Kimeshan Naidoo (born 8 May 1991) is a South African entrepreneur and engineer. He is known for co-founding Unibuddy, an educational technology company, and currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer of BX Technologies, a London-based climate tech startup.[1][2]
Naidoo was born in Tongaat, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. During his high school years at Northwood School, he led the Synergy team, which won the ThinkQuest South Africa 2008 web development competition.[3]
After graduating from UCT, Naidoo briefly worked as an engineer at SLB.[6] In 2016, while pursuing his studies at UCL, he developed the initial concept for Unibuddy, a platform designed to connect prospective university students with current students.[7]
Under his technical leadership, Unibuddy expanded globally, partnering with over 500 higher education institutions.[8] The platform aims to enhance student recruitment by facilitating interactions between applicants and current students. Critics have pointed out the challenges Unibuddy faces in ensuring the authenticity and usefulness of student interactions, especially as the platform scales.[9]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Naidoo oversaw the introduction of live video streaming capabilities within Unibuddy, which played a crucial role in maintaining university engagement with prospective students during global lockdowns.[10]
In 2023, Naidoo transitioned to a new role as the Chief Technology Officer of BX Technologies, a climate tech company focused on providing climate data solutions to reduce carbon footprints in supply chains.[1]
Naidoo has received several industry recognitions, including being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in the Social Entrepreneurs category in 2020.[11] He was also honored with the Haystack Pioneer Award in 2022 for his contributions to software engineering.[12]
