With a commerce background through and through, meet this chance graphic designer who has been building her niche in the field for the past 3 years with her brand GraphicsQue.  She received her schooling from MHS, college JDBI, Masters from Lancaster University, UK.  She is an active participant of the Modern High School for Girls Alumni and has worked with over 100 clients with popular clients such as Haldirams, Rotary, Goodwyn Tea, Whooppee and BNI.  She is actively engaged in fulfilling her responsibility towards the society by participating in events such as Agapi (Curated by Paint our World, Director- Dr Priya Virmani), Colours of Innocence (Curated by Sonali’s Cubo, Founder- Vayjayanti Pugalia).

Lesleigh Joseph is a citizen and a resident of St. Kitts and Nevis and a graduate of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice where she attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Forensic Psychology and Anthropology.

Having studied Psychology, Lesleigh was afforded the opportunity to vastly improve her intrinsic understanding of the human mind. She hails her decision to focus on Anthropology in tandem with Psychology as one of her most important life decisions as her work is heavily influenced by and entirely dependent on the dominant cultural influence of the social space in which she is present. Despite having chosen a career field that most believe is best utilised in the criminal justice system, she has had the privilege of utilising her skills and qualifications in the public relations, multimedia management and marketing arenas.

Merv-Ann Thompson is the founder and Managing Owner of M.A.S.T. Productions, a multifaceted media company, and Conch Shell, an event-listing app in St. Kitts and Nevis newly launched on July 1st, 2020.  Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Merv-Ann was employed in the field of Broadcast Journalism for the past seven years, a job she thoroughly enjoyed. She began her career in Nevis at the St. Kitts-Nevis Observer after a short stint as a secretary’s assistant in 2012. Yearning for a change in mental scenery, Merv-Ann transitioned into the prolific offshore industry while still on the island of Nevis.

Returning to “home base”, Merv-Ann picked up her writing pad again, this time in the employ of the Nevis Island Administration. Following a bout of homesickness where St. Kitts beckoned, she began a new job at WINNFM. While working as a broadcast journalist, she was introduced to the world of talk show hosting and in short order, became the main host of the station’s weekday radio programme Voices. After culminating her tenure, she transitioned laterally to FreedomFM as one of the hosts for its weekday talk show, Issues.

Outside of Journalism, Merv-Ann has strutted her way down many cat walks entering local pageants across both islands, and in one regional pageant from 2016-2018. Additionally, she enjoys dabbling in mixing music as an amateur DJ, creating beats, gardening, exercising, reading and researching. She intends to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations/Affairs and Journalism in 2021.

Kimberly King is the Founder and Chief Initiator at Consulting Services by King and Associates Limited.  She has over 17 years’ experience within Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Customer Service  and Tertiary Education for international, local and regional organizations. Her academic qualifications are BSc. Hospitality and Tourism Management and MSc. Marketing Management.

Having worked extensively with multi-national companies; Kimberly envisioned her business as helping micro, small, and medium businessowners (MSMEs) by scaling her technical know-how to fit their specific business challenges in the areas of sales and branding.

Evou Lawrence Mendy is a Software Engineer by profession and young Gambian Entrepreneur. He is the Founder and Lead Software Engineer of Kameko - a start-up that provides customized software solutions (web and mobile apps) for businesses in Gambia and beyond. In October 2018, Evou Lawrence introduced Ryde Africa Technologies - a platform that allows you to request for the nearest taxi by using Ryde Africa Taxi App or by calling one of our dispatcher lines.

Evou Lawrence pitched Ryde Africa at the maiden edition of the Seedstar World Banjul Pitching Competition in November 2018 and was the 1st Runner-up. He was the 2nd Runner-up of TAF Start-ups Competition in December 2018. He was part the 1000 Entrepreneurs selected for the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme 2019. He's also documented by AfricaX (africax.org) as one of the 100 most inspiring stories in Africa for 2019.  He is part of EU Africa Start-ups - a network of 100 Digital Entrepreneurs in EU Member countries and Africa.

Evou Lawrence Mendy is a YALI RLC Ghana alumnus (Cohort 8) where he studied Leadership in Business and Entrepreneurship. He's also the founding secretary of GAM-MINDS Foundation - non-profit organization that Motivates, Inspires, Nurtures, Develops and Support the next generation through Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.  He is currently the Hub Lead for Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme Alumni, Gambia Chapter.

Before he started his business in 2017, he had work with InSIST Global Gambia Limited as a software engineer and Team Lead for ERP. He also worked as an offshore software developer for alaTest.com based in Sweden and Xanda.net based in London. He also graduated from the University of The Gambia with a BSc in Computer Science in 2013.

Professionally, I am a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Mapping Specialist and Geo-Business Advocate who has the passion for Technology, Location Intelligence, Mixed Reality and all-round geography and technology. I have had the zeal to further my studies in geography since Junior High through to High School and I currently hold my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography and Resource Development with Psychology.

My former work as a GIS Mapping Specialist involved making Product Distribution maps , Customer location Heat maps and other business data related static maps. These are for spatio-temporal analysis of physical and business spatial data. My curiosity and thoughts about business has allowed me to examine the business application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to the success and profitability of sales and marketing in companies.  In respect to my enthusiastic side, my interest in Technology led me to also learn Front-End Software Development with Developers In Vogue. I am currently the Co-Founder of African Women in GIS and a STEM advocate.

