Africa may not yet have an Internet billionaire, but there are a handful of savvy African entrepreneurs who’ve built 7- and 8-figure fortunes by identifying and taking advantage of the opportunities on the continent’s web space, according to Forbes.

Here’s a basic truth: In the next five to seven years, there’ll be an unprecedented explosion of Internet millionaires. A billionaire or two may even crop up. You never know. The signs are there. Massive broadband fiber optic cables are being laid everywhere from the West cost to the East, North and the South. Hungry techies everywhere from Nigeria to Ghana, Kenya and South Africa are building web-based companies providing simple solutions for some of our most daunting challenges and inconveniences. Some of the world’s most important investors are taking notice, and making huge bets. New York-based hedge fund Tiger Global Management, Swedish investment firm Kinnevik and Australia’s Seek.com.au have each made multi-million dollar investments in the continent’s Internet space, reinforcing the notion that the next gold mine could be Africa’s tech space.

A few people have gotten an early jumpstart on this, and they’ve made millions in the process. Here are ten people you should watch closely:

1. Abasiama Idaresit, Nigerian
Source: digital marketing

Idaresit, a Nigerian-born digital marketing expert, is the founder and CEO of Wild Fusion, one of Africa’s leading digital marketing agencies. Idaresit founded Wild Fusion in 2010 with no external funding and with a bootstrapped budget, transforming the company into a $6 million (annual revenues) digital marketing firm offering Internet marketing and digital strategy solutions to some of the largest international corporations operating in in sub-Saharan Africa. Wild Fusion’s clients include Visa V -0.89%, Vodafone VOD -0.26%, Samsung and Unilever UN -0.86% as well as several large Pan-African corporations. Wild Fusion, which is on track to make $10 million in revenues this year, also has operations in Kenya and Ghana. Wild Fusion was also Google’s first Adwords certified partner in West Africa. Idaresit, who has just completed an MBA from the Manchester Business School, is the company’s sole shareholder.

2 & 3. Justin Clarke & Carey Eaton, South African, Kenyan
Source: One Africa Media

Justin Clarke and Carey Eaton co-founded One Africa Media (OAM), Africa’s largest online classifieds group. OAM owns some of Africa’s most prestigious and lucrative online properties, including PrivateProperty.co.za, South Africa’s leading property website; , West Africa’s leading job website; Cheki.com,West and East Africa’s largest online auto marketplace; and SafariNow, South Africa’s leading travel and accommodation booking website. In June 2013, Seek, Australia’s largest recruitment portal, acquired a 25% stake in OAM for $20 million, valuing the company at $80 million. OAM’s three major shareholders are Justin Clarke, Carey Eaton and Tiger Global Management, a New York-based hedge fund.

4. Jason Njoku, Nigerian
Source: Nigerian movies

Jason Njoku is the founder of iRokoTV, the world’s largest distributor of Nigerian movies, which has been dubbed the ‘Netflix of Africa’. iRokoTV operates a service that streams Nigerian and Ghanaian movies online for free, while users who want to gain access to newer content have to pay a monthly subscription fee of $5. The service has been successful so far and iRoko has over 500,000 registered subscribers. iRokoTV has raised over $10 million in venture funding from Tiger Global Management, a New York-based private equity and hedge fund run by billionaire Chase Coleman, and $2 million from Swedish investment firm Kinnevik.

5. Herman Heunis, Namibian
Source: messaging services

Heunis was the original founder of MXit, Africa’s largest social network and the continent’s first mobile instant messenger. About 20 million people in more than 120 countries across the world now use MXit. The service runs on multiple mobile and computing platforms. In September 2011, World Of Avatar, an investment company founded by South African millionaire Alan Knott Graig Jr., acquired MXit from Herman Heunis for over $50 million.

6. Adii Pienaar, South African
Source: WordPress Themes

Adii Pienaar, 28, is the founder of Woothemes, a company that designs and develops customizable commercial themes and plugins for WordPress. Adii built the business with a bootstrap budget, and the company today generates over $3 million in annual revenues from the sale of its themes. Woothemes also develops and sells themes for other content management systems, including Tumblr. He is now working on PublicBeta, a service that allows very successful entrepreneurs to transfer knowledge to new startups.


