Gbenga Sesan, ED, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria

Gbenga Sesan, Nigeria’s first Information Technology Youth Ambassador and former Vice-Chair of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s African Technical Advisory, has been named a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2014.

Gbenga is one of the 37 social entrepreneurs nominated around the world and so awarded for the year 2014 by the Schwab Foundation of Social Entreprenership.

Gbenga Sesan’s interest and work is built around the use of ICTs in socio-economic transformation—focusing on underserved groups.  He is the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), a social enterprise that connects underserved people-groups with ICT-enabled opportunities. PIN’s projects include Ajegunle.com (a capacity development initiative that connects the community’s youth with training, internship and mentorship opportunities) and MISSPIN (the social campaign that is tackling cybercrime issues in Nigeria).

In 2012, ‘Gbenga was listed by CNN as one of the Top 10 Leading African Tech Voices, and by Ventures Africa as one of 40 African Legends Under 40.

Gbenga, in 2010, coordinated the technology and intense media campaigns of the youth protest that led to the emergence of the Enough-is-Enough Nigeria, a coalition of youth-led organisations and individuals committed to instituting a culture of good governance and public accountability in Nigeria. He coordinated technology projects like R.S.V.P. (Register. Select. Vote. Protect), which led a nationwide drive asking young Nigerians to turn out massively participate in electoral processes. He also coordinated the development of the first mobile application used for election monitoring in Nigeria, called ReVoDa (Registered Voters’Database).

Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 Awardees are leading 30 organizations operating in more than 20 countries that are pioneering solutions for social and environmental challenges including urban revitalization, renewable energy, unemployment, and more. Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year is instituted by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, a not-for-profit, independent and neutral organization, founded in 1998, with the purpose to advance social entrepreneurship and to foster social entrepreneurs as an important catalyst for societal innovation and progress. The Foundation is under the legal supervision of the Swiss Federal Government and is headquartered in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland.

Gbenga Sesan and other 2014 awardees will become part of the broader Schwab Foundation Network of Social Entrepreneurs, which includes 250 outstanding social entrepreneurs from 60 countries. Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs are fully integrated into the events and initiatives of the World Economic Forum. They contribute actively to and benefit from peer-to-peer exchanges with other social entrepreneurs as well as interactions with top leaders in business, government, civil society and the media.