How Hastings grew his thriving education consultancy business

From modest beginnings to earning international recognition, Jamie Hastings, director at MYiO, a study abroad agency and international education consultancy, has steadily built a thriving study-abroad business through organic growth and strategic partnerships.

His journey reflects how consistency, innovation, and a student-focused approach helped transform the venture into a globally respected education brand.

Hastings established MYiO in 2018 to help Nigerian students access international study opportunities by building partnerships with universities across the world.

Through innovative education initiatives, Hastings is creating pathways that connect aspiring Nigerian students with global institutions and career opportunities beyond their borders.

He was inspired by the drive to put smiles on students who need help in their international education pursuits.

“I always wanted to set up a service that helps international students with professional and impartial advice about study abroad options. Seeing students’ progress both professionally and personally is hugely satisfying,” he said.

At MYiO, Hastings and his team act as a dedicated bridge to global universities, handling everything from school selection to visa applications.

“We provide our full range of support, from the initial application to the final visa stages, at no cost to the student,” he emphasised.

According to the education entrepreneur, the business started in 2018 with no start-up capital. “We grew everything organically and started with a laptop, phone, and started getting agreements with UK universities, and went from there.”

As a thriving firm, the business has grown from being a sole employee to having more than 20 staff working from six offices across five countries.

“We now support hundreds of students each year in their study abroad journey, and this is growing year on year,” he noted.

Speaking of his expansion plans, he said, “We opened the Port Harcourt office in May 2026, and have three members of staff in that office. We hope to also expand outside Nigeria and open an office in Casablanca, Morocco, in the middle of 2026.”

Hastings emphasised that being client-centric is the edge MYiO has over other businesses in his business space.

“We listen to our clients; we put a focus on quality over quantity and aim to offer options that work for our students.

“Each student we support has different needs, and we focus on individually tailored solutions for each student,” he said.

Furthermore, he revealed that keeping an eye on costs and reviewing the spend and return on investment is the strategy he adopted to survive the accelerating inflation.

Despite the inflation, Hastings believes that the international education sector is growing annually, and that Nigerians will always want study abroad experiences.

“The provision of education providers is growing in Nigeria, and there are multiple opportunities in terms of services that can be provided. Nigeria is a huge market, and education is important across many facets of daily life.

“I envisage study abroad in the future to be more accessible but also with more students studying on a flexible basis,” he said.

Unlike many other entrepreneurs, Hastings major challenge is work-life balance.

“It is important to work hard and focus on growing personally and professionally. However, don’t let that affect your personal life, as having a good work-life balance between home and work life is important,” he emphasised.

To mitigate the work-life challenges, Hastings said that he has resolved to adopt time management and switch off when he needs to switch off.

After not less than eight years in the education business, Hastings counsels young entrepreneurs in the education space to bear in mind that failure is not a bad thing, but that it is part of the process of growing and learning from those mistakes and taking them on board, and moving forward.