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INNOPOWER Going Global Summit powered by Business Africa Online in partnership with Afrigrants
About this event
GOING GLOBAL SUMMIT
The old narrative of an Africa disconnected from the global economy is fading. A wave of transformation driven by business and modernization is thrusting the continent from the world's margins to the global mainstream. There is tremendous promise in the dynamism and ingenuity of Africa's entrepreneurs. The region’s abundant world-class innovation and talent are increasingly being harnessed to improve lives and generate wealth. InnoPower is working to develop a stronger pipeline of awareness and access to Africa's talent and solutions, especially in Nigeria and West Africa regions.
InnoPower's Going Global Summit presented by Business Africa Online, in partnership with Afrigrants, intends to amplify, connect, and support emerging leaders in Africa and beyond who design, launch and scale businesses making an impact across the world.
Focus:
Amplify: enabling emerging African leaders and businesses
Entrepreneurship: providing African entrepreneurs with access to resources, training and finance
Connection: introducing US-based businesses and service providers to Africa's innovators
Advocacy: increasing the viability of Africa as a region for economic development partnerships
INNOPOWER MINORITY BUSINESS WEEK
InnoPower, LLC and Recorder Media Group will host the 2021 edition of their annual conference on June 14-18. The expanded InnoPower Minority Business Week will feature five days of in-person and virtual programming that aim to address the societal and economic gaps COVID-19 amplified. Learn more at www.InnoPowerIndy.com.
A Salesman, Entrepreneur, Ex- Investment banker, and founder, Nicole & Giovanni Limited. He has a degree in Finance from the University of Lagos, MSc. Financial Management with Corporate Accountability from Middlesex University in London specializing in Corporate Governance and attended Harvard University course on Innovation and Strategy. Worked at NurnBerger (Fashion Outfit), Cashcraft Asset Management, Cordros Capital Limited (Both Members of the Nigerian Stock Exchange), Barclays Bank, London and First City Monument Bank, Nigeria all spanning 14 years. An astute advocate of Sales, Marketing, Branding and the Act of Execution.
Mohamed Aboulnaga
Halan
Mohamed Aboulnaga is an experienced entrepreneur and executive with more than 15 years of experience. Currently, Mohamed the Cofounder/CEO of a fintech startup in Egypt and a co-founder/advisor of Halan (2018-present), Africa's super app and Egypt's most funded app in 2020 according to Forbes middle east. Prior to co-founding Halan, Mohamed served as Regional Director at Careem, the Middle East's number one ride hailing application recently acquired by Uber for more than $3 billion. He also sits on the board of several Tech companies inlcuding Koinz, Robusta, Touchless and Cashcows and Waffarha he is also an advisor to disruptech ventures and an investor in Breadfast. Earlier, Mohamed, started his career at Fawry in account management and business development, and in sales with Haymarket Media Group. Mohamed has completed the CXO Academy program at INSEAD, France, and a B.Sc., in Electronics Engineering from the American University in Cairo, Egypt.
Dr. Akindele Akintoye
Platform Capital
Dr. Akintoye Akindele is an investor, entrepreneur, lecturer, and philanthropist. He is the Founder of Platform Capital, is a growth market-focused, sector agnostic, principal investment firm. Platform Capital deploys patient, value accretive capital alongside international and local value investors to create champion businesses with the ability for regional scale. It has 15+ investments in multiple sectors across the world.Dr. Akindele is also a faculty member at the University of Lagos Business School, lecturing on finance and entrepreneurship.Dr. Akindele completed his tertiary education in Nigeria, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with honours from the Obafemi Awolowo University. He received a doctorate degree in Business Administration (Finance) from the International School of Management - Paris, France. Dr. Akindele is a CFA charter holder and a trustee of the CFA society of Nigeria. He is also an alumnus of the London and Said Business Schools, having attended various senior executive programmes in Management and Strategy, Advanced Corporate Finance and Private Equity amongst others.Dr. Akindele is passionate about the development and growth of entrepreneurs in Africa. He is a frequent speaker at leading business schools, conferences and seminars on investing in Africa, private investment in Africa and the role of entrepreneurship in Africa’s evolution. He supports and donates to various institutions that provide grants to entrepreneurs.
