Mark Anthony Essien
Born18 December 1980 (1980-12-18) (age 43)
Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State
NationalityNigerian
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, software developer
Known forFounding Hotels.ng
TitleCEO of Hotels.ng
Websitewww.markessien.com

Mark Anthony Essien (Listen)ⓘ (born 18 December 1980 in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State) is a Nigerian entrepreneur, software developer and startup investor. He is the founder and CEO of Hotels.ng, one of the first online hotel booking websites in Nigeria.[1][2][3] Before he founded Hotels.ng in 2013, Essien had previously built a file sharing software called Gnumm (acquired by Snoopstar.com), followed by a language learning startup called Ingolingo.[4]

Career

Hotels.ng

In 2013, Essien founded Hotels.ng. Spark.ng made an initial investment of $75,000 and another investment of $150,000.[5]

In 2015, the company secured additional investment funding of $1.2 million from international investors EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund,[6] a seed-stage technology fund, and Omidyar Network, the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.[7][8][9][10]

Essien stepped down as the CEO of HNG Internships, a programme he founded to solve the Nigerian software engineering talent problem. He handed over to Seyi Onifade[11]

Awards and recognition

In 2015, Essien made the Forbes list of the 30 youngest entrepreneurs in Africa. He has also been nominated for the Nigeria Future awards amongst others.[12]

Family

On 8 April 2018 Essien married Jenni Naiaretti, who is also a developer.[13]

Investments

In 2016, Hotels.ng co-invested with Jason Njoku and Spark in OgaVenue,[14] an events booking platform. Essien serves as a director on the board of OgaVenue.

Public talks

Essien is a frequent TEDx speaker. He has delivered talks on leveraging networks to build a business and how Africa can lead in the global technology space, speaking at TEDxEuston and TEDxGbagada respectively.[15][16][17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Staff Writer. "Facebook CPO confirms Nigeria's strategic importance - ITWeb Africa". www.itwebafrica.com. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  2. ↑ "INTERVIEW: How Nigerian firm I started with $300 grew to sell hotel rooms worth billions of naira – Founder - Premium Times Nigeria". Premium Times Nigeria. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  3. ↑ Said-Moorhouse, Lauren. "Is this the weirdest job interview ever?". CNN. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  4. ↑ "Hotels.ng: solving the small problems before building Robocop – Ventureburn". Ventureburn. 2014-01-31. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  5. ↑ Okunola, Folarin. "Mobile West Africa 2016: Event kicks off today with Mark Essien, Ebi Atawodi, Simon Ononobi, others". Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  6. ↑ "Hotels.ng Raises $1.2 Million in Funding". techpoint.ng. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  7. ↑ "Exclusive: Hotels.ng Raises $1.2 Million Series A From Omidyar, EchoVC | TechCabal". 25 May 2015. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  8. ↑ Shu, Catherine (26 May 2015). "Nigeria's Hotels.ng Grabs $1.2M To Expand Listings Across Africa". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  9. ↑ Mohammed, Omar. "Nigeria's tourism opportunity can be unlocked by local online booking platforms". Quartz. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  10. ↑ "Hotels.ng raises $1.2m from Omidyar Network, EchoVC". Disrupt Africa. 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  11. ↑ "Mark Essien Steps Down as HNG Internship CEO, Seyi Fade Appointed". Technext. 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  12. ↑ "Davido, Yaya Toure, Mark Essien are The Future Africa Awards 2014 Nominees | See Full List". BellaNaija. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  13. ↑ Adetayo, Ayoola. "Mark Essien: Hotels NG boss ties the knot in Akwa Ibom!". Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  14. ↑ "SPARK and Hotels.ng invest $45,000 in ogaVenue". techpoint.ng. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  15. ↑ "This is How Mark Essien Thinks Africa Can Lead the World's Tech Space | TechCabal". 14 January 2016. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  16. ↑ Katie Pisa, for (15 June 2016). "Is now the time to invest in Nigeria?". CNN. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  17. ↑ "Mark Essien : Solving Problems Creatively - The Guardian Life Magazine". The Guardian Life Magazine. 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
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