The Future Awards 2013 Nominees Profiles

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN ADVOCACY & ACTIVISM

This award is given to a young person who has demonstrated exceptional vision, passion, and commitment to a social or developmental cause and made a measurable impact on lives.

Anu Ishola (27)	A program of the Youth Empowerment and development Initiative (YEDI), Gratrutsoka adapts the highly effective model of football to drive development and behavioral change in the Nigerian context from social change, life skills to HIV aids awareness. In May 2013, Anu’s organisation held a ‘Kick Out Malaria’ football tournament to create awareness against malaria and conduct free malaria testing for participants.
Jake Okechukwu (25)	A radio presenter and human rights activist. Okechukwu is Vice –President of the Sickle Cell Aid Foundation [SCAF] which is a non-profit and non-governmental organization established to amplify awareness on Sickle Cell Anemia and to raise funds solely for the provision of quality medical care for persons living with sickle cell anemia, especially for the indigent in Nigeria. He also hosts ‘Talk Your Own’, a 25-minute radio show focused on governance in Nigeria.
Orode Uduaghan-Okpu (24)	Pink Pearl Foundation represents a consistently growing force against breast cancer with over 40 programmes since 2007 to support the cause against the dreadful disease. In 2013, Uduaghan took her fight against breast cancer, a notch higher, crossing borders, taking breast and cervical cancer awareness and screening to neighboring Cameroun. Where from the 6th to the 8th of March, at the country’s Ministry of Health’s sub-divisional hospital, Kumbo free breast and cervical cancer screening of 175 women were conducted followed by a training session. Of the 175 women screened, 16 were found to have lumps or mass of tissues in their breasts.
Tobore Oro Edema (24)	Edema is Founder and Director of The Gladies, a faith-based non-governmental organisation formed in 2011 with a vision to raise leaders among women, skills transfer, and set them on a path of self-discovery. In 2013, The Gladies launched The BMW Series (Business Ministry and Women) which is a web-based talk-show series which showcases outstanding young women entrepreneurs and ministry founders. The maiden episode was held online in June 2013 with a young successful entrepreneurexcelling in both fields (business and ministry), based Tera Carissa Hodges, Founder of Life Now Marketing and Life Now Ministries, both based in Atlanta Georgia. It had over 500 views, with a global impact on women in 15 countries spread across 4 continent like USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Botswana, Trinidad & Tobago, Kenya, Spain, and many more. The second edition of the BMW Series is billed to hold in July 2013. A graduate of Microbiology Technology from the Delta State University, Abraka, Edema is also co-founder of the Project-Security Initiative, a faith-based NGO established in 2006 focused on securing young women, promoting self-development, and purpose discovery. For the past three years, she has also been the secretary general of Celebrate Heroes, a charity dedicated to building esteem and enriching the lives of orphans and vulnerable children. She blogs at ww.astoldbyoro.wordpress.com.
Maryam Augie (28)	Augie founded the AYAHAY Foundation, in 2010 after the death of a friend. The charity is focused on 4 key areas of providing quality healthcare, affordable education and counseling, promoting good sanitation practices, and enhancing personal development through sports and recreation. The foundation works in the Abuja FCT, Kebbi and Kano States where grinding machines have been donated to women centres, schools have been renovated, 7 boreholes have been constructed. One of the charities recent activities is the bringing of sporting activities (Inter communal) to these states such as football and volleyball, using sports as a platform to drive a conversation on social issues such as drug abuse, education, and rape. The foundation also grants scholarships to 4 children (ages 8 – 15) in Kebbi State.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

This award is given to a researcher, scientist, innovator, inventor who has distinguished herself or himself and achieved a measurable breakthrough in the field of science and technology.

Modestus Chijoke Idoko (20)	A 20-year-old student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) who designed a rocket propellant, Idoko’s childhood dream had always been to become a rocket scientist and this particularly led him into the Department of Physics and Astronomy of UNN to get a good grasp of the physics/science of rockets and an understanding of astronomy for which rocket is basically built. The rocket designed has PVC-pipe as the motor casing, aluminum as the nose cone. The propellant is made up of 325 grams of potassium nitrate (oxidizer) and 175 grams of sorbitol (sugar), making a total of 500 grams. ThePVC-pipe is of ¾-inch diameter, and 65cm in length.
Chikezie Nwaoha (29)	Nwaoha is a science and technology researcher working in the academia with several books and dictionaries to hispublishing credit. His books which are published by reputable publishers such as John Wiley and Taylor and Francisinclude: Process Plan Equipment : Operation, Control and Reliability, Dictionary of Industrial Terms, Corrosion and Materials in Oil and Gas Industries, and Dictionary of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Processing. One of the scholar’s articles published in a peer reviewed journal was named one of the Top 25 Best articles for 2012. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree on full scholarship majoring in Petroleum Technology at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Yewande Akinola (28)	A Bachelor of Science degree holder in Engineering Design and Appropriate Technology from the University of Warwickand a Master’s degree holder in Innovation and Design from Cranfield University, Akinola won the Young Woman Engineer ofthe Year Award from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in London, United Kingdom, in 2012 consequently placing her among best under 30 female engineers in the UK and making her the new IET’s young woman engineer ambassador for 2013. The Institute recognized her for her commitment to sustainability and innovation, especially around water supply technology.
Chuka Ofili (31), Emotu Balogun (27), Kene Udeze (24), and Clive Ayonye (23)	Ofili, Balogun, Udeze, and Ayonye are co-founders of OpenApps, a market intelligence system that aggregates Internetusers’ behavior from multiple high traffic sources to support the development of intuitive digital services in Nigeria.The team worked from the CCHub, Lagos.
Hugo Obi (32)	Obi is founder of Maliyo Games, a Nigerian-based start-up specializing in creating casual games with African themes.Maliyo Games launched in May 2012 with the goal of sharing the experiences of everyday Africans with a global audiencethrough games with over 10 gaming titles including Okada Ride, Aboki, Kidnapped, and Mosquito Smasher. Obi and his work has been featured on BBC, CNN, CNBC Africa, and DEMO events.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN COMMUNITY ACTION

Rita Omovbude (32)	Through her organisation, Street Project Enterprise and its operations, Omovbude has been a positive change agent forthe less privileged youth and people in orphanages. www.streetproject.org.ng
Bolajoko Fadipe (30)	Fadipe runs a charity called the FOODCLIQUE that stores and distribute purchased or donated perishable and non-perishable food to poor kids, pensioners, destitutes, disabled, homeless, working poor, low-income families, and the foodinsecure people through community outreaches and partnership with a network of other non-for-profits. Through FOODCLIQUE, Fadipe has fed and empowered several thousands of Nigerians in Benin City, Lagos, Ogun State and other.
Dr. Okeke Kanayo (30)	A youth corp member serving in the Kwali area council of the F.C.T, Dr. Kanayo built a N3.9 million healthcare centrein the Fula community of the council in January 2013.
Monica Onuoha (30)	An Abia State Indigene posted to Kaduna State during the Batch A 2012/2013 NYSC year, spearheaded the construction ofa Corpers Lodge worth over N 5 million and impacted the lives of her fellow corp members and the Sabon Gaya community ofChikun Local Government.
Ife Adebayo (30)	A web developer, Adebayo commenced raising funds to build a block of classrooms for the students at St Michael’sAnglican Primary School, Epe, Lagos a public school after he visited the school where he witnessed student being lecturedin the dilapidated buildings. The project was completed in April 2013.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN NEW MEDIA