Nike Anani
Nike Anani Practise Ltd
Nike Anani is a succession specialist. She has extensive experience in helping business families with succession planning.She has over a decade of family business expertise in Nigeria as a second-generation family business owner and leader. In addition she pioneered her family office. She is the co-founder of African Family Firms, a pan-African association of family businesses. She studied Economics at University College London and is an accountant (ex-Deloitte UK). Nike sits on the boards of several companies including Mixta Real Estate Plc and ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund.
Alaba Ayinuola
Business Africa Online (BAO)
I'm a purpose-driven leader and entrepreneurial with a disciplined approach to running any kind of business. I have over 10 years experience as a brand builder and media consultant to entrepreneurs especially African millennials who design, launch and scale businesses regardless of their background, age and gender.I possess an innovative mindset in order to grow teams, companies and business development opportunities. An advocate for equality, inclusion and representation in business, tech and at the workplace.In 2016, I founded Business Africa Online - BAO (Media) and SterlingReach (Marketing & PR) with the goal to amplify emerging leaders, businesses and connect African Diaspora back to the Continent. My role is to provide strategic direction in pursuit of the companies goals to remain a trusted and agile brand.In my free time, I offer volunteering services as an experiential mentor, judge and speaker for tech, non-tech innovation competitions, organisations which includes but not limited to; The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Technovation, Meaningful Business 100, Mentor X-Africa, Studentshubgh, etc.
Ayodeji Balogun
AFEX
Ayodeji Balogun is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of where he is leading a team of experts leveraging technology, innovative finance, and inclusive agriculture to connect agriSMEs and smallholder farmers to commodity and financial markets. He holds an MBA from Lagos Business School; Global CEO – Africa from IESE Business School and a certificate in Creative Leadership from the THNK School of Creative Leadership. Ayodeji has almost twenty years’ experience trading across West Africa as well as in building and scaling businesses across Sub-Saharan Africa. He serves on several capital market boards and works with several institutions on food security and financing agriculture.With a marked focus on food security, as a personal and life-long mission, Ayodeji has been a pivotal member of several impact-oriented projects and organisations, including being the West Africa Chapter Coordinator for the Aspen Network for Developing Entrepreneurs from 2011 to 2013; the Technical Advisor for the Food and Strategic Grain Reserve on National and Regional (ECOWAS) Food Security from 2014 to 2015; a Member of the National Agribusiness Development Council in 2016; a Member of the Advisory Board of Synergos Nigeria from 2017 to 2019; and currently serving as the Chairman Steering Committee of the Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network (SAFIN, IFAD).His corporate career, prior to his current role, has included work as an analyst with Unilever Nigeria Plc.; an associate role at Doreo Partners, where he contributed to the development of Nigeria’s Agriculture Transformation Plan (in 2011) and the design of Doreo’s flagship impact investment – Babangona – a farm franchise out-grower scheme currently with 20,000 farmer membership that has witnessed a tripling of farmers yield and an increase in their income levels by over 200% since launch. He has also served as a visiting consultant to DFID (GEMS3) and the Ministry of Agriculture on value chain development where he was part of the design of a 30,000Ha plantation and the Ministry’s Staple Crop Processing Zones.Ayodeji’s career has been focused on answering the big question of how to build a business that provides solutions for customers at the bottom of the pyramid at a scale that can actually make an impact in Africa. To answer this question, he has paired his early experiences in running his family business with the tools afforded him by an MBA education to execute the vision of Nigeria's first private sector commodities exchange, AFEX, which is actively providing solutions to the problems of 350 million smallholder farmers across Africa; raising funds to finance their operations and improve their productivity.
