We are pleased to announce the addition of two new members to our Advisory Board: Drs Jummai Zainab Umar-Ajijola and Aida Opoku-Mensah.

Dr Jummai Ummar-Ajijola brings to the Advisory Board her experience spanning three decades, several countries and across both public and private sectors. She is presently the CEO of the Business People (tbp) Limited and was previously the Corporate Social Responsibility Lead for Microsoft Corporation.

She has served on several committees, including the Presidential Committee on Drafting the Community Radio Policy as Member/Secretary; Coordinator, Women’s Group & Member Central Working Committee (CWC) Vision 20:2020, Joint Consultative Committee on National Framework for Building Partner Ecosystem, amongst others. She is also a regular contributor to socioeconomic and political discourse on radio and television.

She has also worked with ActionAid International Nigeria where she currently serves as Member Board of Trustees. She holds a Doctorate Degree in Public Administration and Policy Analysis.

Dr Aida Opoku-Mensah, on her part, works with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as Special Advisor to the ECA Executive Secretary on Special Initiatives & SDGs/Agenda 2030.

Her previous roles in the same organisation included her stint as Director, ICT, Science & Technology Division, where she managed ECA’s programme on Harnessing Information, Science and Technology for Africa’s Development, which included the Knowledge, Library and Information Services programme.

As Director of that division, Dr Opoku-Mensah led and implemented impressive initiatives such as UNECA’s African Information Society Initiative (AISI), a continental digital agenda supporting African countries to develop and implement national ICT4D policies and strategies. She was one of the architects of the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) – an initiative to encourage African innovators and inventors to enhance their roles in the African development process.

‘Gbenga Sesan, the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, says: “As we enter our 10th year and grow our work beyond Nigeria, I am excited about the expertise and oversight that the Advisory Board provides. With expertise across Africa and beyond, in the public sector, private sector, regional institutions, social sector, international development community, among others, our work will benefit from the 7-wo/man board’s scores of years of expertise.”

The two accomplished women join Professor Pat Utomi, former presidential candidate and co-founder of Lagos Business School, Dr Oluseyi Adebayo-Olubi, a partner at O’bibi Consult, Mr Nick Jekogian, a successful entrepreneur and investor, and ‘Gbenga Sesan, the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative. With the new additions, the Board is now in a better position to guide Paradigm Initiative to become Africa’s leading outfit on digital inclusion and digital rights.