Onyeka Akumah (born 21 October 1984) is a Nigerian technology entrepreneur with a focus on transportation, agriculture, real estate, and media sectors. He is popularly known as the founder of Treepz Inc.[1][2] Prior to founding his company in 2019, Onyeka Akumah was the CEO of Farmcrowdy. He is credited to have been involved in the success of various tech and e-commerce companies in Africa where he held positions and contributed to their growths.[3]
Onyeka Akumah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 21 October 1984 Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Education | BS in Applied Information Technology, Sikkim Manipal University India. |
| Occupation(s) | Tech entrepreneur, agric businessman |
| Years active | 2007-present |
| Known for | Founder of Farmcrowdy Limited and CEO of Treepz (formerly Plentywaka) |
| Notable work | Co-founding Treepz (formerly Plentywaka) Co-founding RentSmallSmall Co-founding Crowdyvest |
| Title | CEO of Treepz |
| Website | onyeka |
Early life and education
editOnyeka was born in Lagos State, and just before he was 2 years old, his parents relocated to Sokoto State, North-west Nigeria where he did his Primary and Secondary School education. Onyeka earned his Bachelor's degree at the Sikkim Manipal University India where he graduated with a Grade A or First Class Honours in Applied Information Technology.[4]
Career
editOnyeka ventured into entrepreneurship at a very young age, building startups even while he was still in the university recording successes and failures as he grew. After obtaining his first degree, Onyeka started his work experience with British Council as a Webmaster before going on to join Deloitte as the E-Marketing Coordinator for East, West and Central Africa. In 2010, he was the Online Marketing manager for Wakanow, then later had a stint with GTB to launch the SME Market Hub[5] Onyeka is an e-commerce expert whose experience spans top e-commerce companies such as Rocket Internet owned Jumia, Konga and Travelbeta leading their marketing and commercial activities.[6] He is the co-founder of Farmcrowdy, Plentywaka, Crowdyvest and RentSmallSmall. He resigned as CEO of Farmcrowdy in 2021 and is currently the CEO of Treepz (formerly Plantywaka).[7][8] He was ranked among the top 10 Nigeria entrepreneurs by Vanguard alongside Uche Pedro, Seun Osewa, Anthony Ejefoh, Linda Ikeji and Temie Giwa-Tubosun.[9] In October 2021, he was interviewed by Peace Hyde for his Forbes Africa Feature, where he spoke about his entrepreneurial journey.[10] He was also featured on Techcrunch where he spoke about African Start-Ups and Global Expansion.[11]
On 2 March 2021, Onyeka resigned as CEO of Crowdyvest following a 100% sale of the business and Tope Omotolani was then appointed as CEO after she led a total acquisition of the company.[12]
Treepz
editIn September 2019, after an unfriendly bus transportation experience, Onyeka along with his co-founders Johnny Enagwolor, Oluseyi Afolabi and John Shaibu founded Treepz. During its rebranding process in September 2021, the company needed a more globally acceptable name, hence the change from Plentywaka to Treepz Inc.[11] Treepz Inc is building Africa's shared mobility platform offering commuters convenience, safety, and comfort on their daily commute. With operations in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda, Treepz has moved over 800,000 riders. Treepz Inc is set to disrupt the transportation sector with services such as shared daily rides. Travel rides and now ticketing solutions. In December 2021, Treepz partnered with 53-year-old licensed shuttle bus company, CMS Taxi and Motor Nigeria Limited (CMS T&M), to digitise transportation for 1.6 million customers annually.[13] They operate in the Central Business District of Lagos including Marina, Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki areas of Lagos State, with buses and minivans.[11][14]
Farmcrowdy
editIn November 2016, Onyeka, together with his co-founders Ifeanyi Anazodo, Akindele Philips, Christopher Abiodun, and Temitope Omotolani founded Farmcrowdy Limited, an agricultural digital platform connecting small scale farmers to investors with the goal of boosting the food production in Nigeria.[15] Farmcrowdy, took off very fast, receiving its first angel investment of $60,000 a month after launch and in 2017, got a $1 million seed investment at the Techstars Atlanta Accelerators Programme.[16] Today, the company has grown to a team of 55 individuals who have worked with over 25,000 rural farmers across 16 states in Nigeria including Kano, Niger, Nasarrawa, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Edo, Akwa-Ibom, Lagos, Plateau, Kaduna, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara, Abuja, Sokoto, and Benue. Farmcrowdy is described by the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo as the company creating the new wealth in Agriculture and was later honoured with the National Productivity Order of Merit by President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.[17]
In August 2019, Oyo State announced a partnership with Farmcrowdy to onboard 50,000 rural farmers in Oyo State.[18] He noted the aim of FarmCrowdy at a briefing held at the main office in Lekki, Lagos in 2019. He said "We are establishing this new aggregate outfit as a subsidiary of Farmcrowdy to drive the growth of agriculture not just in Nigeria but on the continent. We have also managed to use the resources we were able to gather from both investors and supporters to put together in the business, to drive food production on the continent. Our aim for doing this is to do all the things that will make a farmers life better in the country. However, this does not in any way affect Farmcrowdy's operations rather; it will make it better and boost the agric value chain of the country."[19]
Personal life
editOnyeka lives in Lagos, Nigeria.[17] When he is not doing business or investing in startups,[6] he enjoys speaking and teaching at various events and workshops.[20]
Awards and recognition
edit- (2002) Delta State Scholarship for Academic Excellence[citation needed]
- (2009) Brown Heart Charity Award for Young Role Models under 30[citation needed]
- (2010) 3rd Best Website Designer for 2009 in the National Web Design Competition organized by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development in Nigeria[citation needed]
- (2013) 1st runner up – National Youth Merit Award in Innovation[citation needed]
- (2015) Nigeria Technology Awards – Digital Marketing Personality of the Year 2015[21]