Kingsley Ezeani (23)	At age 18, Kingsley Ezeani founded Information Nigeria a news portal which has become one of the most popular wedsitesin Nigeria with 12 full-time staff, over 100 volunteers, over 500,000 Facebook fans, it is one of the 20 most visitedNigerian websites with over 10 Million monthly visitors. His passion for development led to the founding of Crowdsourced Education, a project which earned him the 2011 I.T.U fellowship, he was also a finalist in the I.T.U Young Innovators Contest in Geneva, Switzerland and one of Nigeria’s delegates to the World Business Dialogue, the largest student conference in the world.
Ediong Umoh (26)	Umoh is Chief Curator and Creator of Nigeria’s News Desk an entirely Twitter- based news service.@ NigeriaNewsDesk,which has been identified as Nigeria’s most influential Twitter handle has over 405,000 Twitter followers as at July 2013.An aggregator of news from sources across the world, @NigeriaNewsDesk is unarguably the number 1 news source on Twitter for Nigerians. The handle now serves over 7 online news papers.
John Obidi (27)	Obidi is a co-founder of Blue Fountain Solutions. It was registered in 2011. It provides Live Streaming/Internet Radiosolutions to churches, individuals, and corporations. He is also the co-founder of TIGweekly.com, which he co-hosts aswell. The 1st ever LIVE Internet Radio show on the Nigerian I.T industry, TIGWeekly.com is aimed at “telling the story of the Nigerian I.T industry to the world as it happens in real-time.” Something unique about this is that the audio stream is accessible to ALL internet enabled devices because the stream is super-compressed.
Modupeola Abiola (31)	She is the founder and CEO of Intern Avenue an online internship website designed to connect employers with studentsand graduates. Described as a “serial achiever”, Abiola appeared on the Thomson Reuters Power List named as one of themost influential black businesswomen in Great Britain in 2013. She has been featured in the press and on television relating to recruitment, business, and entrepreneurial pursuits. She pitched on series ten of BBC television show Dragons’ Den, attracting an investment offer from business tycoon, Peter Jones.
Fifehanmi Bankole (30)	Bankole is a Harvard-University-certified consultant who created a crowd-funding savings-for-charity initiative calledas Let’s Play Ten-Ten. Let’s Play Ten-Ten was launched on Thursday, the 10th of October, 2012. The platform is inspired bythe original Ten-Ten game; the very popular hand-clapping game amongst children in Nigeria, particularly in the South Western region. Playing Ten-Ten is simply getting an envelope and saving every N10 (and any denomination below) you come across in your purse/bag/pocket for the sole purpose of giving your Ten-Ten savings to charity. This initiative aims to inspire at least 100,000 Nigerians to participate in the Let’s Play Ten-Ten game of savings-to-give. The premise behind her creation is that “in spite of global economic challenges, more people are willing to help others provided giving can be fun, flexible and fulfilling and since every society is largely made up of its middle class, it is instructive to note that when the energy and efforts of this critical mass is strategically deployed, great things can happen.”

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN ENTERTAINMENT TALENT

Ice Prince (28)	Ice Prince (Panshak Zamani) is the winner of 2013 BET Awards’ Best International Act (Africa). He is a prominent hiphop artiste and winner of Hennessy Artistry 2009, a win that brought him to limelight. In 1998, he began writing hip hopmusic and in 2010, he released his first single, ‘Oleku’ to rave reviews, which shot him into prominence and he became a force to reckon with in the Nigerian music industry. In 2011, his debut album, ‘Everybody Loves Ice Prince’ was released winning him 2011 Eko FM/ Radio Lagos Awards’ Young Artiste of the Year 2011 and City People Awards’ Song of the year for ‘Oleku’. In 2012, he released a new single, ‘Aboki’ and was nominated for the BET Awards’ Best International Act (Africa). Ice Prince has collaborated with the who-is-who of the contemporary Nigerian music. He is currently signed to Chocolate City.
OC Ukeje (32)	OC Ukeje has featured in various stage plays and television dramas. He was in Niyi Ogunsanwo’s “What the Steward Saw”alongside Stella Damasus, and “The Engagement”. On television, Ukeje has featured in BBC Trust’s “Wetin Dey”, and PeaceAnyiam Osigwe’s “GRA Women”. He won best actor drama in the 2013 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for his role in the movie, “Two Brides and a Baby” and was nominated for the 2013 Best Actor Award at the Africa Movies Academy Awards.
Iyanya (27)	Winner of the first ever Project Fame West Africa Reality TV Show, Iyanya Mbuk has become one of Nigeria’s biggestR&B/Afro Pop musicians. Following his win in 2008, Iyanya headlined a MTN sponsored 16 state concert tour. In 2009, Iyanyawas the only Nigerian act invited to perform at the world renowned New York Fashion Week at the Wardoff Astoria. In 2012, his career to an astronomical flight with the release of his hit single, “Kukere”, he also featured Dbanj in the remix video of the song. ‘Kukere’ has received many accolades including Top FM #1 song for the month of May 2013, #1 on Beat FM Blackberry Top 10, #1 as Viewers count down, #1 on Viewers Choice on Sound City, and #1 on Rhythm FM, and #2 on Radio Port Harcourt. ‘Kukere’ was followed by ‘Bust Me Brain’ which was also well received nationally and on the international stage. Co-founder of a record label, Made Men Music, Iyanya launched his sophomore album, ‘Iyanya vs Desire’, in a sold out two-city show sponsored by Samsung still in 2012 in Eko Hotel and International Conference Centre, Abuja. The album featured leading Nigerian artistes like M.I, Wizkid, Dbanj, Flavour, Tiwa Savage, Vector, and more. He followed the launch of his album with a national 14 city tour before he headed out to United States for a 10-state tour, 4 states in Canada, and finally ended the tour in the United Kingdom performing to a sold-out crowd at the O2 Arena in June. His hit single, Kukere remains the most downloaded ring back-tune in the history of African Music.
Omawumi (31)	Since she emerged first runner up of Idols West Africa in 2007, Omawumi Megbele, the lawyer-turned singer and actresshas remained a critical player in the sector. In 2013, she released her sophomore album in 2013 in Lagos titled, ‘Lasso ofTruth’ in a concert with the same name. She is the face of the Mortein brand’s anti-malaria campaign, which is African based. This year, she also became brand ambassador for Glo and Konga.
El Mafrex (29)	El Mafrex (Mfreke Obong Ibanga) is a Nigerian-born, urban gospel singer-songwriter, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Hewas nominated for Best Gospel Act at the 2012 Music of Black Origin Awards and won Artiste of the year and Urban Recordingof the year at the 2012 Scottish New Music Awards, making him the first black man to win the SNMA. In 2012, his song, “Jehovah”, which features Christian rock band Royal Foundlings had more than 500,000 hits in the first five months of its release on YouTube, in the same year, he released 3 more singles, “No Denying”, “Bounce”, and “Your Word”. The video for Jehovah was also nominated for Video of the Year at the Scottish New Music Awards in 2012. In 2012, he was featured in the UK’s Sunday Mail and Scottish Television News (STV), and The Scotsman. El Mafrex graduated in 2006 from the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where he studied physics and majored in electronics. In 2010, he obtained a masters degree in information-systems development from the Edinburgh Napier University.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN JOURNALISM