Manisha Dookhony
Africa RISE
Investment and Policy specialised economist, with double Masters degrees in Economics and Public Administration from Harvard University, Ms Dookhony has perfect fluency in English and French with demonstrated work experience in both Francophone and Anglophone Africa. With 20 years of relevant experience developing policies and strategies for business environment, she has extensive experience engaging in multi-stakeholder dialogue and advising high-level government officials including at Presidential and Prime Minister-level and advising industry leaders. Manisha Dookhony is a regular contributor to national economics and business articles; Chairperson & panellist at international economics and growth summits and conferences.She is currently the advisor and mentor for the Namibian Investment Promotion and Development Board and leads the regional facility of the EU across 25 countries in Eastern and South Africa. Some of her achievements include: the successful negotiation of land for the creation of a Light manufacturing Special Economic Zone in Madagascar; the unlocking of issues for a large PPP project in Mozambique; successful advisory on business facilitation services for Ethiopia; Successful management of process of lowering customs duty regime in Mauritius; spearheading the creation of a new mechanism for Public Private Dialogue in Rwanda; leading the development of a new law to facilitate investment in Rwanda; leading the discussions for the creation of a commercial court in Mauritius; and an overall improved business climate in Rwanda and Mauritius.Manisha is a seasoned board director having served on a range of for profit and nonprofit board director. She is a member of TheBoardroom Africa and the Harvard Alumni Association professional networks. She is the co-founder of Mauritius Society Renewal, heads the Network of Professional Economist and Statisticians Mauritius and the Harvard Alumni group of Mauritius. Together with a team of women, she is leading the initiative to build a business network platform for women across the Indian Ocean Basin and Africa.
Emil Ekiyor
InnoPower
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Emil left his family at the age of 15 to pursue educational opportunities in the US . Emil attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando where he was a two-time captain on the football team. After an outstanding college career, Emil went on to play six years in the National Football League with the Tampa Bay Bucs, Atlanta Falcons, and Oakland Raiders. Today, Emil is happily married to Andrea and has a 19-year-old son Emil Jr a Sophomore at the University of Alabama.Emil is the founder and CEO of InnoPower, a company that works with US and Sub Saharan Africa companies to expand and take advantage of the rapid growth in Sub-Saharan imports and exports. Prior to InnoPower, Emil was the National Executive Director for the GEO Foundation a nonprofit organization that partners with local community leaders to start, support, and manage high-quality K-12 charter schools across the country. Emil is also involved in several projects in Nigeria.In his free time, Emil serves on the Board of the Indianapolis Chapter of Indiana Black Expo, President of Indy Youth Sports, and Board of Directors for the Friends of Education a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving K-12 education in Minnesota since 1999. The organization authorizes 12 charter schools serving more than 10,000 students. Friends of Education achieved the highest Exemplary rating of charter school authorize performance from the Minnesota Department of Education and is the only authorize in the state to achieve the highest rating.
Thelma Ekiyor
Afrigrants Foundation
Ms. Ekiyor is currently the Managing Partner SME.NG – Nigeria’s Impact Investment Platform, which has set up two impact funds for women entrepreneurs.She is the Co-Founder/Chairperson of Afrigrants Resources and also served as its pioneering CEO. At Afrigrants, she led the establishment of “Market Women’s Quick Cash” – A financial inclusion solution to provide micro-loans to women in disadvantaged communities. She also founded Afrigrants Foundation dedicated to the socio-economic advancement to girls and women.She also led the conceptualization of “The Ebi Fund” – an impact fund for women entrepreneurs. Ms. Ekiyor is also is Founder & Co-Convener of The Funding Space – a mentoring and access to finance platform for social entrepreneurs in Africa.Prior to establishing Afrigrants, Ms. Ekiyor was the pioneer CEO of TY Danjuma Foundation, and grew an endowment of $100 million. Before that, She served as the Pioneering Executive Director of the West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI), which was established by the George Soros Foundation’s Open Society Institute for West Africa. She supervised investments and interventions in 15 countries across West Africa.In 2020, Ms. Ekiyor was listed as one of the 50 most influential women in the development sector in Africa. Ms. Ekiyor holds an MBA (Entrepreneurship & Innovation) from Imperial College London, UK; a Law Degree (LLB Honours) from University of Buckingham UK. She is also a Fellow of Stanford University, USA. Ms. Ekiyor has received several awards and citations for her contributions to women’s economic empowerment and philanthropy in Africa.Ms. Ekiyor holds an MBA (Entrepreneurship & Innovation) from Imperial College London, UK; a Law Degree (LLB Honours) from University of Buckingham UK. She is also a Fellow of Stanford University, USA.Ms. Ekiyor served as Strategic Policy Adviser to UN Women Nigeria (2017-2019). She is currently a Board Member on ALL ON, the renewable energy impact fund in West Africa established by Shell. She is on the Advisory Board of The WISE Fund (USA).Ms. Ekiyor has received several awards and citations for her contributions to women’s economic empowerment and philanthropy in Africa.
