Celebrating Ndi-Igbo

Chika Oduah, a freelance journalist and photographer, has reported in Central America, Africa and the U.S. From her current base in Nigeria, Chika covers the West Africa region for international news outlets like Al Jazeera,  AllAfrica, NBC, The New York Times, UK Guardian, The Atlantic, National Geographic, National Public Radio, This Is Africa, MSNBC and many more. Chika's work has also appeared in The Huffington Post, CNN’s Inside Africa, McClatchy News, Religion News Service and National Public Radio, among other publications. She is a 2010 graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, with a Master of Science degree in broadcast journalism. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism. Sources: Afrocentric Confessions, Huffington Post, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera

A passionate journalist, Uche Okoronkwo has years of experience reporting on Africa’s business and financial landscape. After graduating with an M.A in business and financial journalism from Columbia university’s prestigious school of journalism in New York, Uche worked as an anchor for CNBC Africa covering West Africa’s markets and interviewing some of the continents biggest names in business. Joining Bloomberg TV Africa in 2013, Uche continues to bring Africa’s markets to the global playground. Source: BloombergTV

Yvonne Ike is an internationally regarded investment banker credited with pioneering a number of ground breaking transactions which significantly deepened the Nigerian market . With over 18 years professional experience in financial services.Yvonne has led senior teams across New York, Geneva, Hong-Kong Nigeria, South Africa and India. She gained exposure to all capital market operations and products including fixed income, derivatives, and equities. Yvonne was appointed Managing Director with responsibility for West Africa, allowing her to work mainly in Nigeria. In this role Yvonne was instrumental in raising the profile of Nigeria as an investment destination for international investors and was involved in 28 transactions across Africa. She led innovative transactions including GT Bank’s Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) a US750M listing on the London Stock Exchange, the US$300M UBA GDR, Yvonne led on the merger of Stanbic and IBTC. In an advisory capacity Yvonne provided financial ...

Phillip Ihenacho has 20 years of corporate finance and consulting experience. He is currently Chairman of Seven Energy, a leading independent oil and gas company in Nigeria that was bought out from Weatherford, the NYSE listed oil and gas services company. Phillip was previously CEO of UBA Capital Europe Ltd (formerly Afrinvest UK) and is a co-founder of the premier West African investment bank, Afrinvest West Africa. Phillip has been active in the African telecommunications, financial services and oil & gas industries for more than 12 years. During the course of the last several years, he has been involved in capital raising and acquisition advisory mandates in Ghana, Nigeria, and Cote d’Ivoire, on behalf of multinational and regional telecommunications companies, oil and gas companies, and financial institutions. Prior to Afrinvest, Phillip worked for McKinsey & Co. in New York, London, Stockholm and Johannesburg. While at McKinsey he worked primarily in corporate finance-r...

One to watch Kelechi Anyadiegwu (@KelechiUjuu) is the founder of Zuvaa. Zuvaa creates a unique social shopping experience that connects customers all over the globe to African style. Zuvaa also offers unique products from around the world as well as a community that embraces and engages the customer through meaningful cultural stories about each designer. She started Zuvaa to fill a void she saw in the African Fashion Industry, a place for affordable, ethically made, African Inspired Pieces. Kelechi is a also social media and community engagement expert, having worked on a wide range of projects and clients, from EA Sports to the Microelectromechanical Systems Sensors Trade Association. She has also the founder of JELYPals, which is an edtech startup that seeks to use education and technology to create bridges in the African Diaspora. Source: Inc Magazine

Blossom is currently the technical Assistant on New Media to the Honorable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources at Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Abuja, Nigeria. Rose blossom who prefers to be called Blossom, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Management from the Coventry University, United Kingdom where she graduated with a Second Class Upper Division; Professional Certificate in Public Relations from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Professional Diploma in Public Relations from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, a member of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management; and an Advanced Certificate in Journalism from the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas where she graduated with a Distinction. She joined the services of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on 5th March 2007 as a Graduate Trainee and currently works as the Technical Assistant on New Media to the Honorable Minister of Stat...

Catherine Uju Ifejika is chairman and chief executive of the Britannia U Group, a group of oil and gas companies. The Company is an indigenous and Integrated Oil & Gas Company, incorporated on 4th December, 1995 under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Company has Upstream (Exploration & Production), Downstream, (Supply & Trading), Shipping and Sub-Surface Engineering Affiliate Companies. Recently her business bought a stake in a major oil and gas field, Ajapa. The reserves, according to Britannia, are worth $4.3bn A lawyer by profession, Mrs Ifejika previously worked in the oil and gas industry for 20 years in Texaco, which later merged with Chevron, rising from junior counsel up to regional company secretary before retiring early to focus a building an enterprise for herself. She is a graduate of Queens College Enugu and Ahmadu Bello University.