Ugochi Anyaka (29)	Anyaka is a presenter with ASO Radio and TV, Abuja. She started a radio program called Green Angle in 2010 in whichshe started reporting on climate change and other environmental issues. In 2010, she won the Climate Change MediaPartnership Fellowship. In 2011, won the UNFCCC CDM Africa Radio Contest, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – Clean Development Mechanism. In 2012, she won the UNEP Young Environmental Journalist Award and the Lagos Government /UNDP award for outstanding contribution to environmental journalism.
Monica Mark (29)	Mark has written over 100 articles for The Guardian (UK) Newspaper, the African Reporter, and The Africa Report.Before joining The Guardian, she was a freelance reporter in Ivory Coast.
Toyosi Ogunseye (29)	Ogunseye is the news editor of Sunday Punch . Recently promoted to acting editor for the Sunday Punch, she wasadjudged Science Journalist of the Year (2012) at the Nigeria Academy of Science Media Award. Her report, ‘The rich alsocry: A tale of deaths and diseases in a heavily polluted upscale estate’, focused on the concerns of the residents of a heavily polluted upper-middle class estate in Lagos. The second part: ‘The rich also cry: Killer metals in the blood’ detailed the results of blood and urine tests conducted on the residents, which confirmed the presence of killer doses of metals in their bodies. This report, which was the winning entry, saved lives as well as also championed a policy change as the factory that was polluting the environment, was shut down. She also won the CNN Journalist of the Year in 2011. Ogunseye is a recipient of 13 other awards.
Ben Ezeamalu (30)	Ezeamalu is currently a senior reporter responsible for the Lagos Bureau of Premium Times, an online newspaper. Agraduate of micro biology from the University of Jos, his first stint as a journalist was at the defunct 234NEXT, where hehad been described as the best metro reporter by his peers and superiors. In his 5 years working as a journalist, Ezeamalu has continued to bring truth to his readers without losing his witty and humorous side. His human angles stories usually contexualise the stories, making it easily comprehensible and shows how incompetency affects the human person. His most notable stories included the live blogging of a train expedition which exposed the flaws in the recently resuscitated Nigeria’s Railway system. He has also exposed the moral bankruptcy of the Lagos State government in the management of the World Bank’s $200 million for the management of slums, a 7-year project that has failed to deliver dividends to the people, but exacts hardship on the citizens of Lagos. He is also been one of the few reporters who has kept the unimaginably corruption in the fuel subsidy payment regime alive in the press, remaining the voice and eye of the Nigerian people. In July, 2012, Ben produced a compelling piece on tank farms in Kirikiri. The story revealed how oil companies with little disturbance from the government endanger the lives of Lagos residents by building large oil depots within residential communities.
Jude Zoho (29)	A multiple award winning graduate of Mass Communication from Benue State University, Zoho has worked with the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) since July 2010. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the same university.Since joining from a two-year stint at DBN Television, Zoho has covered major events nationally and internationally. In 2011, he was the special reporter who covered the Nigerian pilgrimage to the State of Israel. He was the only Nigerian journalist to cover the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Africa in Benin Republic in October 2011. He is a member of the team covering the Federal Government’s National Good Governance Team that has so far inspected projects in 19 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, bringing these reports to the Nigerian people. He also covered the re-run elections in Adamawa and Kogi States, and major other events around the country. Zoho’s work is particularly impactful because he presents his work in three formats (print, broadcast, and online). As a reporter for the primary news agency of the country, Zoho’s work is important is keeping the Nigerian media updated, and as a result, the Nigerian people. He won the Aboki Publishers Award and NBC Award for best graduating student in Mass Communication, Benue State University for the 2006/2007 session.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN BUSINESS

This award is given to an entrepreneur who has demonstrated extraordinary vision, leadership, and commitment to running a business enterprise, and recorded measurable business success in terms of growth (profit, market share, employees) and/or in terms of his or her reputation (creativity, quality, and aesthetic).

Saeed Jumah (28)	Jumar is the CEO of The Smile Shop in Kano, a business he started in 2012 with N600,000 from his savings andinvestment from two friends. He has in the last 18 months months built the dentistry into a N3,000,000 annual turnover business with an over 150 clientele base and 5 staff. Saheed, who is passionate about dentistry, dedicated time every month to teaching secondary school students about the professional, and offers free dental checks for children.
Gbenga Ogunmakinde (28)	Ogunmakinde is an engineer and MD of Perez Concrete Technology Limited Abuja, a 3-year old business which suppliesquality pre-cast concrete elements such as blocks and interlocking stones. The company delivers a monthly average of 90,000 units of its products to the Abuja Real Estate Market and 1.08 million units annually. 46 youth are employed in his factory operations. Ogunmakinde won the Federal Government’s YouWin! Business Grant in 2012, and emerged the Presidential Award Winner. His current innovative project which has received support from the Department For International Development(DFID) will deliver about 6 million units of his products to the construction market annually, encouraging recycling and create about 600 jobs to empower young people.
Bilikiss Adebiyi Abiola (28)	Abiola is CEO of WeCyclers Redeyling Company which collects trash items such as plastic bottles, water sachet, andcans from households. Participating households are given points and every quarter redemption events are held in whichhouseholds win prizes according to accumulated points. WeCyclers is a social responsibility driven company.
Nonyelum Ibeh (27)	Ibeh, who has always had keen business acumen, started Purbree Enterprises in 2011 in Umuahia during her NYSC year(July 2011 – June 2012). She identified a gap for table water in her host state and became the sole distributor in the state for Sidoni Premium Table Water. She began the business with N200,000 and used her house as her first store house.Within a year, the business had recorded an annual turnover of N11 million, had three employees, and has two outlets in the city of Umuahia. Ibeh had her first business experience selling processed bitter leaf at the age of 11 when she was a JSS 1 student at the Federal Government Girls’ College, Abuloma, she later added Maggi cubes to her wares which she sold without the consent of her parents in a market near to her home. When her father found out, he was furious and he stopped her first trade. An Electrical Electronic Engineering 2nd class upper degree holder from the University of Port Harcourt, Ibeh is not resting on her success. In September 2012, she opened the first modern unisex salon with a spa in Umuahia, The Weaves and Clippers Hair Salon, with an investment of N3,000,000 and staff strength of 9, within a year, it would have generated a N5,000,000 turnover. She is also following her standards for excellence in opening an ultra modern boutique and a printing press in August 2013. Ibeh has an impressive drive, she’s unstoppable, and she’s a truly inspirational figure.
Melody Okwuazu (22)	A Music and Performing Arts degree holder, Okwuazu is the founder and CEO of the Incredible Production, andentertainment and media business specializing in harnessing youth talent in music, dance, performing arts, and entertainment. The company, which he founded at the age of 19, is primarily involved in media and events marketing, product branding, and artiste promotion. The Incredible Production has a broad focus of positively projecting Nigerian culture on to the international stage. In 3, years, Okwuazu has grown the company from ground zero, to an annual turn-over of N20 million in 2012, and a staff strength of 5 staff, 20 freelance staff. Some of the company’s media and entertainment properties are “We All Got Talent” (2012), which is a talent search that goes outside tradition urban centres to discover talent in rural areas focused on ages 5 – 22, the company provides training and support to discovered talent and creates brands for some of them, which it then promotes to the mainstream market. Another is “Gospel According to Swag” (2012) which is an event that combines music, dance, comedy, and symposium to capture young people on the streets, campuses, and the Christian community and transfer purpose driven life skills to them. Then there’s “Cinematianment 3 (Lagos Edition)” (2012), an project that featured acts in film, music, dance, and fashion at the Metro Park, Lagos showcasing such outstanding young talents such as Morachi, Yemi Alade, Flowssickk, Cartiar, Pheroshuz, D’tunes, Olele Beats, and Doray.The company directed, and hosted “Show Your Swag” (2012) in collaboration with a up-and-coming entertainers, DJs, radio, and television stations. The event was billed as ‘the biggest club concert ever in Benin City’. The company’s media brand, TIP-TV has been engaged in more than 20 events nationally and internationally since it was launched in October 2012. The Incredible Production also owns the “Miss Exclusive Nigeria Pageant” which is in pre-production, and plans to expand into  publishing books focused on training and teaching entertainment business (dance, music, theatre) directed at teachers and students.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN PUBLIC SERVICE

