Top 25 Under 25 (Africans) - Deborah Umunnabuike, 23 and Jessica Ummnnabuike, 21
November 9, 2007 | 2 Comments
“I’m looking to learn how to create a more socially responsible business,” says Deborah Umunnabuike, a political science major at the University of Chicago and co-founder of Avant Gaudy, an online vintage clothing shop she started with her sister, Jessica, an undergraduate at Hofstra University, in the summer of 2005. The daughters of Nigerian immigrants started the three-employee business because they were passionate about clothes and saw a growing demand among their peers for vintage clothing. And they soon realized that there was a growing demand abroad as well, specifically in parts of Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia, based on analyzing Web traffic to their site, almost 26,000 visitors from more than 30 countries. The sisters recruited Hong Kong native Vincent Choi to bring a global perspective to the business and better reach shoppers in Asia.
Deborah says running the business has made her want to become a serial entrepreneur, but until she graduates in 2009, she will continue to run it conservatively. She is also involved with the Forte Foundation, a group dedicated to creating young women business leaders, and is interested in continuing community work in the spirit of Avant Gaudy’s DIY/Smashup Chicago, a daylong networking and trade-show event she organized in 2006 for craftspeople and entrepreneurs.
Story culled from www.businessweek.com
Top 25 Under 25 (Africans) - Ubong Attah, 23
November 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Ubong Attah describes herself as a serial entrepreneur. She ran a tutoring business in high school, taught herself Web design in college, then started a Web design firm her senior year called Studio10Fourteen, which she says is profitable and continues to operate. Ubong recently sold another business, an online jewelry shop, for around $55,000. She founded both Studio10Fourteen and Prolete Medical Billing Inc.
Because she was recently diagnosed with systemic lupus, she has turned her attention to starting a home-based business. Her new company, Prolete Medical Billing, makes use of her health-information management degree from Saint Louis University in St. Louis and her experience doing administrative work for her mother’s two home health agencies. Ubong expects Prolete to have revenues of around $4 million in 2008.
Story culled from www.businessweek.com
Sophie Okonedo
October 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Sophie Okonedo (born January 1, 1969) is an Academy Award-nominated British/Nigerian actress. Okonedo, who is Black and Jewish, was born in London. Her mother is Jewish, and her father is Nigerian. Her father left the family a few years after her birth, and Okonedo was raised in poverty by her single mother. Okonedo has a daughter, Aoife, from her previous relationship with Irish film editor Eoin Martin. They live at Muswell Hill (London)
Okonedo trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She has worked in a variety of media including film, television, theatre, and audio drama. She performed in Scream of the Shalka — a webcast based on the BBC television series Doctor Who — as Alison Cheney, a companion of the Doctor. As well as providing the character’s voice, Okonedo’s likeness was used for the animation of the character. Okonedo also played the part of Ms. Tulip Jones in the movie Stormbreaker(2006). She was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress in 2004 for her role in Hotel Rwanda and nominated for a Golden Globe for a Lead Actress in a Miniseries for her work in Tsunami: The Aftermath.
Awards/Nominations
Academy Awards - 2005, Best Supporting Actress: Hotel Rwanda (Nominated)
Black Reel Award - 2005, Best Actress in a Drama: Hotel Rwanda (Winner)
Golden Globes - 2007, Best Actress in a Television Movie/Mini-Series: Tsunami: The Aftermath (Nominated)
Image Awards
2007, Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special: Tsunami: The Aftermath (Winner)
2005, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Hotel Rwanda (Nominated)
MTV Movie Awards - 1996, Best Kiss: Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls shared w/ Jim Carrey (Nominated)
Screen Actors Guild - 2005, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: Hotel Rwanda (Nominated)
Screen Actors Guild -2005, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Hotel Rwanda (Nominated)
Noella Coursaris
October 13, 2007 | 1 Comment
Noella Coursaris was born to a Congolese mother and Cypriot father in Lubumbashi, Congo. At age 5, Noella’s dad passed away and she moved to Belgium to live with her aunt. At a young age, constant offers to model were thrown her way but she decided to focus on her education instead. On completion of high school, Nöella moved to England to perfect her English. It was in London that her modeling career took off. She came into limelight when she won a competition organized by Agent Provocateur to get a new face for the company. 10,000 models participated and Noella won. This was the launching pad for her career.
Below is an excerpt of the interview she had with the African Path Magazine:
African Path: How did you become a model?
Nöella: I started my modeling career two and a half years ago though a lingerie campaign competition for Agent Provocateur.
African Path: Growing up, what did you dream of becoming?