Muhammida El Muhajir
WaxPrint Media
Muhammida El Muhajir is a global brand/digital marketing and media consultant, entrepreneur, and filmmaker with extensive international travel/study/work experience throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. She is currently the Director of Strategy at WaxPrint Media, an Accra based digital marketing and PR agency that develops strategies for clients such as Jaguar, Land Rover, KLM Air France, Pernod Ricard, Webster University, and The Kwarleyz Group. El Muhajir's experience in brand marketing and entertainment includes roles at the renowned William Morris Talent Agency and as the Music Marketing Manager at sports powerhouse, Nike, Inc. She honed her skills in technology as a Fellow at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) Incubator in Accra where she provided business development expertise to a portfolio of tech startups from Ghana and Nigeria and with the position of Product Manager at Ringier Ghana, where she led the sales and digital strategy operations for the Ghana office of the global media company.El Muhajir has served as a guest presenter at cultural and educational organizations including the US Mission to the United Nations, The Brooklyn Museum, Oxford University, Goethe Institut, and Harvard University. She pursued a Master's degree in International Relations at The University of Ghana and received a B.S. in Microbiology from Howard University.
Jake Hirsch-Allen
LinkedIn
Jake Hirsch-Allen works with North America's governments, workforce development organizations, colleges and universities, to leverage LinkedIn's Learning Solutions and Economic Graph data to close skills gaps. Jake is passionate about supporting disadvantaged groups such as newcomers and refugees, indigenous populations, the formerly incarcerated and people with disabilities. Jake speaks regularly on the changing nature or future of work and learning. Jake is a Director on the Board of the Canadian Club and is on the Advisory Boards of the Hot Docs Cinema and Code for Canada. Jake founded Lighthouse Labs, Canada's foremost software development bootcamp and Hacking Health. A former intellectual property and international criminal lawyer, Jake was also Chair of the Technology Committee of the Global Education Platform, taught Global Health at McMaster University and clerked at the Supreme Court of Israel.
Lydia Idem
Managing Director
Lydia Idem is an investment advisor who has been an investor and trader for over 24 years. In 2012, Lydia expanded her portfolio into Africa and is looking to make a bigger footprint on the continent. Her most recent investments include Shyft Power Solutions and Risevest Technologies. She has been a special guest on Yahoo! Finance, TD Ameritrade Network, Benzinga's #PreMarket Prep Show, and Forex Analytix's F.A.C.E. She's been featured in FORBES Magazine and CNNMoney. Lydia is also co-author/contributor to The StockTwits Edge and Trading: The Best of The Best.In 2014, she founded FM Capital Group, a registered investment advisory firm for angel investors investing in Africa and Latin America. Lydia was recently named #22 of the Twitter Accounts Investors Need to Follow and #3 of the Top 10 Women To Follow In Finance. Lydia has a Master of Science in Management from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Vanderbilt University. Follow me on Twitter: @faithmightFollow me on StockTwits: @faithmightFollow me on Instagram: @faithmight Follow me on Facebook: fb.com/fmcapitalgrp
Mariam Kamel
AUC Venture Lab
Investment professional with experience in Investment Banking, advising mid- and large-cap companies in connection with restructuring, financing, M&A, and capital markets transactions.Co-founded and managed FLOW Wellness Center, a mother-child wellness center dedicated to empowering mothers through offering a range of activities and workshops with an aim to stimulate physical, cognitive, and emotional development. The workshops offered cover a number of topicsrelating to family health, women’s wellness, and parenting.Master's thesis dedicated to an exploratory study of Social Enterprises in Egypt.