This award is given to a professional or technocrat who has made outstanding contribution in public service.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

This award is given to a professional or a technocrat who has made an outstanding contribution in the private sector.

Blessing Liman (29)	Nigeria’s first female military pilot, Liman is a commissioned Combat Flying Officer. Before her winging on Friday,27th of April, 2012, she was the only female in a 14-man team that went for the 12- month Federal Government sponsored $650,000 intensive flight training in various nations of the world – United States, Greece, Belarus, United Kingdom, Pakistan, and Egypt. She enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force in July 2011 and was commissioned on the 9th of December 2011. After her commissioning, she was nominated for the 2012 THISDAY Award for Excellence.
Fareeda Ibrahim (29)	Ibrahim, Architect 1, is in the Building Inspectorate Division, Department of Development Control, FCDA of the FCT,Abuja. She maintains a sensitive position as she is a building inspectorate officer tasked with the job of among other things, maintaining the sanctity of the Abuja Master Plan.
Dr. Adanna Chukwuma (31)	Chukwuma is currently a Health Policy Fellow with Global Health Corps working with the City Government of Newark, NewJersey, the 4th poorest city in the US. In this capacity, she provides technical support for the analysis of health- related policy options and program development to promote population health. She led evaluation of Let’s Move, an initiative started by First lady Michelle Obama to reduce childhood obesity, a report that was presented in the White House recently. She was also part of a team that worked with Save the Children to advocate among members of Congress and Senate that represent New Jersey not to cut budgets for child health and education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Chukwuma trained as a Medical Doctor in the University of Nigeria and obtained a Master of Science degree as a 2011 ExxonMobil International Scholar from the University of Oxford: both degrees were obtained with distinction. She transitions from this fellowship in July 2013 into a doctoral programme in global health and population in Harvard University’s School of Public Health where her research would be focused on improving health systems in Africa to reduce poverty. She left Nigeria for the UK after spending a year working in Yobe State where she led community health outreach teams to deworm and give educational materials to 4000 children, bring acute health care and insecticide-treated nets to 350 families and launch a statewide mass media health promotion campaign. For her work, she received an NYSC award for distinguished community service from President Goodluck Jonathan and was a featured speaker in the recently concluded 2012 Social Innovation Summit held in Silicon Valley.
Joycee Awojoodu (23)	She is a renewable energy advocate who started her work in Nigeria in the Renewable Energy Research and DevelopmentTeam at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Currently she is the Technical Assistant on Research, Analysis and Informatics to the Honorable Minister of Power, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Passionate and committed to youth development and entrepreneurship, she has embarked on building a social enterprise – Solar and Alternative Resources (Soar) which seeks to illuminate remote and rural communities lacking grid connectivity while also empowering the youth and rural dwellers in those communities’ to become ‘solarpreneurs’. Soar will provide technical assistance with business plan development for the youth and with building sustainable market linkages for the mini-solar panel business as well as train youth on the assembly of solar panels.
Ekong Ekong Imona (32)	Imona was appointed a Magistrate with the Cross River State Judiciary in June 2012, after a stint with the private lawfirm of N. E. Nkanu and Associates. He has a keen interest in advocacy on child rights related issues, youth activism, and capacity development tailored at raising visionary leaders. His passion led him to become a member of the UNICEF Child Protection Network and the Secretary of the Child Care Committee of the Neighborhood Care Outreach in Cross River State  and Akwa Ibom State. Imona is an Information Technology Communication pioneer in Nigeria, an Oracle Database Administrator 9i, as a teenager, he ran a column in the defunct Nigerian Chronicle titled, “IT World with Ekong Imona”; and during his NYSC year in Yobe State, he ran a column on Information Technology in THE MARK Newspaper to create IT awareness. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Hope Waddel Training Institution, Calabar and the University of Calabar. He was called to the Bar at the Lagos Law School in 2007. Imona’s pursuit for inter-religious, inter-tribal and inter-racial harmony are confirmed by his membership of the inter-religious committee of the Student Representative Council (SRC) while at the Law School where he displayed the rare attributes of love and tolerance devoid of ethnic colouration. He believes in vision, faith and diligence as the tripod of success and greatness. His favourite quote is, ‘TIME is a red rose flower and you either gain it or lose it’.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

This award is given to a professional or a technocrat who has made an outstanding contribution in the private sector.

