Dr Fola Aina is a young professional. He is an international security and development policy expert. He is currently a lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, United Kingdom.
He completed a second Masters’ degree in African Studies, at the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford, in 2017, having earlier obtained a Masters’ degree in International Development Policy from Seoul National University, South Korea in 2013.
He holds a BSc (Hons) in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. He is completed his doctorate in Leadership Studies, with reference to security and development at King’s College London.
He has worked as an Independent Consultant serval organisations such as the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars’ Africa Program, Washington DC, USA, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), London and the Royal United Services Institute of Security and Defence Studies (RUSI), London. In 2016, he was identified and selected as a Mandela Washington Fellow by the US State Department and in 2019 he was invited as a speaker and a Next Generation Delegate on the Global Food Security Symposium organised by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, USA.
He was also a non-residential Frederic Bastiat Fellow on Public Policy at the Mercatus Centre, George Mason University, Washinbgton DC, USA and a non-residential Hans. J Morgentau Fellow on Grand Strategy, at the Notre Dame International Security Center, University of Notre Dame.
He is the Founder and President of Triola Aina Foundation, a youth-led non-profit organization in Nigeria. He remains passionate about empowering young people to thrive in their various fields through leadership, mentorship, personal and professional development.
Alex Izinyon II is a lawyer by profession and the President of Izy Air Ltd, a foremost business aviation company in Nigeria. He is a leading International Business Lawyer with deep experience in Aviation Finance, Air Transport Regulations, Aircraft Leases and Acquisitions. Alex has advised multinational enterprises, private individuals and government bodies undertaking investments and provided industry insights to investors of the Aviation industry in Nigeria and Africa at large. He has led several teams on big-ticket Aircraft Financing for Aircraft Acquisitions and Aircraft Operating Leases into Nigeria.
Alex is a force to reckon with. He specializes in areas as Aviation, Banking & Finance, Commercial Contracts, Due Diligence, Energy/Oil & Gas, International Arbitration, Investment entities, Litigation, Tax and Wealth Management.
Barrister Dayo Apata, SAN, has made unbroken record of commitment and professionalism in his legal journey and in all government appointments. He has been a major change agent in the public service, serving in major capacities including Solicitor General of the Federation/Permanent Secretary, Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice in Ekiti State. He has served as Legal Adviser, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
Dr. Apata was an Assistant Legal Adviser with the Customs Service, prosecuting and defending customs cases in the Eastern Nigeria.
Grace Ihejiamaizu is a Social Entrepreneur, Educator and Mandela Washington Fellow working to promote quality education and empower the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.
Grace has spoken and facilitated sessions at international conferences.
She is a University Lecturer and founder of iKapture Networks; a center for youth development that provides afterschool education and services to students and out-of-school youth in Nigeria using creative learning methods and ICT. Since inception, iKapture has reached over 3000 young people. Grace is also the founder of OpportunityDesk.org, the largest online platform that shares relevant opportunities for youth across the world.
Dr. Yemi Kale is the current Group Chief Economist & Managing Director of Research and International Cooperation at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). Also, the longest serving former Statistician-General of the National Bureau of Statistics, between 2011 and 2021.
His wealth of knowledge spans over 24years in the public sector. During his tenure at the NBS, he played a key role in recalculating Nigeria’s GDP, leading to Nigeria having the largest GDP in Africa.
Dr. Yemi Kale is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Leadership in Government Programs and a Fellow of the UK Royal Statistical Society. Dr. Yemi ia a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Administrators and Researchers of Nigeria, among other notable affiliations.
Tunde Omotoye is a Canada-based Nigerian Certified HR Professional and Senior Business Operations Analyst.
His passion to equip people to be best positioned for the labour market led him in 2019 to review over 100 resumés for free, one of the feats that saw him get appointed as a World Educational Services (WES) Ambassador.
This birthed “HumanSquad”, a tech-driven company which he leads; that helps immigrants navigate their immigration and career journeys. They train people on Personal Development, Job Search, Immigration, Customer Experience, Innovation and other soft skills.
With more than 7+ years’ experience in policy analysis, international relations and development.
Shona Olalere is fast becoming one of the most-sought after seasoned analysts in the public and private sector in Africa. This has been reinforced in her recent national assignment, serving as a technical analyst for Nigeria’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021-2025); working as a senior partnership and strategy analyst at Helium Health – West Africa leading digital tech health company; and a Lead, Policy consultant at StateCraft Inc – Africa’s foremost governance and policy consulting firm. She is also one of the experts in The National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER).
Shona obtained a Masters of Science with distinction from the University of the West of Scotland in Policy Analysis and Global Governance; a Masters of Art in International Relations from Cyprus International University and a Bachelor of Art in History and International Studies from Bowen University. She is also certified in Public Policy by Virginia University, in Policy analysis by International Public Policy Association (IPPA) and in Global Diplomacy by the University of London.
