Gossy Ukanwoke
| Gossy Ukanwoke | |
|---|---|
 Gossy Ukanwoke.jpg Gossy Ukanwoke in 2017 | |
| Born | Gospel Ukanwoke September 21, 1988 Umuahia, Nigeria. |
| 🏫 Education | Girne American University (BS) |
| 💼 Occupation | Founder, Students Circle Network Beni American University Managing Director, BetKing Nigeria |
| Known for | Nigeria's first online University |
| 🌐 Website | ukanwoke.org |
| Twitter= | |
Gossy Ukanwoke (born Sept 21, 1988) is a Nigerian higher education investor, venture capitalist and entrepreneur.[1] He is the founder of Beni American University, the first online University in Nigeria and BAU Executive Education.[2] In June 2015, Gossy was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.[3] He was widely regarded by Forbes as "Nigeria's Mark Zuckerberg",[4] and has worked with African governments on the development of policies to assist in creating better access, quality and relevance of learning in higher education institutions.[5] In April 2020, he was appointed the Managing Director of the sports betting company, Betking.[6][7]
Early Life and Education[edit]
Gossy was born in Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria to a teacher father and pharmacist mother. He attended the Living Word Academy Secondary school, Aba, and thereafter obtained a bachelor's degree in management information systems at Girne American University, Cyprus in 2013.
Career[edit]
Gossy Ukanwoke founded the Students Circle Network, an academic network for students, teachers, and institutions while he was still in university, in 2010. The network's success led ITNews Africa to name him "Africa's Best Tech Entrepreneur" in 2011.[8] After returning to Nigeria after completing his university education, he founded BAU Research and Development. Through BAU R&D, he founded the Beni American University and BAU Executive Education. BAU R&D has completed investments in two traditional Nigerian universities and is poised to expand its portfolio of institutions across Africa.[9]
In April 2014, Gossy was on the Entrepreneurship and Education Panel of the African Union Commission on Labor, Youth and Women's Employment in Windhoek, Namibia.[10] He also gave a keynote address at the 20th Nigerian Business Meeting in Abuja and was invited to speak at a business conference on Africa by the Harvard Business School. He has been a guest speaker at the postgraduate seminars at the Girne American University. In June 2016, the Qatar Foundation named Gossy as one of the 50 EdTech Global Makers and Shakers. He was the winner in the category "World Entrepreneur of the Year" Accelerating Entrepreneurs category by the consulting firm Ernst and Young [11] in 2015 and recognized his work in the field of education and human capital development on the African continent.[12][13] In March 2016, he was a finalist for the "Young CEO of the Year 2016" award from the Africa CEO Forum.
In January 2017, Gossy became the President of EduTech, an Education Technology Company focused on helping African traditional universities take their on-campus degree programs online through the implementation of the very best of technology, process management, recruitment, admissions and advisory. EduTech has taken programs from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ahmadu Bello University and others online through its platform, reaching thousands of students in Undergraduate and Graduate programs.[14] As the chairman of Alistair Maine Group, he works to foster high-quality lifestyle, hospitality and leisure experiences in Lagos.
Beni American University[edit]
Gossy Ukanwoke founded the first online university in Nigeria, the Beni American University in 2012.[15] BAU is reinventing learning models, including research, technology, and entrepreneurship, to equip students with the skills they need to graduate and perspectives regardless of the discipline and without the boundaries of a physical learning environment. BAU has provided equity investments in two universities, Rhema University [16] Nigeria and Trans Africa College, Ghana.
