By now, it is no longer news that SPARK is putting
$1 million into local Internet start-ups this year in
what can be described as the most audacious bet
on the early-stage Nigerian Internet space.
But as the news gradually filters through the
fabric of the tech ecosystem, Techloy has
exclusively learnt (after a tip-off from a reliable
source) that one of its directors, Jason Njoku owns
35% of hotel listing and booking service, Hotels
Booking Ltd, one of the SPARK-backed start-ups
co-founded by Nigerian entrepreneur, Mark Essien
in January 2012.
Back when we covered the start-up, it had
secured N5 million (about $30,000) in funding
from an unnamed individual investor to help solve
the problem of finding and booking hotels online
in towns and cities across Nigeria.
At the time, Njoku offered to invest into the start-
up, one year before SPARK was founded, but was
turned down by Essien, who claimed that he had
already raised seed round and wouldn’t be
needing more money until, perhaps, the next 6
-12 months.
Well, one year later, after several deliberations,
Essien decided to give up 35% of his start-up to
Njoku through SPARK’s undisclosed investment
into the start-up, which is believed to be around $
50,000 (about N8 million), given SPARK’s method
of angel investment.
If this is anything to go by, and based on my
calculations, Hotels.ng should have a post-money
valuation of about $250,000 (about N40 million).
The start-up currently has almost 4,000 hotels in
over 300 cities in Nigeria, with over 1000 of these
in Lagos alone.
Both Njoku and Essien declined to comment.
Update 1: Jason Njoku asserted in a tweet in
response to our story, saying: “This isn’t
accurate”. [Well, I'm not sure what isn't accurate,
but we do have evidence that shows the share
take up of both shareholders of the start-up.]
Update 2: Mark Essien was more vocal in his
response on Twitter, saying: “Very irritating when
TechLoy posts inaccurate information. Facts are
easy to get, research them”. [As stated above, we
have a legitimate document that shows that this
information is accurate and may decide to publish
it if we deem it necessary]