Afua Osei is an entrepreneur, investor and public speaker who co-founded She Leads Africa, a media company for millennial African women.[1]
Afua Osei | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Education | Allegheny College University of Chicago Booth School of Business Harris School of Public Policy Studies |
| Alma mater | Allegheny College |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Known for | co-founding She Leads Africa |
Early life and education
editBorn in Washington, DC,[2] Osei spent her formative years in Prince George's County, Maryland. Osei graduated cum laude from Allegheny College with degrees in Political Science and was the first student to design their own major in Black Studies.[3] She was awarded the Ray Smock Political Science Award for showing promise in municipal and state politics as well as the Faculty Prize for the Best Interdisciplinary Senior Thesis.
In 2013, she graduated from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business[4] and Harris School of Public Policy Studies with a Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Policy.[5]
Career
editAfter graduating from college, Osei was a Fulbright Scholar in Malaysia and also served in the Office of First Lady Michelle Obama.[6] After business school, Osei moved to Lagos, Nigeria to serve as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company[7] providing strategy and operations expertise to clients in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and the United States.
In 2014, Osei co-founded She Leads Africa, a "community for smart ambitious young African women," with Yasmin Belo-Osagie.[8][9] She Leads Africa provides women across more than 35 countries with business and career advice and has been featured in several international publications including The Financial Times,[10] CNN,[11] CNBC Africa,[12] Huffington Post,[13] and Black Enterprise.[14] On December 9, 2016, She Leads Africa rang the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.[15]
In her personal business, Afua teaches digital entrepreneurship and coaches people on how to use networking to scale their business.[16]
Awards and recognition
editOsei has been recognized by Forbes Africa[17] as one of the youngest power women in Africa (2014), named by Ventures Africa [18] as one of the top 25 African innovators to watch in 2016 and one of the 30 Quartz Africa [19] innovators in 2017. She was selected as a judge for the Chivas Venture competition, "a global search to find and empower the next generation of young entrepreneurs determined to succeed while changing the world for the better."[20][21]
She has been a featured speaker at TEDxEuston [22][23] in London, G20 Africa Partnership Conference [24] in Germany, Essence Festival Durban in South Africa, and Thomson Reuters Foundation Trust Conference[25] in the UK.
References
edit- ^ "How two young West African women are creating Africa's next billionaires - CNBC Africa". CNBC Africa. 2015-03-09. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "The 'repats': from Chicago to Lagos, social entrepreneur Afua Osei | TRUE Africa". TRUE Africa. 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "Afua Osei '08 Receives Fulbright Award « Nationally Competitive Fellowships | Allegheny College - Meadville, PA". sites.allegheny.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "Entrepreneurs without Borders". www.chicagobooth.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "She leads | The University of Chicago Magazine". mag.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "'Who Are The Women To look Up To?' - Forbes Africa". Forbes Africa. 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "McKinsey Women". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ Prisco, Jacopo. "She Leads Africa: Supporting female entrepreneurs". CNN. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "She Leads Africa: How African millennial women are paving the way for each other". ONE. 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ Green, Matthew (2016-11-27). "African start-up helps and inspires young female entrepreneurs". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
- ^ Prisco, Jacopo. "She Leads Africa: Supporting female entrepreneurs". CNN. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "How two young West African women are creating Africa's next billionaires - CNBC Africa". CNBC Africa. 2015-03-09. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ Olushoga, Mary (2016-04-01). "How Technology is Transforming Women-Owned Businesses in Africa". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "How One Question Fostered Business Opportunities for Budding Female Entrepreneurs in Africa". www.blackenterprise.com. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "Live Feed - from She Leads Africa Rings the NYSE Closing Bell". Livestream. Archived from the original on 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "Interview with Afua Osei: The powerhouse behind She Leads Africa". Blog | WorldRemit. 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ Nsehe, Mfonobong. "The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa 2014". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "Ventures Africa | 42 Africa Innovators To Watch". venturesafrica.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "Quartz Africa Innovators 2017". Quartz. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "Four Extraordinary Nigerians With Inspiring Ventures". Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ "Chivas to empower young entrepreneurs with $1m - Vanguard News". Vanguard News. 2017-10-07. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ "TEDxEuston | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "TEDxEuston to show the best in African entrepreneurship". Retrieved 2017-12-07.
- ^ "G20 Africa Partnership - Investing in a common future" (PDF). G20 Africa Partnership Conference Report. June 2017.
- ^ "Trust Conference". Trust Conference. Retrieved 2017-12-07.