Current and ex-employees of edtech uLesson have accused the founder of the company, Sim Shagaya of fostering a toxic work environment marked by bullying, verbal abuse, micromanaging, discrimination, subjugation, and blindsiding.
In a investigation released by Techpoint Africa examined the affected by the layoffs, who did not directly interact with the CEO or management. It then extended to current and former employees who worked closely with them to get a comprehensive view of the situation. This report includes internal documents, testimonies from Shagaya, and insights from 17 past and current employees, many of whom requested anonymity due to fears of victimization.
“By the end of my third month, I was clinically depressed,” a top ex-employee who reported directly to Shagaya told Techpoint Africa during an almost hour-long call. “I was so depressed I could hardly get out of bed. I was thinking of everything I left behind to relocate to Abuja.”
Several sources accused Shagaya of being toxic, berating, and using cuss words at employees, sometimes during management meetings in front of many people. They claim he doesn’t give leaders enough freedom to exercise their expertise despite having a rich team of highly experienced executives.
However, Shagaya and several current employees directly reporting to him have denied these allegations, asserting that uLesson has a supportive work culture, is a fun place to work, promotes mutual respect, and has an open-door policy where leadership is approachable.
“Being an entrepreneur anywhere in the world is challenging for many reasons, which are not only infrastructural,” Shagaya told Techpoint Africa over a call. “The most difficult thing to do is to build a team, and one of the things involved is letting people go, and people’s reactions to that vary.”
LinkedIn data reveals that uLesson has 471 past and present employees associated with it on the platform. An Intelpoint analysis sampled 287 ex-employees and revealed that 103 employees (35.8%) spent between one and two years at the organization, aligning with the globally recognized average job tenure today.
Among these former employees, the analysis also identified 28 executives who joined between 2021 and 2023 and found that the average duration of stay for these leaders was just 12 months. This relatively short tenure among senior leadership could indicate a challenge in retaining top talent, suggesting a trend of high employee turnover.
The company has undergone restructuring between 2023 and Q1 2024, leading to the layoff of 100 employees. The latest restructuring affected the telesales team and parts of the customer service, product, and content teams.
With a current workforce of 300, the uLesson Group comprises both the edtech platform and the one-year-old Miva Open University. Despite the allegations, uLesson has shown remarkable growth since its inception. Launched in 2019, the platform quickly gained traction by offering comprehensive subscription-based K-12 learning resources and exam preparation materials. The company has attracted significant investment and launched new products, including Classboard, targeting schools and state governments.
