Nkiru Balonwu’s bio: age, fact, career, awards, net worth and life story.
Nkiru Balonwu is a Lagos-based entrepreneur and activist. Nkiru is well-known for her firm belief in women as the solution to Africa’s problems. She is the founder and head of African Women on Board, an independent, African women-led non-profit organization dedicated to pushing narratives to enhance the lives of women and girls of African descent. She is also the founder and managing partner of RDF Strategies, a consultancy firm that offers strategic communication and stakeholder engagement guidance. Balonwu was named one of “Nigeria’s 100 Most Inspiring Women” by YNaija in 2016, during her tenure as CEO of Spinlet. Balonwu was given the 2020 Powerlist International Award by the Powerlist UK in October 2019.
Nkiru Balonwu: profile summary
First Name | Nkiru |
---|---|
Name | Nkiru Balonwu |
Complete Family Name | Nkiru Balonwu |
Born | |
Birth Day | |
Birth Place | Nigeria |
Nationality / Country | Nigerian |
Zodiac Sign | Aries |
Popular As | Businessperson |
Occupation | Businessperson |
Nkiru Balonwu: Personal life and background
Balonwu is the daughter of two lawyers with a background in social change and justice.
Nkiru Balonwu: Education
Balonwu graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Manchester. She obtained her master’s degree from University College London (UCL) and holds a Doctorate Degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Nkiru Balonwu: Career
Balonwu has worked in a variety of fields including law, technology and communications.
She worked as a lecturer at the faculty of law, University of Lagos.
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.
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”.
Nkiru Balonwu: Leadership and appointments
In 2018, Balonwu was appointed as a consultant by Nigeria’s leading opposition party, to engage women during the 2019 Presidential campaign of former Vice President and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar.
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.
Nkiru Balonwu: Awards and achievements
On 25 October 2019, Balonwu received the Powerlist 2020 International award. The power list black excellence awards features 100 of the UK’s most influential black people. 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.
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”.
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.
Nkiru Balonwu: Public speaking and media commentary
Balonwu has been featured on various platforms on topics ranging from gender equality, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.
On podcast a16z, started by VC fund Andreessen Horowitz, with past guest speakers including NBA player Andre Iguodala and Oprah Winfrey, Balonwu spoke on technology in Africa. Harvard Business School’s Dynamic Women in Business Conference in 2018 featured Nkiru Balonwu as a ‘women on boards’ panelist.
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.
She is listed as a mentor at the Founder Institute, the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator.
Nkiru Balonwu: Published articles
Balonwu has written articles for various media outlets including Sahara Reporters, TechCabal and Al Jazeera English.
- “Making African Women’s Voices Mainstream”; January 2018, Business Day
- “Men as Allies: Pressing for Progress and Workplace Equality in Africa”; March 2018
- “Women in Stem: Time to Recalculate Our Approach?”; May 2018
- “Brexit, Macron’s visit: Opportunities and new alliances for Nigeria”; July 2018
- “MTN Vs. the Government: Is Poor Communications Hurting Nigeria’s Economy?”; October 2018
- “Google CEO Sets New Benchmark for Modern Corporate Communications: Lessons for African Executives”’ February 2019
- “Violence Against Women – Forget #Metoo, We Need #Youtoo to Stand with Women”; July 2019
- “Why not #MeToo? How stereotypes hinder African women’s progress”; October 2019
Nkiru Balonwu: Board and Advisory Council Memberships
Balonwu sits on boards of several organisations.
Nkiru Balonwu Net Worth
Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. Nkiru’s income mostly comes from and basic source is being a successful Nigerian Businessperson. Here we are updating just estimated networth of Nkiru Balonwu salary, income and assets.
Nkiru Balonwu Net Worth in 2021 | $1 Million – $5 Million |