Teju Adeyinka (Entrepreneur)

Teju Adeyinka is yet another young thriving individual with a knack for empowering and educating young people. Having enjoyed some success in the finance industry, Teju dedicates a lot of her time in creating content that enlightens and empowers her peers via social media. Her curriculum centres around business and the corporate world, and how to navigate the turbulences that one could potentially run into while playing in these industries. 

For a little over a year, Teju has been a product manager at Buycoins, a trade centre for bitcoins. Prior to this, she sought to expand her business enterprises by co-founding her very own confectionary and desert food company named Puffe. She also runs an online course fund, aimed at connecting students and recent graduates to job opportunities.

Eniafe Momodu (Photographer)

Talk about a decorated young creative, Eniafe seems to be able to do it all. Eniafe Momodu, son of highly renowned Nigerian Journalist, Dele Momodu, is best described as a genius. Having the talent and the drive to dive into diverse creative disciplines, Enaife manages to be a photographer, writer, filmmaker, event planner, journalist and the Managing Editor for Glam Magazine, all at the same time. He not only does all of this but does it a surprisingly high success level, given all he has to juggle.

His writing spans op-eds on sensitive issues, fashion and entertainment. His range in photography is equally impressive, having covered events, and done photoshoots for individuals.

In collaboration with Hip TV, he put together an event for young creatives called New World Order Brunch. The idea was to bring these young creatives within proximity of each other to network and converse about the future of the creative industry.

Rashineh Ifoh (Media Presenter)

Media presenters are most times the unsung heroes of the entertainment industry as they somehow manage to be the glue that fits everything together. They are the media within the media, and it is the work that they do that pieces together the work that other creatives in the industry do. They are neither truly in front of the camera or behind it, and yet they are somehow both in front of the camera and behind it.

Ifoh is one such behind-the-scenes heroes. In the media space, it is his job to bring to the fore, the information the audiences need. He is sometimes the invisible piece of the puzzle, and yet he is described by those that know him as having an effervescent personality that attracts people to him.

He is a presenter at popular TV station Pop Central on DSTV, and he hosts the Culture Report program on the channel. His job entails keeping an ear out and relaying to the audience during his program, what the word on the street is.

Ovia Reflex (Photographer)

As a photographer, when one of Nollywood’s biggest actresses hits you up for a birthday photoshoot, you can rest assured that your work has gotten the attention of some of the members of the upper echelon of the creative industry. And, this sort of exposure is the one Ovia Reflex is currently benefiting from.

This creative director/photographer specializes in taking beautiful portraits of women including big-name individuals like Rita Dominic, Beverly Osu, amongst others. She heads her own photography studio and runs a digital design and animation outfit. She is also an avid human rights advocate as she uses her social media to speak on some of the social injustices Nigerians are faced with.

David Garland (Singer)

The MTN sponsored music talent show, MTN Y’ello star returned this year for yet another intriguing season, and right off the bat, one name resonated so soundly with the show’s audience – David Garland. With looks to match his enchanting voice, David managed to charm both judges and fans of the show, and although he did not go as far as intended, he certainly left his mark on the show.

This part Ireland, part Nigerian singer began his musical career, similar to many other success stories around the world, in the confines of the Church. He started as a choir boy, before becoming a solo act. Regardless of majoring in Economics, at the University of Lagos, Garland would immediately choose a career in music.

Prior to his appearance on the show, Garland already had a three-track EP titled Boy Enough. Since leaving the show, he has made his intentions of threading the Nigerian music industry. His social media, however, is a mix of fashion and music content, as this artist hopes to play to his good looks and sultry sounds.

Robert Babawale Matuluko (Film)

In 2019, this emerging filmmaker created a short film which has been described by critics as impressionable. What’s more impressive is that he created this movie for his thesis at his two-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programme in film and television in the US. With such an impressive project serving as his homework, it is almost exciting to imagine what this new kid on the block can achieve with a professional team behind him.

