Isha Isatu Sesay is a British journalist of Sierra Leonean descent. From 2005 to 2018, she worked as an anchor and correspondent for CNN International. Originally based at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. and now based in Los Angeles, California, where she hosted the news programs CNN Newsroom Live from Los Angeles. In addition, she was the presenter of the 360 Bulletin on Anderson Cooper 360°. In 2012, Sesay also joined HLN as a co-anchor for Evening Express. She left CNN in 2018 to support a girl's education project called W.E. Can Lead for African girls, write a book and follow various other personal projects.
CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute is a television special created by CNN to honor individuals who make extraordinary contributions to humanitarian aid and make a difference in their communities. The program was started in 2007. Since 2016, the program was hosted by Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa. Honorees are introduced during the fall of each year and the audience is encouraged to vote online for the CNN Hero of the Year. Ten recipients are honored and each receive US$10,000. The top recipient is chosen as the CNN Hero of the Year and receives an additional US$100,000 to continue their work. During the broadcast celebrating their achievements, the honorees are introduced by celebrities who actively support their charity work. To celebrate the 10th anniversary, the 2016 edition had an additional segment where five previous Hero of the Year winners were chosen as candidates for the Superhero of the Year award, which was decided with an online poll.
Obiageli "Oby" Ezekwesili is an economic policy expert, an advocate for transparency, accountability, good governance and human capital development, a humanitarian and an activist. She is a former vice president for the World Bank's Africa region, co-founder and founding director of Transparency International, co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement and has served twice as Federal Minister in Nigeria. She is also the founder of #FixPolitics Initiative, a research-based citizen-led initiative, the School of Politics Policy and Governance (SPPG), and Human Capital Africa.
Marieme Jamme is a Senegalese-born French-British businesswoman and technology activist. In 2016 she founded the iamtheCODE initiative and is on the board of the World Wide Web Foundation. In 2017, Quartz Africa included Jamme in their "Quartz Africa Innovators 2017" list. In 2013 she was nominated as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. In 2017, she won the "Innovation Award" in The Goalkeepers Global Goal Awards, curated by UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for globally supporting girls and young women and advancing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. That same year, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.
Regina Honu, is a Ghanaian social Entrepreneur, software developer and founder of Soronko Solutions, a software development company in Ghana. She opened Soronko Academy, the first coding and Human-centered design school for children and young adults in West Africa. Honu has received multiple awards, including being named by CNN as one of the 12 inspirational women who rock STEM. She was also named as one of the six women making an impact in Tech in Africa and one of the ten female entrepreneurs to watch in emerging economies.
Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and human development expert whose work cuts across entrepreneurship, education, youth development and public leadership. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Rise Networks, a Nigeria-based private and public sector funded Youth Interest social enterprise.
Amina Temitope Ajayi is a US-based Nigerian business consultant who is an accountant by training, a social entrepreneur and an ardent community activist. Temitope Ajayi was the former President of All Nigerian American Congress (ANAC). Her efforts and continued advocacy on the Nigerian Diaspora issues have earned her in the media the moniker "Mama Diaspora". Chief Ajayi is well known for promoting women empowerment and poverty eradication in Africa through Agri-business. Through the Arkansas-Nigeria investment forum and other bilateral economic forums in the US, Chief Ajayi's tenacity and genuineness have been very instrumental in convincing and attracting a lot of key investors in the agri-business from the US to Nigeria. She is the Founder/CEO of the Nigerian American Agricultural Empowerment Program (NAAEP), which engages in the Agricultural empowerment of farmers, women and young Adults in Nigeria in order to increase foods sufficiency and sustainable employment for women and youths in the agricultural sector. NAAEP has been a grassroots organization that trains and empowers farmers in mechanized farming system, while facilitating business loans, accessibility to farm implements, and the harvesting and marketing of their end product both locally and internationally. In 2010, Chief Ajayi called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to reduce the interest rates on loans to farmers in order to boost the agricultural sector and to alleviate poverty in the country. Chief Temitope Ajayi is an Ambassador of Goodwill for the State of Arkansas and Maryland, USA. Chief Ms. Ajayi was a distinguished delegate at the past 2014 Nigeria's National Conference where she represented the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) in Nigeria and served in the Confab's Committee on Agriculture. Chief Temitope Ajayi in her address at the Annual Meeting of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund, informed delegates that “Women are the engine of the private sector, women run the economy of any nation - because they are more into commerce than their male counterpart, the power of any currency is in their ability to meet the demand and supply”.
