Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph | |
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| Born | 11 June 1998 Lagos, Nigeria |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2014-present |
| Known for | founding Kippa |
| Awards | |
Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph (born 11 June 1998) is a Nigerian-born entrepreneur and philosopher. He is the co-founder and current chief executive officer of Kippa.
In November 2023, Ekezie was listed on the 2024 Forbes 30 under 30 list (North America) in the Finance category. [1]
Ekezie is originally from Ehime Mbano in Imo State was born in Lagos where he lived for 8 years with his family before his parents relocated to Calabar after they secured jobs there. [2] In 2017, Ekezie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with honours in Philosophy from the University of Calabar and subsequently completed a master's degree in Economics and Management at Peking University where he earned a Yenching scholarship in 2018. [3] He also holds a diploma in Leading Change from the University of Cambridge. [4]
In 2014 at aged 16 while studying, Ekezie founded Calabar Youths Council For Women's Rights; an organization he founded to promote women's rights after he discovered that more than 8,000 women are victims of female genital mutilation in Nigeria. [5]
In 2021, he co-founded Kippa. [6] Prior to that, he also worked at ByteDance while on a Yenching Scholarship at Peking University in China. [2] Ekezie has been credited as part of the team that led TikTok into Africa. [7]
Ekezie was awarded the Queen's Young Leader Award in 2018 [8] and the James Currey Prize in 2020. [9] For founding Kippa, he was awarded The Future Awards Africa for Technology in 2022. [10] [11]
Peking University is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction.
Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria on the east by Cross River State for about 114 km mostly across Cross River, on the west by Rivers State for 52 km mostly across the Imo River and Abia State to the west and north for 151 km, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe River which bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny. Akwa Ibom was split from Cross River State in 1987 with its capital as Uyo and 31other local government areas.
Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. Its capital is Calabar, it borders to the north through Benue state, to the west through Ebonyi state and Abia state, and to the southwest through Akwa Ibom state, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. Originally known as the South-Eastern State before being renamed in 1976, Cross River state formerly included the area that is now Akwa Ibom state, which became a distinct state in 1987.
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The Yenching Scholarship is a prestigious interdisciplinary graduate program at the Yenching Academy of Peking University (PKU) in Beijing, China.
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Kippa is a Nigerian software and financial services company based in Lagos, Nigeria. The company was founded by brothers Kennedy Ekezie and Duke Ekezie.
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