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Nkiru Balonwu

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Nkiru Balonwu
Born
Nkiru Balonwu
NationalityNigerian
Occupations
  • Nigerian entrepreneur
  • US-trained communicator
  • Activist
TitleExecutive director

Nkiru Balonwu is an entrepreneur and activist based in Lagos, Nigeria.[1] She is known for her views of women as the solution to Africa's problems[2] and is the founder and chairperson of African Women on Board, an independent, women-led African non-profit organisation focused on advancing narratives to improve realities for women and girls of African heritage.[3] She is also founder and managing partner of RDF Strategies, a consultancy firm that provides advice on strategic communication and stakeholder engagement across sectors from law, technology, finance, advocacy, international development, show business consulting, political engineering and communications

[4] In 2016, during her time at the helm of Spinlet, Balonwu was featured in YNaija as one of "Nigeria's 100 Most Inspiring Women".[5] In October 2019, Balonwu was awarded the 2020 Powerlist International[6] Award by the Powerlist UK.

Personal life and background

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Balonwu is the daughter of two lawyers with a background in social change and justice.[7]

Education

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Balonwu graduated with a bachelor's degree in Law from the University of Manchester.[8] She obtained her master's degree from University College London (UCL) and holds a Doctorate Degree from the University of California, Berkeley.[8]

Career

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Balonwu has worked in a variety of fields including law, technology, finance, show business, international development, advocacy and communications.

She worked as a lecturer at the faculty of law, University of Lagos.[9]

In 2014, Balonwu became CEO of Spinlet, the first music streaming and digital distribution platform in Sub-Saharan Africa. During her time as CEO, Spinlet became Nigeria's first International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) Manager.[10][11]

In 2017, Balonwu founded African Women on Board which launched internationally at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice, New York, on 26 September 2019 during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with the aim “to give a voice to African women and change how they're perceived”.[11][12][13]

Leadership and appointments

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Balonwu's consultancy RDF was appointed to develop the concept for Lagos to the World (L2W), a global campaign in 2018 by the Lagos State government to drive foreign investment to the state.[14][15]

Awards and achievements

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On 25 October 2019, Balonwu received the Powerlist 2020 International award.[3] The power list black excellence awards features 100 of the UK's most influential black people.[16] Balonwu was the recipient of the International Award, “which is given to a person based outside of the UK, who is considered to have distinguished themselves as a change-maker, innovator, inspiration and person of considerable influence” in recognition of her work at African Women on Board.[17]

In March 2016, Media publication, YNaija, in partnership with Leading Ladies Africa ranked Balonwu among the 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria, an annual release that features "women who are deliberately impacting their world and local communities through the power and strength of their ideas and achievement." Balonwu received the honour for her work at Spinlet in "Revolution[ising] the way music content is shared and distributed".[5]

In 2010, Balonwu was a recipient of the Founder Region Fellowship, a gift-giving body that focuses on "improving the lives of women and girls locally and globally by giving fellowships to women who will truly make a difference in the world." Balonwu won the prize under a Law and Social Science focus and a legal dissertation based on analyzing the opportunities that the African film industry, “Nollywood” offers to women as a catalyst for economic development.[18]

Public speaking and media commentary

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Balonwu has been featured on various platforms on topics ranging from gender equality, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.[19]

On podcast a16z, started by VC fund Andreessen Horowitz, with past guest speakers including NBA player Andre Iguodala and Oprah Winfrey,[20] Balonwu spoke on technology in Africa.[21] Harvard Business School's Dynamic Women in Business Conference in 2018 featured Nkiru Balonwu as a 'women on boards' panelist.[22]

On Radio France Internationale (RFI) a French public radio service with 35.6 million listeners worldwide, Balonwu spoke on how to better engage African women.[23]

She is listed as a mentor at the Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator.[24][25]

Published articles

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Balonwu has written articles for various media outlets including Sahara Reporters, TechCabal and Al Jazeera English.

  • "African Women As Consumers: Key To Unlocking Africa’s Growth"; February 2020[26][27]
  • "Propelling African women is essential to African business"; December 2019[28]
  • “Why not #MeToo? How stereotypes hinder African women's progress”; October 2019 [29]
  • “Violence Against Women – Forget #Metoo, We Need #Youtoo to Stand with Women”; July 2019 [30]
  • “Google CEO Sets New Benchmark for Modern Corporate Communications: Lessons for African Executives”’ February 2019 [31]
  • “MTN Vs. the Government: Is Poor Communications Hurting Nigeria’s Economy?”; October 2018 [32]
  • “Brexit, Macron’s visit: Opportunities and new alliances for Nigeria”; July 2018 [33]
  • “Women in Stem: Time to Recalculate Our Approach?”; May 2018 [34]
  • “Men as Allies: Pressing for Progress and Workplace Equality in Africa”; March 2018[35]
  • “Making African Women's Voices Mainstream”; January 2018, Business Day [36]

