Forbes Africa has published its annual 30 Under 30 list, which honors outstanding young business people, innovators, and leaders who are under 30.
Entitled “The Newest Self-Made Young Innovators and Leaders Scripting a New Vision for Africa,” this year’s list spotlights the outstanding accomplishments of 30 “multi-tasking multi-hyphenate entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders” who are driving Africa’s progress on their own terms.
This year’s list features Tems, Ayra Starr, Asisat Oshoala, Blessing Joel Abeng, and Khloe ‘Koko’ Abiri.
The finalists were chosen from a group of more than 1,000 candidates, which comprised prior Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 alumni, an editorial team led by Under 30 curator Chanel Retief, as well as a group of impartial external assessors and subject-matter experts.
In the thorough selection process, elements including innovation, scalability, social effect, and overall benefit to the development of Africa were taken into account.
Speaking about the selection, Renuka Methil, managing editor of Forbes Africa, said,
“In a post-pandemic Africa, everything is evolving all over again; everything is a work in progress. That was evident in the pool of talent we received… because here is a young batch of people completely cognizant of the changes the continent is going through and who are coming up with ideas and solutions for some of these very new problems. There are also problems that have been around for a long, and they are now trying to tackle them quickly. I think the speed with which they are trying to execute some of these ideas is what we need to highlight. They are also building their own brand and changing the image of the continent.”
Here are the 7 influential Nigerians who made the list:
- Temilade Openiyi / ‘Tems’, 27, Nigeria – Singer-songwriter– Industry: Music and Entertainment
- Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe / ‘Ayra Starr’, 20, Benin/Nigeria – Singer– Industry: Music and Entertainment
- Hansel Ndu Okeke, 28, Nigeria – Co-founder and CEO, Weevil Company – Industry: Technology
- Germain Ndu-Okeke, 24, Nigeria – Co-founder and Chief Operation Officer, Weevil Company – Industry: Technology
- Blessing Joel Abeng, 28, Nigeria – Co-founder and Director of Communications, Ingressive For Good – Industry: Branding and Communications
- Oluwabusayo Victoria Abiri, 29, Nigeria – Founder and CEO, Koko By Khloe – Industry: Beauty and Skincare
- Asisat Oshoala, 28, Nigeria – Striker for Spanish Liga F club FC Barcelona and the Nigeria women’s national team – Industry: Professional Footballer
