Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin

Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin (born Abisoye Abosede Ajayi, 19 May 1985) is a Nigerian Women and Girls Advocate Social Entrepreneur. She is the founder of Pearls Africa Youth Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization aimed at educating young girls in under-served areas in Nigeria with technology skills. On November 1, 2018, Ajayi-Akinfolarin was named one of ten CNN Heroes of the year. Later that month she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.

Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin
Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin, 2018
Born19 May 1985 (33 years)
Ondo State, Nigeria
EducationUniversity of Lagos
OccupationWomen and Girls Advocate Social Entrepreneur
Home townEkiti State, Nigeria
WebsitePearls Africa.org

Early life and education

Abisoye was born in Akure, the capital city of Ondo state in Nigeria She attended the Nigerian Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) and later attended the University of Lagos, where she received a BSc in Business Administration.[1]

Professional career

Ajayi-Akinfolarin began her career working for E. D. P Audit and Security Associates. She worked at the company for seven years, beginning as an intern and being promoted to the level of Associate Consultant. Working in technology, Ajayi-Akinfolarin discovered a large gender gap. A government survey conducted in Nigeria in 2013, found that less than 8% of women held professional, managerial and technology positions[1]. Wanting to help close that gap and encourage more women in her field, Ajayi-Akinfolarin established her own non-profit organization.[2]

In 2012, Ajayi-Akinfolarin founded Pearls Africa Youth Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization that assists girls in developing technology skills through various programs including; GirlsCoding, G.C Mentors, GirlsInSTEM and Empowered Hands.[3] Since 2012, the organization has trained over 400 young women to code.[4]

Awards and recognition
  • CNN Heroes honoree, 2018
  • BBC 100 Women, 2018[5]
  • ONE's 2018 Women of the Year Awards [6]
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References
  1. Agbo, Njideka. "Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin: The Coding Hero". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  2. "Disadvantaged Girls Change their Communities by Learning to Code". CNN. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  3. "Pearls Africa". Viva Naija.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-15.
  4. "Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2018 revealed". CNN. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  5. "BBC 100 Women 2018: Who is on the list?". 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  6. "ONE's 2018 Women of the Year Awards". ONE. 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
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