Opeyemi Awoyemi, the founder of Nigerian web hosting giant GO54 (formerly WhoGoHost), has resigned from the company’s board following its acquisition by South African competitor HOSTAFRICA.
The deal marks Awoyemi’s second successful exit as a founder, having previously founded and exited the Nigerian job board Jobberman. He is also a co-founder of edtech AltSchool Africa, alongside Adewale Yusuf, and Akintunde Sultan.
“Whogohost’s final sale marks my 2nd exit as a founder and my last that is fully focused on Nigeria,” Awoyemi said quoting Condia’s report of the GO54 sale. “I remain committed to building but for the world while backing founders building local solutions with capital.”
Founded in 2007 while Awoyemi was a university student, GO54 has grown into a leading provider of web hosting, cloud services, and domain registration services in Nigeria. The company has made several acquisitions throughout its history, including iHost Africa and TheExpertHost, solidifying its dominance in the Nigerian market.
The acquisition by HOSTAFRICA is expected to create a pan-African web-hosting powerhouse, further consolidating the market.
Awoyemi, who now focuses on investing in African startups as a Managing Partner at FastForward Venture Studio, expressed gratitude to former GO54 CEO Toba Obaniyi, who led the company for a decade. “My eternal gratitude goes to @tobaniyi, my partner who took Whogohost from 1,000 domains to 150,000. Visionaries need partners like this to thrive.”
Despite stepping down from GO54, Awoyemi remains active in the tech ecosystem, supporting founders and promoting digital entrepreneurship. He unveiled a new website in his tweet thread aimed at helping individuals build their websites.
