Obama Foundation has announced the participants selected for the 2019 Leaders: Africa program, a year-long initiative to inspire, empower and connect 200 emerging leaders from across the continent.
For the 2019 edition, 45 leaders were selected of which 24 are Nigerians.
Here are the selected Nigerians:
Ada Ezeokoli, the Editor-In-Chief of Nigeria Health Watch, and she believes in the importance of empowering Nigerians with accurate, reliable, and relevant health information to drive accountability, transparency, and good governance.
Bukola Bolarinwa, a sickle cell awareness advocate and the Founder of Haima Health Initiative, a social enterprise that seeks to plug the blood supply gap in Nigeria. She is passionate about quality health care systems with a focus on improving supply chains.
Fola Bamisaye, a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist with the Prime Health Response Initiative. She is also the Founder of My Period Kit.
Hauwa Ojeifo, the Founder of She Writes Woman, a women-led movement of love, hope, and support that gives mental health a voice.
Nkemdilim Begho, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Futuresoft, one of Nigeria’s leading digital solution providers. Her love for technology is rooted in bridging the digital divide and transforming Africa by harnessing the benefits of embracing technology.
Uadamen Ilevbaoje, a Project Manager for Tracka, for BudgIT, a Nigeria-based civic organization focused on simplifying public data and making the budget accessible to all Nigerians. He believes that the transformation of Africa is in the hands of citizens.
Michael Sunbola, the Lagos Food Bank, a nonprofit, nutrition-focused initiative committed to combating malnutrition and improving the health of pregnant women and infants in rural communities.
Anthony Owei, the Founder of Tonyve Farms, an agricultural company inspired by the severe 2011 East African drought, and ePoultry.ng, Africa’s first digital poultry investment platform.
Oyo Effiom, the Founder and Executive Director of The Guru Foundation, a social development organization working to provide students with affordable educational support services. He is also the author of two books and a leading motivational speaker.
Kingsley Ezeani, the Founder of Information Nigeria, a leading Nigerian news website that provides young Nigerians with information relevant to them.
Blaise Aboh, the founder Orodata Science, a citizen-focused civic tech organization that works to increase public access to data through visualization and democratization.
Lanre Oniyitan, the Founder of Sustainable Education & Enterprise Development, a social impact project that supports and advocates for schools serving children from low-income families.
Charles Immanuel Akhimien, a medical doctor who is the Co-Founder of MOBicure, the digital health company behind the Omomi & myPaddi health apps, which have reached over 60,000 people across Africa.
Uchenna Onwuamaegbu Ugwu, who’s on the TEAM-Leadership Capacity of Edufun Technik STEM Center, where she focuses on developing children’s potential skill-sets and talents by providing quality hands-on-training in coding, programming, and robotics. Uchenna holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and an innovative business/entrepreneurship certificate from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Funkola Odeleye, a Co-Founder of DIYLaw, a legal technology company committed to empowering Nigerian entrepreneurs through free legal and business resources. She believes that entrepreneurship is the most sustainable solution to unemployment.
We’re headed back to Johannesburg this July for #ObamaLeaders: Africa—a gathering of 200 emerging leaders from 45 countries across the continent to explore new ways to take on the biggest challenges in their communities. https://t.co/7CTavugKd7 pic.twitter.com/2T180J0W1u
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) June 12, 2019
Somto Anunobi, the Founder of Geek Code Planet, an organization equipping kids and young adults in Nigeria with information and communications technology skills to help improve their creative, cognitive, and collaboration skills.
Nichole Onome Yembra, the CFO of Venture Garden Group, a fintech holding company, and partner at GreenHouse Capital, its investment arm. This has allowed her to match her passion for innovation and service-centric personality with her career.
Titilayo Ogunride, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Milky Express Nigeria, a pioneering organization in the lactation industry, where she equips mothers with the tools they need to breastfeed effectively.
Isabella Akinseye, a writer, editor, seasoned host, and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yellow Tamarind Productions, a media and PR company.
Adaku Ufere-Awoonor, the Chief Executive Officer of DAX Consult, a firm providing advisory services on energy transactions, gender mainstreaming, and image consulting.
Lucky Chambers Umezulike, the Senior Program Manager of Connected Development at Follow The Money initiative, where he works to improve millions of lives across the world through development governance.
Kay Nwanyanwu, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dehat Ability Support Initiative, a nonprofit that promotes the welfare of deaf and hard of hearing teens by ensuring they have equal access to opportunity.
Dirug Samuel, the founder of the Big Family 360 Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides education, livelihood, and protection services to women, orphans, and vulnerable children.
Nosa Oghafua, the founder of Learnira, a nonprofit working to make the world’s best science, technology, engineering, and math educational tools and programs accessible to under-resourced schools in Nigeria.
See the full list here.
