Celebrating Ndi-Igbo

Vera Ephraim's full name is Vera Nkechi Anenyeonu. She is from Anambra state, Nigeria. Vera is a celebrated Nigerian Award wining Dancer, Choreographer and international Actress who has worked with Lavelle Smith Jr.(Micheal Jackson and Beyounce's choreographer) and collaborated also with the likes of Orlando Julius, Hugh Masakela and Femi Kuti. Vera has starred, co-starred and guest starred in theatre, film, television,Tv commercials, music videos and Radio. Since in South Africa, she has featured in top drama series like Generations, Intersextions, Jacobs Cross and played the role of Ayo in Lifestyles, a Nigerian soap opera. She is the CEO,founder/artistic director of Vera's Danse Hauz.

Jason Njoku is the founder and CEO of Iroko Partners, the largest digital distributors of Nigerian music and movies, with a library of over 1600 licensed movies. Mr. Njoku’s, Iroko Partners, consist of 5 web brands; iROKOtv, iROKING, iROKtv, NollywoodLove and YorubaLove. Mr. Njoku is building a modern digital distribution infrastructure using Amazon Web Services, Ooyala and several video ad networks, to service the second largest movie industry in the world (by volume), Nollywood, or Nigerian cinema. According to Pando Daily’s,last year Iroko did eight million YouTube streams a month, with a $1 million revenue run-rate. This traffic has soared. Mr. Njoku holds a BSc, Chemistry from The University of Manchester, University of Manchester - Manchester Business School, 2002 – 2005. He was a speaker at TEDxEuston 2012.

Uzoamaka Maduka, 24, and a recent Princeton graduate, is the founder and Editor-in-chief of American Reader, a new monthly literary magazine aimed at intelligent young people between the ages of 25 and 35. American Reader is devoted solely to literature and literary criticism. This sets it apart from established names such as Harper’s and the New Yorker, which also include reportage. It is committed to inspiring literary and critical conversation among a new generation of readers, and restoring literature to its proper place in the American cultural discourse. The American Reader serves as a hardy and handy compendium of new literature and current critical and industry-related discussions. It will feature new fiction; new poetry; translated portfolios of international fiction, poetry, and drama; well-argued reviews of new literature; considered essays on all matters literary; and occasional interviews with writers, publishers, editors, and various industry professionals. The...

Jekwu Anyaegbuna was raised and educated in Nigeria where he qualified as a chartered accountant. A graduate of the University of Ilorin, he writes both poetry and prose; and his work has been widely published, or will be published, in literary journals in the United States and the UK including Ambit, Orbis, Word Riot, Other Poetry, The Journal, Bow-Wow Shop, Eclectica Magazine, Atticus Review, Yuan Yang Journal, The Talon Magazine, Dark Lady Poetry, Asinine Poetry, Vox Poetica, Breadcrumb Scabs, Haggard and Halloo, New Black Magazine, Pattaya Poetry Review, Dcomp Magazine, Tipton Poetry Journal, Obsession, Black Heart Magazine and many other places.  Jekwu lives, works and writes in Lagos and he won the 2012 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa for “Morrison Okoli (1955-2010)". It was first published in June 2012 as part of a collaboration between Granta Magazine (granta.com) and Commonwealth Writers. 

Miss Uwaje is a Director of Future Software Resources Nigeria Ltd.. She attained a BSc. Hons in Bioinformatics at the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU), as well as the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Germany. She has worked on various research projects at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatric Research in the department for Statistical Genetics and Proteomics, as well as for the Pharmaceutical Company Affectis Pharmaceuticals AG, Germany. These research projects encompass the development of software solutions for complex biological as well as chemical calculations and simulations, database design and administration as well as statistical analysis. After re-locating to Nigeria in 2005 Miss Uwaje was involved in various research projects, such as the Wazobia Linux initiative, the E-Government Interoperability Framework, NITDA Open Standards Framework, as well as the deployment of e-commerce and e-portal solutions in the Nigerian public and private secto...

Serial entrepreneur Hugo Obi is currently pioneering the African electronic gaming world with Maliyo Games, a Lagos-based startup that specialises in creating games with an African stamp. The online games company has already published several African themed titles including Okada Ride, Kidnapped, Class Fight, Football Goal, Aboki and Mosquito Smasher. The firm is set to release additional titles throughout 2012 making African games available not only to Nigerians and Africans, but to Africans in the diaspora and people the world over. Maliyo Games titles are currently available as web browser based games and the company is on track to release their first mobile title in Q3 2012. Hugo has a B.A. (Hons.) degree in International Business, Finance and Economics from the University of Manchester. He also studied Strategy at Singapore’s Nanyang Business School before joining General Electric in London as a Financial Analyst. Hugo is one to watch. Source: Mobile Ente...

Emeka Okoro is a Igbo artist who left his architecture studies to pursue business administration, banking and painting. His work recalls the art of the 1960's Oshogbo movement in the southwest Nigerian state of Oshun with its geometric forms and vivid colors. The art of this movement and subsequently the art of Emeka Okoro celebrate both traditional subject matter and modern artistic styles. Emeka integrates Christian imagery into some of his work as well. Emeka has had three major art exhibitions (in Charlotte, North Carolina and in Atlanta, Georgia) and has clients and benefactors that span the globe from the United States, Japan, and Nigeria. He is currently in the process of building a body of work for his upcoming exhibition in the United States. Emeka continues to seek other media to showcase his work – particularly in the commercial space.  You can find Emeka’s work on stamps, shoes, neckties, t-shirts, bags, as well as rugs (currently in production). Emeka holds a bachelo...