Meet the Judges' Panel for Alumni Awards 2024-25

Michael is a founding partner of Turn Partners, a start-up studio focused on the creation of online businesses. He has experience working with academic, corporate and start-up accelerator programs to support training entrepreneurs in sales and scaling businesses. He is a graduate from Aston Business School where he also received an Honorary Doctorate for his contribution to Entrepreneurship and Enterprise at Aston and in Birmingham, making him the youngest honorary doctorate in the UK.

Efe Paul Azino is one of Nigeria’s best-known performance artists and poets. In 2015, he co-founded West Africa's first international poetry festival, the Lagos International Poetry Festival. Efe is the producer of the spoken word poetry theater production "Finding Home"

He has appeared at the Berlin Poetry Festival, Johannesburg Arts Alive Festival and the Ake Book and Arts Festival amongst others. His poems have been translated into Afrikaans, French, German and Mandarin. 

Ehi Braimah is a writer, public policy analyst, and media entrepreneur passionate about strategic communication and nation-building. As CEO of Neo Media & Marketing, he leads PR campaigns for multinational clients. He founded Naija Times to drive national reforms and also publishes Lagos Post. A Fellow of NIMN and Deputy President of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce, he champions youth development and ethical journalism while mentoring future leaders.

Laura Etemah is a composer, author, and ethnomusicologist transforming African cultural narratives globally. With expertise in music production and platformisation, she mentors emerging artists and amplifies African voices. Holding an MA in Music Production from Leeds Beckett University, her ERC-funded research explores how digital platforms shape African music. As Coach Ellie on TikTok, she democratizes music education, blending tradition with innovation to foster cultural sustainability.

Artist, dancer, choreographer, writer, and director who works primarily across theatre and performance and is increasingly concerned with interactivity, video, sculpture and texture. She has been an artist in residence at the Google Cultural Institute in Paris as part of a residency organized by 89Plus, co-curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Simon Castets with Julie Boukobza; at the Villa Empain in Brussels; and at the University of Florida.

Fidelis Duker is an award-winning filmmaker. He has an MBA in International Business from the Crawford University. 

Fidelis has produced and Directed several award winning motion picture contents. He is presently the regional secretary general of FEPACI for West Africa and the MD/CEO of FAD MEDIA GROUP owners of FAD FM 93.1 Calabar, Abuja International Film Festival, FAD Productions Ltd and FAD Publishing Ltd.

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Gift Chidera Peters, a graduate of the University of Portsmouth received the Culture and Creativity Award. She is the founder of the online platform CP Community — the outfit supports international students in the UK with the right information, resources leveraging a network of vibrant student communities to help them navigate life in the UK better, settle and ace their studies.

Currently, her platform boasts of over 11,000 student members from over seven countries in Africa including Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

Hauwa Liman  is an inspector with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a creative entrepreneur and also the founder of the IMPACT NIGERIA PROJECT. A platform that inspires, empowers and mentors youths to realize their full potentials and also impact communities through networking, collaboration and active youth volunteerism. Her vision is to see youth unemployment tackled through intensive early entrepreneurship education and vocational training.

Henry Bassey is currently Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Bank PLC. He is a seasoned marketing strategist and brand builder with strong leadership skills and over 20 years marketing communications experience in the competitive Nigerian, South African and UK markets.

His previous work experience span global consulting firms, Gallup Poll and Nielsen, as well Digibrands and Insight Communications (A Publicis groupe company) where he delivered market share growth for world-class organisations.