Nöella: I wanted to become a doctor.
African Path: How was your childhood and how did some of your childhood experiences shape who you are today?
Nöella: My dad died when I was 5 years old. I didn’t grow up with my mum. After the death of my father, I went to live with my auntie in Belgium and then Switzerland. I had a good childhood but nothing can replace a mum and dad. The best day in my life was when I came back to Congo to be with my mum.
African Path: Do you have any siblings?
Nöella: I was the only child between my dad and mum. My mum remarried and now I have a brother and three younger sisters.
African Path: Who are your role models?
Nöella: I have to give it to Iman. She has done so much for African models. Liya (Kebede), Grace Jones and Naomi (Campbell) are the others. I respect Naomi for she couldn’t have gotten to where she is without the drive she has.
African Path: What do you enjoy the most as a model? What don’t you like about modeling?
Nöella: I love traveling, discovering new countries and experiencing different cultures. I am lucky to have experienced new lands. It is a lot of fun. On the other hand, I hate castings. I don’t like the whole process of meeting a client to show your portfolio and awaiting a decision. The uncertainty of the industry is another negative.
African Path: What is your favorite type of assignment?
Nöella: I love print work. It is all about team work. The make-up artist, photographer, art director, hair stylist and the model come together and create the work.
African Path: What do you do for fun?
Nöella: I am very attached to my friends that I have known for a long time. I cherish my African culture, value and respect family and respect myself. I love watching movies, going to concerts and listening to music. I love African music such as Ndombolo.
African Path: How do you stay grounded through your hectic lifestyle?
Nöella: I am a working model. I work hard and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I am professional so before any shoot, I ensure I have at least 8 hours of sleep. That way, I am fresh and ready to work. I also enjoy looking after my mum and reading books. I keep away from the industry during my free time hanging out with friends and that helps.
African Path: Other than the obvious great looks that a model should possess, what extra is needed to make one successful?
Nöella: One needs to have drive. You can’t get anywhere in this industry without drive. Work hard, respect yourself and be responsible.
African Path: How do you promote and market yourself?
Nöella: I have an agency in New York, one in London and another in Germany. I have been receiving interest from the press. I love creating a personal relationship with the interviewer so I can give them something special from the inside. This way, readers and my fans get to share and know who I am.
African Path: What are you future plans after retiring from modeling?
Nöella: My personal dream is to set up an orphanage in my hometown, Lubumbashi. Something more intimate unlike large institutions where the children aren’t individually taken care of. Through the orphanage, these children can get a better life and good education. Hopefully they too will come back and help others. I have been lucky. I have met a lot of people through modeling. I want to use that to help others and improve life back home.
African Path: What role does Africa have to play on the world stage and where do you see yourself in relation to this?
Nöella: Africa is the future. A lot of things are happening in Africa and with Africans. The ones who have gotten an opportunity to visit Europe and the US should use that back home to develop the continent. I have met prominent Africans who are interested in working with me. These include politicians, singers, and designers. I think this is great. I want to work with and in Africa. I strongly believe in Africa. I miss home and I love it. It is great to have experienced Europe and the USA but nothing can replace Africa. Modeling is a step to where I want to go. I want to do events in Africa. Currently, there is a void in how events are run. I want to address that. I also want to do TV shows.
African Path: What advice would you give young women who look up to you?
Nöella: To young models, never take no for an answer. You will have to knock on a lot of doors buy you have to stay persistent. Be yourself. Be grounded but keep studying. Despite being a model, I went to business school. You need to be more than just a model.
African Path: Are there other things you work on?
Nöella: Yes, I also work on a number of high profile events. Examples would a Jamie Foxx’s movie premier, Chopard Diamond, a Victoria Secret event among others.
African Path: Any last word?
Nöella: Yes, I would like to thank my family, friends and fans. I have dedicated every step of my career to my dad. Thank you African Path.
Story Culled from www.africanpath.com
James Makawa
October 2, 2007 | 12 Comments
Co-founder of The Africa Channel and originally from Zimbabwe , Mr. Makawa is one of the few executives from Sub-Saharan Africa to have enjoyed a successful career in both local and network television in the United States . For more than 10 years, Mr. Makawa worked as a local news reporter and anchor with leading local stations before joining NBC News as a correspondent in New York and Chicago .
