Mirabelle Morah, a young Nigerian social entrepreneur and student in the UK, was recently awarded the Edinburgh Award in Global Employability from the University of Edinburgh and has also won a £1,000 grant from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and Edinburgh Innovations to develop her innovative startup idea, Grohwie further.
Combining creativity with technology, Morah addresses key challenges in creative education and social impact through Grohwie, which offers gamified learning tools for visual designers and tailored brand design services for third-sector organizations, including social enterprises.
As a communications strategist and motion designer, Mirabelle uses digital media and technology to drive awareness and shift mindsets.
In March 2024, her team won the “Most Developed Business Plan” award at the Techstars Startup Weekend at the University of Edinburgh, where Mirabelle showcased her design skills by creating the team’s website for their MVP pitch.
Reflecting on her experience, Morah says, “After my Techstars team won that recognition, it opened my mind to many more possibilities. I was doing my master’s in Entrepreneurship and Innovation then, and that was when I had the idea for Grohwie.”
Grohwie aims to make learning design more accessible and engaging for entry-level to midweight designers through gamified tools.
The startup also offers bespoke brand design services to amplify the impact of social enterprises and NGOs. To refine Grohwie, Mirabelle integrated it into her business plan and capstone dissertation for her MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Edinburgh Business School.
Supported by the Mastercard Foundation, she travelled in person and conducted extensive market research across the UK and Nigeria, ensuring Grohwie’s solutions are deeply rooted in local contexts.
Morah’s entrepreneurial journey is marked by significant achievements. Selected to pitch at the Mastercard Foundation Demo Day 2024, she won a £1,000 grant to continue developing Grohwie. And also received the Edinburgh Award in Global Employability after giving over 126 impact hours through volunteering and participating in communal activities.
Her experience as the founder of BlankPaperz Media, an online platform that has grown to include over 200 contributing writers and reached over 100,000 users, as well as her experience as the Communications Manager for the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF), further solidifies her
credentials in blending creativity, technology, and social impact.
“I’m excited to use creativity and technology to improve people’s lives daily in Nigeria and beyond,” says Mirabelle. “By providing accessible and engaging learning resources, we can empower a new generation of designers to create positive change.”
Grohwie.com is in the research and development phase as it prepares for beta testing.
With Morah’s leadership, entrepreneurial drive, and support from prestigious institutions like the Mastercard Foundation and the University of Edinburgh—which is ranked first globally for industry, innovation, and infrastructure by The Times Higher Education Impact—Grohwie looks to become a leading enterprise in the future of design and social innovation.
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