May 2025 has been a whirlwind for Aniekeme Umoh, chief operating officer of ULesson Group and Miva Open University, edtech companies founded by Sim Shagaya. In one of the most popular photos of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Miva’s first physical study centre in Yaba, Lagos, Umoh’s honey blonde head is nearly all you can see of her among suited attendees, yet her understated presence belies her pivotal role in shaping the company. From drafting Miva’s first organisational chart to steering academic operations, she has become a linchpin of an edtech startup spanning K-12 to postgraduate education.
In a May 2023 TED Talk, Umoh spoke about embracing new opportunities, reflecting her diverse career path from consulting at PwC, program management at Peloton, to founding an MBA admissions consultancy. Months later, she went on to join Miva’s ambitious goal to enrol 1 million students in its distance learning program.
In a virtual conversation from her Abuja office, Umoh shares how serendipity connected her with serial tech founder, Sim Shagaya, in 2023, launching her into the middle of Miva’s growth. She discusses how she joined the edtech startup, Miva’s innovative AI tool MIND, its Statista ranking as the third fastest-growing open university globally, and her vision for transforming African education.
Ngozi: Your TED Talk likened career pivots to athletes breaking barriers. How did this mindset lead you to envision a leadership role in an educational platform like Miva or ULesson?
Umoh: I’ve always been driven by a passion for education, sparked in primary school at Loyola in Abuja. Every Saturday, we ran an after-school program teaching local kids in surrounding villages, and I led it in my senior year. At Columbia University, I interned teaching disadvantaged youth in Harlem. I even championed education for African girls as a pageant platform and worked with a nonprofit focused on education in Nigeria. When I returned to Nigeria in 2023, I saw it as the perfect moment to channel this passion into a leadership role in education.
Ngozi: Your adaptability shines through in your previous roles at (PricewaterhouseCoopers) PwC and Peloton. What projects did you tackle there, and how did they prepare you for Miva’s challenges?
Umoh: At PwC, tech consulting felt like it was in my DNA. I worked on cybersecurity and cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects. I also joined PwC’s New Venture practice, where my team launched SecureTerrain, a security analytics tool that was delivered on time. At Peloton, I was a technical program manager, reviving a stalled app migration from React Native to Kotlin and improving their software development lifecycle. I also worked on a project for the senior VP of engineering to build Peloton’s SDLC [software development lifecycle]. It was a year-old project that had never been executed. It was fun and honed my ability to execute complex projects under pressure—skills I rely on daily at Miva to manage operations and drive growth.
Ngozi: It sounds like you consistently revived stalled projects in past roles. What barriers typically caused those delays, and how did you overcome them?
Umoh: Delays usually stemmed from two issues: lack of bandwidth—either the assigned person didn’t have time, or no one was available—or the person had time but couldn’t push it to completion. Execution is a skill, you know, and that’s not to bash anyone—we all have the things we’re best at.
Ngozi: With such a traditional background, what drew you to an edtech startup like Miva or ULesson when you returned to Nigeria?
Umoh: I hadn’t heard of Sim Shagaya when I landed in Nigeria. I knew of Konga vaguely, but not its founder. Researching the edtech sector, I discovered ULesson’s recent launch of Miva Open University—an innovative venture that excited me. I thought, “Who’s driving this?” A mutual friend, Iyin Aboyeji, connected me with Sim. Iyin and I attended Loyola together; he was a visionary even back in our speech and debate club days. When I called him, unsure of my next step, he said, “Who do you want to meet? I’ll set it up. Just show up.” That’s how I reached Sim.
Ngozi: How did your connection with Sim Shagaya solidify your decision to join Miva and shape your leadership role?