Barbara Iyayi (32)	Iyayi is Vice President, Investment Banking at JPMorgan Chase. She graduated from Columbia University (SEAS) with aBachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She was part of the SEO Career Program, an intensive summer internship program for talented students of color, and this led to a full-time position at JPMorgan Private Bank. At JPMorgan, she worked in project management and business analysis. Iyayi mentored students through SEO and participated in initiatives related to women and girls empowerment. She served as a member of the Young Women’s Leadership Board at the YWCA-NYC. She also founded and led a financial literacy and leadership program. The program focused on building financial literacy, entrepreneurial, leadership and career development skills in young women in Brooklyn, NYC. In recognition of her achievements, she received the Young Women’s Visionary Award from the YWCA-NYC and the National Center for Black Philanthropy awarded her the Outstanding Achievement in Philanthropy by a Youth Award.Barbara recently received her MBA at Harvard Business School. At Harvard, she was the co-chair of the Africa Business Conference, one of the largest student-run business conference focused on Africa. She is currently an Associate at UBS Investment Bank’s Financial Sponsors, Leveraged Finance and Restructuring group. She maintains her commitment to women and girl empowerment through building a nonprofit organization focused on providing women and girls in Africa access to empowerment resources to succeed.
Osita Abana (28)	Abana has been the Head of Internal Communications at Unilever Nigeria Plc since 2012. He has held a variety ofcommunications positions in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He is a graduate of The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen United Kingdom where he bagged an M.Sc. in Corporate Communication and Public Affairs (with Distinction). He is a recipient of the UK Crime Stoppers United Kingdom Award for Creativity for developing a publicity campaign to tackle the high incidence of violent crimes in the Grampian region of Scotland. Abana, who started his career at Bank PHB, in his current role at Unilever manages the company’s Internal Communications and digital platforms including the corporate website. He works closely with Unilever Nigeria’s Executive Directors and ensures that top business priorities are clearly defined and cascaded to employees. Abana also partners the Corporate Relations Manager in driving the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in Nigeria. He also works with Unilever’s global partners: UNICEF and Save the Children in delivering Unilever-sponsored interventions in Nigeria like the ‘Community Approaches to Total Sanitation’ initiative and the EVERYONE Campaign. Abana’s accomplishments in his stint as a communications professional exemplify the efficacy of talent, laser sharp focus and commitment to continuous improvement.
Adim Isiakpona (28)	The Marketing and PR Manager for Intel West Africa since 2012, Isiakpona previously worked for Hewlett Packard WestAfrica for a total of 5 years, at 24, he became the Marketing Manager for the Personal Systems Group of HP, a position he held for 3 years. In this position, he drove the HP Brand to its all time peak by running out-of-the box marketing campaigns directed at non-IT savvy consumers. At his current position, Isiakpona works with the global marketing team to drive technology initiatives such as the Computer Ownership Programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication Technology which involved 15 Nigerian universities in which 20,000 laptops sold by local PC manufacturers in one quarter.Following the success of this campaign, the company launched the “Create Your Tomorrow” campaign to bring affordable PCs to the average Nigerians. These campaigns and more have led to an 30% annual increase in Intel West Africa’s sales. Isiaphona’s one year stint at Intel West Africa also saw him running the company’s East African business for a quarter during which the first Intel based smart phone was launched with telecommunications partner, Safaricom. This was the first Intel phone in all of Middle East, Turkey, and Africa Region and the device sold out in less than 5-days. He also oversees a CSR programme for the company which involves the training of students, women, and men in ICT in partnerships with several organisations, in the past year, about 7,000 people have been trained across sectors in Nigeria.
Kayode Temenu (29)	Temenu is Supply Planning Manager at Unilever Nigeria, a senior management role where he is charged with theresponsibility of planning supply point of view all the company’s manufacturing plants – 3 plants (5 factories) and two business supplier manufacturing factories. Before his appointment to this position in 2013, he led a companywide savings initiative project at Unilever Central Africa called Cash and Cost Challenge which delivered a savings of just over 20 million Euros in 2010 versus a target of 16.6 million Euros, which was the biggest in Unilever Central Africa for that year, and the second biggest in among countries within Unilever North Africa, Middle East and Central Africa. When he worked at Unilever Vietnam, Temenu was the Process Development Project Lead/Process Engineer at the company’s toothpaste plant , he was the first black man to work in the plant and within a span of 6 months led the team to deliver 16 innovation toothpaste products for countries in Africa and South East Asia. He was first appointed into a senior management role in 2012 as the Plant manager, Personal Products Factory where brands like Close Up, Pepsodent, Pears product range (Lotion, Oil, Cream & Jelly) at 29; the youngest person to be on that role in Unilever Central Africa before moving to his current role. He also oversees all Unilever Nigeria exports to Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
Jadesola Osiberu (27)	Osiberu joined GTBank in May 2011, after a 4 month stint at Insight Grey. At GTBank, she is brand manager of thebank’s leading media communication brand, Ndani TV which was launched in 2012. In one year, the Ndani TV brand has become a leading online TV channel in Nigeria. Every week, the channel produces content primarily targeted at the Nigerian Market. Osiberu has also written and directed “GIDI UP”, a mini TV series which has received positive reviews from critics and audiences. Osiberu obtained a degree in Communication Systems Engineering from the University of Manchester in 2006 and holds a Masters in Media and  Communications from the Pan African University.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN AGRICULTURE

This award is given to an entrepreneur, advocate, or professional who has demonstrated vision, leadership, andcommitment and made a measurable impact in the field of agriculture, and agro-related causes and organisations.

Zanau Hassan Maikasuwa (31)	Maikasuwa is a crop productionist graduate of the University of Maiduguri. He graduated in 2008 after which heventured into his current business which involves seed supply to farmers, a business he started with a capital of N50,000.He entered the YouWiN business plan writing competition in 2011 and won a grant of 10 million naira to start his business, Farmfields Agro-Allied Services in Taraba State. In the past year, Maikasuwa has introduced innovation into the agricultural sector by deploying knowledge-driven agricultural services to bring increased yield and income for farmers, thereby creating jobs. These agro innovations include the deployment of drip irrigation facilities, supply of improved cassava stems, and introduction of weed control measures. His organisation has also entered into a partnership with the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) on farm mechanization for smallholder farmers.
Olawale Isaiah Ojo (24)	Ojo is the Chief Operations Officer of Agropreneur Nigeria, an agribusiness organisation which provides businesssupport services for startups like supply of farm inputs, creating access to market and agribusiness consultancy for older farmers via the Farmers Organisation. He also uses social media platforms to carry out advocacy and capacity building of youth, turning their passion and attention to the opportunities in agribusiness. Through the “COOL to FARM” workshop series, he brings together stakeholders and young people to explore the various opportunities for them in the agricultural value chains. Ojo who is an Agricultural Engineer, graduate of the Federal University of Technology Akure and holds a Certificate in Integrated Farming Systems from the Songhai Centre, Porto-novo Benin Republic. He serves as Country Representative of the Young Professional’s Platform for Agricultural Research for Development(YPARD), a United Nation Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) coordinated network of youths in Agriculture for development. Ojo joins his parents in running a family farm.
Precious Peter Nweke (31)	Nweke owns Pranke Farms, a fish farming business located at Umudike-Umuajuloke, Omuma L.G.A., Rivers State. He startedthe business in 2009 and in the last four years the business have grown through various innovations in Aqua-culture which includes; modern spawning techniques, use of natural growth enhancers, modern designs of fish ponds, use of enzymes for pond conditioning, salting techniques, and fish feed production techniques. Pranke Farms is known to produce high quality fish with attractive pigmentation and good taste, due to the natural enhancers used.
Abraham Ojoh (22)	Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Acasat Agro Resources Limited, Ojoh set up his agricultural business in 2007 asa teenager in Onne LGA of Rivers State. The farm, which employs 6 full-time staff, has a poultry which produces live chicken and eggs; a fish farm that produces catfish; a snail farm; and an abattoir where cows and goats are slaughtered and packaged for sales. In the last year, Acasat Agro Resources has added a chicken processing plant to its facilities. With an annual turnover of N12 million recorded in 2012, Ojoh’s phenomenal success has attracted the Federal Government’s YouWin! Grand and the recognition of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Network (SME-DNA).
Adbdulazeez Yusuf (29)	Yusuf is the CEO of Yaboa Enterprise Ltd, a livestock faming business in Kano State. After recovering from a majorloss on his poultry business in 2011, he has bounced back to rebuild the business and now has 2,000 bird layers and 17 cattle herds. With 9 staff and 2 doctors in his employment, Yusuf hopes to be a national market leader in 5 years.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN FASHION & STYLE 

