Investment in business brings profits, but investing in other people creates a legacy. One woman has made it her business to invest in other people.
She is Ndidi Nwuneli is a Nigerian social entrepreneur who has over 19 years of experience in International Development and Business Management working with multinational firms, and international organizations. She is the founder of LEAP Africa and Ndu Ike Akunuba (NIA) Leadership Institute both organizations dedicated to raising effective leaders and powerful young women to live more meaningful lives.
Ndidi grew up in Enugu where she attended both her primary and secondary school. She then attended The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 1992, where she concentrated in strategic management and multinational management and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from the prestigious Harvard Business School (HBS).
She then had an impressive career working as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company for years. While on a trip to Guatemala which was supposed to be one of the poorest countries in Latin America and in the world at the time, she observed this place was so much more advanced than so many African countries. While asking herself the reason for that, she came up with the four words that LEAP answers – Leadership, Effectiveness, Accountability and Professionalism. Very important attributes that are often missing in the African context.
Spurred on by this and well equipped with years of experience Ndidi then returned to Nigeria to fulfill her passion of promoting entrepreneurship and leadership development. She established LEAP Africa, and NIA in 2002 and 2003 respectively. LEAP (Leadership Effectiveness Accountability Professionalism) Africa has gone on to train several thousand young Africans on core leadership issues and has in addition erected a compact platform for monitoring their utilization of those values, while Ndu Ike Akunuba (NIA) Leadership Institute which are Ibo words for Life, Strength, and Wealth respectively is committed to empowering young women residing in Southeastern Nigeria with the information, tools and support that they need to lead more meaningful lives through dialogues, games, career counseling, leadership training and skills-based workshops.
Ndidi and her husband Mezuo Nwuneli Co-Founded Sahel Capital and AACE Foods. Sahel Capital is a consulting and advisory firm specializing in the agriculture and manufacturing industries while AACE Foods is focused on processing spices, complementary food and spreads sourced from smallholder farmers across Nigeria. She holds several key positions in governments across the world and while it seems that she has her hands full with work, she’s still just as committed to the work of her organizations as she was when they were founded. Her work has
Ndidi is one woman who has an infinite capacity for patriotism and making impact in the lives of young people which she attributes to her upbringing where she and her siblings were introduced to the concept of patriotism and service from very young ages, holidays in their home were devoted to giving to others; trips to orphanages and other charity organizations were a critical part of their socialization.
She has more than a few international awards to her name and she’s not stopping anytime soon. Ndidi sees nothing but potential in young people and continues to invest in bringing out the leaders and the best in them.
