In Africa’s rapidly evolving digital economy, a new platform is helping small businesses scale beyond social media.
SokoSQ, co-founded by Nigerian entrepreneur Ezeala Adaugo Godsgift, is building a future where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can sell, manage, and market their businesses seamlessly across channels.
Designed for the realities of African retail, SokoSQ allows business owners to create high-converting online stores in minutes, connect multiple sales channels (Instagram, WhatsApp, in-person), and access AI-powered business tools.
SokoSQ websites are faster, 2- 3x quicker than most local platforms, and has an all-in-one smarter dashboard for business management, sales and marketing, using AI to boost conversion and engagement.
Real Traction
The platform’s early results speak to a clear market need. Within just few weeks of launch, over 500 live stores were set up on SokoSQ organically (with nearly 10,000 products listed). This rapid uptake hinted at the platform’s potential, and SokoSQ has only accelerated since then.
According to the company, nearly 2,000 small businesses in Nigeria have come onboard as of 2025, benefiting from the ease of creating high-converting websites in under 5 minutes and accessing SokoSQ’s growing toolkit of “smart” business features.
One business owner shared, “I used to think that having a website is for big business until I had access to this one. To think that I registered everything on my own is mind blowing, so easy and fun. Thank you SokoSQ for this.”
“We’re not just building websites. We’re building growth hubs,” says Adaugo, who leads SokoSQ’s strategy, vision, and growth as COO. With a growing community and product roadmap that includes diaspora integration and financial partnerships, SokoSQ is poised to scale its reach across Africa and beyond”.
From Marketer to Movement Builder
Behind SokoSQ’s vision is one of its co-founders, Adaugo Godsgift Ezeala, a 27-year-old Nigerian marketing prodigy whose career trajectory mirrors the fast growth mindset she now brings to her startup.
Adaugo’s journey began in the ecommerce space at Babybliss, a mum-and-baby products ecommerce startup company chaired by tech investor Chika Nwobi.
She joined as a junior associate and, within six months, was promoted to lead the marketing team. Her results-driven campaigns significantly grew revenue and customer engagement.
She went on to contribute her growth marketing expertise for some of Africa’s most prominent products, including fintech unicorn Flutterwave and Nollywood streaming giant iROKOtv – and eventually became Head of Growth at Towntalk Nigeria, a Lagos-based data intelligence startup (Techstars ’22 alum) providing AI-powered risk insights, where she oversaw acquisition and business growth strategies and partnerships. Her marketing work has driven over $3M in revenue across the startups she’s worked with.
Beyond tech roles, Adaugo ran two small retail ventures. Her experience selling on Instagram and WhatsApp revealed the limitations of informal “DM for price” commerce and using disconnected tools for inventory, payments, and marketing. “Social media is great for visibility, but not for running a business end-to-end,” she recalls. That pain point became the inspiration for SokoSQ.
SokoSQ’s Big Vision
Launched in 2024, SokoSQ is more than just a website builder. It’s an operating system for SME growth. With its feature-packed platform, it turns digital novices into entrepreneurs who sell smarter and faster.
Adaugo emphasizes accessibility: “We’re bridging the gap between African businesses and digital innovation by offering simple, effective tools.”
The platform’s performance and adoption earned it a place in the Rising Tide Africa Accelerator, where Adaugo represents the company among a select group of female-led startups. SokoSQ is also in partnership talks with a national bank in Nigeria to support SME payment infrastructure.
Other strategic partnerships include collaborations with digital finance providers and upcoming integrations with payment and logistics platforms to simplify SME operations.
Expansion into Europe and North America is underway to support African diaspora entrepreneurs and sellers seeking global reach.
Grounded in Insight, Fueled by Data
Adaugo’s product decisions stem from community research. Prior to building, she and her team engaged over 6,000 businesses through surveys and WhatsApp groups.
This approach has led to a tool that is not only used daily by vendors but is evolving in response to their needs.
In addition to leading strategy, Adaugo contributes to thought leadership in the industry. Her op-ed in Business Insider Africa, among others, broke down how AI can enhance the PESO (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned) model for African marketers.
Looking Ahead
Africa’s e-commerce sector is expected to exceed $40 billion in GMV by 2025, with the diaspora market adding significantly to that growth. SokoSQ aims to contribute meaningfully to this figure by empowering 100,000 small businesses over the next two years. The company is currently integrating cross-border payments and logistics to help African sellers reach global audiences effortlessly.
Adaugo’s combination of marketing insight, product vision, and personal entrepreneurial experience has shaped a company that reflects her core belief: growth should be simple, scalable, and inclusive.
Whether she’s driving product refinement through data and research, representing SokoSQ on accelerator stages, or listening in on customer community chats, Adaugo embodies the modern African tech founder: driven by impact, data, and deep empathy for the market she serves.
