Meet the Young Nigerian Entrepreneurs Featured on Forbes 30 Under 30
Forbes has released its 10th publication of the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list. The list includes 600 people from across the world who are entrepreneurs, activists, athletes, scientists, entertainers and innovators, defying the odds to build something great despite the pressures from the world.
This year’s selection was not without the knowledge of a wide-reaching community, skilled reporters and expert judges. The editors as well worked closely with a selected panel of judges to appraise the 20 categories. Since its inception, Forbes 30 Under 30 list has recognized several industry changers who are below the age of 30.
Among the brightest selections are trailblazers from Nigeria who are also leading innovations in their respective industries. Nigerians on the list include Oge Mora, Sophia Danner-Okotie, Inioluwa Deborah Raji, Nnamdi Iregbulem, Chiney Ogwumike, Amobi Okugo, Chinedu Eleanya and AJ Okereke. Get to know them below.
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Chiney Ogwumike
Chiney Ogwumike is an ESPN commentator and one half of ‘Chimney and Golic Jr.’ She’s the first black woman to host a national daily sports-talk radio show. She graduated with a degree in International Relations and was the number one overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft.
Sophia Danner-Okotie
Sophia Danner-Okotie is the founder of Besida, a black-owned boutique and online store based in Atlanta, offering sustainable fashion for women. Recently, Besida was awarded a $20,000 grant from LISC underwritten by Lowe’s.
Nnamdi Iregbulem
Nnamdi Iregbulem is a partner at Lightspeed Ventures. The company invests in technical enterprise software, application infrastructure and machine learning. He invested at ICONIQ Capital, deploying more than $500 million into leading technology companies like GitLab, Epic Games, ezCarter and Brightwheel.
Inioluwa Deborah Raji
Inioluwa actively campaigns on behalf of others. She is a founding member of the Algorithm Justice League, a non-profit organization that raises public awareness about the social implications of Artificial Intelligence and emerged as one of their star researchers. One of her major projects was an audit on Amazon Recognition’s deployed facial recognition product which she discovered was significantly less accurate for darker-skinned women than for white men.
AJ Okereke
AJ Okereke is an investor and a first-generation Nigerian-American. AJ Okereke brings new services, technologies and consumer good to Africa.
Chinedu Eleanya
Chinedu Eleanya cofounded Mulberry, a tech platform that retailers use to offer extended warranties to eCommerce customers. Key clients include fitness device Mirror, coffee machine maker, Breville and a mattress company, Nectar.
Amobi Okugo
Amobi is a defender for Austin Bold FC of the USL. He founded A Frugal Athlete to teach athletes how to manage their finances. Amobi manages the OK U Go Foundation that provides athletic resources to disadvantaged children.
View the complete list on Forbes.com