Dr. Abayomi Ajayi is a Nigerian obstetrician/gynecologist.
Christie Ade Ajayi is a Nigerian specialist in early childhood education. She is the author of various English-language books for young children, and has made a point of writing stories with a Nigerian setting that her readers can relate to. As well as having long experience of teaching she has been active in a number of organisations concerned with children and education.
Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and UK-trained economist and information technology expert. She is the founder and executive director of Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC), a non-profit organisation that empowers women and girls socially and economically through education in Information technology. W.TEC was established in the year 2008. She is a fellow of Ashoka and a recipient of the Anita Borg Institute (ABIE) Change Agent Award.
Rabia Salihu Sa'id is a Nigerian physicist, professor of atmospheric and space-weather physics, and a researcher at Bayero University Kano. She conducts research in atmospheric and space weather physics, particle physics, and electronics. Sa'id is an advocate and mentor for young women in science with the Visiola Foundation and Peace Corps; she co-founded Nigeria's Association of Women Physicists. She is an advocate and mentor of Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and is a facilitator for the British Council's Active Citizens' Programme.
Unoma Ndili Okorafor is a Nigerian computer scientist and entrepreneur. Okorafor founded Working to Advance African Women, a non-profit that supports the education of African women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in 2007. She is the chief executive officer at Herbal Goodness and Fairview Data Technologies. She is the fifth child of Frank Nwachukwu Ndili, the first Nigerian nuclear physicist and the 7th Vice-Chancellor (President) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Njideka Françoise Harry is a World Economic Forum Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Fellow.
Nkiru Balonwu is an entrepreneur and activist based in Lagos, Nigeria. She is known for her views of women as the solution to Africa's problems and is the founder and chairperson of African Women on Board, an independent, women-led African non-profit organisation focused on advancing narratives to improve realities for women and girls of African heritage. She is also founder and managing partner of RDF Strategies, a consultancy firm that provides advice on strategic communication and stakeholder engagement. In 2016, during her time at the helm of Spinlet, Balonwu was featured in YNaija as one of "Nigeria's 100 Most Inspiring Women". In October 2019, Balonwu was awarded the 2020 Powerlist International Award by the Powerlist UK.
Ubong King was a Nigerian business consultant, security expert and motivational speaker. King was the president of the Ubong King Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation targeted at training young people towards leadership. He was also the convener of a youth empowerment conference in Africa, Thinkation. Prior to his foray into full-time youth development and mentorship, Ubong King worked as the Chief Executive Officer, Protection Plus Securities Limited.
ELOY Awards is an award for women excelling in their field of work. It was established by Tewa Onasanya in 2009.
Osayi Alile is a Nigerian entrepreneur, and human development expert. In the course of her work in various roles, she has been active in entrepreneurship, education, youth development, and public leadership. She currently serves as the chief executive officer of the Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation, also known as ACT Foundation, and the co-administrator of CACOVID. Osayi is a member of the African Leadership Network, The Future Awards Africa, and was the CSR Consultant at Access Bank Plc.
Rehmah Kasule is a Ugandan social entrepreneur, public speaker and author. She is the founder of CEDA International a non-profit organization in Uganda.
Veasna Chea Leth is a lawyer from Cambodia, who was the first female law student at the Royal University of Law and Economics. During her studies in the 1990s she lived in an underground space under the university due to the lack of female dormitories. During her work as a lawyer she raised awareness of the issues that Cambodian women face in accessing university education, due to a lack of appropriate accommodation. This led to the author Alan Lightman establishing the Harpswell Foundation to support women, of which she is an Honorary Board Member.
Osasu Edobor is a Nigerian gender advocate and founder of Think Help Restore (THR) Media and the Safe Space Initiative. She is a licensed mental health first-aider, peer educator trainer, and counselor. As a campaigner for gender inclusion, Osasu created the HERFessions app, which provides support for survivors of sexual abuse. She is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow alumna and a Young African Leaders Initiative member.