Mr. Makawa returned to South Africa and co-founded the African Barter Company (ABC), in partnership with Grey Advertising Worldwide. ABC was the first barter syndication company ever launched in Africa . Mr. Makawa cleared hundreds of hours on TV stations across the continent reaching an audience topping 150 million. In 2000, Mr. Makawa co-founded the African Broadcast Network, a pan African network of television stations with affiliates in 18 countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa . As ABN ’s executive vice president for program acquisition and distribution, Mr. Makawa acquired programming from such U.S. program suppliers as NBC, CBS, MGM , Columbia Tri-Star, Endemol and Paramount . During his tenure with the African Broadcast Network, Mr. Makawa also served as a member of the Board.
Rotimi Adebari - First Black Mayor in Ireland.
September 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Rotimi Adebari’s focus is on the community of Portlaoise. Arriving there six years ago from Nigeria, he immediately realised that things operated quite differently to what he was familiar with. So he went about exploring, understanding and ultimately embracing those differences.
Rotimi made it his mission to promote cultural understanding and integration between the Irish and immigrant communities. To do this he set up ‘Optimum Point’, a consultancy which trains companies and educational institutions in cross-cultural awareness. He also completed a Masters in Intercultural Studies from Dublin City University, while at the same time running in the local Town Council elections. He was successful in both, and is now one of the very few elected representatives in Ireland representing the immigrant communities.
Once a week Rotimi also hosts a radio programme on Midlands 103FM. The programme discusses social inclusion issues, and aims to inspire those who may be experiencing isolation, whatever their background. Each week he welcomes ‘A Hero from Zero’- a person who has overcome disadvantage or exclusion, to tell their story so others too may realise there is hope.
What keeps him going? Mainly his family. Rotimi has three boys, and another child is on the way. He wants his children to feel at home in Ireland, and indeed wants an Ireland in which those coming into the country feel part of the community, making it their home. ‘I look forward to a future in Ireland’ he says, ‘in which people, irrespective of their colour, creed, religion or nationality, see each other as one’.
And his advice to young people? ‘The sky is the limit. It is getting started that is the big thing. But once you start, you will be changing the world before you know it, and remember, ideas change the world!’
In recognition of all his work, Rotimi recently received a national MAMA media award. The judges on the night of the award ceremony paid special tribute, commending him; ‘For the leadership he has shown. For breaking new ground in the field of political representation. For the creativity and commitment he has applied to creating an integrated intercultural society’.
And his political aspirations? ‘Well’, he says, ‘we will see how it goes over time, I’m open to opportunities’.
Culled from Exception Lives.
Ozwald Boateng
September 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Ozwald Boateng(OBE) is a fashion designer. Born in Ghana in the late 1960s and brought up in north London. While studying computing at Southwark College, he was introduced to cutting and designing clothes by his girlfriend at the time. With the help of his mother, who was an excellent seamstress, he started selling his mother’s designs to passers-by along Portobello Road. At twenty-three, disillusioned with a mundane job in IT, he had set himself up full-time in business. He began making bespoke suits in 1990, and is widely credited with introducing Savile Row tailoring to a new generation. The first tailor to stage a catwalk show in Paris, Boateng’s many clients include James Bond,Will Smith, Laurence Fishburne, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, Keanu Reeves, and Mick Jagger.
Keen to learn the best of traditional tailoring, Boateng would find out who best stitched buttonholes, who set sleeves the best way, who made the best linings and so on, at the same time developing his own style and look.
Boateng sees himself as more than a tailor, and more than a designer, so he coined the term ‘bespoke couturier’. He was appointed creative director of Givenchy menswear in 2003. On June 22, 2006, the Sundance Channel began airing a reality television series called House of Boateng which follows Boateng’s efforts to launch his Bespoke Couture line in the United States.
Boateng lives with his wife and two children in central London, and was recently named one of the 100 Great Black Britons by The Voice and the Greater London Authority. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2007.
Ozwald’s cousin Paul Boateng is the former Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent South, and is the current British High Commissioner to South Africa.
Acha Leke, Partner - Mckinsey & Co.
