Olusola Somuyiwa, co- founder and chief government officer of VersityEdge, an edtech startup that makes use of AI to arrange and information college students on their admission journey.
Somuyiwa was impressed to enterprise into the enterprise of serving to college students get admission into larger establishments simply because of his ardour for training, and empathy for a lot of college students struggling to get into universities with out success.
“The yr is 2018 after I secured admission to review Drugs and Surgical procedure on the College of Ibadan, the one admission from my secondary college of 148 graduates.
I met my cofounder who additionally secured admission, however had been on the journey since 2015. She confirmed me the struggles and the challenges college students confronted on their admission journey,” he narrated.
Primarily based on the knowledge gathered, he and his co-founder determined to speak and acquire knowledge from college students to grasp why a whole bunch of 1000’s of scholars face these struggles yearly.
“We met a 22 yr previous feminine from the southeast who has been on the admission journey for 5 years making use of to College of Lagos to review Drugs and Surgical procedure.
“I used to be curious to know why she was not securing admission regardless of having 338 in one in every of her JAMB scores. I requested for her O’ranges and proper there, I instructed her she will be able to’t safe admission to review Drugs and Surgical procedure on the College of Lagos.
At that time, I turned her enemy however prolonged her a free session the place I used to be capable of analyse her O’degree, preferences and decisions to counsel 10 establishments the place she had larger possibilities of securing admission, and College of Lagos was not one in every of them. We determined to construct an AI to automate this course of and switch it right into a enterprise,” he defined.
The Clinton International College graduate the place he targeted on admission-related initiatives believes his expertise which additional deepened his understanding of the worldwide training panorama is essential in mentoring and guiding college students of their admission journeys.
“All through my profession, I’ve had the privilege of educating and mentoring over 700 college students, serving to them navigate the complexities of school admissions. This expertise has been invaluable in shaping VersityEdge’s method to scholar assist.
“Our AI algorithms analyse a scholar’s educational historical past, strengths, and aspirations, cross-referencing this knowledge with historic admission developments throughout a number of establishments. This enables us to supply tailor-made methods that considerably improve a scholar’s possibilities of admission to their desired programmes,” he stated.
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The AI and Machine Studying certifications holder from Stanford College, defined that at VersityEdge, it’s extra than simply predictions and possibilities.
“We’ve created an immersive, incubator-like atmosphere the place college students interact in every day stay courses, entry curated research supplies, and take part in AI-powered mock examinations.
“These examinations don’t simply check information; they determine particular areas for enchancment and robotically alter the training path to handle these gaps,” he famous.
Somuyiwa defined that although he began the enterprise with zero capital in 2023, he was capable of generate income working in tens of millions.
“We began VersityEdge with zero naira as college students of the College of Ibadan, as an affect undertaking the place we counsel and information aspirants of the College of Ibadan. We had nice success on the affect aspect however weren’t making a living.
“We seen some college students didn’t safe admission regardless of guiding them. We appeared into the why, and determined to introduce previous questions, stay courses and research supplies, and from there we had a 90 % admission success fee. We generated our first million in lower than 2 months,” he stated.
Talking on the area of interest his enterprise has over its rivals, he stated; “What makes us distinctive is we offer admission insights serving to college students know their possibilities of admission as they use our platform to arrange for his or her examination.
“We analyse their power and weak spot, present personalised assist to allow them to be higher put together on the examination day. We additionally provide a dad or mum dashboard the place they will monitor their youngster’s progress and obtain weekly studies.”
He stated the agency’s growth plans embody multiplying their course of throughout establishments.
“We wish to begin making ready as many college students as doable for admission in 2025 reworking their goals to actuality. Our eyes are on the African Market,” he stated.
Somuyiwa cited funding as one of many firm’s largest challenges, and second being discovering and onboarding the suitable individuals on the group.
For the funding problem, he stated they’re making use of for grants, apart from pitching their enterprise to angel buyers.
He would encourage upcoming entrepreneurship to concentrate on the large imaginative and prescient and why he/she began his/her enterprise.
“Challenges will certainly come, able to blow you off the market, however your grit and perception in your imaginative and prescient will hold you standing,” he stated.
Charles Ogwo
Charles Ogwo, Head, Schooling Desk at BusinessDay Media is a seasoned proactive journalist with over a decade of reportage expertise.