- (2017) Impact Award 2017 in Agriculture[citation needed]
- (2017) Nigerian Technology Awards – Start-up CEO of the Year 2017[22]
- (2017) Top 20 Young Entrepreneurs to Watch in Africa by the African Youth Forum in Egypt[citation needed]
- (2018) Nigeria Technology Awards – Tech Entrepreneur of the Year[23]
- (2018) Upgrade Africa Award of Excellence 2018[citation needed]
- (2018) Imperial Integrated Project- Award of Honor 2018[citation needed]
- (2018) 100 Most Influential Young Persons in West African Under 40 for 2018.[24]
- (2018) Quartz List of Africa's 30 Innovators in 2018[25]
- (2018) Top 5 Outstanding Entrepreneurs in Nigeria[26]
- (2019) JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons Of Nigeria[27]
- (2019) 26th Most Influential Young Person in Nigeria[28]
- (2019) 100 Most Influential Africans of 2019 – New African[29]
- (2019) The 100 Most Outstanding Individuals in Africa – The Africa Report[30]
- (2020) Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 at the GAGE Awards[31]
- (2020) Top 10 Nigerian CEOs Under 40 Years[32]
- (2020) 50 African Innovators to Watch by Global Shakers [33]
- (2020) Ranked 24th in The Top 50 African Disruptors – The Africa Report [34]
- (2021) African Leadership Persons of the Year - African Agricultural Champion of the Year 2020[35]
- (2022) Internet Entrepreneur of the Year Award - Business Insider Africa Awards.[36]
- (2024) Medal in Africa's 40 Under 40 CEO's Awards (Uganda).[37]
References
edit- ^ "Onyeka Akumah, Farmcrowdy Ltd: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ Ojoye, Taiwo (22 September 2018). "Access to quality seeds, farmers major problem – Akumah". The Punch. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Farmcrowdy launches e-Commerce, trader platforms to mark 4th anniversary". The Guardian. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ "Onyeka Akumah – 2020 APF Conference". Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ Adeleke, David (17 January 2019). "Farmcrowdy CEO Onyeka Akumah shares 4 business mistakes he made". Pulse. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ a b Coker, Olumuyiwa (26 June 2015). "Former Jumia and Konga executive, Onyeka Akumah invests in Waracake". TechCabal. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Paul, Emmanuel (1 June 2021). "Onyeka Akumah moves on from Farmcrowdy CEO role, co-founder, Akindele Phillips takes over". Techpoint Africa. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Crowdyvest Holdings changes to EMFATO Holdings: The Transition Story". Techpoint Africa. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ "Top 10 most influential entrepreneurs in Nigeria". Vanguard. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "A Ride On A Bus That Changed This Entrepreneur's Journey - Forbes Africa". Forbes Africa. 30 September 2021.
- ^ a b c "Plentywaka founder Onyeka Akumah on African startups and global expansion". TechCrunch. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "Crowdyvest attracts new investors and appoints Tope Omotolani as CEO". Nairametrics. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Treepz Partners With CMS T&M to Digitise Transportation for 1.2 Million Customers Annually". 13 December 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Bellan, Rebecca (22 November 2021). "Nigerian MaaS startup Treepz closes $2.8M seed round to fund East African expansion". TechCrunch. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Innovative, promising world of digital Agri-preneurs". The Nation. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Farmcrowdy gets additional seed funding". CNBC Africa. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Meet Onyeka Akumah, the face behind Farmcrowdy". Nairametrics. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ Ojewale, Caleb (30 August 2019). "Oyo State, Farmcrowdy launch Agribusiness partnership". Business Day. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "A new agro-trading platform 'Farmgate Africa' unveils". Vanguard. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "Farmcrowdy founder Onyeka Akumah invited by Chattam House to speak on digitising the agriculture value chain in Africa". Technext Nigeria. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "2015 WINNERS - NIGERIA Technology Awards (NiTA)". Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Farmcrowdy wins multi-awards including Tech Start-up of the Year 2017 at Nigeria Technology Awards". The Guardian. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "2018 WINNERS - NIGERIA Technology Awards (NiTA)". Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "CEO & Founder Farmcrowdy". Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Onyeka Akumah Joins The Prestigious List Of Quartz Africa Innovators 2018". AgricSquare. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ Ekpo, Nathan Nathaniel. "Farmcrowdy Boss, Onyeka Akumah wins Young Entrepreneurship Awards". Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ Nasiru, Jemilat (26 August 2019). "JCI Nigeria honours 'Ten Outstanding Young Persons'". TheCable. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Akpah, Prince. "Profiles: 2019 100 Most Influential Young Nigerians". Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ "The 100 Most Influential Africans". New African Magazine. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "100 Most Influential Africans". The African Report. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Photos from GAGE Awards 2020: Graced with class, splendor and the best of Digital, Corporate, Government and Entertainment". Pulse. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ "Top Nigerian CEOs Under 40 years". Vanguard. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ^ "50 African Innovators to Watch". Globalshakers.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "Top 50 Disruptors in Africa". The African Report. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ techeconomy (13 January 2021). "Onyeka Akumah named alongside WHO DG, Ghana's President, others in ALM Persons of the year 2020 awards". TechEconomy.ng. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Here are the winners of the inaugural Business Insider Africa Awards". Business Insider Africa. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ "Nigerian Tech Entrepreneur Onyeka Akumah Wins Africa's 40 Under 40 CEO Award in Uganda". Business Elites Africa. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.