Six Nigerians have been confirmed as speakers at the Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa in May.
The summit, set to take place in Botswana for 4 days starting May 5, will return to the country’s capital city for a third consecutive year. The event, themed “The Engine of Africa’s Economic Growth: Investment & Entrepreneurship,” features a lineup of 27 entrepreneurs, entertainers and leaders from across Africa, including 6 from Nigeria.
Nigerians confirmed to appear at the summit include Omah Lay, Kennedy Ekezie, Bola Adegbulu, Ben Amadasun, Peace Itimi and Tia Adeola
Kennedy Ekezie
Ekezie was listed under the Forbes 30 Under 30 Africa for 2024. The 26 year old who hails from Imo state in Eastern Nigeria is the Founder and CEO of Kippa, a payments and accounting platform serving 500,000+ small businesses in Nigeria, which has raised $10 million from global investors.
Ekezie spent his formative years in Lagos before his family relocated to Calabar. It was in the University of Calabar that he got his first degree. He also holds a diploma in Leading Change from the University of Cambridge.
Before Kippa, Kennedy worked at Tiktok in Beijing, heading user acquisition for its expansion to Africa. He won a Yenching Scholarship (Chinese Rhodes Scholarship) and was the highest-ranked competitive debater in Nigeria for two years.
At the age of 16, while still a student, Ekezie founded the Calabar Youths Council for Women’s Rights, focused on expanding access to education for women in Nigeria, particularly addressing the issue of female genital mutilation.
His work won the Queen’s Young Leader Award from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and was awarded the Young African Leaders Fellowship from President Barack Obama.
Stanley Omah Didia (Omah Lay)
Omah Lay is a singer and producer from Port Hacourt in Nigeria. The 25 year old was born to deep musical roots. His grandfather was a percussionist for legendary Highlife singer Celestine Ukwu, and his father was a drummer.
Omah Lay’s brand of Afro-fusion pulls from his deep personal history with West Africa’s percussion-heavy highlife genre, as well as his enthusiasm for the popular sounds of his generation, from classic rap to the Afro-beats empire flourishing in his home base of Lagos.
He released his major label debut album Boy Alone in 2022 which saw him sell out his second US headlining tour. Previously he released his two inventive EPs in 2020, Get Layd and What Have We Done.
Bola Adegbulu
Adegbulu is an exited AI entrepreneur and Principal Investor at AI Fund, a Silicon Valley-based VC firm founded by Andrew Ng, a global renowned leader in AI and is on the Time100 list of the most influential people in AI.
Bola started as an engineer at General Electric, working on propulsion systems. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to bootstrap his own company, AutoMosys, which provided automotive diagnostics and repair cost estimates.
Later, he founded Predina Tech Limited, using AI to predict traffic accidents. The company’s success caught the attention of Zego, Europe’s first insurtech unicorn, which acquired Predina Tech.
As an Entrepreneur In Residence at Cisco, He then advised and incubated AI ventures at Cisco with $100 million revenue potential. In 2019, Bola was recognized by Forbes in their “30 Under 30” list for his achievements in the tech industry.
Ben Amadasun
Amadasun is the Director of Content for Middle East and Africa at Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment service, where he nurtures key partnerships and drives the content strategy across Africa and the Middle East to support Netflix’s membership growth and streaming rates on the continent.
Amadasun leads his team of content executives to develop and source local programming that is relevant and for the region and acquiring global rights to shows and movies from across the African continent.
With over 20 years of experience in business strategy, consulting, and investment banking, Amadasun has held strategic roles across the African continent. Before joining Netflix, he served as the Senior Vice President and CEO of Econet’s Kwese Free TV, working across various Sub-Saharan African countries. Additionally, he led Modern Times Group’s TV1 in Tanzania as CEO and Head of Scripted Development.
Peace Itimi
Peace Itimi is a Nigerian writer, growth marketer, and digital expert. The 29 year old indigene of Benin City has spent 8 years leading growth and digital marketing initiatives for companies building for Africa and emerging markets.
After co-founding René Digital Hub, Itimi excelled as a Google student smbassador, AdWords certified Digital Marketer, and social media strategis working with brands lik Korapay, Webcouper, and others.
Beyond marketing, Itimi shares her stories on Youtube. Her channel features business insights, life lessons, and “Founders Connect” – a series spotlighting African entrepreneurs—alongside “How I The Series,” which delves into personal growth narratives.
As an inspirational blogger, Peace authored the e-book ADWORDS AND ADSENSE FOR BLOGGERS. She has also trained over 6000 professionals, students, and business owners across platforms like Google Digital Skills and Facebook for Creators. She mentors startups at Google’s Startups Accelerator Africa and has been an angel investor for over ten startups.
Tia Adeola
Tia Adeola is the founder and designer behind her self-titled fashion brand that has made waves in the industry. Born in Nigeria, raised in London, and now based in New York, Adeola started her clothing line in her dorm room in 2016.
Her brand, Slashed by Tia, has garnered attention for its unique aesthetic. Herer clothing has been worn by celebrities including Gigi Hadid, SZA, Dua Lipa, and more. She solidified the brand’s position in the luxury fashion space after her first official runway show at NYFW in 2020. The show become one of the breakout shows of the week, garnering press from Vogue, Elle, CNN, and many more.
In November of 2023, Tia took the runway to Nigeria where she showcased her Resort 23 collection. In the fall of 2020, Tia produced her first fashion film, titled “Black is Beautiful,” which was nominated in five categories at the 2021 International Fashion Film Awards. Tia has recently been named one of Bloomberg’s “Ones to Watch” and was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Previous editions of the summit have featured other successful Nigerian entrepreneurs, innovators and entertainers including Davido and other Afrobeats artistes.
The annual summit, which converges government officials, venture capitalists, CEOs and celebrities will focus on spotlighting Africa’s greatest business stories and biggest opportunities, and on the investors and founders who are forging new paths forward.
