Community

The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a community of innovators from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Search current members and alumni by year awarded, sector or region.

Muriel Thabile Ngwato

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Newzroom Afrika, South Africa

Thabile Ngwato is a dynamic entrepreneur and leader in broadcasting and technology. Her journey reflects a commitment to innovation, diversity and shaping the future of broadcasting and content distribution in South Africa and across the continent. Ngwato has a background in both radio and television. She honed her vision during her tenure at the South African Public Broadcaster. Entrepreneurial Ventures. She is Co-Founder of Rapid Innovation, a connected services agency specializing in innovative broadcasting and content distribution strategies. Ngwato co-founded Newzroom Afrika (channel 405), the first Black and youngest woman to own commercial TV channels in Africa, broadcasting to 52 African countries. In addition to Newzroom Afrika, she co-founded two other channels: Movie Room (channel 113) and Play Room (channel 300). She founded Bluestream Technologies, a broadcast satellite business, in 2021, making it the only 100% black and woman-owned uplink business in South Africa. Ngwato has actively contributed to transforming the media and broadcasting landscape in South Africa and Africa at large. She has navigated predominantly male-led sectors, showcasing her leadership and entrepreneurship. Ngwato serves on the boards of Rapid Innovation Investments and the Ngwato Nkosi Group, further showcasing her involvement in business and strategic decision-making. Her founding of Bluestream Technologies (a broadcast satellite business) in 2021 solidifies her as one of the most influential players in South Africa’s broadcast and ICT sectors. Ngwato's journey highlights her dedication to breaking barriers, fostering innovation and contributing to the advancement of the broadcasting and technology sectors in Africa. Her numerous awards underscore the impact of her work and the recognition she has garnered in the industry. They include: GLAMOUR Magazine Woman of the Year Award in 2018; Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute Woman of Firsts Award in 2019 for being the first and youngest woman to own a commercial television news channel in Africa; Global African Award for Excellence in Media in 2021.

Wawira Njiru

Founder and Executive Director, Food for Education, Kenya

Wawira is the founder of Food for Education an organisation that is feeding Africa’s future through innovative, cutting-edge technology. Food for Education has created a sustainable model of efficiently providing locally sourced, high quality, nutritious meals to public primary school children. Their scalable, efficient model is creating the first sustainable path to solve the child nutrition crisis for 500 million African children. She is a Ford Foundation Global Fellow, the youngest recipient of the University of South Australia’s alumni award 2017, a 2018 Rainer Arnhold Fellow, a recipient of the Builders of Africa Award 2018 and one of 2018’s Top 40 under 40 women in Kenya. She is also the first recipient of the Global Citizen Youth Leadership Prize 2018 presented by Cisco.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

Minister of Information, Ministry of Information and Media Relations of Ghana, Ghana

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah is Minister of Information and Member of Parliament. He is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana, and serves on the Finance and Constitutional Committees of Parliament.

Faraja Nyalandu

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shule Direct, Tanzania

Faraja Nyalandu is an award-winning social entrepreneur, committed to promoting systemic change in digital learning in primary and secondary education in Africa. She founded Shule Direct in 2013, a social enterprise that digitises national curriculums and leverages technology and innovative teaching approaches to improve learning outcomes for all children and youth.

Angela Oduor Lungati

Executive Director, Ushahidi, Kenya

Angela Oduor Lungati is a seasoned technologist, community builder and advocate of open-source software, driven by a profound commitment to leveraging technology for marginalized communities. With over a decade of experience in software development, global community engagement and non-profit organizational management, Lungati is Executive Director of Ushahidi, a leading Africa-led, non-profit technology company. Under her leadership, Ushahidi has undergone a strategic transformation, breaking down barriers to access and enhancing the platform's utilization, notably in the global COVID-19 response across 140 countries. Lungati’s influence extends to her role on the Board of Directors for Creative Commons and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team. She is also Co-Founder of AkiraChix, a non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing generations of women using technology to drive innovations and solutions for Africa. She is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Data Equity. Lungati’s multifaceted expertise and impactful initiatives position her as a trailblazer in the intersection of technology, community development and social impact.

Fredros Okumu

Director, Science, Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), Tanzania

Fredros Okumu is the Director of Science at Ifakara Health Insitute (IHI). Fredros' work has attracted numerous awards and recognition, including the 2009 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Young Investigator Award; 2014 Al Jazeera Lifelines Health Hero; 2016 Foreign Policy Global Thinker; and 2018 Quartz Africa Innovator. He is an important voice at the intersection of public health and the environment in Africa.

