedia. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  35. ^ Nwafor (2025-12-23). "The innovators shaping Africa's digital future". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
  36. ^ YNaija (2026-01-27). "YNaija New Establishment 2025 » YNaija". YNaija. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  37. ^ "Top 5 African Tech Founders Under 40 Driving Innovation Across The Continent". 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
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