Alistair Maine Group[edit]
In June 2018, Gossy launched the Alistair Maine Group to invest in leisure, hospitality and lifestyle in Lagos. AMG spun off Lagos Boats, Nigeria's first Boat hailing and private yacht booking platform for consumers in Lagos.[17] Lagos Boats teamed up with Gokada in 2019, to launch GBoats.[18]
BetKing[edit]
In April 2020, Gossy Ukanwoke was named the Managing Director of Nigeria's sports betting company, Betking with operations across the African continent.[19] In June 2020, Betking became the official sponsor of the Kenyan Premier League in a five-year deal worth $11.1m.[20] In November 2020, BetKing took the title sponsorship for the Ethiopian Premier League in a deal worth $22.5m.[21][22] The Multichoice Group in 2020 acquired a 20% stake in BetKing at a reported 1.8Bn Rand ($120m).[23][24]
Honours and Awards[edit]
- Best Graduating student, Girne American University
- Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- Finalist on the Young CEO of the Year 2016 award by the Africa CEO Forum[25]
- Forbes 30 Most Promising Entrepreneurs 2018 [9]
- Finalist, Future Awards[26]
- Global Shakers 50 African Innovators to watch [5]
References[edit]
- ↑ By Teo Kermeliotis and Jessica Ellis. "'Nigeria's Mark Zuckerberg' puts tech into higher learning". CNN.
- ↑ "Youth changing Africa: One man's quest to transform higher education in Nigeria". blogs.worldbank.org.
- ↑ "EY sends six high performers to Monaco for its 2015 Accelerating Entrepreneurs program". www.prnewswire.com.
- ↑ Nsehe, Mfonobong. "Meet Nigeria's Budding Mark Zuckerberg". Forbes.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Gossy Ukanwoke". Global Shakers.
- ↑ "BetKing partners with LSETF to support market women in Lagos state". Pulse Nigeria. December 23, 2020.
- ↑ "Okocha, BetKing join Lagos State's anti-Coronavirus efforts". June 3, 2020.
- ↑ Sesinye, Neo. "Top 10 EdTech startups transforming learning in Africa - IT News Africa - Up to date technology news, IT news, Digital news, Telecom news, Mobile news, Gadgets news, Analysis and Reports".
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Nsehe, Mfonobong. "30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa 2018". Forbes.
- ↑ "Gossy Ukanwoke | BAU Research and Development". beniamerican.org.
- ↑ "Nigerian named among six global high performing entrepreneurs". May 4, 2015.
- ↑ Eweniyi, Odunayo (March 24, 2015). "Gossy Ukanwoke, Olufemi Akintunde Make EY Accelerating Entrepreneurs Shortlist".
- ↑ "Gossy Ukanwoke Founder of Nigeria's First Online University". Face2Face Africa. April 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Do what you can without funding —Gossy Ukanwoke". 24 September 2017.
- ↑ "Nigeria's Entrepreneur Introduces First Online University".
- ↑ "Rhema and Beni American Universities Join Forces To Innovate African Tertiary Education". January 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Nigeria's public ferry service launches following the Okada Keke ban - CNN Video" – via edition.cnn.com.
- ↑ "Popular writer, shares his experience riding on Gokada's 'GBoat' says it's a great idea". June 14, 2019.
- ↑ Ukanwoke, Author Gossy (June 24, 2020). "Gossy Chapter 4: The Kingdom and The Chief KingMaker".
- ↑ "BetKing to sponsor Kenyan Premier League". iGaming Business. July 22, 2020.
- ↑ Adigun, Taye Hassan. "BetKing enters Ethiopia domestic league as a title sponsor".
- ↑ "DStv Ethiopia, SuperSport and BetKing take the Ethiopian Premier League to new heights". www.dstvafrica.com.
- ↑ "MultiChoice bets big with R1.8-billion BetKing deal - TechCentral". techcentral.co.za.
- ↑ Narayan, Niji (November 24, 2020). "Multichoice Acquires 20% Stake in Betking".
- ↑ "Shaping the future of Africa - The AFRICA CEO FORUM | The Forum for African business leaders". The AFRICA CEO FORUM.
- ↑ "The Future Awards 2012: Meet the nominees that made the final shortlist » YNaija". August 22, 2012.
This article "Gossy Ukanwoke" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Gossy Ukanwoke. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