Shona Olalere has worked on a series of policy and development projects with the Nigerian Government, Amnesty International, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Lagos State Government, The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA). She was appointed an international member of Amnesty International Youth Advisory Board, one of the two Africans serving in this capacity.
When Shona Olalere is not evaluating policies, reviewing existing plans, researching ways to improve governance in Africa and consulting, she is busy playing chess and talking to her family.
Samson Itodo is an experienced community organizer and development practitioner with over a decade experience in constitution building, governance reform, electoral governance, civic engagement, and political organizing. He is highly skilled in legislative advocacy, political party development, NGO management, social movements, and youth development. He has facilitated policy documents on electoral reform, international development cooperation, constitution review, public governance, and political inclusion. He provides strategic policy advice to parliamentary committees, electoral commissions, political parties, civil society organizations, and academic institutions. Samson is invested in building strong democratic institutions, promoting people-centered legislation and policies, and building communities of active citizens to drive social change.
Samson Itodo serves as the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa and Convener, Not Too Young To Run. He is a member of the Board of Advisers of International IDEA, an intergovernmental organization that supports and promotes democracy around the world. He is a founding member of the African Movement for Democracy (AMD), a network of activists and youth leaders dedicated to deepening democracy in Africa. Currently, he is a Standard Bank and Derek Scooper Scholar pursuing a Master of Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. He is currently exploring the impact of social movements in qualifying and refining public policy in Africa. He is also focused on building public policy frameworks that put citizens at the center of politics and governance beyond elections.
Under his leadership, Yiaga Africa has emerged as a leading civic organization promoting political inclusion, electoral integrity, and public accountability in Africa through citizens’ engagement, data, technology, and policy advocacy. He has initiated numerous democracy and citizens’ engagement projects in Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia. Samson previously served as lead consultant for International IDEA to develop a strategy for mitigating electoral and political violence in Cameroun, Guinea, Ghana, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe. He also served as Research Facilitator for United States Institute for Peace (USIP) on Transparency and Accountability movements in Nigeria. Samson also served on the National Assembly’s institutional reforms committee to design a strategic framework to strengthen the National Assembly. He is currently engaged as a member of the steering committee to prepare Nigeria’s Medium-Term Development Plan (2021 – 2025) and Nigeria Agenda 2050 and he was the co-chair of the Focal Group for the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund, a fund established by the government of Nigeria to fund youth enterprise and innovation.
He is a recipient of several local and international awards and his work has been featured by local and international media stations such as Aljazeera, CNN, BBC, RFI, CCTV, SABC, etc. In 2018, he was appointed by the Gates Foundation as a Goalkeeper and honored by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Washington DC as 2018 Rising Democracy leader in Africa. He is the winner of the Future Africa Award Young Person of the Year 2018 award and the Leadership Newspaper 2018 Outstanding Young Person of the Year award. He was also inducted into 100 Most Influential Young Africans by the African Youth Awards in 2017. He is a recipient of numerous prestigious fellowships such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellowship, Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town, International Visitors Leadership Program of the US Department of State, Swedish Visitors Leadership Program, European Union Visitors Program (EUVP) and the UK International Leaders Program. Recently, he was recognized by the United Embassy in Nigeria as a Nigerian Star for his achievement and service to Nigeria and Nigerians.
Dr. Adeola (Addy) Olubamiji is an Industry-4.0-expert and she is one of the few who have indeed used the power of technology (specifically 3D-printing) to navigate and thrive in the North American job market. She is currently the Director of Additive Manufacturing Solutions at Desktop Metal, Massachusetts, USA. In June 2017, Adeola received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the 113-year-old University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada and made history as the first black person to have received this PhD from the university.
She is the chief consultant at Tech Centrix Ltd. (Canada & USA), the founder of STEMHub Foundation Canada and she seats on the board of several organizations such as Health & Science Innovations, Indiana, USA and AfricaHacks, USA. Dr. Addy has mentored over 300 professionals navigating their careers in the North America, Europe, Australia, UK, Africa, Asia job markets.
Her academic contributions have yielded several scholarly scientific publications, scientific conference presentations, and a TEDx talk. Some of the awards she has won include 2020 Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, 2020 STEP (Science technology Engineering and Production) Award by the American Manufacturing Institute, RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant 2020, 2019 Influential Women in Manufacturing Award by Putman Media, 2019 L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth Canada Honoree, and so on
Hamzat Lawal is an activist who has successfully led grassroots campaigns in over 40 African countries with over nine years experience in the non-profit sector and specializes in practical issues associated with Climate Change, Open Data, advocacy campaigns and development policies as it affects rural and deprived grassroots communities. He is the Founder of Follow The Money, a Pan-African grassroots data-driven movement.
