Why Nestuge’s Founder Returned to Nigeria to Empower Local Digital Creators

In a time when many Nigerians seek opportunities abroad — a trend popularly called “japa” — Nelson Eze, the Co-founder and CEO of Nestuge, made a bold and unusual move: he returned to Nigeria to build a tech startup aimed at empowering local creators.

Solving a Payment Problem for African Creators

The inspiration behind Nestuge came from Eze’s personal frustration. In 2021, while trying to pay for an online class, he found the experience tedious. The process involved sending money to a bank account, confirming payment manually with the course creator, and even scanning through a WhatsApp status just to find the right account details. That inconvenience sparked an idea.

Determined to improve the process, Eze teamed up with Ruth Okoli and Jude Enete to launch Nestuge — a platform designed to help creators, experts, and coaches earn directly from their audience through digital monetisation tools.

Built for Nigerian Creators, Not to Replace Social Media

Recognising that platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) are great for building audiences but not for making money — especially in the Nigerian context — Nestuge offers a complementary solution. It doesn’t aim to replace social media. Instead, it integrates with these platforms and provides tools that allow creators to monetise and offer added value to their followers.

How the Nestuge Platform Works

Before using Nestuge, creators must register and complete a Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. Once verified, they can begin offering digital products — called “nests” — such as courses, consultations, or private access groups.

Eze emphasizes that Nestuge remains lean and intentional with funding. “We don’t want to raise so much money that we become too comfortable,” he shared. The focus remains on product value and user satisfaction.

A Business Model Designed for Growth

Nestuge operates on two primary revenue streams: commissions and automation fees. The platform charges a 3.9% commission for local transactions and 7.5% for international ones. This aligns the platform’s revenue with creator success — the more creators earn, the more Nestuge earns.

Additionally, creators who use automation features like Google Calendar syncing, content delivery via Google Drive, email reminders, and access control for WhatsApp or Telegram groups are billed based on usage. This flexible, pay-as-you-go system is particularly attractive to smaller creators, offering scalability without upfront cost burdens.

Competition and Growth Potential

Despite being relatively new, Nestuge is growing steadily. However, it faces tough competition from established players like Selar, which disbursed ₦9.8 billion (around $6.3 million) to creators in the past year — a figure that vastly outpaces Nestuge’s ₦428 million ($428,000) in payouts since its launch.

Still, with a performance-based model tailored to the African digital landscape, Nestuge shows promise in carving out its own niche among local creators eager to monetise their expertise.

Source: Techpoint Africa