Our Woman Crush Wednesday, Amarachi Igwe Kalu boasts over 9 years of expertise in advocating for Infant Health, Wellbeing, and Development, with a keen focus on promoting infant health, fostering early childhood development, and bolstering health systems. Furthermore, she brings over 3 years of experience in Strategy consulting, organizational development, and instructional design.
As the Chief Executive Officer of Thriving Up Initiative, Amarachi is dedicated to implementing a comprehensive approach aimed at ending preventable newborn deaths and ensuring the holistic health, wellbeing, and development of newborns, infants, and young children in underserved communities. Leading a dedicated team, she collaborates with international, local, and financial institutions such as the US Embassy, Vitamin Angels International, Healthlearn USA, S.C.C Nigeria Ltd, JCI, and Access Bank to execute impactful interventions that save newborn lives and enhance health and development outcomes. Her efforts ensure that newborns and infants not only survive but also thrive in enriched environments conducive to early childhood development.
Additionally, as the Executive Director of iThrive Network, Amarachi collaborates with young innovators to devise strategies for launching early-stage ventures, designing and implementing projects, and establishing organizational systems that guarantee high impact and sustainable income creation.
Amarachi’s contemporary co-working space serves as a hub for innovators, entrepreneurs, changemakers, techpreneurs, and visionaries to connect, collaborate, and address pressing societal issues. Leveraging her certification as a Strategy Professional, she offers strategic development, concept creation, and organizational structuring services to executives, businesses, and nonprofits, aiding them in building impactful and profitable institutions aligned with global best practices.
Her contributions have garnered recognition, with features on various TV and radio programs and esteemed platforms such as the Eloy Awards, Leading Ladies Africa, and Arise News. She also has a certification in improving newborn survival and a background in Civic Engagement from the University of Georgia Athens USA, Amarachi has been honored as a Fellow of the President Obama YALI RLC (2017), recipient of the NYSC FCT Honorary Award (2018), and recipient of the prestigious US Embassy Ambassadorial Grant Award (2018). Notably, she was selected by the US Government as one of Africa’s most promising young leaders and a Mandela Washington Fellow in 2020.
Amarachi’s impact extends beyond borders, as she has spoken and hosted panels at both local and international conferences and remains an active member of the International Leadership Association.
In recognition of her remarkable contributions, she was named one of Africa’s top 60 women in Development by Donors for Africa in 2022 and one of Africa’s 50 rising social impact transformers by Gemstone in 2021. Selected by the U.S Department of State in 2022, she was among 16 Nigerians invited to participate in the MWF Alumni Enrichment Institute in Washington and Drexel University, Philadelphia.
Driven by a profound commitment to human capital and enterprise development, Amarachi believes in providing individuals and organizations with the necessary opportunities, environments, and resources to realize their fullest potential. For these and more, Pride Magazine Nigeria celebrates Amarachi.