Umoh: My conversation with Sim was electrifying. Iyin emailed him at 9:50 PM, and Sim replied with his WhatsApp number within two minutes. I texted him the next morning, saying, “I just moved back and I’m eager to contribute to ULesson.” When he didn’t reply immediately, I sent my resume, which caught his attention. [Umoh earned an engineering degree from Columbia University and an MBA from Wharton, graduating in the 98th percentile. She worked at PwC in investment banking before launching her own successful business.] He called right away, and the next day, I interviewed with ULesson’s chief product officer, and even then, I didn’t know the role I was interviewing for. A week later, I was offered the role of leading Miva’s operations. Sim’s responsiveness convinced me I was joining someone passionate, invested, and someone I could learn from. We bonded over bold risks—he left banking and Google to build Nigerian ventures, I relocated without a plan—and our shared MBA experiences, laughing about business school quirks.
Initially, there wasn’t a clear-cut role; they just thought, “This person is brilliant. Let’s get her in.” But it was clear the university needed operational support. I started on the first day of classes, and there were things to triage right away. My core responsibilities were ensuring academic operations ran smoothly—live lessons, faculty-student interactions—and managing content creation for the learning management system.
Miva was a startup, so I filled gaps wherever I saw them: creating an org chart, handling minor HR tasks, supporting finance transitions, and building Miva’s 2024 budget from scratch. My role evolved from university operations to supporting ULesson too. I attended meetings with prospective government clients, started presenting at board meetings, and within months, I was operating at a COO capacity. I was promoted into that role soon after.
Ngozi: As COO, you’ve driven Miva’s operations across K-12 and higher education. How do you manage these distinct entities, and what challenges have you faced in Nigeria’s edtech landscape?
Umoh: The ULesson Group integrates K-12 ULesson and Miva Open University under one structure, with shared leadership for efficiency. Supply chain, operations, and corporate services are unified, though the edtech brands differ outwardly—ULesson for kids, Miva for university students.
Scaling in Nigeria is tough. The macroeconomic issues in 2023–2024 changed how we looked at the ULesson business. Some businesses are painkillers—necessary products—and some are vitamins. ULesson K-12 is a vitamin; it enhances existing school infrastructure. Miva is a painkiller with latent demand, solving a specific problem well.
We’ve focused on accelerating Miva while lowering ULesson’s B2C prices to keep it accessible, using Miva’s gains to subsidise costs. We’re also working with governments to bring ULesson to the masses, who can’t afford it otherwise.
Miva’s growth is strong—we’re five students shy of 10,000 in under two years, showing clear market fit. The team has matured alongside this.
Ngozi: Miva’s milestones, like the Time Magazine listing, are striking. What key achievements stand out, and what’s your vision for the future?
Umoh: Being named in Time Magazine as one of the fastest rising edtech startups, based on Statista’s impact metrics, was a proud achievement. As a Google partner, Miva issues specialised licences to students, enhancing employability. Our voice-based AI bot, MIND, transforms case study discussions. Its development, integrating voice recognition and academic rigour, required extensive testing. Student feedback is positive, but scaling to group discussions is the next challenge.
Our new Yaba study centre meets the demand for hybrid learning, blending digital and physical access. We’ve launched a proprietary student information system and an auto-proctoring exam portal for high-integrity assessments. Our retention and NPS scores are strong.
Looking ahead, we’re enhancing MIND to moderate group discussions, recognising voices and providing personalised and group feedback linked to grades. Our goal is to reach 1 million distance learners, transforming access across Africa. With postgraduates graduating in December 2025 and undergraduates in April 2026, their market success will further elevate Miva’s reputation. More innovations are in the pipeline.
Ngozi: Your connection with Sim was partly about prestigious academic backgrounds. Can Miva inspire that same Harvard-Wharton level affinity?
Umoh: Absolutely. Students already show a deep affinity on social media—Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter—posting organic content about Miva’s impact. MIND’s innovation and our intentional curriculum set us apart; no other school is doing this. When our first graduates enter the workforce in 2025 and 2026, proving Miva’s value, that affinity will grow. I posted on LinkedIn in 2023, “I’m in awe of what Miva’s team has accomplished.” That vision, rooted in solving real problems, will drive us toward global recognition.