September 13, 2007 | 4 Comments
Acha, a native of Cameroon, is a Partner of McKinsey & Company based in the Johannesburg office. At McKinsey, Acha has served a broad range of clients across Africa in fields including telecom, health care, oil & gas, and banking, and he was the first black Partner elected by McKinsey’s Johannesburg office. His client projects have included strategic investment decisions, business building, growth strategy, and turnarounds. He started his career with McKinsey in the USA and transferred to the Johannesburg office in 2002 to drive the firm’s expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa. This work has taken Acha to countries across the continent, including South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Botswana. Prior to joining McKinsey, Acha worked for three years as a part-time consultant to electronics and telecommunications companies in Silicon Valley, California, USA. Acha is a co-founder of the African Leadership Academy, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Acha has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University. He also holds a B.S in Electrical Engineering summa cum laude from the Georgia Institute of Technology. At Georgia Tech, Acha graduated as the first black Valedictorian in the university’s history. He is fluent in English and French. He was born on November 30, 1972. He was named a young global leader by the World Economic Forum in 2007
Tuna Amobi CPA, CFA
September 9, 2007 | 3 Comments
Tuna N. Amobi is the senior media and entertainment analyst in Standard & Poor’s U.S. Equity Research Services. In this capacity, he provides analysis and investment recommendations on a range of stocks in the broadcast, cable, satellite, movies and entertainment sectors, including Clear Channel, Comcast, DirecTV, Disney, News Corp., Time Warner and Viacom. He also writes periodic industry research reports. Tuna is a member of the Standard & Poor’s Analytical Policy Board, which reviews and directs major policy decisions and analytical criteria consistent with the mission of Standard & Poor’s Investment Services. As an accounting analyst, he is also a member of the Standard & Poor’s Core Earnings Committee, which creates and refines a proprietary analytical framework used to measure the performance of a company’s core business. Tuna makes regular appearances and has been interviewed and widely quoted in the financial and trade press, including Barron’s, BBC, Bloomberg, Business Week, CNBC, CNNfn, Dow Jones, Financial Times and Reuters. Prior to his current position, Tuna worked as an equity research coverage analyst at Lehman Brothers, New York, where he also used his expertise to proffer best investment ideas with the firm’s Investment Policy Committee. Earlier in his career, Tuna was a manager in the assurance and strategy consulting groups in the New York offices of Arthur Andersen & Co., and subsequently, KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP. Tuna holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of CPAs, and the New York Society of Security Analysts. Tuna earned a JD (LL.B.) degree, and a B.Sc. (Accounting), summa cum laude, and received an MBA (Finance) from the premier University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. He also holds the Series 7 and Series 63 securities licenses.
Chinedu Echeruo
September 9, 2007 | 3 Comments
When Chinedu Echeruo first moved to New York City in 1995, his unfamiliarity with the city’s sprawling 714-mile mass transit system made it difficult for him to get around the large metropolis. But he had a solution.
Echeruo, 33, founded HopStop.com , a Web-based city transit guide that provides point-to-point directions by subway and bus to get to any location in New York City; Boston; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; and, most recently, Chicago. Echeruo plans to expand HopStop to 14 more cities in the U.S. and abroad over the next year.
“I started thinking about the problem of getting from point A to point B — and how I could leverage technology to solve it,” says Echeruo, a Nigerian-born entrepreneur who has been involved with several Internet startups. “Whether I could make it into a viable business was another question.” Echeruo, who has an M.B.A. from Harvard and experience as a financial analyst, launched a basic version of HopStop in 2004. Today, the site serves 500,000 customers each month and is expected to generate about $3 million in revenues by the end of 2006.
HopStop’s free service is supported by banner ads from companies such as Continental Airlines and Volkswagen. Local businesses also advertise, knowing that they can reach very specific target markets — HopStop can feature ads that run only for a particular neighborhood or even a zip code.
HopStop.com eliminates the need for transit riders to peer at maps while figuring out how to get around the city. For example, if someone wants to know the right train or bus to ride from the Empire State Building to an address on Wall Street, he or she could simply key those locations into the HopStop.com search fields, click on the “Get Directions” button and let the Website’s technology do the work. Walking directions are also provided as an option.
“The New York City subway system is large: 468 stations and hundreds of miles of tracks,” says Neysa Pranger of the Straphangers Campaign, a New York Public Interest Research Group. “HopStop helps commuters unravel the mystery of how to get around.”
HopStop, which has a staff of seven, has expanded beyond its original Web-based model and has introduced HopStop Mobile. Customers can now download travel directions remotely, using their mobile phones and wireless PDAs. The free mobile service generates advertising revenues from companies such as Zagat, the restaurant and nightlife guide.
Some realtors are making HopStop available on their Websites. The idea is to make it easier for clients to find bus and subway directions as they travel around the city looking at apartment listings. The Corcoran Group, a New York City-based real estate company, pays HopStop a subscription fee to integrate the transit guide’s search engine with their Website. Echeruo plans to sell similar services to hotels, municipalities, and other businesses.
The service, which is available in nine languages, including French, German, Italian, and Swahili, is used mostly by New York City residents. But the potential to service the tourist industry is great. “HopStop is definitely tourist-friendly,” says Echeruo, who is currently working on plans to tap into this market.
Culled from The Black Enterprise
