Ayomide Akinbode

Founder, HistoryVille

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Ayomide Akinbode is the founder of HistoryVille, Nigeria’s foremost online history magazine, which has grown into a trusted platform for history enthusiasts through engaging articles, discussions, and public history advocacy. Driven by a passion for preserving and sharing the stories of the past, Akinbode has earned recognition as an influential voice in history journalism and historical storytelling in Nigeria.</span></p>

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Ikemesit Effiong

Lawyer

<p>Ikemesit Effiong is a lawyer and strategic advisor specialising in the intersection of corporate governance, political risk, and public policy across Sub-Saharan Africa. He has served as an outside consultant to four Nigerian governorship races and advised multinationals—including MTN, Multichoice, British American Tobacco, and Coca-Cola—on regulatory compliance, corporate communications, and CSR strategy. Governments and global brands leverage his network across business, diplomacy, and civil society to navigate Nigeria’s complex operating environment and deepen their developmental footprint.</p>

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Tomiwa Aladekomo

CEO, Big Cabal Media

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Tomiwa Aladekomo is the Chief Executive Officer at Big Cabal Media (BCM), where he oversees the development and business operations of TechCabal and </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Zikoko – two of the most prominent online platforms for Technology and youth-focused content in Nigeria. At BCM, Tomiwa is instrumental in building the next generation of African media brands and developing compelling original content that captures the essence of African stories.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>An experienced business executive, Tomiwa Aladekomo has built a wealth of experience working extensively in the media and marketing industry across Nigeria and North America. He has successfully led BCM through a transformative journey that has positioned it as one of the most exciting new media companies in Africa.</span></p>

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Anita Eboigbe

COO, Big Cabal Media

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Anita Eboigbe is the Chief Operating Officer of Big Cabal Media, publishers of TechCabal and Zikoko. She is a communications expert, researcher, journalist and media business operator.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Anita is actively committed to growing the African media industry through research for business development and guiding execution.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Her work focuses on improving the industry by creating workable roadmaps and leading strategic direction.</span></p>

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Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh

Executive Director Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria

<table> <tbody> <tr> <td><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh is the Executive Director of </span><b>Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria</b><span style=”font-weight: 400″>, a leading civic engagement and good-governance organisation. At the helm of EiE from January 2026, she leads national campaigns that amplify citizen voice, strengthen accountability, and deepen democratic participation across Nigeria. Ufuoma has been central to high-impact initiatives like #OfficeOfTheCitizen, #RSVP (Register | Select | Vote | Protect) and the grassroots #myLGA project, mobilising citizens to demand transparency and responsive governance. Under her leadership, EiE continues to shape public discourse on issues such as electoral integrity and public policy. Previously, she rose through EiE’s programmes team and has experience in strategic project design, advocacy, and civic education.</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

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Funmilola Sanya

Editor at BellaNaija

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Funmilola Sanya is an Editor at BellaNaija, where she tells stories that celebrate people, culture, and the creative voices shaping Africa. Her work spans features, interviews, and cultural coverage: spotlighting creatives, documenting festivals, and exploring the intersections of identity, creativity, and everyday African life.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Her work highlights innovation, progress, and the people creating change. A storyteller at heart, Funmilola believes everyone is a walking story waiting to be told. She’s drawn to narratives that reflect the richness and everyday realities of the continent and has a knack for making them feel warm, relatable, and deeply human.</span></p>

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Ganiu Oloruntade

Senior Editor at Techcabal

<table> <tbody> <tr> <td><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Ganiu Oloruntade is a Senior Editor at TechCabal, Africa’s leading technology publication. In his current role, he leads a team of talented reporters covering important stories across five key verticals: Money, Policy and Enterprise, Life and Work, Startups and Emerging Technologies. </span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>He joined TechCabal as a Reporter and wrote about startups, policy, and government.</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

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Douglas Kendyson

Founder & CEO, Selar

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Douglas Kendyson is the Founder & CEO of Selar, Africa’s leading platform for digital </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>entrepreneurs. He worked at Flutterwave and Paystack, two of Africa’s most successful </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>billion-dollar fintech startup. He brings deep experience in fintech and online payments. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Since launching Selar in 2016, he has helped over 2 million users monetise digital </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>products, paying out more than $10 million to African creators. Douglas is passionate </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>about empowering entrepreneurs to build sustainable online </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>businesses and is shaping </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>the future of work across the continent through digital commerce.</span></p>

