Mark Anthony Essien, the founder and CEO of Hotels.ng, has built a legacy that goes beyond travel technology. His story is one of grit, vision, and impact proof that African entrepreneurs can create global solutions while inspiring the next wave of innovators.
Born in Ikot Ekpe Akwa Ibom Nigeria, Mark is a Nigerian entrepreneur, software developer and startup investor. Before he founded Hotels.ng in 2013, Essien had previously built a file sharing software called Gnumm which was acquired by Snoopstar.com, followed by a language learning startup called Ingolingo.
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Mark’s journey began in 2013 when he identified a major problem in Nigeria’s hospitality sector: booking hotels was frustrating, offline, and unreliable. With less than $300, he launched Hotels.ng, a modest online platform that quickly grew into Nigeria’s largest hotel booking service. What started as a small experiment became a solution for millions of travelers, proving to young entrepreneurs that starting small is not a weakness but a foundation for scale.
His determination and clarity of vision soon attracted investment. Spark.ng backed him with early seed funding, and by 2015, Hotels.ng secured $1.2 million in Series A funding from Omidyar Network and EchoVC. In less than three years, the platform expanded from a few hundred listings to more than 7,000 hotels, eventually branching into continental services like Hotel.africa and Fly.africa. Today, Hotels.ng processes millions of bookings annually and stands as a symbol of Nigerian ingenuity and resilience.
Beyond business, Mark Essien has consistently invested in people. In 2016, he co-founded the HNG Internship, a remote training program that has taught more than 100,000 Africans coding and digital skills. Many of its graduates now work in global tech companies or run their own startups, making the program one of the most impactful talent pipelines in Africa’s digital ecosystem. He has also backed other local startups, reinforcing his belief that empowering others is as important as personal success.
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His achievements have not gone unnoticed. In 2015, he was named to Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30, and he has delivered inspiring talks at TEDx events, sharing his philosophy that entrepreneurship is not just about money but about solving real problems and creating opportunities for others.
Mark Essien’s story offers timeless lessons for young and aspiring entrepreneurs. It shows that you don’t need millions to begin just vision, consistency, and the courage to take the first step. It teaches that resourcefulness attracts support and that true success is measured by the impact you create. His journey is more than a success story; it is a blueprint for Africa’s dreamers, a reminder that global impact can start with a simple solution to a local problem.
