" This for me was when I found my purpose and that has been the most important moment in my life."
Who are you?
My name is Chidi Nwaogu, and I’m a tech entrepreneur and software developer, who started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 16. Since then, I have built and sold two tech startup companies, which includes LAGbook, a social networking platform that garnered over one million registered users within three years and was acquired by a Canadian tech company in January 2013. Today, I’m one of the founders of Publiseer, a digital media company that works with independent African creatives, to help them earn above the minimum wage and live above the poverty line from the sales of their creative works.
What do you do?
I’m CEO at Publiseer, a digital platform that discovers local African talents and give them a platform to focus on what they love doing the most, which is to create, while we handle the tedious business of transforming their creativity into wealth for them. So far, thanks to our partnership with the International Publishers Association and the International Publishing Distribution Association, Publiseer has helped over 7,000 African creatives earn over $280,000 in revenue.
What is your latest or upcoming news?
Very recently, we secured distribution partnerships with leading digital service providers like Libri, Voxa, iReader, and Dreame. Also, we secured grant funding from Institut Francais to expand our product offerings to creatives in French-speaking African countries. This means we're expanding our services to creatives in Senegal, Togo, and Cote d'Ivoire. Also, we secured a $100,000 grant funding from the Jack Ma Foundation as one of the Top 10 finalists at Africa's Business Heroes competition. We're using this funding to begin the distribution of digital content created in other African languages other than English and French.
Why did you apply to the Young Leaders program of the French-African Foundation and does it mean to you to be a Young Leader ?
I applied to the Young Leaders program, because I believe it’s an ecosystem of high-growth and high-impact people making massive positive impacts in their communities across different regions and industries in Africa and France. Being part of this program has provided me with a community of innovative leaders, infrastructure, shared resources, and a strong network to grow and scale my impact across Africa and France.
On a personal level, do you have an important moment in your life to share with us?
On a personal level, the most important moment in my life was when I decided to become an impact entrepreneur; using technology to solve some of Africa’s most pressing problems. This for me was when I found my purpose and that has been the most important moment in my life.
What is your dream for your country and the African continent? How do you intend to act to achieve it?
My dream for Africa is to change its narrative, and I’m doing this through digital media, by promoting the beautiful culture and heritage of the African people to the rest of the world, one content at a time.
2022 has just started. If you had one word to share with the younger generations, what would it be?
Persevere.