How a Nigerian Student Built an App That Generates $600K a Year

Introduction

At 20, Nigerian student Kelechi Onyeama turned a personal struggle with social media into Social Wizard, an app that uses AI to help users craft public comments on posts and stories. After an initial flop, he found himself without a home. Yet he pressed on, testing over 400 TikTok videos, fine-tuning his app, and partnering with micro-influencers. Six months later, he crossed $600,000 in annual recurring revenue, with 84,000 downloads and a 4.64 rating.

Spotting the Gap

Kelechi’s first project, Caspade, ran for nine months with minimal traction. He noticed users liked features but stopped after a few uses. Later in the U.S., trying to talk online, he realized existing apps only draft private messages. No one helped with public comments on social feeds. That gap sparked the idea for Social Wizard. He sketched out a simple flow: user uploads a screenshot, the app reads the content, and AI suggests comments.

Building the App Under Pressure

With almost zero budget, Kelechi coded the core logic himself. He used open source libraries to parse images and an AI API to generate text. In two days the first paying customer appeared. Then sales stalled and he lost his place to stay. Homelessness hit on February 23rd, 2024. He spent nights in libraries and cafes, refining the interface and fixing bugs in his free time, all while sleeping as little as two hours a night.

Cracking Growth on TikTok

Kelechi guessed short demo videos could spark interest. He made 400+ TikTok clips showing side-by-side examples of dull comments and AI-powered alternatives. At first, downloads trickled in. Then one morning, 12 installs. The next day, 800. Then 1,500. He studied which clips got the best watch time and comments. He leaned into quick tips and live demos, and within weeks his daily downloads stayed in the thousands.

Scaling With Smart Tactics

He tracked his most popular video formats and built a content calendar. Instead of paying big fees, he offered micro-influencers a cut of revenue. They posted real tests of the app in Stories. He set up a Discord channel so creators could compare notes and earn bonuses. Inside the app, a feedback prompt encouraged users to report issues or suggest features. He rolled out updates weekly based on that feedback, lifting retention and ratings.

Optimizing for Stores and Users

On the Play Store, he tested different icons, screenshots, and keywords to surface higher in search. He added daily challenges—a prompt users could solve with the app—to keep them coming back. Personalized push alerts reminded users if they hadn’t opened the app in two days. He even linked a sharing button that let users brag about their AI-crafted comment on their feed, fueling word of mouth.

Results and Future Plans

By month six, Social Wizard hit $600,000 ARR, 84,000 total downloads, and a 4.64-star rating on Android. Kelechi now plans to add new platforms like LinkedIn, polish algorithms with improved AI context, and roll out a premium tier with sentiment analysis. He’s localizing for Spanish and Mandarin markets and talking to social media platforms about integrations.