Abiodun Anani is a Professional Marketing Strategist with over nine (9) years of cross-cultural experience in marketing, Branding and events. With outstanding achievements in delivering innovative solutions, and facilitating efficiency.  She began her marketing career at Oracle in 2011, an experiential marketing company as a Marketing Executive. Where she hosted several product demonstrations, activation and events. Abiodun then moved to Holidays and Host in 2018 where she served as Head, Public Relations and Marketing a luxury lifestyle company.  During her stay at Holidays and Host she played a lead role in the success of The AMTF Trade Fair which had over 20,000 participants, she’s also the creative director of Mainland Children Funfair.

She’s currently a Growth Marketer at PML Advisory Limited, where she oversees marketing, sales and business development departments and works directly with the management group to help ensure continued growth.  She’s known for sharing professional marketing content to help marketing enthusiasts and business owners accelerate in today’s competitive market.  Abiodun holds an accounting degree from National Open University of Nigeria.

Business and social change is a family affair for YaAdam Fye. Alongside her mother Lucy and two sisters—Anna and Jainaba—the activist created The Fye Network, the premier producer and provider of African-inspired literature for Gambian children of all ages.

The Fye family began writing a series of children’s books that aim to give Gambian youth hopeful, empowering images of themselves and encourage literacy among young readers. In “Princess Halima and the Kingdom of Affia,” readers follow the adventures of a princess in an ancient African kingdom to learn more about the continent. “When my niece Halima was born, I knew I wanted a better world for her,” Jainaba tells OkayAfrica. “She inspired us to write the Princess Halima children's book. At the time, there were no mainstream Black princess books.” But getting this material to children has its roadblocks. As YaAdam detailed in this Quartz interview, the recent transition in government after the exile of President Yahya Jammeh has left a struggle between those who are coming back to rebuild and locals who remain steadfast in Jammeh’s rule. “There is that power play between the diaspora coming back and the locals who have been there,” she said.

Still, the group of literacy advocates believe that youth will be the wave of change their country needs. And that’s why they are investing in young people. “They are shaping the future,” Jainaba tells OkayAfrica. “They define the culture and push us to do more and go further, especially in the work of diversity and inclusion.

For their unwavering commitments, Fye Network has received notable honors  and nods; YaAdam was named a fellow by the Obama Foundation for her activism in literacy and education and the Network is listed in the Quartz Africa Innovators series. Despite the “lack of responsiveness and engagement from our government,” YaAdam hopes imagination and persistence will begin the process of reform “and the desired changes start to become reality.

Benedicta Chukwuyem Uweru-Apuamah  is a Bachelor of Pharmacy Degree holder who is passionate about working the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  She was a ONE Champion (2017 & 2018) at ONE.org in Nigeria. She represented ONE in Nigeria & Africa at the ONEYouthSummit in Brussels where her presentation earned her a standing ovation from ONE CEO & President, Gayle Smith & other Youth Ambassadors across Europe. Her dream work place is the UN, she considers this a platform to impact her community better. She is the Founder, Girls for Development Goals Foundation [Formerly Girls Health & Education Foundation (GHeF)] where she enlightens girls on Sexual Reproductive Health (SRHR) utilizing the SDG templates especially SDGs 3, 4 & 5. Her projects include "A Love Letter to Myself" & "Advocacy Against Teenage Pregnancy" amongst. She continues to impact lives by volunteering with other organizations such as the medical outreach (May 2018) with the Moses Lake Medical Team (from the US) in Kebbi State, Nigeria. She's a 2019 WYSE ILP Brazil Alumni being the only Nigerian Delegate at a training that gathered 26 participants across 16 countries of the world in Sao Paulo, Brazil (Jan 6th to 17th 2019). She was a Chairperson at the just concluded Tanzania International Model UN Conference 2019 and continues to develop herself. She is the Director on the board of Benny&Freddy, a Private Liability Company that produces Reusable Sanitary Pads & offers a variety of services.

She organized the Youth Voices Conference in commemoration of the 68th United Nations Civil Society Conference in Kebbi State, August 28th, 2019.  She also spoke at the Youth Empowerment and Development Conference in Abuja, Nigeria where she engaged young people on how to Access International Platforms. She is currently the only female Nigerian ambassador for the Young Political Leadership School Africa representing Nigeria at the 6th semester in Monrovia, Liberia, October 2019. She was the youngest speaker at the just concluded "Our Girls Our Pride" project organized by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Delta State. She is currently the Program Manager at JDPC Iseleuku, FASTER Project in Delta State.

 A Tea drinker by birth and a Tea-Taster by profession, Anamika Singh has introduced new infusions with a mix of natural flowers and herbs to the Indian market. Having launched her own brand « Anandini Himalaya Tea » she conducts Tea tasting ceremonies, conferences & events in Delhi. Her real love is Tea. ‘Identifying, understand and tasting tea we celebrate the very event of sipping tea! Sharing this knowledge with hospitality professionals & clients of real tea is a far bigger challenge. Anamika brings to the table knowledge and passion in a delicious Infusion.