ogaVenue, an online events venue booking platform, has announced that it secured a $45k seed investment from SPARK and Hotels.ng, a company in which SPARK itself invested in 2013.
The Nigerian events industry is reportedly worth over $20 billion; an average Nigerian middle-class family/company spends over $15,000 per event. In Lagos State alone, over 20,000 events are held each month and over $300,000,000 was spent annually in organising some form of social event.
ogaVenue looks to capitalise on these stats to scale its business model. With over 2000 listings across 17 states in Nigeria, the startup enables customers to scout for perfect venues for weddings, conferences or birthdays. The $45k investment will enable further expansion to more states across Nigeria, scaling of inventory, and the building out of the product, engineering and business development team.
ogaVenue, which was launched in 2015 by Andrew Airelobhegbe, was one of 8 Nigerian startups that pitched at DEMO Africa finals in 2015. In a comment to the press, he expressed optimism that with SPARK and Hotels.ng on board, "we are certain that together, we will radically change the face of events and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa.”
