Leading social entrepreneurs moving barriers and contributing to 'Everyone A Changemaker' world
For more than 30 years, Ashoka Africa has been fostering Africas' largest network of system-change social entrepreneurs. Ashoka Nigeria is part of the Ashoka Africa Hub and was launched in 1990. Our first and longest running program in Anglophone West Africa to date includes over 110 systems-changing social entrepreneurs, whom we call Ashoka Fellows. The regional office based in Lagos covers Cameroon, Liberia, Nigeria and Ghana.
Our goal is to stimulate and support the most innovative entrepreneurial solutions to the social and environmental challenges we face today. And to foster “Everyone A Changemaker” societies along with other key stakeholders across sectors. This means equipping more people, including young people, with the skillset and a connection to the purpose so that they can contribute ideas and effectively solve problems in their worlds - be it in their family, community, city, workplace, field, industry, country, or beyond. We provide connections to a global network and a platform for people dedicated to changing the world. Ashoka is also ideally positioned to identify patterns in social innovation, convene key decision-makers from the social entrepreneurship, corporate, public and investment sectors to facilitate the emergence of collaborative models that can address the most critical societal challenges at large scale.
While the Ashoka network includes social entrepreneurs working on any critical societal issue - from education, human rights, civic participation, economic development to nutrition and healthcare among others – we are eager to spot and supply solutions that are particularly relevant in the current regional context such as social cohesion, addressing economic inequalities, quality education for all and climate resilience amongst others.
Ashoka's Africa is composed of three other regional offices: Ashoka East Africa, Ashoka Southern Africa, and Ashoka Sahel.
Our Programs
Ashoka Venture and Fellowship
Our longest running and cornerstone program is Venture and Fellowship, through which we select catalytic social entrepreneurs, with the potential to not only achieve impact in their organization but transform systems. Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs who are tackling the toughest challenges facing society today. Since launching Ashoka in Anglophone West Africa, we have elected and supported over 110 social innovators.
Ashoka’s Venture program begins with a proactive search and rigorous selection process to find the next Fellows to join the Ashoka community. Each year we receive over 100 nominations and applications in the region.
The Fellowship program offers financial and non-financial strategic support to its members. Our focus is on leveraging our network of peers and supporters, honing in key topics such as systems-change, financial and personal sustainability, and providing strategic opportunities to Fellows throughout their careers and stages of development as the non-financial support is not time bound. A Fellow may be at an inflection point to get an innovative idea off the ground or may have already achieved national impact and made a “scratch on history” with their idea.
Ashoka Young Changemakers
Ashoka Young Changemakers are a carefully selected network of young people between the ages of 12 and 20 years, who have found their power to create change for the good of all, and who are engaging their peers and the entire society in realizing a world where everyone is a changemaker. We hold the belief that one of the most effective ways to improve the lives of young people and the world at large is to empower them to realize their own ability to create positive social change. We are aiming at cultivating and building an eco-system that supports youth to be changemakers. Through their initiatives, Young Changemakers become role models in their community, proving that it is possible to be actively engaged and to Lead Young. Beyond their immediate surrounding, they also convey their message of change by participating in large outreach events or campaigns in Africa.
Ashoka Changemaker Schools
Changemaker Schools is a global network of schools that are integrating 21st century skills such as empathy, leadership and teamwork into the school system, culture and curriculum. Changemaker School leaders become co-creators in the global movement reimagining quality education so all young people emerge as changemakers.
We believe that anyone can become a Changemaker and we want every young person to be equipped and inclined to work for the common good, whether in their family, community, country or across the whole world. Changemaker Schools enable all students to become changemakers—young people who have the skills and confidence to change the world for the good of all.
Students are learning the essential skills of empathy, creativity, leadership and teamwork at Changemaker Schools so that they can thrive in the modern world and find solutions to our most complex problems. We have adapted our methodology for selecting Ashoka Fellows to identify and select a global network of Changemaker Schools.
The Anglophone West Africa office has elected 15 Changemaker Schools. We work to connect these schools and support them in leading the transformation of learning in the West Africa region and beyond.
Check our Changemaker Schools pioneering education in West Africa
Discover the Changemaker Schools program around the world

Ashoka Africa Builders
Ashoka Africa Builders is a community of successful and innovative leaders from the corporate, investment or public sectors who connect with Ashoka’s leading social entrepreneurs to accelerate positive social change. They support Ashoka financially as well as strategically, offering their network, time and expertise.
Based on the success of the Ashoka Support Network around the world (ASN), Ashoka Africa is in the process of launching a committed and collaborative community of Ashoka Builders who are eager to roll up their sleeves and support Ashoka, Ashoka Fellows, young leaders and Changemaker schools on the continent intensify and scale their impact.
Are you a business leader and do you want to share your expertise?
Join the founding circle of Ashoka Africa Builders Network in Anglophone West Africa. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about how members bring value to and benefit from the Ashoka network, and email [email protected] with any questions about the program.