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Oswald Osaretin Guobadia

Senior Policy Adviser and Digital Strategy Leader

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Oswald Osaretin Guobadia is a senior policy adviser and digital strategy leader with over 25 </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>years building infrastructure and shaping transformative policy across Africa. In his career on </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>the continent and now as Managing Partner at DigitA, Oswald has guided projects and policy </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>innovations that have created impact in countries across Africa, helping to set the pace for </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>inclusive digital development and entrepreneurial growth. He has led the rollout of innovative </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>platforms, such as the UNDP Africa timbuktoo Policy approach and national innovation and </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>entrepreneurship strategies. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Oswald’s advisory reach includes serving presidential offices, leading government agencies, </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>collaborating with multilateral partners, and forging public–private partnerships to help build </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>resilient infrastructure and regulatory frameworks. As Senior Special Assistant on Digital </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Transformation to the President of Nigeria, he steered Nigeria’s largest startup policy rollout, </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>including the acclaimed Nigeria Startup Act—widely recognized as a benchmark for digital </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>economies. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>He has shared his insights at TEDx, the United Nations General Assembly, BBC Africa, CNBC </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Africa, and the Wharton Africa Business Forum, and has graced numerous influential panels </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>and stages globally. Oswald is also an entrepreneur, board member, published author, and </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>tireless champion for African innovation. He believes, “the next startup to impact the world will </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>start in an African village.”</span></p>

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Gbenga Sesan

Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Gbenga Sesan is the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, a pan-African social enterprise working on digital inclusion and digital rights, with offices in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A 2008 Ashoka Fellow, he served on Nigeria’s Presidential Committees for Harmonization of the Information Technology, Telecommunications and Broadcasting Sectors (2006) and the Roadmap for the Achievement of Accelerated Universal Broadband Infrastructure and Services Provision (2013). He served as Vice Chair of the African Technical Advisory Committee for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, was appointed to the inaugural High-Level Leadership Panel of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) by UN Secretary-</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>General António Guterres in August 2022, is a member of the International Panel on the Information Environment’s Scientific Panel on Global Standards for AI Auditing, and serves on the Standard Organisation of Nigeria’s National Technical Committee on Digitally Delivered Services.</span></p>

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Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie

Anchor & National Correspondent, Arise News

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie is a Nigerian journalist, historian, and lawyer with a strong focus on governance, lawmaking, and national security. She brings a rare interdisciplinary perspective to public affairs reporting, combining legal analysis, historical context, and investigative storytelling to illuminate Nigeria’s democratic institutions. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>With extensive experience covering the National Assembly and public policy, Adesuwa is known for uncovering untold stories behind legislation, power, and statecraft, connecting past decisions to present consequences. Her work translates complex constitutional and legislative issues into clear, compelling narratives that deepen public understanding and accountability. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>She is an Anchor and National Assembly Correspondent for ARISE News and produces and hosts Untold Stories with Adesuwa Program as well as the Bad Natives Podcast.</span></p>

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Chiamaka Dike

Broadcast Journalist, BBC Africa

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Chiamaka Dike is a broadcast journalist and producer with BBC News Africa, contributing to Focus on Africa, the BBC’s flagship television programme and podcast bringing African perspectives to major political, economic, and social developments across the continent and beyond. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Her work focuses on delivering accurate, context-driven journalism that makes complex developments accessible to global audiences.</span></p> <p> </p>

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Ibijoke Faborode

Founder & CEO, ElectHER

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Ibijoke Faborode is a social entrepreneur and governance strategist advancing inclusive </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>institutions and economic systems across Africa. She is the Founder & CEO of </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>ElectHER, a pan-African organisation strengthening gender-responsive governance, </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>and Founder of the Africa Female Founders Collective (AFFC), a platform expanding </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>capital access and data visibility for women-led ventures.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>As Strategic Lead of the ElectHER Policy & Research Center, she drives policy design, </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>data innovation, and institutional reform initiatives. Under her leadership, ElectHER has </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>produced 40+ research publications, launched Hernalytics- a gender-responsive </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>election data platform, and supported legislative reforms, including co-drafting Nigeria’s </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Independent Candidacy Bill in the 10th assembly. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Recognised as a BBC 100 Women Honoree, Ibijoke speaks globally on governance </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>innovation, data systems design, and building resilient institutions that unlock inclusive </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>growth across emerging markets.</span></p>

