Odunayo Eweniyi

Odunayo Eweniyi is a Nigerian business executive and activist.[1][2] She is the Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer PiggyVest[3][4][5] and co-founder of Feminist Coalition.[6][7][8]

Background

Eweniyi is the first child of two professors with origins from Oyo State, Nigeria.[9] [10]

Education and career

Eweniyi graduated from Covenant University in 2013 with a first-class degree in Computer Engineering. Eweniyi started out to launch Push CV[11][12] with Somto Ifezue and Joshua Chibueze after her graduation in 2013.[13] Two years later, the trio went on to start PiggyVest in 2016.[5]

Awards

In 2018, Eweniyi won the Future Awards Africa Prize in Technology.[14][15][16] In 2019, she was on Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Technology list.[17][18] Eweniyi was named as one of 30 Quartz Africa Innovators for 2019.[19]

Eweniyi was on Forbes Africa's list of 20 New Wealth Creators in Africa 2019.[20] She was nominated for The Future Awards Africa Prize for Young Person of The Year in 2020.[21] Eweniyi was also listed on Bloomberg 50 in 2020[22][23] and Time' Next 100 list in 2021 for her joint contributions during the End SARS protests of October 2020.[8] In March 2022, she won the Forbes Woman Africa Technology and Innovation Award.[24]

In 2022, Eweniyi was selected as a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst. As part of the program, she attended the annual New Economy Forum held in Singapore, and the Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst Retreat that same year.[25]

Activism and ENDSARS

During the End SARS protests in 2020 against Nigerian police brutality, Eweniyi[9] raised donations for medical care and legal support for victims of police brutality during and after the protests.[26][27][23][28][8]

In January 2021, Eweniyi partnered with Eloho Oname to launch First Check, a platform of female business angels focused on supporting women led and women focused startups in Africa.[29]

References

  1. ^ Aisha Salaudeen and Robert Howell. "Nigeria's 'techpreneurs' are using technology to provide life-changing solutions to everyday problems". CNN. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  2. ^ "Odun Eweniyi: A Head Full Of Ideas". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  3. ^ Nsehe, Mfonobong. "Meet Piggybank.ng, The Nigerian FinTech Startup That Just Raised $1.1million". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  4. ^ "The Co-Founder of Piggy-Vest, Odunayo Eweniyi speaks on scaling through the odds being an entrepreneur". Businessday NG. 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  5. ^ a b "Brains, Focus And Grit: A Profile of Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-Founder, Piggybank.ng". TechCabal. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  6. ^ Maclean, Ruth (2021-03-12). "In Nigeria, 'Feminist' Was a Common Insult. Then Came the Feminist Coalition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  7. ^ "12 Women Leaders That Changed The World In 2020". British Vogue. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  8. ^ a b c "TIME100 Next 2021: Feyikemi 'FK' Abudu, Odunayo Eweniyi and Damilola Odufuwa". Time. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  9. ^ a b "She Stood Up for #EndSARS. What Will Nigeria's Odunayo Eweniyi Do Next?". Global Citizen. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  10. ^ Okwumbu, Ruth (2020-09-19). "We started PiggyVest to digitize 'wooden box' saving method – Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-Founder". Nairametrics. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  11. ^ Okike, Samuel (2019-07-29). "How I Work: Odunayo Eweniyi, PiggyVest Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer". Techpoint Africa. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  12. ^ "Odunayo Eweniyi - from jobless to job connector". sheleadsafrica.org. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  13. ^ "Odunayo Eweniyi: How we built PiggyVest through multiple trials". TechCabal. 2020-06-02. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  14. ^ "Rema, Jemima Osunde, Mr Macaroni, Odunayo Eweniyi, others make The Future Awards Africa nominees list… all nominees are under the age of 28". The Future Project. 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  15. ^ "TFAA 2018 Nominees List". The Future Awards Africa. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  16. ^ "Check Out The Full List of Winners At 2018 Future Awards". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  17. ^ Mwendera, Karen (2019-07-01). "#30Under30: Technology Category 2019". Forbes Africa. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  18. ^ "Nigerians Who Made Forbes Africa's 30 Under 30 List". guardian.ng. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  19. ^ Staff, Quartz. "Quartz Africa Innovators 2019: leading the change for Africa's future". Quartz. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  20. ^ Mwendera, Karen (2019-03-11). "Businesses Of The Future: 20 New Wealth Creators On The African Continent". Forbes Africa. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  21. ^ "The Future Awards Africa: Class of 2020". The Future Awards Africa. 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  22. ^ "The Bloomberg 50". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  23. ^ a b "Odunayo Eweniyi and Damilola Odufuwa, Nigerian Allies to #EndSARS". Bloomberg.com. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  24. ^ "Meet winners of the Forbes Woman Africa Awards, Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka wins Lifetime Achievement Award". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  25. ^ "The Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst List". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  26. ^ "The Young Women Fighting for Change in Nigeria". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  27. ^ "12 Women Leaders That Changed The World In 2020". British Vogue. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  28. ^ "Odun Eweniyi: The young women leading the EndSARS revolution in Nigeria". Nigerian Entertainment Today. 2020-10-18. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  29. ^ "FirstCheck: getting African women entrepreneurs the funding they deserve". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-03-22.