Board and advisory council memberships

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Balonwu sits on boards of several organisations.[37][38]

References

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  1. ^ "An interview with Spinlet's CEO, Nkiru Balonwu, and Head of Business Development, Oye Akindeinde (Video)". African Business Central. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  2. ^ THEWILL_. "Nigeria's Balonwu, Duchess of Sussex, Stormzy, Hamilton, Others named in Powerlist UK 2020 International Award | THEWILL". Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  3. ^ a b "Nkiru Balonwu wins Powerlist UK award alongside Meghan Markle". TheCable. 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  4. ^ "2019: PDP appoints communications consultant on women engagement". TheCable. 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  5. ^ a b "'Arunma Oteh, Tara Fela-Durotoye, Yasmine Belo-Osagie & more | These are Nigeria's 100 Most Inspiring Women – #YWomen100 #LLA100Women » YNaija". YNaija. 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  6. ^ "Nkiru Balonwu wins Powerlist UK award alongside Meghan Markle". TheCable. 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  7. ^ "2010 FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS" (PDF). www.founderregionfellowship.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2016. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  8. ^ a b "2019: PDP appoints communications consultant on women engagement". TheCable. 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  9. ^ "Welcome to University of Lagos". 196.45.48.50. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  10. ^ "Nigerian Women Rocking the Online Business World". All Africa. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  11. ^ a b "Spotify, Deezer or Spinlet? Africa's music streaming choice". The Africa Report.com. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  12. ^ editor (2019-09-21). "African Women on Board Eyes a Global Audience". THISDAYLIVE. Retrieved 2019-10-23. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ "African women eye UNGA to catch #MeToo momentum". RFI. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  14. ^ Editor (2018-07-09). ""We want to sell Lagos to the World," says Dr. Ademola Abass of Lagos Global – Toni Kan". This Is Lagos. Retrieved 2019-05-25. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. ^ "LAGOS BEGINS GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO DRIVE INVESTMENT". Lagos State Government. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  16. ^ "Meghan Markle and Stormzy named among Britain's most influential black people". The Independent. 2019-10-25. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  17. ^ THEWILL_. "Nigeria's Balonwu, Duchess of Sussex, Stormzy, Hamilton, Others named in Powerlist UK 2020 International Award | THEWILL". Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  18. ^ "Founder Region Fellowship Recipients 2010" (PDF). Founder Region Fellowship. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2016.
  19. ^ Jnr, Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata (2017-10-23). "Nigerian Youths Advised To Stay and Invest in Nigeria at the October 2017 Edition of CFA's Startups Hangout". CFAmedia.ng - Startups | Media | Business | Technology News. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  20. ^ "10 Top Podcasts Every CEO Should Listen To". Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  21. ^ "a16z Podcast: Things Come Together - Truths about Tech in Africa". Andreessen Horowitz. 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  22. ^ "HBS Dynamic Women In Business| Delivers Inspiration & More for the 27th Year!". MarketingRecon. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  23. ^ "African women eye UNGA to catch #MeToo momentum". RFI. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  24. ^ "Great Startup Mentors Confirmed for the Lagos Founder Institute". The Founder Institute. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  25. ^ "Build a Startup with Nigeria's Top Entrepreneurs. Founder Institute Opens Applications in Lagos". The Founder Institute. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  26. ^ "Women drive consumer spend. So why don't we know what they want?". The Africa Report.com. 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  27. ^ "Africa's Women As Consumers: Key To Unlocking Africa's Growth By Nkiru Balonwu". Sahara Reporters. 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  28. ^ "Propelling African women is essential to African business". africa.businesschief.com. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  29. ^ Balonwu, Nkiru. "Why not #MeToo? How stereotypes hinder African women's progress". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  30. ^ "Violence Against Women – Forget #Metoo, We Need #Youtoo To Stand With Women By Nkiru Balonwu". Sahara Reporters. 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  31. ^ "Google CEO Sets New Benchmark for Modern Corporate Communication". businessday.ng. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  32. ^ "MTN Vs The Government: Is Poor Communications Hurting Nigeria's Economy? By Dr. Nkiru Balonwu". Sahara Reporters. 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  33. ^ "BusinessDay Online, TV, and Podcast". Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  34. ^ "Women in STEM: Time to recalculate our approach?". TechCabal. 2018-05-10. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  35. ^ "BusinessDay Online, TV, and Podcast". Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  36. ^ "Making African Women's Voices Mainstream". businessday.ng. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  37. ^ "International Advisory Board I Nigeria I Alluvial I Our Team". Farm Business | Nigeria | Alluvial. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  38. ^ "BOARD". Convex Publisher. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
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