This award is given to a young person who has demonstrated measurable achievement in the field of fashion and style. Thisincludes designers, photographers, models, stylists, make-up artistes, entrepreneurs, and business owners.

Vera Akporeha (23)	Akporeha is Creative Director and CEO of VeraNora Couture (VNC), and Urban African Fashion Label based in Warri, DeltaState. She started VeraNora in 2009, inspired by her mother, Nora, who is a retiree, at the age of 18 while still in the University of Port Harcourt majoring in Biochemistry. VeraNora started out as a hobby with just one tailor in her employment and two dresses a week, four years later, it is now a full fashion house with more than 12 staff and interns in the training division and a factory that produces over 500 dresses a month supplied to a nationwide market. The label has featured in fashion shows in Port Harcourt and Delta State and in magazines and websites like BellaNaija, Ono Bello, TwinsGist, ObiNaija, and Linda Ikeji Blog. Her creations have been showcased on runways and red carpets across the country worn by celebrities and beauty queens like the Miss Nigeria and MBGN Winners for 2012. She is currently filming a Style Programme with a Lagos based TV and Media Company to be aired on DSTV. Akporeha also runs a social responsibility project where she gives back to her community by running free design training programmes for young girls in Warri and craft making for secondary school students during the Summer holidays. In addition, the studio runs skills acquisition training for NYSC members. The aim of VeraNora is to become a truly Nigerian retail fashion brand and in line with its CSR programmes,  to inspire young people to follow their dreams. She blogs at www.veranoracouture.blogspot.com.
Wanger Ayu (26)	Ayu is CEO of Designers Marketplace (DM) is a monthly trade, marketing, and networking event that holds on the 1stSaturday of every month in the Abuja, Nigeria. For over 4 years, the platform has been connecting small and medium scale enterprises to their target audiences. Being a platform for upcoming businesses in Abuja and around Nigeria, DM has amassed a crowd and a following that spans into the thousands at its sale events. Recently, the brand extended its platform to upcoming and talented Abuja-based musical acts in partnership with E.T. Quake Multimedia Nigeria Limited, co-owned by acclaimed producer, Tee-Y Mix. A Law Graduate from the University of Exeter, England and alumni of the prestigious Esmod French Fashion University, Dubai, Wanger Ayu has always had an innate sense of style and expressed this through artistic sketches, she has pursued her passion and hops to establish her name as a strong brand in the fashionindustry.
Olorunyomi Makun (27)	Makun is the Creative Director of Yomi Casuals. One of Nigeria’s most talented young designers, Makun stylescelebrities and VIPs for events and functions. He is a Nigeria Youth Merit Award recipient, and was a winner of City People’s Fashion Designer of the Year Award. Yomi Casual has dressed leading Nigerian music and Nollywood celebrities such as Desmond Elliot, Uti Nwachukwu, Julius Agwu, John Dumelo, Timaya, Sammy Okposo, Jimmy Jatt, Majid Micheal, Iyanya and Don Jazzy.
Agbani Darego (31)	In 2003, Darego, a former Miss World, made the move to New York, where she signed with Next Model Management NY forfour years (2003 – 2007), she later moved to Ford Models NY; featuring in numerous beauty and fashion advertising and commercials including Avon, Christian Dior Beauty, Sephora, Target, Macy’s to name a few. Darego released the promotional campaign for her denim line AD by Agbani Darego. She also launched a style and fashion reality show Stylogenic on Nigerian television.
Aisha Bello(24)	Bello shot into limelight when she won the 3rd edition of Nigeria’s Next Super Model, a talent show for runway fashionmodels in 2011. In 2012, she won Best Model of the World in Bulgaria. Since winning the talent hunt, she’s taken the fashion world by storm. Bello is on high demand by world designers and in the past year, she has walked the runway at the BET’s Hit the Runway (2012), Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Johannesburg, South Africa (2012), Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Cape Town, South Africa (2012), Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Malta (2013), London Fashion Week (2013), Ebonylife TV Launch (2013), and New York Couture Fashion Week (2012). Bello has also been featured on Bouygue’s Construction 2013 Calendar, Fashion TV in 2012, and she was one of Fashion TV Angels for its official launch in Nigeria in 2012. She’s surely a star to watch.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN ARTS & CULTURE

This award recognizes extraordinary achievement in the promotion and the preservation of the best of our arts and culture.This includes young creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, designers, artists, film makers, and cartoonists.NamesProfiles

