Deepankar Rustagi

Last updated
Deepankar Rustagi
Deepankar Rustagi.jpg
Born1984 (age 40–41)
Delhi, India
CitizenshipIndian and Nigerian
Education Visvesvaraya Technological University, Stanford University
Occupation Entrepreneur
Years active2006-present
Organization(s) VConnect, OmniRetail
Known forFounder of VConnect
Website deepankar.me

Deepankar Rustagi is an Indian born Nigerian technology entrepreneur based in Lagos. [1] He founded the online marketplace VConnect in 2015 and went on to serve as its CEO. [2]

Contents

Rustagi also founded OmniRetail, an ecommerce marketplace with a focus on FMCGs. [3] [4] [5]

Early life and education

Rustagi was born and raised in Delhi, India. [6] He got his early education from Indian Language School, lagos. [7] In 2002, he went to Visvesvaraya Technological University to pursue his bachelor's degree in engineering. Rustagi also attended Stanford and University of California, Berkeley. [8] [9]

Career

In 2006, after completing his bachelor's degree, Rustagi started his career as a software developer in Keane India ltd and later joined Dufil as a marketing manager. In 2010, he founded VConnect, an online marketplace that helps users hire local professionals. [10] [11] On 19 January 2017, VConnect partnered with Facebook to hold SME Conference 1.0. in Lagos. [12]

Rustagi founded OmniRetail in 2019 as a distribution platform for distributors and retailers in Nigeria and Ghana. [13] [14] OmniRetail was named Africa's fastest growing company by Financial Times in 2024. [15] [16] [17]

Rustagi also spoke at LEAP24, Web Summit Qatar, The Founder Institute, Africa CEO Forum, Forbes Under 30 Summit, and TEDxLagos. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]

Recognition

References

  1. ↑ Adeoye, Aanu (2024-06-06). "OmniRetail holistic approach takes prize for Nigeria". Financial Times . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  2. 1 2 Nsehe, Mfonobong. "VConnect.com Is One Of Africa's Hottest Tech Startups". Forbes . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  3. ↑ Mabia, Joy (2023-06-23). "OmniRetail Founder, Deepankar Rustagi, Selected As An Endeavor Entrepreneur". Endeavor Nigeria. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  4. ↑ "Consumer Goods Transaction Brief: Norfund leads its first investment into an African tech startup, Nigeria's OmniRetail". Stears (company) . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  5. ↑ Jackson, Tom (2025-04-30). "Nigeria's OmniRetail raises $20m Series A for West African expansion". Disrupt Africa. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  6. ↑ VConnect (2015-05-20). "SMEs are key drivers of Nigerian Economic Growth – Deepankar Rustagi, VConnect CEO". TechCabal. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  7. ↑ "Grade X Board Examination March 2000" (PDF). Indian Language School . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  8. ↑ "Stanford Seed on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  9. ↑ "Deepankar Rustagi". Africa Tech Summit London. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  10. ↑ Ogundairo, Abiodun (2016-05-23). "Deepankar Rustagi, CEO VConnect, on The CEO Watch". The Guardian (Nigeria) . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  11. ↑ "Nigerian business directory VConnect receives upgrades for engagement". Ventureburn. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  12. ↑ Duruji, BellaRose (2017-01-09). "VConnect and Facebook announce SME Conference 1.0: Event to explore the intersection between tech, finance and SMEs". TechCity. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  13. ↑ Kene-Okafor, Tage (2024-03-14). "What African B2B e-commerce startups can learn from OmniRetail's profitable run". TechCrunch . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  14. ↑ Onu, Emele; Osae-Brown, Anthony. "Nigeria's Top Consumer Firms Tap Startup to Boost Sales". Bloomberg . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  15. 1 2 Pilling, David (2024-05-14). "The ranking: Africa's Fastest Growing Companies 2024". Financial Times . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  16. ↑ "Top 20 Fastest Growing Companies in Africa (2024)". Empower Africa. 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  17. ↑ Kene-Okafor, Tage (2025-04-28). "OmniRetail shakes up Africa's B2B e-commerce market with $20M Series A". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  18. ↑ "Deepankar Rustagi | Leap Website". onegiantleap.com. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  19. ↑ "Deepankar Rustagi". Web Summit Qatar, Doha. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  20. ↑ "Let's Rebuild in 2021. Applications Now Open to Founder Institute Lagos Virtual Summer 2021". The Founder Institute. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  21. ↑ "Deepankar RUSTAGI". Africa CEO Forum 2025. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  22. ↑ TEDx Talks (2013-11-28). Little giants: Deepankar Rustagi at TEDxLagos . Retrieved 2025-05-06– via YouTube.
  23. ↑ Pilling, David (2025-05-14). "The ranking: Africa's Fastest-Growing Companies 2025". Financial Times. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  24. ↑ Cumbi, Valter (2025-05-16). "Fintech Dominates Africa's Fastest-Growing Companies List". FurtherAfrica. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  25. ↑ Camp, Jeffrey Van (2023-06-22). "Endeavor Selects 13 Entrepreneurs From Six Markets at the 38th Virtual International Selection Panel". Endeavor (non-profit) . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  26. ↑ "Most Outstanding B2B E-Commerce Brand Of The Year" (PDF). BrandCom. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.