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Chika Agu

Journalist

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Chika is a multimedia journalist reporting on issues of national and global significance. Across digital platforms, he translates complex political and socio-economic stories into accessible and engaging conversations for audiences who might not typically follow hard news, bridging the gap between public affairs and everyday citizens.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>He has worked across radio at leading stations including The Beat FM and Radio Now, and has occasionally hosted Pivotal on Channels TV. His work has included moderating national conversations, interviewing federal lawmakers on Open Square, and engaging political aspirants on The Candidates, always with a focus on clarity, accountability, and informed civic dialogue.</span></p>

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Samson Toromade

Storytelling and Community Lead, Archiving

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Samson Toromade is a journalist with a decade of work in Nigeria’s media space, focused on making sense of social and political issues for everyday people.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Archiving is on a mission to recapture lost Nigerian history. We digitise old newspapers and magazines, making them accessible to everyone. Our collections offer a window into the past, giving people the tools to explore, learn, and connect history with the present.</span></p>

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Amaka Okechukwu Opara

Founding Partner, WEAV Capital

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Amaka is an investment professional with over 18 years of experience in finance and </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>investments. She is the Founding Partner of WEAV Capital, a mission-driven venture </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>capital-fund that invests in gender-smart companies spearheading innovation in the </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>future of climate,future of finance, and the future of work. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>She previously worked at the WorldBank on private sector development, directly </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>managing a portfolio of over $1.3 billion in projects across Sub-Saharan Africa. She has </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>extensive experience in funding and providing technical assistance to entrepreneurs, </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>business incubators, and venture capital firms in Sub-Saharan Africa. She sits on the </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>board of several companies.</span></p>

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Zia Yusuf

Audience editor, TechCabal

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Zia Yusuf is an Audience Editor at TechCabal. During the day, she spends her time writing stories about the people and startups that make up Africa’s tech ecosystem, and thinking up ways these stories can get to the people who need to read them. When she’s off the clock, she consumes film, fiction and too much tea.</span></p>

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Adesuwa Imasekha

Project Officer, Media in Gender, CJID

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Adesuwa Imasekha is an executive leader and investment strategist with nearly two decades of experience spanning capital, governance, and inclusive development across Africa. She is the Group Chief Executive of TAI Corp, where she leads strategic investments in energy transition and digital infrastructure, and serves as Director of Technology, Energy & Infrastructure for an Africa-focused credit fund overseeing capital deployment into high-impact sectors.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>She is also the Founder and President of Women Impacting Nigeria (WIN), a leading civic empowerment platform mobilising women to engage governance systems and drive accountability. Adesuwa is widely recognised for her work advancing ESG, digital equity, and institutional accountability, and is a frequent contributor to policy and economic development dialogues across Africa.</span></p>

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Joachim MacEbong

Political Risk Analyst

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Joachim is a political risk analyst and data science professional with 15 years of experience analysing governance, policy, and economic issues across West Africa. He has a proven ability to translate data-driven insights into actionable recommendations for governments, international organisations, and private sector clients. He has also completed an MSc in Data Science with a focus on applying Data Science to solve Africa’s complex development challenges. He is frequently featured in local and international media, providing expert commentary on Nigerian politics and policy.</span></p>

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Cynthia Mbamalu

Director of Programs, Yiaga Africa

<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Cynthia Onyinye Mbamalu is a human and gender rights advocate with 19 years ofexperience promoting democracy, youth and women’s political inclusion, legislative and policy reforms, electoral integrity, human rights and transformational leadership.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>A lawyer with an LLM in Comparative Constitutional Law from Central European University (CEU), she co-founded Yiaga Africa and serves as its Director of Programs, leading initiatives in democratic practice, political inclusion, gender </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>equality, and electoral integrity in Nigeria and Africa. She has led and participated in election observation missions in multiple African countries and the USA. She spearheads the #WatchingTheVote project, a data-driven initiative for election </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>integrity. A founding leader of the Not Too Young to Run movement, she helped lower the constitutional age for contesting elections in Nigeria. As an experienced and certified community organiser, she manages the Community Organising program for young people in Nigeria and West Africa, she mentors youth, and hosts the UnAmplified Podcast on democracy and development in Africa. She is an </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>alumna of executive programs at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, CEU, University of South Africa (UNISA), and the University of Cape Town. She is a member of the Board of Amnesty International Nigeria, amongst others.</span></p>

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