Toyin Odutola (28)	A recent graduate of California College of the Arts, Odutola is already celebrating her second show at Jack ShainmanGallery in New York City in 2013. She produces ink works on paper from her studio in Alabama, updating friends and fansthrough an active blog. Using ballpoint pens and other drawing utensils, Nigerian-born Odutola makes intricate portraits from photographs. Toyin has also exhibited in group shows at the Menil Collection in Houston and at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. She was listed in Forbes “30 under 30 “under the Arts and style.
Njideka Akunyili (30)	Akunyili, whose art she has said addresses her deep love for Nigeria, her country of birth, and her strongappreciation for Western culture is the recipient of the 2013 Rosenthal Family Foundation award for painting. The award was presented to the artist May 15 at a ceremony held by the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York. She also won the Carol Schlosberg Memorial Prize for Excellence in Painting, Yale University in 2011 Her solo exhibition for 2013 I Still Face You, shows at the Franklin Art Works, Minneapolis. From 2010, Njideka metamorphosed from being a Teaching Assistant to “Basic Drawing, and Introductory painting at the Yale University School of Art to a Visiting Assistant Professor of Studio Art, “Life Drawing,” Swarthmore College, Swarthmore in 2011. By 2012 she had settled into her most recent role in 2012 as Visiting Instructor of Painting, “Senior Thesis,” Maryland Institute College of Art. She currently has her five mixed media works in I Still Face You at Franklin Art Works and is fast becoming the art world’s newest star.At the 2012 Art Basel, five of her large figurative collage paintings sold out in just half an hour. She was selected for the prestigious Studio Harlem residency program in 2011-2012 and is currently one of the three artists in its exhibition Primary Sources.
Anthony Ezeokoye (23)	A multiple award winner, including the Commonwealth Youth Programme Art Competition, Ezeokoye is a concept designer,digital artist, graphics designer, cartoonist / illustrator, animator, and co-founder INSECTA Designs at the age of 19.INSECTA Designs is a full-service design firm created in 2009. A graduate of Architecture from the University of Nigeria where he received numerous honours as a student for academic excellence, and including the “Most Creative Student Award” three times. Ezeokoye is passionate about creating utilitarian designs and freedom in artistic expressions. “My objective is to contribute and serve humanity in my own little ways with my love for creating new designs. My motivation is sustainability and my goal is to design the future.”
Kenneth Gyang (27)	Kenneth Gyang is a writer and director that has been working in film and television since 2006 having graduated fromthe National Film Institute in Jos. Notable projects in television included working as a director for the BBC’s Wetin Dey, MTV’s MTV Meets, EbonyLife TV’s The Fattening Room and Televista’s Finding Aisha.In what has been a vintage year, he directed ‘Measuring Time’,a documentary film on healthcare in Niger state that won Best Documentary and Technical Excellence Awards at AFRICAST 2012 and also the hugely successful film ‘Karangiya’, a cross-cultural film bridging the North and South divide.Kenneth is the co-founder of Cinema Kpatakpata, a production company based primarily in Nigeria with the sole aim of producing regular stream of popular films shot within Africa generally and Nigeria in particular.To date he has has directed two major feature films: the political love story ‘Blood and Henna’ (2012) which showed as part of Nigeria’s Art and Culture showcased during the 2012 London Olympics and Cinema Kpatakpata’s debut ‘Confusion Na Wa’ (2013),which received funding by the Rotterdam Film Festival’s Hubert Bals Fund and despiteits relatively small budget, won Best Nigerian Film as well as declared Africa’s Best Film of the Year by the continent’s most credible jury at the 2013 Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Ishaya Bako (27)	From a simple fascination of the beauty and delicateness amongst African women when making their hair in salon stallsat local market places, Bako created a globally recognised and 2012 African Movie Academy Award-winning short film, Braids on a Bald Head. This short film has been showcased at international film festivals such as the Cambridge International Film Festival (2010), Festival Tous Courts Toulouse (2011), Seattle International Film Festival (2011) and the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival France (2011) among others. In 2013 Ishaya released a new documentary called “Fueling Poverty”. This educative documentary by Ishaya Bako, explains the history of the petroleum subsidy and the proposed removal in January 2012 by the Jonathan government. The stellar documentary on poverty and fuel subsidy in Nigeria is narrated by Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN ENTERPRISE SUPPORT

This award is given to a young person(s) who has excelled in running a business or organisation whose service or workenhances supports or provides solutions for SMEs.NamesProfiles

Isoken Ogiewonyi (26) and Wonuola Odunsi (29)	Isoken Ogiemwonyi and Wonuola Odunsi are the creators of L’Espace, a multi-brand concept store in Lagos, Nigeria.Located in Victoria Island, the store was established in December 2011. Their product mix spans from fashion (Menswear, Women swear and Children) – Beauty – Lifestyle – Fashion and Lifestyle Services. L’Espace was the first store in Nigeria to stock only African/African-owned design. The store is dedicated to promoting new design talent on the African continent and has recently championed designers such as Vintage Colette (MTN Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2011 winner) and WSClothing Co. They have made it known that they intend to expand both the L’Espace.
Ijeoma Okeagu 30)	Okeagu is the CEO of White Rabbit Concept Ltd. The organisation was created to serve the needs of young businessowners who are interested in learning Basic Business dynamics for Starting, running and ultimately sustaining a successful business enterprise. It is neither training nor a conference; the style is very interactive and educative. White Rabbit Concept Ltd host a Monthly Business Session for Young People in Business Enterprise. The Business Session which holds every 1st Friday of the month since June 2012 started with 12 participants session and grown to 30 participants per session in 2013.
Gbolahan Fagbulere (30)	Fagbilere runs Speaker Series Africa, a monthly forum where he interviews Nigeria’s leading business people andemerging entrepreneurs as they share their business and life experiences with young professionals. He is a Lagos-based entrepreneur and founder of Africa Speaker Agency, Chartwell’s sister firm in Africa. He has been involved in starting up Nigeria’s largest online retailer as well as also founding businesses in consulting and road repair. Prior to establishing these firms, he worked at global banks Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse in London as well as in consulting at KPMG in Lagos.
Chibuike Aguene (30)	Aguene is the CEO of Start-up Hub. Start-up hub accelerates the growth process of startups in Nigeria throughmentoring, capacity building and business development, and access to funds. Hub helps startups through the starting phase of a business. In the last 12 months it has engaged more than 3,000 young and aspiring entrepreneurs particularly students and undergraduates entrepreneurs through various initiatives that develop and build their capacity in the venturing process. Over this period, it has successfully developed 2 structured and sustainable platforms that help young and aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their ideas to successful business venture.
Ayodeji Adewunmi (29), Opeyemi Awoyemi (25), and Olalekan Olude (29)	The trio of Adewunmi, Awoyemi, and Olude, founded Jobberman, described by Forbes Africa as “Nigeria’s biggest jobsearch engine and aggregator. Jobberman went live in August 2009, and today the site attracts over 50,000 unique users each day. Through simple, yet cutting-edge technology, Jobberman helps link qualified personnel to the right job opportunities. Jobberman is one of the few companies in Nigeria’s tech space that enjoy venture capital backing.” The Jobberman team was listed in Forbes’ 30 under 30 Best Young Entrepreneurs in Africa by Forbes.

THE FUTURE AWARDS PRIZE IN EDUCATION

This award is given to a young person who has recorded measurable impact in advancing education through advocacy,activism, innovation, enterprise, and, institution building.NamesProfiles

