Chidi Nwaogu is a serial tech entrepreneur and software developer. He is the co-founder and CEO of Publiseer, a digital publisher for African Creatives, which he launched in the 3rd quarter of 2017, along with his twin brother, Chika Nwaogu.
Konbini described Publiseer as “one of the largest digital publishers in Africa” and was also identified by IFC as one of the startups “that could speed up innovation in Africa”.
He has been described as one of the “Young innovators making Africa great in 2019” and “50 Top Personalities on LinkedIn”.
How He Started
After exiting his second startup company through acquisition, he and his twin brother decided to take a break from tech entrepreneurship to pursue other dreams.
Chidi has always wanted to be a published author, so he wrote a novel titled ‘Odd Family Out’, while his twin who went ahead to pursue a career as a recording artist recorded a studio album titled ‘Higher’.
For me, I have always wanted to be a published author, and my twin pursued a career as a recording artist. I wrote a novel titled ‘Odd Family Out’, and my twin recorded a studio album titled ‘Higher’, and now it was time to monetize our hard work.
It was when his twin brother had challenges receiving the royalties for his album that they got to know that other musicians may also be facing the same problem of monetizing their music. That was how they got the idea for their third and current startup, Publiseer.
Publiseer is a digital content distribution platform that lets independent African writers, musicians, and filmmakers, typically from low-income communities to distribute, promote, protect and monetize their creative works on over 400 well-established digital platforms in 100 countries, at no charge, with just a single click, and we share in the revenue generated from sales of these works.
Obstacles and Future Plans
One of the greatest challenges he faces with Publiseer is Copyright Infringement. Sometimes, some Creatives plagiarize the works of others and upload them for publishing as theirs.
To mitigate this, they (Publiseer) verify the originality of any work they publish, using several tools that ensure the published works are 100% original and free of plagiarism.
Chidi and his team are working to build a larger distribution channel and a more tailored promotional service for their creatives. They are working towards being a full digital media platform for African creatives that handles everything, including strategic planning, marketing, financing, branding, and PR.
His Recommended Books
- Blue Ocean Strategy – Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim
Read His Full Story Here: How we are Building the largest Digital Content Distribution Platform in Africa
Awards and Recognitions
- Migration Entrepreneurship Prize 2020 by the Swiss Government.
- Africa 35.35 Award 2019 for Entrepreneurship.
- Young Leaders Award 2019 for Media and Entertainment.
- Bizz Business Excellence Award 2019.
- Acumen Fellow 2020 (West Africa)
- Westerwelle Fellow 2019 (Germany)
- AfricanPLP Fellow 2019 (Cairo)
- Yunus&Youth Global Fellow 2019 (New York)
His Word of Advice to New and Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Figure out that one thing you know how to do better than many people you have come across. Now practice that one thing over and over again until you become undoubtedly an expert at it. Now do that thing and get people to pay you for doing it. That’s how successful businesses are created out of our talents or hobbies.
You can connect with Chidi on Linkedin.
Learn more about Publiseer on their Website.
