ALUmni
Adebayo Komolafe
Adeshola Komolafe / (October 2012 – October 2015) is a female entrepreneur who is convinced that the future of entrepreneurship in Nigeria and Africa at large depends on women. Not to replace men, but to transform options qualitatively and quantitatively. She is the CEO of Media Insight and Oak TV. She consults for several UK aid programms from the Department for International Development (DFiD). She is an Initiative for Global Development Emerging Leaders Fellow; a member of the World Bank Youth Forum and AlJazeera Media catalyst. She is in very high demand as a public speaker; often making presentations on entrepreneurship, leadership and youth development. She derives pleasure in writing about entrepreneurship and has written for several newspapers and magazines. She has also contributed to sections of books. To give back to the society, she started Save our Future, a platform that introduces underprivileged kids to information technology.
Education:
- BSc, Political Science
- Masters, Public Policy and Administration, Bayero University
- Digital Marketing, MIT Sloan
- Digital Storytelling, Columbia Business School
Amaka Okechukwu OPARA
Amaka / (September 2014 – November 2015) is a policy analyst and economist who holds a Bsc in Economics from the London School of Economics and a Masters in Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University. She has worked on private sector development and policy formation with institutions including the Brookings Institution, the Center for Global Development and the United Nations Foundation. Most recently, she works with the World Bank where she works with state governments in Nigeria to improve their service delivery to citizens in healthcare, education, and urban water supply. She is the founder and CEO of AfriMind, a knowledge platform for highlighting African thought leadership on development matters, for discussing and analyzing economic policies in Africa, and for finding salient African solutions to the problems facing the continent.
Education:
- M.A. Public Policy, Johns Hopkins University
- B.Sc. Economics, London School of Economics
Gabriel Idakwo
Gabriel Idakwo / ( 2013 – October 2015) shares the passion of making the world a better place for all. He’s been involved with several organizations like ENACTUS Nigeria, Heinrich Boell Foundation amongst others. He is particularly interested in issues bordering on education and the environment. He has extensive experience as a Data Analyst; has worked with Arva Technologies and Florida State University Institute of Government. Gabriel IDAKWO is currently a doctoral Computational Science candidate.
Education:
- M.S. Business (Econ Devt), University of Southern Mississippi
- B.Sc. Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
Ishaya Bako
Ishaya Bako / (October 2011 – June 2014) – A near fatal car crash months after his graduation from university led Ishaya to make a decision away from a career in IT to one behind the camera. His resolve was strengthened when he was accepted into the MA Filmmaking program of the London Film School from which he graduated in 2010 with a distinction and an emphasis in writing and directing for film.His graduation film, “Braids on a Bald Head” was screened in over a dozen film festivals including Seattle and Clermont-Ferrand and won the Best Short Film Prize at the 2012 AMAA awards.Ishaya directed “Fuelling Poverty”, a documentary that comments on the 2012 fuel subsidy scam in Nigeria and his first feature film is “Road to Yesterday”, a romantic thriller starring Genevieve Nnaji and Oris Erhuero. Ishaya is the creative director of Amateur Heads Productions, a filmmaking creative committed to producing socially conscious content.
Education:
- M.A. Filmmaking, London Film School
- B.Sc. Management Information Systems, Covenant University
Neku Atawodi
Neku Atawodi / (January 2012 – June 2014) is the founder of equity crowdfunding platform, Malaik. She spent most of her life playing professional polo for brands, having played in over 22 cities. She returned to Nigeria in 2010, where her tech adventure began after she designed and implemented the bar code file tracking system for the Nigerian Ministry of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. She is the CEO of Bamboo Green Concepts Ltd, an investment outfit with a diversified portfolio. Neku is also the founder of Ride to shine – a self-funded non-profit organization that teaches African Orphans about Equestrian Sports. She is an Associate fellow of the Royal Commonwealth society, and a Clinton Global Initiative Lead mentor. She holds a Masters in International Business from the European Business School, London.
Education:
- M.A.International Business Management with Spanish- European Business School, London
- B.Sc. Equestrian Sports Science- University of Brighton, UK
Simi FAJEMIROKUN
Simi Fajemirokun is the Senior Partner of ESFAJ & Partners, an advisory firm that provides innovative and creative solutions to the increasing need for research in business development. She also advises top government officials in Federal and State governments in Nigeria and Ghana.
Simi is also the founder of the READ2SUCCEED Project, an initiative aimed at improving the literacy level amongst students in public primary schools. She has a passion for education and her drive is to provide accurate data on Africa in order to harness its full potential. She is a recipient of the Good Planet Foundation award based on her research on ‘Mobile Learning in Rural Areas’.
EDUCATION
B.A Politics and International Relations, University of Reading
Joycee AWOJOODU
Joycee Awojoodu is an entrepreneur, economist and power sector specialist. She most recently worked as the Technical Assistant on Research, Analysis and Informatics (Performance Monitoring) to the Honourable Minister of Power for 2 years.She has a history of running companies, in Nigeria mainly: ORÍKÌ, a luxury all-natural personal grooming brand for women and men that harnesses botanically based, agricultural raw ingredients and PowerCareers – A leading recruiting & training solution for the colossal human capacity gap in Nigeria’s energy sector. Joycee is a former curator of the WEF Abuja Global Shapers, a nominee of The Future Awards Prize in Public Service, 2013, selected into the African Leadership Network, and a Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program Fellow..
EDUCATION
B.A Economics, Goucher College, Maryland, USA
B.A Business Management, Goucher College, Maryland, USA
JJ OMOJUWA
JJ Omojuwa named one of Africa’s “50 Movers and Shakers” by Credit Suisse’s “The Bulletin” magazine is a blogger, columnist, renowned international public speaker and farmer. Over the last year he has written articles for CNN featured on news programmes on BBC, Aljazeera and has delivered lectures at Universities across Europe, the United States and Africa. He was until 2014 a lecturer at the Free University in Berlin. He tweets at @Omojuwa.
EDUCATION
Agric. Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State
Angel ADELAJA
Angel Adelaja is a development consultant and entrepreneur. She is the owner of ZaharaEmpresa which owns Zahara Spa and Salon in Abuja, a one of its kind high end mega spa and salon for both men and women; and founder and Executive Director of Fresh Direct Produce and Agro-Allied Services, an indigenous agricultural production and processing company that bring together communities and advanced technology to provide exquisitely grown organic fruits, vegetables and meats and processed end products. In addition, she is co-founder of We Farm Africa, an agricultural NGO that focuses on collectively ensuring a better future for Africa through sustainable agriculture. She has served as Technical Assistant and Research Consultant to the Director General of the Office of Economic Development and Partnership in the Office of the Governor of the State of Osun, Special Assistant to the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Poverty Alleviation and National Coordinator of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Wealth Creation.
EDUCATION
PhD Epidemiology, Michigan State University
Certificate Epidemiology, Michigan State University
B.Sc. Biology, Temple University
Olajumoke ADEKEYE
Alumni