Oluwatosin Olaseinde

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Money Africa, Nigeria

Oluwatosin Olaseinde is a chartered accountant, specializing in accounting, audit, financial management and taxation. As Founder and CEO of Money Africa, she has cultivated a thriving edtech platform with a community exceeding 200,000, championing financial literacy and investment through technology. Olaseinde is also the visionary behind Ladda, a smart financial buddy simplifying saving and investing for those pursuing their financial goals. Her accomplishments, such as being a Washington Mandela Fellow, a LinkedIn Top Voice in Finance and Economy 2020, and a finalist for The Future Awards, underscore her impact. Notable media appearances on TEDx, BBC UK, Al Jazeera, and CNN position Olaseinde as a leading figure propelling the financial literacy movement in Africa. Her unwavering dedication and influential contributions have rightfully earned her a coveted place among the Top 50 African Business Heroes.

Oluseun Onigbinde

Co-Founder and Global Director, Budgit, Inc., Nigeria

Oluseun Onigbinde is the co-founder and Director of BudgIT, a global civic organization that works to intersect civic education with institutional accountability across Africa. In 2011, he launched Nigeria's largest fiscal transparency group, known as BudgIT, which utilizes the value in public data, giving citizens radical insights into how public resources are managed. He led a team that mainstreamed the blend of data and design through infographics, having had a strong background and experience in strategy consulting, product development, data analytics, digital media, data journalism, and the use of social media for "factivism". Over the years, Mr. Onigbinde has utilized his technical knowledge to stimulate the use of data, thereby crafting insights for industry and civic decisions. Through BudgIT, his approach to the use of data has reached over 20 million citizens, cultivating and encouraging their interest in data and its value to communities. Oluseun Onigbinde is a recipient of the Ashoka Fellowship, Future Africa Awards, Quartz Africa 30 Innovators Award, Aspen New Voices Fellowship, Melvin Jones Fellowship, and Stanford Draper Hill Summer Fellowship. As a Knight Innovation Fellow, he also worked with the International Center for Journalists/Gates Foundation on rethinking health journalism in Nigeria. Oluseun has worked on several projects funded by MacArthur Foundation, Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, OXFAM, and Omidyar Network.

Walter Pacheco

Chief Executive Officer, Angolan Stock Exchange, Angola

Pacheco was raised in Angola but lived most of his life in Portugal and the United Kingdom, where he finished his higher education. Mr Pacheco holds a Bachelor Degree in Business and Economics and a Master Degree in International Finance (with distinction, first in his class). He started his career as a FX trader at the Standard Bank of Angola. As the former Head of Market Development at Angolas Capital Markets Commission, in 2014, Mr Pacheco oversaw the establishment of Bolsa de Dívida e Valores de Angola(BODIVA) - the Angolan Stock Exchange - which changed the landscape of the financial system in Angola, fostering investment and long-term growth. In 2014, while Mr Pacheco was Executive Director, Bodiva launched two secondary public debt trading markets (a treasury securities registration market and a wholesale treasury securities market). He was General Director of the Debt Management Office at the Ministry of Finance, Republic of Angola before serving as CEO of the Angolan Stock Exchange.

Mayur Patel

President & MD, M-KOPA, Kenya

A leader in Africa’s tech sector, Mayur Patel is President & MD at M-KOPA, a leading consumer financing platform. Previously, he served as COO for Cassava Fintech, a provider of mobile wallet and payment solutions, and was CEO of the award-winning mobile streaming company, Kwesé iflix, offering pay-as-you-watch live and on-demand video services in Africa. Mayur is passionate about building inclusive and sustainable businesses. He is an Advisory Council Member of NYU Stern’s Center for Business & Human Rights, and Board member of the largest children’s educational entertainment organisation in Africa, Ubongo. His work has featured in the Lancet, Stanford Social Innovation Review and Chronicle of Philanthropy. A Rhodes Scholar, Mayur has a doctorate in International Development from Oxford. He is Zimbabwean, a 2020 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow.

Uche Pedro

Founder, BellaNaija, Nigeria

Uche Pedro is a Nigerian entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of BellaNaija, a media tech brand known for entertainment and lifestyle content. Under her leadership, BellaNaijas social footprint has grown through its collective brands - BellaNaija.com, BellaNaija Weddings and BellaNaija Style - to be the largest on the African continent with more than 200 million impressions each month. In March 2019, Uche was honoured with the Forbes Woman Africa New Media Award for her innovative impact on media in Africa.
Uche is passionate about progress of youth in Nigeria and across Africa. Uche holds a Bachelors degree – Honours Business Administration (HBA) from the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada where she graduated with distinction.

Tokini Peterside-Schwebig

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ART X Collective, Nigeria

Tokini Peterside is a Nigerian entrepreneur and businesswoman who is committed to creating a new narrative about Africa through its culture and creative industries. She is the Founder & CEO of ART X Lagos Collective, which organizes the Art X Lagos, the first international art fair in West Africa. The Financial Times described the fair as "a reflection of Nigeria's potential on the global scene," and it has since become a cornerstone of the African art sector, contributing significantly to Lagos' global positioning as a fast-emerging and exciting cultural hub. Tokini also launched platforms to support emerging talent: ART X Live! - a dynamic showcase and accelerator for rising musicians and artists, and the ART X Prize - Nigeria's leading award for emerging artists.