It is great to see, however, that Robert is not waiting for all the stars to align before he engages in what he does best. Since leaving school, he has gone on to create another riveting comic series titled Sons of Mystery, a modern depiction of the Nigerian Native Doctor. One of the goals for this project, as he states, is to make Nigeria look cool.

Like he once mentioned, he uses a combination of his technical skills in filmmaking, photography and illustrations, and combines this with his ability to tell stories, to create his project. Sort of like a one-man wrecking crew.

Dare Adekoya/Akanni Muheez (Tech)

Dare and Akanni made Abeg App for the more tech-savvy younger generation who wish to carry out seamless financial transactions. The App can be used for receiving and sending money with no complications. Like the creators described it, it is an app that makes money transaction fun.

There is zero ambiguity to the career part Dare has chosen to take. He is a product designer and doesn’t seem to want it any other way. His entry into the tech world as a programmer began as recently as 2018, but in this short time, he has expanded his portfolio to get him to where he currently is. Before becoming the CEO of his own company, he worked freelance as a programmer. He also worked at Swipefox, Sterling Bank and Boyance, all of which he served as a product designer.

Back in 2020, Dare and some of his like-minded friends brainstormed the next big tech solution for Nigerians and what they came up with was Abeg app. Since then, the app has grown to around 5000 users and has facilitated over a million financial transactions.

Caleb Okereke (Writer)

It’s difficult to imagine that this author doesn’t have at least a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, but is somehow so highly accomplished. His accolades spanning the space of around five years is the dream for many upstart writers in the country.

Caleb is a feature writer for BellaNaija, and writes for Al Jazeera, BBC, CBB, and the Guardian, just to mention a few. He is currently the Managing Editor of Minority Africa and has graced the stages of TEDx as a guest speaker. He has also written satirical pieces for The Vanguard Newspaper and YNaija, not to mention his published poems and short stories.

Caleb’s article pieces primarily focus on politics across Africa and America, but he has also shown the ability to diversify his style of writing. For platforms like CNN and Al Jazeera, Caleb uses his writing to shed light on how politics affects the relationship between Africa and the rest of the world, particularly the west. For a platform like BellaNaija, he is able to switch up his writing and talk about more emotional and grounded subjects.

Akomolafe Henrich Bankole (Entrepreneur)

This young man has quite an extensive portfolio in the corporate world. He is the co-founder of Akotex Nigeria Limited, a company responsible for delivering engineering products and services particularly elevators.

His venture into this particular enterprise began from when he began working in the elevator industry, right after his return from Europe when he was done with school. Or perhaps it goes as far back as his school days studying Computer Engineering at Kharkiv National University of Electronics, Ukraine, and subsequently studying Information Technology Strategic Management, for his masters at Barcelona School of Management. But it is certain that his exposure to the business world began since when he was just 8. At that age, he co-founded a company with his father, where he still serves as a board member till this day.

In his young career as an entrepreneur, Henrich has been able to bag some impressive accolades including making the Forbes 30 under 30 in 2019. He was listed in The Guardian Life Under 30 young African Game Changers. He is also a recipient of the Future Africa Awards 2020 prize for Entrepreneur, among other jaw-dropping achievements.

Nimisire Emitomo (Advocate)

Luckily, there are people like Nimisire who have taken up the responsibility of educating people on reproductive health. Nimisire is first and foremost an advocate, who is well versed in the issues of sexual and reproductive health rights. She uses her platform and voice to bring to light some of the sexual health problems that are culturally induced.

The topics she chooses to discuss range from the use and importance of contraceptives, the intricacies of abortion and how to handle the decision, STDs, sexual abuse, gender-based violence, gender identity, and relative topics. She is passionate about eliminating the harmful sexual and reproductive myths that continue to plague our society. She is also a poet, a brilliant creative writer and a communications strategists.

Chinedu Okafor

For Chinedu Okafor, its all about making an impact with words,  creating a profound impression on the audience with the intended narrative.