Damilola Oyedele

A Nigerian entrepreneur who revolutionized access to education through technology

Damilola Oyedele is a visionary Nigerian entrepreneur whose work in education technology has profoundly impacted learning opportunities across Africa. Born in Lagos in 1985, Oyedele co-founded Classroom Africa in 2004, a platform that delivers affordable online education solutions to underserved communities. This initiative addresses the continent's critical shortage of qualified teachers and educational infrastructure, providing over 500,000 students access to quality learning materials by 2010.

His breakthrough came during Nigeria's broadband expansion era, when he developed adaptive learning algorithms tailored for multilingual African contexts. The platform's success led to partnerships with UNESCO and the African Union, establishing a replicable model adopted in 15 countries. Oyedele's TED Talk "Building Schools Without Walls" (2008) became a cornerstone for EdTech policy discussions. His work earned him the MIT Global Education Innovator Award in 2009, marking the first African recipient of this honor.

Beyond technology, Oyedele pioneered community-driven content creation, training local educators to produce culturally relevant courseware. This approach increased student engagement by 73% in pilot regions according to 2012 World Bank studies. His recent venture Tech4Teaching focuses on teacher training through VR simulations, furthering his mission to democratize quality education.