Celebrating Ndi-Igbo

One to watch Winnie Ogbeyalu Awa recently launched an online platform for contemporary art and artists from Nigeria called Ulimuseum.com (@ulimuseum), with the aim of bringing global exposure to talented artists and providing comprehensive content to budding collectors. A budding collector herself, she is believes in the importance of preserving the arts and culture of the continent, encouraging artist development and building the new generation of collectors to have a positive impact on the African Art Market. Winnie, who currently works as a Strategic Programme Manager at a top tier Luxury eCommerce company, started her career as a Management consultant at Ernst & Young. She graduated with a first class honours degree in Management & Information Technology at University of Manchester. She is also a co-founder of a registered charity, With Love From Friends which has raised over £16,000 for education in Nigeria, since its inception in 2008. For more information...

Emeka Afigbo is the Google Outreach Program Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa. He leads Google's efforts to discover, inspire, mobilise and support tech entrepreneurs and software developers across Africa. He is also focused on growing the internet ecosystem and enhancing locally relevant content across the region through local developers. Emeka studied Electronic Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has a Masters Degree in Technology Innovation Management from Carleton University, Canada. Emeka worked for Socket Works, SW Global and Parkway before joining Google in 2011. Sources: otekbits, TedX

One to Watch MIT graduate student Chidube Ezeozue is a first class electrical engineering graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is currently pursuing dual master’s degrees in MIT’s Technology and Policy Program and in electrical engineering and computer science. Frustrated by his nation’s erratic electrical grid, Chidube created an app, with his brother, that crowdsources information about Nigerian power outages. With the app, called NepaSituation, people living in Nigeria can report outages. This data, when merged into an algorithm developed by Ezeozue, can help Nigerians predict when power outages may strike their neighborhoods, and how long those outages might last. After graduating from MIT in June, Ezeozue will remain in Cambridge, working as a software engineer for Google. Read More: MITNews - Power to the people BellaNaija - BN Trailblazers & Tastemakers (Full Interview) Sources: Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Bella Naija

Ifeyinwa is a graduate of Accounting from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and has a Diploma in Interior Design from the American College in London. Ifeyinwa has worked in and run various furniture manufacturing and interior design companies, including Coonita, Casafina furniture company and Design Options, which she co-founded in 1987. Her passion and love of interiors helped grow Design Options and establish the brand as the preferred choice and one-stop shop for furniture and interior design in Nigeria. As an icon In the industry, Ifeyinwa has set out to re-invent herself through the brand DO.II which will service the need for a wide range of design choices and high-end finishes along with the impeccable organization, customer service and quality that she stands for, thus filling the gap that the dissolution of Design Options has left in the industry. In addition to the 2012 Best Residential Designer Award, Ifeyinwa has been honoured with the St Moritz Style Woman of the year Awar...

One To Watch Robert Nkemdiche born September 19, 1994 is an American football defensive end. He currently attends Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia in his senior year. Nkemdiche has been named High School Junior of the Year by Rivals.com,and was selected to the 2011 USA Today All-American team. He has been regarded as the "Southeast's best [high school football] prospect since the early 1980s" by ESPN. Nkemdiche committed to Ole Miss, making him the highest touted Rebels recruit since Eli Manning in 1999. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, His father is a cardiologist while his mother is a politician currently represents Onitsha South in the Anambra State House of Assembly.

Justus Nwaoga is among ten 2013 African innovators who were nominated for developing practical solutions to some of the continent’s most intractable problems. They were chosen from more than 900 applications from 45 countries.  The finalists for the Innovation Prize for Africa, IPA, 2013 provided practical examples of Africa’s investment potentials. Nwaoga was nominated for developing a new way to collect renewable solar energy by using the mimosa pudica weed, an organic African medicinal plant.  With this breakthrough, it was possible to construct a functional mimosa solar panel with the Mimosa plant extract. The solar panel is designed in such a way that the electrical potential of the cells can be restored on exposure to direct sun rays, after they have been discharged. The Innovation Prize for Africa is an award founded by the African Innovation Foundation and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.  It mobilises African innovators and entrepreneurs...

One to Watch Ijeoma Emesowum returns for her fifth season at the Shaw Festival as Sarah Undershaft in Major Barbara and Vernon in Guys and Dolls. Last season, she appeared in Ragtime and A Man and Some Woman. Previous Shaw credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Admirable Crichton, The Women, Serious Money, Born Yesterday, Half an Hour and The Devil’s Disciple. After making the jump to Toronto in May 2008, Ijeoma began the quest to enrich herself. She began with the help of b currents rAiz’n ensemble, then with Canadian Stage Company’s GYM and by getting out in the big city, whose skyscrapers and huge crowds continue to amaze this small town girl. Ijeoma has also been part of the annual reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, hosted by the Shaw Festival. Other theatre credits include a workshop of Lisa Codrington’s The Aftermath (New Groundswell Festival, Nightwood Theatre); Binti’s Journey (Theatre Direct); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Canadian Stage Company); The N...