Founded last year by T4 Education and HP in collaboration
with Microsoft, the Africa Education Medal is Africa’s most prestigious
education accolade.
The Africa Education Medal was established to recognise the
tireless work of those who are transforming education across the continent – to
celebrate the stories of those who have lit the spark of change so others will
be inspired to take up the torch. It is given to an outstanding individual who
has demonstrated impact, leadership, and advocacy in the field of education.
The Top 10 finalists for the Africa Education Medal are:
Mary Ashun, Principal of Ghana International School, Ghana; Laura Kakon, Chief
Growth & Strategy Officer of Honoris United Universities, Morocco; Rogers
Kamugisha, Country Director of Educate!, Rwanda; Grace Matlhape, CEO of
SmartStart, South Africa; Mary Metcalfe, former policymaker and CEO of
Programme to Improve Learning Outcomes (PILO), South Africa; Martha Muhwezi,
Executive Director of FAWE, Uganda; Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura, Executive
Director of Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, Rwanda; Simi Nwogugu, CEO of JA
Africa, Nigeria; Sara Ruto, Former Chief Administrative Secretary of Kenya’s
Ministry of Education and former CEO of PAL Network, Kenya; and Snehar Shah,
CEO of Moringa School, Kenya.
Simi Nwogugu is CEO of JA Africa, part of the Nobel Peace
Prize-nominated JA Worldwide, one of the world’s largest youth-serving NGOs
that prepares young people for the future of work.
She was first introduced to JA while working at Goldman
Sachs in New York City. Impressed by the organisation, she quit her lucrative
job at age 24 to bring JA to Nigeria, where it now reaches more than 100,000
young people annually, before going on to head up JA’s operations across the
continent.
The vital importance of Nwogugu’s work is highlighted by the
fact that 60percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa and about 37percent
of its workforce are under the age of 25. By 2025, Africa will be home to
25percent of the world’s youth population. Through the delivery of hands-on,
blended learning in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship,
her organisation empowers young people to grow their entrepreneurial ideas,
hone their work readiness skills, manage their earnings and secure better lives
for themselves, their families, and their communities.
For 25 years, Nwogugu has been leading JA’s efforts in
various capacities as it embarked on a mission to help young people to generate
and effectively manage wealth, create jobs for their communities, as well as
apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace and skills that will secure
their financial future. Her passion for strategy and innovation led to the
development of many impactful programmes that are ensuring young Nigerians have
the skillsets and mindset to succeed.
She is a passionate advocate for girls’ education and one of
her unique initiatives includes the Leadership, Empowerment Achievement &
Development (LEAD) Camp for Girls, which has inspired and empowered over 1,200
young girls to become high-achieving women leaders in society.
Another initiative she has championed is the Venture in
Management Programme (ViMP), which is designed to empower young people in the
different facets of managing a business, making crucial business decisions and
developing skills for General Management and social responsibility. Graduates
of the programme have gone on to become founders of Nigeria’s leading
businesses as well as leaders of the most impactful non-profit organisations on
the continent. She also built digital and out-of-school youth programmes that
enabled her organisation to reach underserved populations in the North of
Nigeria, even during the Boko Haram crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to becoming JA Africa CEO in 2020, she led JA Nigeria
to impact the lives of over 1 million Nigerians in 5,000 schools. Among the
many JA alumni who have gone on to become job creators and social entrepreneurs
is Iyin Aboyeji, the founder of two unicorns: Andela and Flutterwave.
Nwogugu also serves as President of the governing board of
the Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Nigeria (HBSAN), and has been
recognised by the school with numerous awards including the Bert King Award for
Social Impact presented by the Harvard Business School African-American Alumni
Association. She is currently a fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Africa
Leadership Initiative for West Africa (ALIWA) where she is pursuing her passion
to empower and equip 10 million African girls to build thriving communities by
2050.
Mayank Dhingra, Senior Education Business Leader, Southern
Europe, Middle East and Africa, at HP said:
“My warmest congratulations to Simi Nwogugu on being named a
Top 10 finalist for the Africa Education Medal 2023. Her tireless work to
improve education stands as an inspiration to us all and I hope many others
will follow in her footsteps to become leaders in the field.
“HP has a bold goal to accelerate digital equity for 150
million people globally by 2030. Only by joining forces and aligning with NGOs,
government, educators and businesses can we truly improve the education
environment. The Africa Education Medal brings together all those who are
changing the face of African education, whose vital work deserves to be
celebrated.”
Vikas Pota, Founder and CEO of T4 Education, said: “Africa’s teachers and school leaders, and its leaders of governments, NGOs and businesses, all play a crucial part in unlocking the continent’s potential through quality education. African education stands at a crossroads in the wake of the pandemic, but if leaders from across the continent in every field can work together then they can build the lasting change needed.
“I congratulate Simi Nwogugu on her achievements in skilling
up Africa’s young people and I hope her success serves as a rallying cry for
changemakers to come forward and make a difference.”
Nominations for the Africa Education Medal opened in
February 2023 for individuals working to improve pre-kindergarten, K-12,
vocational and university education who are either educators, school
administrators, civil society leaders, public servants, government officials,
political leaders, technologists, or innovators.
The winner of the Africa Education Medal will be announced
in July. Finalists will be assessed by a Jury comprising prominent individuals
based on rigorous criteria.
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