Impact! Africa Social Entrepreneurship Summit
Ashoka West Africa is regularly hosting action-focused events to connect our network of Fellows, young leaders and Changemaker schools to other changemakers from the philanthropy, corporate, investment or public sectors. We believe in the power of sharing, learning from experience and co-creating new solutions to current societal challenges and in the need to provide platforms for greater collaboration across sectors.
The Pan-African Impact! Africa Summit is an annual event hosted in collaboration with the British Council to accelerate innovation and solutions to Africa's most pressing challenges. The summit brings together social entrepreneurs and key ecosystem players across the continent.
The first edition of the Summit took place in Johannesburg - South Africa in June 2018. The second edition was held in East Africa in Nairobi – Kenya in December 2019. The third edition will take place in Nigeria for the first time in West Africa.

Ashoka Africa 2019 Impact Report
The Ashoka Africa’s 2019 Impact Report highlights our work and impact in Africa for 2019. It serves as an overview of all the above mentioned programmes, eco-system building events, Fellows, Young Changemakers and network of supporters.
Staff
Josephine Nzerem
Country Representative, Nigeria
Josephine Nzerem
Country Representative, Nigeria
Pape Samb
African Diamond Leader
Pape Samb comes to Ashoka with 20 years of leadership experience and an established record in strategic planning, program development and management, content management, fundraising, proposal writing, training and facilitation. At 13, he started a women’s empowerment and youth economic development organization. At 17, he was president of CAP-Jeunesse, a Senegalese network of youth organizations; and was hired by the Senegalese government to train youth in entrepreneurship, business and grassroots organization management.
Ifeyinwa Egwaoje
Venture and Fellowship Manager, Anglophone West Africa
Ifeyinwa joined Ashoka as the Venture and Fellowship manager of Anglophone West Africa. Born in Nigeria where women are denied equal opportunities to men she decided to commit her life to creating an environment where women and men have equal opportunities to live quality lives. She started off as an adolescent reproductive health and gender development trainer, positioning young women with information and skills to help them question gender roles and become visible and empowered members of their communities. In 2010 Ifeyinwa became one of the Young Champions of maternal health selected to a fellowship where she learnt how to use a volunteer method to provide practical support to pregnant women during pregnancy until the baby is one year old. Afterwards she went back to Nigeria and started the Birthing Project Nigeria, providing women with access to quality medical care before, during and after deliveries. She holds a Bachelors’ degree in Sociology.
Joy Akapa
Finance Manager, Nigeria
Joy Akapa
Finance Manager, Nigeria
Peris Wakesho
EACH Leader, East Africa
Peris Wakesho
EACH Leader, East Africa
Our partners
Ashoka W. Africa is grateful to partner with the following companies, deepening our impact and connecting our ecosystems together to create transformative change.

Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Ashoka have partnered together in promoting innovative solutions to challenging health problems since 2010. By exploring the intersection of social entrepreneurship, employee talent development, and healthcare networks the teams have co-designed "win-win" solutions to global healthcare challenges. Solutions have come through increasing individuals’ access to healthcare and community health issues, especially underserved populations. Over 5 years, the team has supported 75 Making More Health fellows in 47 countries, launched 3 global open-source competitions finding 800+ health innovations worldwide, and engage 10% of BI's global workforce of 45,000.

The Philips Foundation
The Philips Foundation seeks to be different from the traditional grant-making foundation. Together with its partners, the Philips Foundation seeks to identify global challenges where the innovation capabilities of Philips and expertise of partners, visionaries and innovators, can be combined to create lasting impact. Both Philips Foundation and Ashoka believe in the power of collaboration and its ability to mobilize expertise, innovation and impact. In 2016, Philips Foundation and Ashoka collaborated to run a 6 months accelerator program: The Globalizer on Health and Lighting, which helped 12 leading social entrepreneurs scale their innovations.
Contact
Ashoka Anglophone West Africa
Ashoka Anglophone West Africa
8, Lasode Crescent off Ozumba Mbadiwe
Victoria Island
Lagos
Nigeria