Ali Hussein Kassim
Kipochi
I am a Serial Entrepreneur and regular commentator and contributor on all things Tech and the Policy and Regulatory landscape that straddles this sector across Africa in particular and the world in general. What keeps me busy full time these days is consulting on Digital Transformation and working on two of my latest startups in the Fintech and eSupply Chain Platform in the FMCG Sector. I also serve on several Boards both in the private & public sectors. Key among these are:-Member of the National Technical Committee of the Kenya National Innovation Agency, a Kenya Government Agency set up to manage and develop the National Innovation System for socio-economic development.Board Member and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee of Longhorn Publishers, the only publicly listed educational publisher in East & Central Africa. Chairman – Board of Trustees, Kenya ICT Action Network – An ICT Policy Think Tank based in Nairobi. Advisory Board Member, Fintech – Mifos Initiative, a global fintech platform providing open-source core-banking and mobile platform for Microfinance institutions.Oversight Board Member and Chair of the Projects and Resource Mobilization Committee of the Kenya Tourism Promotion Fund –a $200 million annual fund to jumpstart and promote the Tourism sector in Kenya through strategic interventions. I also get great satisfaction by mentoring and investing in Tech Entrepreneurs across Africa.
Sherif Nessim
Jedar Capital
Sherif Nessim is the Founder & Managing Director of Jedar Capital, an emerging VC fund manager focusing on investments in early stage startups, seed to series A. Jedar Capital is focusing on emerging markets in Middle East, Africa and Emerging Asia. He is also an Angel investor in several startups globally with 23 years’ experience in technology domain
Shila Nieves Burney
Zane Venture Fund
Shila Nieves Burney, Award Winning project manager, investor, mentor & advisor. She brings 20+ years of professional career experience working alongside leading organizations and exceptional talent. Shila creates solutions that address disparities through investment in human capital. Her super-power is connecting individuals and organizations across the globe.Shila Nieves Burney encapsulates grit & grace. Shila spent a full-year sourcing investor for a startup that culminated in a $5M term sheet, mentoring and advising founders of color. Through her experiences, Shila was able to see firsthand the challenges diverse entrepreneurs face getting access to capital and the resources they needed to grow and scale their companies. When it comes to capital, investment and sourcing exceptionality, Shila Nieves Burney is your woman.Founder of Zane Venture Fund in 2018, a female-led Venture Capital Fund investing in $4T untapped opportunity by funding undercapitalized talent and balancing the distribution of VC dollars. Keynote Speaker - eCornell Judge Entre Black-led Startups Pitch Competition Lessons Learned: Money Moves to Scale and Protect Your Business How the Zane Venture Fund is Supporting Diverse Startups in the Southeast - ASBN Network Virtual BlockHealth Summit 2020 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates Pitch Force Series A Judge Insights on Innovation - Metro Atlanta Chamber and Invesco Reveal Your Voice Conference - Speaker: Representing the Underrepresented INVEST ATLANTA: Diverse Founders: How COVID-19 impacts this group differently Rise and Shine on #LinkedInLive with Liberty White University of Georgia: MBA Pitch Night WeWork Labs: LatinX StartUp Experience VCs off the Record - Podcast SheVC with Brad Feld TechTalk Daily - Changing the VC World From The Ground Up #BETAIN Real Talks She Conquers Capital – PodcastShila holds a degree in Business Administration from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Venture Capital Florida from A&M University and Project Management Principle from Emory University.
Horesia Nyawade
Vuuqa
Horesia Nyawade: the courage builder and accountability master. As an entrepreneur, she wears many hats. She is co-founder, Chief Innovator and Editor-in-Chief at Vuuqa, a digital platform and services network; featuring Africa’s fastest growing audience of entrepreneurs, brands and everyday leaders. Horesia also serves as a transformational lifestyle coach. Through her consistency training and mindset change program, she teaches African womxn how to set sustainable goals and come up with methodologies to stay on track. Queens who complete her program leave feeling confident and ready to go after their dreams with a renewed sense of energy and self-belief.Horesia’s past experience includes working for Deloitte East Africa where she primarily served as a business analyst under the risk advisory department. Horesia holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the Wits Business School.