7. Ronnie Apteker, South African
Source: Internet services

The 45 year-old South African entrepreneur founded Internet Solutions, South Africa’s first Internet service provider, in 1993 shortly after the end of apartheid. The company provides its services to more than 70% of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. In 1997, Apteker sold Internet Solutions to Dimension Data Holdings, an Internet, communications and telecom services provider, for roughly $65 million. Apteker is currently an investor in South African Internet startups such as Randgo.com, which offers benefits such as discounts, preferential treatment and access to stock offerings from South Africa’s leading brands. He is also a movie producer and writer.

8. Gary Levitt, South African
Source: Email marketing

In 2008, the South African-born entrepreneur founded Mad Mimi, an email service that allows users create, send, share and track simple, scalable communications such as branded emails and newsletters online. Mad Mimi boasts over 150,000 corporate users and sends over 1 billion messages every month. The company has over 20 employees and annual revenues of about $6 million. Levitt is the controlling shareholder of the company.

9 Ayisi Makatiani, Kenyan
Source: Internet services

Makatiani made his first fortune by co-founding Africa Online, one of the earliest Internet service providers in Africa. He founded the company in 1994, and Africa Online provided dial-up, leased line and wireless connectivity services in Kenya and around East Africa. In 2000, Makatiani sold a significant chunk of his shareholding in the company to African Lakes Corporation PLC of Britain, retaining a minority stake reportedly valued at $10 million. He now runs Fanisi Capital, an African-focused private equity and venture capital fund.

10. Njeri Rionge, Kenyan
Source: Internet Services

Rionge now runs Ignite Consulting, a successful business consultancy based in Nairobi, but she earned her first fortune from co-founding Wananchi Online, an Internet service provider which is now East Africa’s leading cable, broadband and IP (internet-based) phone company. In 2011, Emerging Capital Partners, an American private equity firm, acquired a 50% stake in the company for $26 million.

Share your thoughts

Obviously there are more than ten people making waves in the African internet sphere at the moment. Feel free to add others and InfoNubia will research on these people and their prospect. If we gather enough new names, we'll publish another post similar to this on them.

See all 10 pictures here: http://www.infonubia.com/2013/08/ten-african-internet-millionaires-to.html

Thought I d see Seun Osewa in the list.

Okiki_Oluwa: Thought I d see Seun Osewa in the list.

Seun might be one of the several but this list is limited to ten people across Africa. I'll do a follow up post if I get enough names.

6 Nigerian Digital Marketers At The Top Of Their Game:

We are taking a look at few Nigerian digital marketers who are at the top of their game and making some serious waves in the tech space.


1) ABASIAMA IDARESIT:
Abasiama Idaresit is a Nigeria-born technology entrepreneur, digital marketer, founder and CEO of Wild Fusion one of Africa’s leading digital marketing agencies with offices in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. Forbes Magazine named him among " Ten African Internet Millionaires To Watch " in 2013.

2) EDITI EFFIONG:
Editi Effiong is the Managing Director of Anakle Limited, a media marketing and services development company, located in Lagos, Nigeria. Anakle is best known for Bride Price app.

3) MICHEAL EBIA:
Micheal is responsible for the overall strategic direction, growth, and management of ADE. He provides oversight on all digital projects and campaigns at ADE.
An upwardly mobile concept-innovator with hands-on skills and managerial experience in the marketing communications and digital industry. A trained expert in Marketing & Digital Media. Ebia has an entrenched proclivity for tweaking ideas, retooling processes and challenging assumptions with new and creative thinking.

5) ISOKO WALTER JNR:
Walter is a business developer, a trained expert in digital marketing and currently the MD/co-founder of swift delivery Nigeria, an online food delivery platform where customers can order food from various restaurants in their City. He studied Mathematics and statistics at Ambrose Alli University,Edo state, Nigeria. He is passionate about developing Businesses and helping Nigerian Start-ups achieve strong market presence online.

6) TEMITAYO OYINYEMI:
Temitayo is a Google Analytics certified partner, A Google Adwords certified professional and a subject matter expert with the digital marketing institute of Ireland with an expertise in (Search engine optimization, pay-per-click Marketing (PPC) & Display advertising).

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