Bulls n Bears Entrepreneurship Zone :: Meet Tope Ogunsemo, the Nigerian entrepreneur who runs a $3m edtech startup

[Bulls n Bears]

33-year-old Nigerian entrepreneur, Temitope Ogunsemo is the founder of
Krystal Digital, an educational technology company that develops and deploys
customised and service oriented software applications as well as IT training
for educational institutions in Nigeria.

With annual revenue of more than US$3m and over 150 employees, Krystal
Digital’s goal is to drive growth in the education sector by building a
leading sub-Saharan IT company.

Mfonobong Nsehe recently had the opportunity to speak with Ogunsemo in
Lagos on Krystal Digital’s ambitions and future plans.


Tell us about Krystal Digital’s origin and the vision behind its
operations?


The idea to establish Krystal Digital in 2010 spawned from a difficult
experience I had when I attempted to secure my academic transcript. It was
then I saw the potential to develop a school information management system
that would not only improve the storage and retrieval of academic records
but would also position these schools to harness the benefits of
digitisation.


Krystal Digital is well-known for its flagship service, MySkool Portal,
what are the various services provided by your company and who are its
clients?


Our products and services currently span across 48% of the federal
government colleges in Nigeria. The MySkool Portal platform runs in 50
federal government colleges across the country and has more than 65,000
active student users. We also have projects catering to the academic and
technological needs of Nigerian students.

Our business model is structured to support the needs of our clients and
how they would rather be served. This basically has three inputs: our
people, our operations and innovation. We rely on the ability of our people
to innovate and collaborate with each other and our customers to develop
value-adding solutions. We are also committed to conducting our business
transparently and ethically by managing our business process towards
ensuring a positive impact on the society.


What significant role does technology play in the development of the
education sector and how is Krystal Digital involved in this evolution?


To prepare the talent needed for the digital economy, education must adapt
as fast as the demand for IT skills is growing and evolving. To achieve this
goal, it is our responsibility to ensure that we invest in technologies that
are effective in improving learning outcomes. We believe that accelerating
the adoption of technologies in the classrooms will empower teachers to
improve education outcomes, help bridge the digital divide and, most
importantly, provide students with the education they need to transition
into jobs in the knowledge economy. We have deployed a tripartite strategy
to successfully implement this programme in various partner institutions,
training, infrastructure deployment and mentorship.

We have a partnership with Microsoft Imagine Academy which provides us with
quality education training resources on Microsoft technologies to help
institutions, faculty and staff (educators) and its enrolled students obtain
the skills needed to reach their academic and career potential. It would
also prepare students and educators to earn Microsoft certification
credentials. Our IT training programme have already commenced in 24 unity
schools.


In providing these solutions, what challenges has Digital Krystal faced in
closing the digital gap in Nigeria’s education sector?


The cost of running a technology company in Nigeria is too high. Besides,
poor perception of ICT and lack of solid implementations of technology,
basically because of the lack of education about the potential of
technology, is a major constraint. This reduces our productivity by 40%, and
the probability of us releasing any technological hits.


Despite these challenges, how do you see Krystal Digital’s solutions
evolving with its growth potential in the next few years?


The opportunity ahead for Krystal Digital is vast. To seize it, we must
focus clearly, move decisively and continue to transform. We are constantly
rethinking how we envision and deliver our solutions. We are very much in
touch with the pace of innovation globally and where we are not leading new
ideas and disruptions, we would be certain to be in touch with the trail.
With no plans of slowing down, we would be reaching more Nigerian students
and improving on the technology, platforms and our people’s capacity and
expertise. We will also bolster the economy through job creation, existing
and new investments in education technology.—Howwemadeitinafrica 



Tope Ogunsemo

 

 

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