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes
Aruwa Capital Management
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes is the Founder and Managing Partner of Aruwa Capital Management, one of the few women owned and led private equity funds in Africa investing into untapped investment opportunities in West Africa in the small to lower mid-market. She has over 12 years of investment banking and private equity experience from top global institutions. Prior to founding Aruwa Capital, she spent five years as Managing Partner of Syntaxis Capital Africa, a provider of growth capital to SMEs in Nigeria and across Sub Saharan Africa. Syntaxis Africa was part of Syntaxis Capital, a private equity fund active in other emerging markets with $300 million in AUM from global institutional investors. At Syntaxis Africa, she led transactions totalling more than $200 million across SSA.Prior to co-founding Syntaxis Africa in 2014, Adesuwa was in the Leveraged Finance and M&A teams at J.P. Morgan in London, where she was involved in $5.6 billion worth of transactions across emerging markets including Nigeria. Prior to J.P. Morgan, Adesuwa worked in Africa-focused PE fund, TLG Capital as an Investment Professional, involved in transactions across Anglophone Africa including a very successful investment in Uganda, where she personally invested and generated a very attractive return which enabled her to launch her own investment fund. She was named as an Agent of Impact in 2019 by Impact Alpha and recognised as one of the Top 35 Women Moving Africa Forward for her commitment to gender equality in private equity and across the society through Aruwa Capital’s investments.She started her career at Lehman Brothers and holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Bristol. She currently sits on several boards in Nigeria across agriculture, manufacturing and hospitality sectors. She is married with a son and enjoys cooking, tennis and travelling.
Lawrence Walter
Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC)
Lawrence Walter serves as VP, Entrepreneurship at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), where he focuses on VC/PE investor relations and architecture of the Indiana venture development ecosystem. Lawrence’s role requires him to anticipate market trends and design growth capitalization strategies for Indiana’s businesses ecosystem. Lawrence has previously served as a corporate product strategist and U.S. Army Counterintelligence Agent. He has a master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction from Indiana University and a bachelor’s in Psychology from Purdue University. Lawrence has extensive experience of the global technology landscape and business culture gained from his time living in the UK, Australia, China, Iraq, Afghanistan and Malaysia.
Linda Wayoe
AM Group
Director, AM Group & Board Member UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce Linda is a result driven and seasoned corporate executive and banker with several years of experience working within a varied number of leadership roles. She has extensive expertise and accomplishments in change management, strategic operational improvement, corporate communication strategies, fund raising, government relations and trade facilitation, investor relations management, bespoke corporate event management, marketing and media engagement within the UK, Ghana and some other African countries. She is a Board Member of the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce and also provides international advisory and consultancy services for various renowned private and government institutions including the Ghana High Commission UK and the Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa. Linda is a founding member and key organiser of the renowned Ghana Investment and Opportunities Summit UK. She is also a key member of the UK Ghana Diaspora Committee and the Ghana Diaspora National Committee. Linda is the recipient of the British Award for African Development for African Business Leader of the year 2019.
Dr. Kristin Burton is the Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Purdue University Northwest. In this role, she is an entrepreneurial academic, charged with assisting students in developing their entrepreneurial skills and connecting them to the vibrant entrepreneurial community. Dr. Burton is heralded as a leading inclusive innovation entrepreneurship ecosystem builder. Her research focuses on advancing opportunities for women and minorities in the entrepreneurship process. Her research is being used to create programs and pathways to help alleviate barriers, so entrepreneurs can continue to build communities that flourish. Throughout her 20-year entrepreneurial career, Dr. Burton has co-founded several start-up companies, led two university entrepreneurship centers, and; created a regional business incubation hub.
I'm a purpose-driven leader and entrepreneurial with a disciplined approach to running any kind of business. I have over 10 years experience as a brand builder and media consultant to entrepreneurs especially African millennials who design, launch and scale businesses regardless of their background, age and gender.I possess an innovative mindset in order to grow teams, companies and business development opportunities. An advocate for equality, inclusion and representation in business, tech and at the workplace.In 2016, I founded Business Africa Online - BAO (Media) and SterlingReach (Marketing & PR) with the goal to amplify emerging leaders, businesses and connect African Diaspora back to the Continent. My role is to provide strategic direction in pursuit of the companies goals to remain a trusted and agile brand.In my free time, I offer volunteering services as an experiential mentor, judge and speaker for tech, non-tech innovation competitions, organisations which includes but not limited to; The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Technovation, Meaningful Business 100, Mentor X-Africa, Studentshubgh, etc.
