Kennedy Ekezie

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Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph
Born (1998-06-11) 11 June 1998 (age 25)
Lagos, Nigeria
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • philosopher
Years active2014-present
Known forfounding Kippa
Awards

Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph (born 11 June 1998) is a Nigerian-born entrepreneur and philosopher. He is the co-founder and current chief executive officer of Kippa.

In November 2023, Ekezie was listed on the 2024 Forbes 30 under 30 list (North America) in the Finance category.[1]

Early life and education

Ekezie, originally from Ehime Mbano in Imo State, was born in Lagos where he lived for 8 years with his family before his parents relocated to Calabar after they secured jobs there.[2] In 2017, Ekezie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with honours in Philosophy from the University of Calabar and subsequently won a Yenching Scholarship in 2018 to study for a master's degree in Economics and Management at Peking University.[3] He also holds a diploma in Leading Change from the University of Cambridge.[4]

Career

In 2014 at aged 16 while studying, Ekezie founded Calabar Youths Council For Women's Rights; an organization he founded to promote women's rights after he discovered that more than 8,000 women are victims of female genital mutilation in Nigeria.[5]

In 2021, he co-founded Kippa.[6] Prior to that, he also worked at ByteDance while on a Yenching Scholarship at Peking University in China.[2] Ekezie has been credited as part of the team that led TikTok into Africa.[7]

Recognitions and awards

In 2017, Ekezie was selected as one of the 30 Global Teen Leaders by the We Are Family Foundation and received President Obama’s Young African Leaders Fellowship.[8][9] In 2018, Ekezie was awarded the Queen's Young Leader Award by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.[10] He also won the Yenching Scholarship in the same year. For his work as a technology entrepreneur, he was awarded The Future Award Prize for Technology in 2022,[11][12] and was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list (North America) in 2023.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Forbes 30 Under 30 2024: Finance". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  2. ^ a b ""Exploring the Journey of Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph: A Trailblazer in Catalyzing TikTok's Success across Africa" – Independent Newspaper Nigeria". Independent Nigeria. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  3. ^ Akinyemi, Bioluwatife (2018-04-29). "Ekezie-Joseph becomes First Nigerian to Receive Yenching Scholarship". Nigerian Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  4. ^ "The Yenching Academy of Peking University Introduces the 2018 Cohort of Yenching Scholars-Yenching Academy of Peking University". Yenching Academy. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  5. ^ "KENNEDY EKEZIE-JOSEPH". We Are Family Foundation. 2021-06-13. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  6. ^ Prosser, David. "Kippa Aims To Unlock The Potential Of Africa's Small Businesses". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  7. ^ Mubarik, Abu (2022-01-24). "Meet the 23-yr-old Nigerian who led TikTok's entry into Africa and now has his own fintech startup". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  8. ^ "KENNEDY EKEZIE-JOSEPH". We Are Family Foundation. 2021-06-13. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  9. ^ "Entrepreneurship: What Must Young Africans Do Differently?". NYU Africa House. 2019-10-04. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  10. ^ Nigeria, Guardian (2018-06-27). "Three Nigerians Receive Queen Elizabeth's Young Leaders Award". The Guardian (Nigeria). Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  11. ^ Ajanaku, Lucas. "Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph receives Future Awards Africa for technology". The Nation.
  12. ^ "See who win for The Future Awards 2022". BBC News Pidgin. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  13. ^ "Kennedy Ekezie". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
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