BY LAJU IREN

There’s almost no better way to introduce this week’s start up and its founder than in the words of Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg. “Last month in Abuja, Nigeria,” Zuckerberg said shortly after his famous Nigerian trip, “I met Godwin Benson. Godwin founded Tuteria Nigeria, an online platform that connects people seeking to learn with people nearby who can teach them.

Tuteria founder, Godwin Benson (left) with Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg (right)

Tuteria Nigeria won one of six awards for the  Internet.org  Innovation Challenge for services that provide education and economic development opportunities across the African continent.”

Although Benson’s affiliation with the seventh richest man in the world happened earlier this year, the inspiration behind Tuteria Nigeria goes much further than even the launch of Facebook. He told this reporter: “In 2004, I was in SS1. A man contracted me to coach his son in Further Mathematics, and agreed to pay me N6, 000. He later added his daughter to the class and we decided I would get N9,000 instead.”

For a bright kid barely into his teens, N9,000 was a lot of money back in 2004. Too bad Benson did not get any of it. However, that experience sparked something that has gained him well over N9,000 several times over. “I wanted to make sure that there was a way tutors could get their money’s worth from lessons taught. I did not know what to do about it at that time but that desire stayed with me.”

“I also realized that people can’t find good teachers easily. The man in question lived about ten minutes away from me but had been looking for a tutor for two whole months before he found me.” Flash forward ten years later, the systems engineering graduate from the University of Lagos began building the Tuteria platform in November 2014.

Today, Tuteria has registered over 7,500 vetted tutors across the country. He has faced several challenges since the launch of the platform in October last year. “Especially when we first started, there was an issue of trust among customers. I think it is the normal scepticism that comes with paying online for services not yet rendered Nigeria.

We had to do a lot of convincing to get people to trust us in that regard, because the only way we can ensure that teachers get their pay is by collecting it upfront from clients, then paying tutors after services are rendered.”

“Internet connectivity also has to be cheaper.  The skill gap has to be closed, because finding the right developers and programmers is a nightmare in itself. There are people we have interviewed for jobs who don’t really have the skills that they claim to have.

I think more people need to study Computer  related courses. Beyond that, young people need to make even more personal efforts to be more involved in software development. We cannot afford to wait for the schools; if they catch up, that’s fine, but the truth remains that our educational system does not have the capacity to train people for now and for the future.”

His message to young tech-preneurs is also clear. “Just do your best to ensure that you are solving a real problem that is of interest to a large group of people. Another thing is, don’t give up.”

An icon in his own right, Benson is still in awe of meeting with Zuckerberg: “I am trying to find the right words to describe it,” he said, “he was very down to earth and showed a lot of interest in our work. The experience also made me see how far we can go with what we have done.”

The meeting also left Tuteria a lot more equipped for the work ahead. Having won the Nigeria Impact Category for the Internet.org innovation challenge, the venture garnered $50,000 in prize money and $50,000 in support tools.