Our Woman Crush Wednesday, Amanda Obidike is a woman of many parts. She is a data scientist, project manager, strategic innovator, community mobiliser and more. This multiple award-winning amazon has over a decade of experience in social work, as well as working with start-ups and complex organisations in Africa and Europe.
Amanda is currently the General Manager of the Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation (SEOF). Her role revolves around building innovations for social enterprises, youth development, education, technology, and new programmes.
She holds a master’s degree in business management from IBMI, Berlin and a certification in economic policy-making from IE Business School, Spain. Amanda is affiliated with several prestigious institutions – she is a member of Chatham House, the world’s leading policy institute; Fellow at the British Academy of Management; and an International Partner with the World Business Angel Investment Forum. She also serves as an Advisory Council member at WiSTEM, United Kingdom.
Over the years, Amanda has been recognised for her impact on people’s lives, particularly as a STEM advocate. In 2019, she was an honouree of the United States government through the Consulate in Nigeria for a STEM project that equipped 1,700 educators with project-based learning technologies enabling them to be problem solvers. In 2020, she was given the Technology Rising Star Award by WOC, Michigan for empowering the girl child. In 2021, she also won the Global 20 Goldman Sachs Fellowship, and also emerged as the Winner of the UK’s FDM everywoman in Technology Awards, Tech for Good Category. And in 2022, Amanda got awarded by TechWomen, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This year, she also won the Innocent Chukwuma Prize for Women Empowerment and Youth Development. She has been celebrated by Forbes Science as one of the Africans changing the narrative of young talents embracing science and technology. She has served at the African Union (AU) CESASTEM Cluster driving educator reforms, policies and instructional pedagogy in STEM across 21 African countries.
As a way of giving back to society, she mentors young girls in Africa through organisations such as New York Academy of Science and Cherie Blair Foundation. Currently, she chairs the Board of the Nigerian Global Affairs Council, STEMi Makers Africa, and Innovation Village, Kenya.
Pride Magazine Nigeria celebrates Amanda for all her accomplishments and how she is using her platform to drive positive change, especially in science and technology.