Endeavor welcomed a new entrepreneur, Ekechi Nwokah, the Founder & CEO of Migo, into its global network. Formerly known as Mines, Migo is a cloud-based platform that partners with banks, mobile operators, retailers and payment processors in emerging markets to provide credit to underserved consumers.
Endeavor’s mission is to build strong entrepreneurship ecosystems in growth markets, including Nigeria, by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs to drive economic growth and job creation.
“Migo is an exciting high-growth company that is improving financial access for millions in Nigeria. As the company expands beyond Nigeria, starting with Brazil, which is one of Endeavor’s largest markets, we look forward to supporting Ekechi and his team on their mission to bring retail credit to billions of underserved people all over the world. Ekechi is a dedicated, technical founder and a strong role model for high-impact entrepreneurs in Nigeria.”, said Eloho Gihan-Mbelu, the Managing Director & CEO of Endeavor in Nigeria.
To become an Endeavor Entrepreneur, candidates go through a rigorous selection process which culminates in an International Selection Panel by vetted and trusted mentors, drawn from Endeavor’s extensive network of over 4,000 mentors across the world. Ekechi was successfully selected along with 7 entrepreneurs leading 6 companies from 6 countries.
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Endeavor leveraged technology to bring together candidates from all over the world and host its first-ever virtual International Selection Panel. Over a 3-day period, Ekechi was interviewed by a panel of 8 experienced business leaders.
Globally, over 2 billion adults lack access to credit. Migo’s innovative business model is seizing the opportunity to close a gap in the digital financial services industry and reach a large, underserved customer base. As Ekechi Nwokah leads his team at Migo to new heights, he hopes to leverage Endeavor’s extensive network globally. “Endeavor will be a significant value add for the company as we expand”, he said.
Along with Migo, Endeavor Nigeria supports 14 entrepreneurs who lead 9 companies in Nigeria. Companies in the Endeavor Nigeria network span various industries, including financial technology, renewable energy, healthcare, film production and distribution, and retail.
About Endeavor
Established in 1997, Endeavor is a mission-driven, global organization leading the high-impact entrepreneurship movement. Endeavor was founded on the belief that job creation, innovation, and overall prosperity flourish where there is robust support for high-impact entrepreneurs. To date, Endeavor has screened more than 60,000 individuals and selected more than 2,000 founders leading over 1,200 scale-up companies.
Endeavor Entrepreneurs have created over 3 million jobs, generate more than $20 billion in revenue each year, and inspire future generations to innovate, take risks, and build strong entrepreneurship ecosystems in underserved markets. Headquartered in New York City, Endeavor currently operates in nearly 40 growth markets throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America.
Endeavor launched its Nigeria office in 2018 to select and support the best founders of companies at the scale-up and growth stage, who recognise a responsibility to pay-it-forward and multiply their impact in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Today, Endeavor in Nigeria supports 14 Endeavor Entrepreneurs leading 9 companies.
Learn more about Endeavor in Nigeria: http://www.endeavornigeria.org
Learn about Endeavor’s global network: http://www.endeavor.org
About Migo
Launched in Nigeria in 2017, Migo is a cloud-based platform that enables companies to offer credit to their customers, augmenting traditional bank and payment card infrastructure. Companies like banks, telecommunications operators and merchants integrate Migo in their apps and Migo underwrites customers to provide them with a digital account and credit line. The customers can use this credit line to make purchases from a merchant or withdraw cash without the need for point-of-sale hardware or plastic cards.
Ekechi Nwokah, Migo’s founder and CEO, spent his formative years in Nigeria. He moved to America when he was 14 to pursue his passion for computer science. After receiving his PhD in Computer Engineering, he spent over 20 years building distributed software systems and was also a visiting professor at Purdue University in Indiana, USA.