Celebrating Ndi-Igbo

Ndidi Ekubia is a talented and well-read silversmith. She achieved her MA in Silversmithing at the Royal College of Arts in 1998 and has since been showcasing her beautiful and creative pieces in prestigious exhibitions. She has been growing in reputation and is well known for her imaginative style and her use of traditional techniques where she beats sheet metal over wooden and steel forms. Using traditional silversmithing techniques that require the beating of sheet metal over steel and wooden forms, Ndidi produces a range of exquisite vessels, including wine goblets and ice buckets. For The New Craftsmen she has produced a new addition to her work – a limited number of classic household candle snuffers. Ndidi’s inspirations stem from the patterns of everyday life; from the cityscape of London through to organic natural forms.  In turn, her artistic landscape has been determined by the bold Africa shapes, textiles, food and passionate family conversation of her childhood....

Dr Akudo Anyanwu Ikemba has been shortlisted as one of the 3 finalists for the Ogunte Women’s Social Leadership Awards in the category: Leader Charitable Organisations and Campaigns 2013. Akudo founded Friends Africa  as an African voice in support of the Global Fund and the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Friends Africa mobilizes and builds the capacity of the African private sector, civil society and government to improve Africa’s health and is the recipient of the 2012 Stevie Award for Non-profit of the year and finalist for the 2012 ONE Africa Award. She serves on a number of boards including Roll Back Malaria, the Global Health Council and the Nigerian arm of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). Through her leadership, Friends Africa has been able mobilize over $560 million USD to countries in Africa for the purpose of integrating family planning and HIV services. Dr Anyanwu Ikemba is a World Economic Forum 2012 Young Global Leader, Stevie Award Female...

Uche Orji is the Managing Director/CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). Mr. Orji joined the NSIA as CEO on October 2nd 2012 from UBS Securities, where he was Managing Director in the New York branch of its Equities division. Prior to his experience at UBS, Mr. Orji was a Managing Director in J.P. Morgan’s Equities division in London. Prior to JP Morgan, Mr. Orji was at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, London, as analyst/portfolio manager. Mr. Orji holds a BEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) was set up by an Act of Nigeria’s National Assembly (the NSIA Act) in 2011. The objective of the NSIA is to promote fiscal stability, build a savings base for future generations of Nigerians.

In 2012 The U.S. Department of State selected Grace Ihejiamaizu as September’s State Alumni Member of the Month in recognition of her dedication to developing Nigeria’s next generation of leaders. Ihejiamaizu participated in the 2010 Study of the United States Institute for Student Leaders (SUSI) Program on the theme of Social Entrepreneurship. She has since applied these entrepreneurial concepts in Nigeria by founding an after-school youth program. Ihejiamaizu’s SUSI experience allowed her to examine how business techniques and entrepreneurial skills can be used to address social issues. Motivated by this knowledge and following her passion to help young people, Ihejiamaizu returned to Nigeria and launched Raising Young and Productive Entrepreneurs (RYPE). This after-school youth development program offers skills trainings, internship placements, volunteer activities, and a peer mentoring club to educate, engage, and empower Nigerian youth to become leaders and entrepreneurs. Si...