Chika Nwobi is the Nigeria’s mobile tech pioneer who founded MTECH. MTECH is the West Africa’s largest mobile content company. Born to entrepreneurial parents in the year 1978, Chika grew up in Nigeria. His father is the founder of one of the Nigeria’s earliest courier companies – Choice Courier (now Tranex Plc). His mother also became a business woman after her successful career as a civil servant.
Chika Nwobi attended the Corona Primary School. After passing his first school leaving successfully, he entered into Model College Badore and Atlantic Hall. He later got admission into the East Tennessee State University, where he studied Computer Science and Economics, graduating with Honors.
After his university education, Chika Nwobi became an employee with phoneonline.com, a Knoxville-based mobile internet startup. Chika later spent one year gathering experience on mobile web technology in the United States of America.
When Nigeria returned to Democracy, Chika Nwobi saw that as an opportunity to return to his home country with his wealth of experience. His decision was formed by the fact that the then president, Olusegun Obasanjo opened the door for the boom of the telecom business in Nigeria. He believed it was a great opportunity to make a million bucks within six months of providing mobile internet service to the Nigerian telecom starved market. He was further inspired to come home by friends and family including Ndidi Nwuneli.
Chika Nwobi founded MTech Communication, and almost immediately attracted seed capital investment of $300,000 from Lateef Belo-Osagie, media entrepreneur Chris Ubosi and some other individuals. He immediately employed 10 fresh graduates from Obafemi Awolowo University.
Chika’s MTech didn’t hit instant success. It took the start-up nearly 3 years before it made any substantial earnings. It really was not easy for Chika Nwobi to make MTech what it is today. After it took-off, inadequate network capacity and very expensive data costs discouraged customers subscription. By the end of the first one year, the young founder had run out of cash. By the second year, the company was already having issues with workers salaries. However, the investors who were amazed at what the founder had achieved with the funds so far received, decided to provide little more funds.
In the year 2007, the company generated N600m in revenues, having about N116m net profit. This enabled it to expand services to all Nigerian networks, and to start provision of audience interactivity solutions for hit TV, radio shows and infiltrated new African markets.As of today, MTech now leads markets in Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya and Uganda.
With his majority individual shareholding in the multi-million dollar company, Chika Nwobi is today, living the ‘Silicon valley dream’.
iROKO founder Jason Njoku once said of him: “Chika is the god of this whole thing (Nigerian mobile and internet business),”.
No comments:
Post a Comment