uLesson's Miva University is now a licensed online university in Nigeria

"Yearly, over one million students are denied entrance into [Nigerian] universities due to limited spaces and other reasons. However, I believe that education should be widely available, effective and enjoyable. This is why we are building Miva University," says Sim Shagaya, co-founder and CEO of uLesson & Miva University.

To pursue this ambition, Miva University has obtained an Open Distance eLearning Licence from the National Universities Commission, the regulating body for universities in Nigeria. "We have dreamed of this day for [four] years—since the very founding of uLesson," Shagaya added.

Within its four years of existence, uLesson provided online K-12 education across Africa. However, with this university, the edtech company will provide it will offer undergraduate courses in computing; computer science, cyber security, data science and software engineering. It also has a school of management and social science featuring degrees in business management, economics, accounting and public policy and administration. Shagaya has disclosed that other courses including nursing and law will also be offered at the university.

"Our entry into the tertiary segment comes at a time when the very definition of a university is changing and the demand for effective affordable tertiary education is as acute as ever," he said.

In 2018, an investigation by the Guardian Nigeria revealed that more than 190,000 qualified candidates were denied admission to seven Nigerian public universities. It is important to note that seven is about 7.69% of the total public universities in the country.

Amidst this, public universities in the country are still laden with several challenges from low lecturer-to-student ratio, poor infrastructural facilities and continued strikes by university staff.

"Our mission is to provide accessible, high-quality education that helps our students succeed in the digital marketplace," Shagaya during the launch in March. Miva University is currently hiring for various roles including a registrar and head of academic planning.

Related Article: uLesson is building an online open university named Miva

With the courses to be offered in its school of computing, Miva University will meet a competitor, AltSchool Africa, another Nigeria-based edtech that currently offers certifications in software engineering, product and data, for a year-long study which includes an internship. The startup has also partnered with institutions to offer diplomas—AltSchool's co-founder, Akintunde Sultan recently described what they are building as a "university". Last year, AltSchool raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to scale its efforts.

For its school of management, Miva will compete against Nexford University, an online university—with operations in Nigeria—that offers US-licensed degrees. It has since awarded Bachelors and Masters of Business Administration degrees to more than 400 students in Nigeria across two sets.