Philip Akoda

Philip "Tete" Akoda (born 1 May 1996) is a Nigerian author, lexicographer, and entrepreneur. He has written several literary and reference works relating to African languages, including publications on the Efik language and a descriptive thesaurus of the Yorùbá language. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Nkanda, an educational technology startup focused on the digital documentation and preservation of African languages and cultures. Through Nkanda, Akoda has developed mobile language-learning and dictionary applications, including the first Efik language learning app on Google Play, as well as a bilingual Efik–English dictionary containing over 14,000 entries.

Biography Philip was born in Calabar, Nigeria, in May 1996. Due to the novel mobile app, Philip was invited to the UK House of Parliament to speak at the Black History Month event.

Literary works As an author, Philip has published several literary works which have greatly contributed to Efik literature including Learn Efik 1-2 which were his earliest literary works.

Digital contributions Outside the literary space, Philip has championed several digital projects aimed at preserving and promoting African Languages and Cultures. The Tete Efik Dictionary App is an Efik-English/English-Efik mobile dictionary app. Named after Philip whose Efik name is Tete, the app boasts of over 4,000 Efik words and 10,000 English words. 2025 - Association of Language Companies in Africa (ALCA) Outstanding Contribution to African Languages Award. 2024 - Mastercard Foundation FAST Program for Startups (Nkanda, Under Philip's leadership).

Publications Ìṣura Ọ̀rọ̀ Yorùbá: A Comprehensive Yorùbá Thesaurus (2025). A 21st Century Efik Pocket Dictionary: Efik–English, English–Efik (2022). Groundwork of Eniong Abatim History (1670–2020) (2021). Learn Efik Vol. 1 (2021). Learn Efik Vol. 2 (2021).