He is currently the Founder/Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE). Hamzat is an Executive Board Member of African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC), advising on communications strategies and campaigns using technology tools in shaping and actualizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Before his role at CODE, working on high level advocacy for Nigeria’s energy needs and climate actions. He was an Executive with the International Centre For Energy, Environment & Development (ICEED).
Queen is an International Development professional at Adam Smith International overseeing inclusive economic growth programmes in Nigeria across investment promotion, business environment reform and innovative health.
She was an Economist at PwC and a Project Finance Analyst at the Nigeria Export-Import Bank.
Through her work, Queen is supporting the promotion of development-oriented policies that boost productive activities, decent job creation, innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
She was a consultant at UNESCO where she assessed the role of emerging economies in financing equitable and quality education to ensure effective learning outcomes for all.
Queen has an MPA in Public and Economic Policy from London School of Economics and a Certificate in Impact Investing from University of Oxford.
She is an Acumen West Africa Fellow and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.
Jake Okechukwu Effoduh is an Assistant Professor at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law of the Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada, where he teaches Technology Law and Society. In the last three years, he has served as the Chief Councillor of the Africa–Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium (ACADIC), mobilizing responsible AI and Big Data techniques to build resilient public health strategies in Canada and 20 African countries. He is also a Vanier Scholar and Ph.D. candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Canada.
Jake is a strong media and communications professional, an experienced lawyer with expertise in human rights, tech, and artificial intelligence.
He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Frontier Risks and a Forum Expert on Human Rights.
Henry OJI popularly known as Big H is a Portrait, Fine Art and Wedding Photographer based in Abuja, Nigeria. His journey as a photographer started after he got married in December 2011, when he purchased his first camera.
Having come from a corporate background, Henry dedicated countless hours over the years learning to develop his skill set in photography by staying humble and striving to learn and improve.
Big H now mentors and shares his acquired knowledge with young and upcoming photographers at his annual Big H Photography Class.
In his free time, Big H is a loving husband and father of two wonderful kids and is highly dedicated to family. He enjoys listening to music at all hours of the day and finds joy in spending quality time with family. On a normal day you can typically find Henry having fun with team members in his Studio or documenting a bride during her wedding events.
Henry’s ultimate goals are to create and encourage individuals in the art of photography and business of photography; to create a caring and welcoming place where every individual is valued, and in friendship, through learning, fun and growing together; to provide and produce excellent services, having the art of storytelling at its core.
Taopheek Babayeju is a transformation expert, management and technology professional with over two decades (20 years) of experience and expertise in strategy, Agile, digital & organizational transformation, project, program & portfolio management and technology consulting. Taoofeek is a member of the Forbes Business Council, a startup advisor, and an angel investor.
He has helped several organizations to achieve their strategic objectives, managing several multi-million-dollar portfolios, and delivering value across different sectors such as IT, Telecoms, Finance, Agric, Health, Education, Government, Development, SME etc.
He co-founded LeadPreneur – a platform dedicated to raising transformational leaders and entrepreneurs. He is the founder of Pheek Foundation and serves on the board of several not-for-profit organizations.
Tony is an administrator and team builder, a part of projects like Volunteer Teachers Program that had celebrities like Audu Maikori, Sunday Ogodigbo, JJ Omojuwa teach kids in public schools; Girls’N’ Tech to train teenage girls on ICT proficiency and safety; Youth’N’Agric to train youths on poultry farming and fishery. Also, facilitated sessions in life skills, soft skills and skills acquisition for youth because of his strong desire to see people improve and be relevant; Digital Skills for youth in Nigeria by Wootlab Innovation for NITDA.
Tony is a former staff member of Ventures Platforms where he worked as Procurement Specialist and also Logistics Manager from March 2017 to November 2018. Prior to which he was Logistics and Admin Officer with Turbine and Power Systems LLC from August 2015 to February 2017.
With over 8 years of experience designing, developing and implementing digital skills, capacity building, advocacy for non-profits and IT companies creating solutions for Africa’s urgent problems, that promote job creation and provide better living for communities, Tony has undoubtedly been committed to accelerating digital skills and improved skills in Africa.
He was trained in Strategic Procurement and Contract Management at Lagos Business School. He is currently the Deputy National Coordinator I (North) for TAF supervising and overseeing implementation of projects in the Northern Nigeria.
Gift Ejeh Ojima holds a Master of Science degree in development economics from the University of Birmingham and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Madonna University.
Passionate about rural development and sustainable urban planning, she has nurtured a keen interest in development policy, evaluating social programs, planning and implementation. These made her a strong advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals and believes one way they can be achieved is by providing urban amenities in rural communities to ensure an inclusive development.
She has worked as Programs Coordinator for Management Business Strategy, Eden hub limited and has worked with PLAN International on the Girls Get equal campaign and led the core drive on the Anti-human trafficking campaign. She currently serves as the National Coordinator of the Triola Aina Foundation.
