uLesson Appoints Iheanyi Akwitti as CEO to Lead Group Growth
uLesson has named Iheanyi Akwitti, its Group Chief Academic Officer, as CEO-Designate effective June 2026, with formal CEO succession set for January 2027 as founder Sim Shagaya transitions to Executive Chairman.
Lagos, Nigeria — The uLesson Group announced on May 18, 2026 that Iheanyi Akwitti, Group Chief Academic Officer and Registrar, will become CEO-Designate effective June 1, 2026, and will formally assume the role of Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2027. Founder Sim Shagaya will remain Group CEO through the transition period before moving into the role of Executive Chairman.
uLesson provides digital curriculum-aligned learning content for primary and secondary school students across West Africa. The company operates a subscription-based mobile application and has expanded its portfolio to include Miva Open University, an online tertiary institution.
Akwitti joined the Group in 2022 as Senior Vice President, Academics and Curriculum, and has since played a central role in its expansion into higher education — including leading the academic, regulatory, and accreditation work behind Miva Open University's licence from Nigeria's National Universities Commission. During the transition period, Shagaya will continue working closely with Akwitti across operational, board, governance, investor, and partner matters before formally stepping back to focus on strategy and institutional partnerships as Executive Chairman.
The edtech sector in Africa is transitioning from early-stage product development toward operational scale and university education. As primary-school tech adoption faces device-access barriers, open universities represent a highly scalable, higher-revenue segment for edtech players — uLesson's structured, seven-month leadership handover reflects a deliberate succession process rather than an abrupt exit.
The appointment of Akwitti as CEO indicates that uLesson has matured beyond its founder-led phase into an institutional execution engine. Sim Shagaya's transition to Executive Chairman allows him to focus on Miva Open University, which represents a higher-margin, highly scalable higher-education market. Investors should notice that university degree courses offer more predictable, recurring cash flows compared to K-12 app subscriptions. The strategic shift signals a path where African edtech companies must capture the tertiary degree segment to sustain long-term growth.
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