Our Woman Crush Wednesday, Ehizefua (Efua) Edeh captivates us with her radiant and infectious smile. She is a multi-faceted development consultant, researcher, teacher, and public speaker advocating for transformative change through the empowerment of organisations from within.
Efua is the Founder and Chief Development Officer of Social Impact Consulting, formerly Trullyunique Limited. The consultancy helps organisations enact the needed change in society through tailored seminars. She also offers personalised coaching to individuals who want to be better versions of themselves and in turn lead the way in creating a better 21st century.
Having a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Saint Xavier University, Chicago, Efua went ahead to obtain an MBA in Public Administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management, DeVry University. She also has certificates in sustainability from Lagos Business School and social sector management from the Enterprise Development Center.
As one of the founding members of the United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations, an alliance that brings together diverse organisations in Illinois, Chicago, Efua and her team members worked to address systemic issues of oppression against people of colour. The alliance collaborated with the Target Area Development Corporation based in Chicago, to spread the alliance to Indiana and Michigan.
Efua has also worked with one of the largest healthcare unions in the United States, Service Employees International Union, to organise a state-wide healthcare campaign involving press conferences and public hearings, among others. She has also worked to raise awareness of the inequities in education while serving as Director of Outreach at Advance Illinois, a think tank focused on improving public education.
Upon her return to Nigeria, Efua served as the Executive Director (ED) of Junior Achievement Nigeria, an organisation with a mission to teach youths financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. As ED, she was instrumental in expanding the organisation’s national reach and putting the organisation on a solid financial footing.
As a consultant, Efua has provided technical support to non-profit organisations around Nigeria in the areas of programme management, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy, and institutional strengthening. Specifically, strategy sessions she facilitated focused on ways to engage marginalized groups in the electoral process, anti-corruption initiatives, and other similar thematic areas. She has worked with top organisations such as the National Democratic Institute, Chemonics International and DevTech Systems. An advocacy curriculum she created is used in multiple countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Unleashing her creativity, Efua started a YouTube channel where she provides organisations with resources and advice on capacity strengthening. She also interviews development experts in her live video podcast “The Development Sector Series”, where the experts share their entrepreneurial success journey.
Efua Edeh is indeed the ultimate woman crush, who is pushing hard to change the current African narrative.