Gossy Ukanwoke (25)	Dubbed “Nigeria’s budding Mark Zuckerberg” by Forbes, Ukanwoke, wanted to transform how education is provided and makeit readily available for people who otherwise might not have access or the resources for an education, so he founded the Beni American University (www.beniamerican.org) in December 2011. Prior to the university, he founded Students Circle Network, an academic network for students, teachers and institutions that brings over 10,000 academic resources from over 200 universities and shares it free for students and teachers. As the Founder of the institution, he oversees the academics, international collaborations, and overall corporate planning and strategy. Students Circle has grown to become a world known network and has been featured on several news media worldwide. He has been referred to as “Africa’s Top Tech Entrepreneur” by ITNews Africa in 2011. Ukanwoke, who graduated top of his class at Gime American University with a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems, has spoken at his alma mata’s Ph.D. Series Seminars 2012, and written a series of guest articles for leading internet journals focused on how technology is changing how education is delivered.
Adebayo Degbembgo (30)	Genii Games owned by Degbemgbo, is the parent entity behind Àsà; a range of mobile applications aimed at promoting and preserving the African culture and its richness. The apps which are built around culturally relevant contents are aimed at kids aged 1 to 12 years. These apps specifically tap into features that serve to stimulate the interests of kids in our chosen subjects. The growing collection of apps span various aspects of the African culture including languages, folktales, etiquette, etc. With a vision to preserve, promote, and stimulate interest in Nigerian cultural values, our ongoing journey is geared towards multiple mobile platforms ensuring wide reach to our audience.
Olufunbi Falayi (27)	Falayi founded and runs Project 4 Club, an intervention project targeted at capacity building for senior secondaryschool students in the Nigerian public school system. He’s received as a result scholarship to study Leadership Development (Discovering Young Leaders Program) at The Commonwealth (2012), Lagos State-NYSC Commendation Award (2013) and a Scholarship to study Social Entrepreneurship at the International Institute of Social Entrepreneurs and Innovators, INDIA (2013)
Otto Orondaam (26)	Orondaam is a social crusader, a developmental worker, an analyst, and a social entrepreneur. He is the initiator ofthe Slum to School Project and Net a Child Project, which are both geared towards lending a voice and offering a platform to bring to the fore the educational, health and social needs of disadvantaged children, and providing succour for them.His Slum to School Project provided complete educational scholarships for 118 orphans and vulnerable children in Makoko community and also provided school uniforms, sandals, canvass, school bags, books and other psychosocial support. Orondaam was winner of the Lagos State Honours Award 2012 as the most outstanding corps member and is a nominee for the MDG Presidential Award.
Oriahi Anderson (25)	A Brand Strategist that has dedicated his life to building models that revolutionize Nigeria, Anderson. In 2009 hedeveloped a programme called 9gp to aid in the Rebranding Nigeria Campaign. The programme was endorsed and approved by the then Minister of Information, Professor Dora Akuinyili. In 2012 he organized a free skills acquisition programme in Ilorin, Kwara State, in which he trained and empowered over 170 youths including the deaf and dumb. In 2013, he created a website,  www.yimucentral.com, to revive the reading and writing culture of Nigerians. The website has had over 160,000 views in 6 months.

YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR – THE AFRICA PRIZE 2013 HONOUREES

This prize is given in partnership with the African Union Commission (AU) and is awarded to a young African whose worksets him or her apart as a role model, setting the pace for other young leaders on the continent. The 10 nomineesautomatically qualify as part of the 50 Young Africans Making a Difference on the Continent to be celebrated by the AU atits 50th Anniversary Celebration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in October, 2013.NamesProfiles

LUDWICK MARISHANE – SOUTH AFRICA (22	South Africa’s youngest patent holder and serial inventor, Ludwick Marishane is the founder of DryBath, the world’sonly non-water based germicidal bath substitute lotion for the whole body which has sold 162 units as at 2012. He was rated as the best student entrepreneur in the world (Global Champion of the Global Student Entrepreneurs Awards 2011), oneof the 12 winners of Google’s annual Zeitgeist Young Minds Competition, and appeared on Huffington Post and Ted Talks in 2012.
WILLIAM KAMKWAMBA – MALAWI (25)	A student in the Dartmouth College class of 2014, William Kamkwamba is a Malawian inventor and author who rose toglobal fame when he built a windmill to power some electrical appliances at their family house back at the age of 14. In2012, Kamkwamba published his autobiography, an inspirational book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope and a documentary about Kamkwamba, called William and the Windmill, won the Documentary Feature Grand Jury award at SXSW in 2013.
ASHISH J. THAKKAR – UGANDA (32)	Ashish J. Thakkar is the Managing Director of Mara Group, a conglomerate he founded at the age of 15 which includesIT, real estate, manufacturing companies, and more with operations in 26 countries, spanning four continents, and employing over 7,000 people worldwide.
SARAN KABA JONES – LIBERIA (31)	Saran Kaba Jones is a clean water advocate and social entrepreneur who founded FACE Africa to provide safe drinkingwater and empower women and girls in her home country of Liberia; FACE Africa had raised over $250,000 to this end and Jones was listed by the Guardian UK in 2013 as one of Africa’s 25 Top Women Achievers alongside President Joyce Banda of Malawi and Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee.
MOCTAR DEMBÉLÉ – BURKINA FASO (22)	Moctar Dembélé, one half of the team of African students that invented The Faso Soap, together with his partner,(Gérard Niyondiko, from Burundi), he is the first non-American born/citizen, to win the Global Science Venture Competition (GSVC) organized by the University of California Berkeley, USA for inventing the anti-malaria repellant soap.
GRACE IHEJIAMAIZU – NIGERIA (22)	Named as one of Google’s 12 Brightest Young Minds in 2011, and by the US Government as ‘International Exchange AlumniMember of the Month for September 2012’, Grace Ihejiamaizu is an entrepreneur and global change-maker. In 2010, shefounded an after-school youth project, Raising Young Productive Entrepreneurs (RYPE) Initiative; in 2012, she started a Social Enterprise company called iKapture Networks and founded the fast-growing online platform, opportunitydesk.org
PATRICK NGOWI – TANZANIA (28)	Following its nomination by Tanzania’s leading consulting and auditing firm (KPMG) in 2012 as the fastest growingcompany in the country, Helvetic Solar and its founder, Patrick Ngowi have from then been featured in a number of national and international media including FORBES, Venture Africa, and most recently, he was invited to speak at the Africa  Global Business Forum 2013 that was held in Dubai.
PETER OKOYE AND PAUL OKOYE (PSQUARE) – NIGERIA (31	This inspiring twin brothers have been tagged one of the very best in African music. Signed to Akon’s Konvict Musik,Psquare signed a record distribution deal with Universal Music Group in 2012, the same year they released their hugely successful remix singles/videos featuring global music giants, Akon “Chop My Money”, and Rick Ross “Beautiful Onyinye Remix”. The duo has just come off a massively successful African tour where they easily filled up stadia in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Brazzaville, and more.
FOGLABENCHI LILY HARITU – CAMEROON (27)	A finalist of the 2013 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work, Foglabenchi Lily Haritu, is the youngest individual to reach the position of program supervisor in the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services. Harituhas demonstrated an outstanding commitment to reproductive and sexual health rights education and rights promotion particularly through her work with stationary and rural mobile clinics across Cameroon.
KARIUKI GATHITU – KENYA (27)	Kariuki Gathitu is an entrepreneur, and software developer who in 2010 turned down an offer to work for Google toinstead developed a mobile payment management system called MPAYER. MPAYER has been widely acknowledged and receivedawards for innovation and recently won second position in a global competition held in South Africa called Dragons Den (2013) and was the best application in Africa; it came second in the World’s 50 Top Startups Globally (2013), and in same year was named one of the Top Tech Startups You Need to Know in Africa by CNN.