5 Young Nigerian Entrepreneurs We Admire
Nigeria has inarguably produced various innovative and enterprising people that have carved out a niche for themselves in various fields and helped made the world a better place both at home and in the diaspora. From Philip Emegweali to Chiwetel Ejiofor to Wole Soyinka, Nigeria has indeed stood out and this is a worthy accolade. However, there are 5 Nigerians that we wish to focus our attention on for the purpose of this article and they have one thing in common that makes us admire them. THEY ARE YOUNG! We will just talk about each of them a little. Here they are:
1. Evans Akanno
2. Ola Orekunrin
3. Ferdinand Ademife
4. Editi Effiong
5. Adebola Williams
EVANS AKANNO (CEO/FOUNDER, CREGITAL)
Mr. Evans Akanno is the CEO/Founder, Cregital — a successful digital and branding agencies in Nigeria. One would think that Mr. Akanno had it all but his story is that of vision, dedication, and hard work. After his graduation from Imo State University, Nigeria where he bagged a degree in Industrial Chemistry, he went on to be a freelance graphics designer in 2010 and was opportune to work for Jumia and Konga as a social media strategist before setting up CREGITAL AGENCY in April 15th, 2015 with a four (4)-man team. Moving on three (3) years and still counting, CREGITAL has bagged several awards including Best Website Developing Company (2016) and Mr. Evans Akanno also received the Creative Professional of the Year Award at the 2016 The Future Awards Africa amongst other prestigious awards. Some of Cregital’s clients include Google, Zenith Bank, Social Media Week, etc. He’s still growing and we are looking forward to seeing him achieve greater strides in the future.
DR. OLA OREKUNRIN (CEO, FLYING DOCTORS)
Dr. Orekunrin is a TED fellow, ThisDay Awards (2012) recipient, World Economic Forum Young Global Leader amongst other great feat. She is a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Surgeons and the British Medical Association. We can go on and on about the achievements of this multitalented woman who is a trained medical doctor and helicopter pilot but we are here to tell her story.
The London-born doctor hails from Ilawe-Ekiti, Ekiti State. Having grown up with her foster parents in the UK, she graduated from the University of York as a doctor aged 21. After experiencing the tragic loss of her sister, she set up the first West Africa’s first air ambulance service which goes by the name Flying Doctors with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria also provide services across Nigeria as well other West African countries. Flying Doctors have a fleet of 20 aircrafts and 47 staff on a three (3)-doctor crew available 24 hours a day. Flying Doctors targets high-risk industrial sectors like oil and gas, construction, and manufacturing. They provide services for the public through government contracts, private companies and wealthy individuals.
FERDINAND ADEMIFE (CEO, IMAGINARIUM CREATIVE GLOBAL)
Mr. Ferdinand Ademife is a Human Anatomy graduate from the University of Port Harcourt. He also has a masters degree from the School of Media and Communication, Pan-African University, Lagos, Nigeria. Mr. Ademife grew up in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and is the third of seven children. He began his career in 2008 at Adstrat and moved on to Century Energy and Services Limited from 2011 to 2014 as a Brand and Communications Manager. In 2014, he started Imaginarium Creative Global , a successful digital media agency and which is currently working on a 2-D adaptation of Cyprian Ekwensi’s classic, the Passport of Mallam Ilia. A member of the Information Communications Committee of the Nigerian Economic Forum, a Ford Foundation inductee, he is also a seasoned writer having written on various popular blogs such as BusinessDay, YNaija, BellaNaija, etc. he has also published two books titled You Can Do Better and Pulse. He is currently the Senior Pastor of The Tribe, headquartered in Lagos which powers Sozo Foundation, a charity initiative which focuses on helping underprivileged children in Nigeria. He is married and has two children.
EDITI EFFIONG (CEO, ANAKLE LIMITED)
Many of us may be familiar with the just recently released movie, Up North but may not know the face behind it — it’s the multitalented individual in the person of Mr. Editi Effiong. He started out by building websites and within a short time, he developed his own website, business and advertisement development website. He went to work as the Country Manager for for XEQ Technology, moving onto work for Thompson & Grace and in 2010, he thereafter founded Anakle. Anakle a digital agency that develops contents for both its online and offline users. It is also well known for creating viral campaigns on social media such as Brideprice App (2014), Call Your Mom App (2015), and Things Come Together App for Wikipedia (2017).
Mr. Effiong has been featured on CNN, BBC, CNBC amongst other international and national media.
ADEBOLA WILLIAMS (CO-FOUNDER, RED MEDIA AFRICA/CEO, STATECRAFT INC.)
Mr. Williams is a Nigerian media entrepreneur, political activist, actor, journalist and motivational speaker. Born 7th March, 1986 into a wealthy family but when he was 9 years old, his family lost everything and started struggling. He decided to take the bull by the horn and started out as a freelancer while working as an assistant with counsellor and psychologist. After volunteering for some time, He got a job with Economic Watch as a Producer and was reporting a business show. As time went on, he cofounded Red Media Africa with his friend, Chude Jideonwo and the duo together with their team have been instrumental in bringing to power three (3) heads of state. He is also the CEO of StateCraft Inc, governance communication company. Mr. Williams having had the opportunity to speak on various platforms such as 2017 Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, USA as well as TED, he is a recipient of various notable awards including CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Award (2014), Co-Winner, Young Business Leader of the Year, West Africa.
