Nigeria’s Simi Nwogugu, Chief Executive Officer of JA Africa, has been named winner of the Africa Education Medal 2023.
Founded last year by T4 Education and HP in collaboration with Microsoft, the Africa Education Medal is the region’s most prestigious education accolade. It was founded to recognise the work of those who are transforming African education.
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United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) data show that sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of education exclusion in the world.
Over one-fifth of children between the ages of six and 11 are out of school, with girls particularly disadvantaged.
However, tireless international efforts have seen Africa make great strides in boosting enrollment in the decades leading up to the pandemic.
By celebrating the stories of those working every day to expand on these vital gains, the Africa Education Medal aims to inspire others to follow in their footsteps and bring lasting change in African education.
Nwogugu 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 yearly, 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 60 per cent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa and about 37 per cent of its workforce are under the age of 25.
By 2025, Africa will be home to 25 per cent 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, families and communities.
For 25 years, Nwogugu has been leading JA’s efforts in various capacities as it embarked on a mission to help young people 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.
Mayank Dhingra, Senior Education Business Leader, Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa at HP, said Nwogugu is truly empowering the continent’s next generation to face the future with confidence.
“She is an inspiration to all of us at HP, where we have a bold goal to accelerate digital equity for 150 million people globally by 2030.
“Only by joining forces and aligning with non-governmental organisations, 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,” Dhingra said.
Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education, said Nwogugu has dedicated her life’s work to skilling up Africa’s young people, equipping them with the tools to not only survive, but also thrive in the world they are entering.
In her remarks, Nwogugu dedicated the award to staff members at JA Africa, and all the inspirational young people they have worked with, helping to pave the way to a brighter future for our continent’s youth.