Ifeanyi Alexander Ekeh
Business Africa Online (BAO)
FINANCE AND STATEGIST AT BUSINESS AFRICA ONLINE (BAO) , DIGITAL MARKETER, COACH AT EXCELLENT TOUCH ACADEMY, FOLLOWER OF CHRIST, INTERESTED IN GOVERNANCE.
Emil Ekiyor
InnoPower
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Emil left his family at the age of 15 to pursue educational opportunities in the US . Emil attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando where he was a two-time captain on the football team. After an outstanding college career, Emil went on to play six years in the National Football League with the Tampa Bay Bucs, Atlanta Falcons, and Oakland Raiders. Today, Emil is happily married to Andrea and has a 19-year-old son Emil Jr a Sophomore at the University of Alabama.Emil is the founder and CEO of InnoPower, a company that works with US and Sub Saharan Africa companies to expand and take advantage of the rapid growth in Sub-Saharan imports and exports. Prior to InnoPower, Emil was the National Executive Director for the GEO Foundation a nonprofit organization that partners with local community leaders to start, support, and manage high-quality K-12 charter schools across the country. Emil is also involved in several projects in Nigeria.In his free time, Emil serves on the Board of the Indianapolis Chapter of Indiana Black Expo, President of Indy Youth Sports, and Board of Directors for the Friends of Education a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving K-12 education in Minnesota since 1999. The organization authorizes 12 charter schools serving more than 10,000 students. Friends of Education achieved the highest Exemplary rating of charter school authorize performance from the Minnesota Department of Education and is the only authorize in the state to achieve the highest rating.
Thelma Ekiyor
Afrigrants Foundation
Ms. Ekiyor is currently the Managing Partner SME.NG – Nigeria’s Impact Investment Platform, which has set up two impact funds for women entrepreneurs.She is the Co-Founder/Chairperson of Afrigrants Resources and also served as its pioneering CEO. At Afrigrants, she led the establishment of “Market Women’s Quick Cash” – A financial inclusion solution to provide micro-loans to women in disadvantaged communities. She also founded Afrigrants Foundation dedicated to the socio-economic advancement to girls and women.She also led the conceptualization of “The Ebi Fund” – an impact fund for women entrepreneurs. Ms. Ekiyor is also is Founder & Co-Convener of The Funding Space – a mentoring and access to finance platform for social entrepreneurs in Africa.Prior to establishing Afrigrants, Ms. Ekiyor was the pioneer CEO of TY Danjuma Foundation, and grew an endowment of $100 million. Before that, She served as the Pioneering Executive Director of the West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI), which was established by the George Soros Foundation’s Open Society Institute for West Africa. She supervised investments and interventions in 15 countries across West Africa.In 2020, Ms. Ekiyor was listed as one of the 50 most influential women in the development sector in Africa. Ms. Ekiyor holds an MBA (Entrepreneurship & Innovation) from Imperial College London, UK; a Law Degree (LLB Honours) from University of Buckingham UK. She is also a Fellow of Stanford University, USA. Ms. Ekiyor has received several awards and citations for her contributions to women’s economic empowerment and philanthropy in Africa.Ms. Ekiyor holds an MBA (Entrepreneurship & Innovation) from Imperial College London, UK; a Law Degree (LLB Honours) from University of Buckingham UK. She is also a Fellow of Stanford University, USA.Ms. Ekiyor served as Strategic Policy Adviser to UN Women Nigeria (2017-2019). She is currently a Board Member on ALL ON, the renewable energy impact fund in West Africa established by Shell. She is on the Advisory Board of The WISE Fund (USA).Ms. Ekiyor has received several awards and citations for her contributions to women’s economic empowerment and philanthropy in Africa.
Jason Williams
Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest
Described as a can opener for innovation, Jason Williams defies stereotypes. He is as comfortable doing yoga in the woods as he is meeting in a boardroom downtown. Jason is managing director for the Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest, an organization increasing Northwest Indiana’s capacity for innovation. He is also partner at InnoPower helping make Indiana the best state to start and grow minority-led businesses and the owner of SPYCOMPS business intelligence firm. Jason’s personal mission is to drive innovation by connecting people to people and people to ideas.
