Celebrity

Duro Olowu is a Nigerian-born, London-based fashion designer. He is best known for his innovative combinations of patterns and textiles that draw inspiration from his international background. His empire waist patchwork "Duro" dress was named "dress of the year" by both American and British Vogue in 2005. Some of Olowu's notable clients include Michelle Obama, [...]

Lisa Folawiyo is a Nigerian fashion designer who is best known for incorporating traditional West African textiles with modern tailoring techniques with an emphasis on beading and sequin trim. She has a background in law, which she studied at the University of Lagos. Lisa Folawiyo started her label "Jewel by Lisa" in 2005 from her [...]

Taibo Bacar, the Mozambican born fashion designer is considered one of the leading designers in Africa. Early years The son of a seamstress, Taibo grew up around the sounds of sewing machines, fabrics and the design sketches that he drew for some of his mother’s clients so it’s no surprise he progressed from having a [...]

Sindiso Khumalo is a sustainable textile designer based in Cape Town. Central St Martins graduate, Khumalo, studied architecture at the University of Cape Town prior to moving to London, where she went onto study a Masters in Design for Textile Futures. Sindiso Khumalo founded her eponymous label with a focus on creating modern sustainable textiles [...]

Kwame Akroma-Ampim Kusi Anthony Appiah, born 8 May 1954, is a British-Ghanaian philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history. Appiah was the Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University, before moving to New York University (NYU) in [...]

Leonard Wantchekon is the founding director of the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy, which is based in Benin. He is a Professor of Politics and an affiliate of the Economics Department at Princeton University. Early years Prof. Wantchekon taught at Yale University (1995–2001) and New York University (2001 -2011). He received his Ph.D. [...]

Oyekunle Ayinde (Kunle) Olukotun is the Cadence Design Systems Professor in the School of Engineering and a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford University and director of the Pervasive Parallelism Laboratory. His research interests include computer architecture, parallel programming environments and scalable parallel systems, domain specific languages, and high-level compilers. Early years [...]

Jonathan Kenneth Butler, born 10 October 1961, is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Early years Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during Apartheid, Butler started singing and playing acoustic guitar as a child. Racial segregation and poverty during Apartheid [...]

Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe, born 28 January 1962, is a South African mining billionaire businessman of Tswana descent. He is the founder and executive chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, which has interests in gold, ferrous metals, base metals, and platinum. He sits on several company boards, including being the non-executive chairman of Harmony Gold, the world's [...]

Siyamthanda Kolisi (born 16 June 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently captains the South Africa national team and also plays club rugby for the Stormers in Super Rugby and Western Province in the Currie Cup. He generally plays as a flanker. In 2018, Kolisi was appointed captain of the Springboks, [...]

Joel Embiid (NBA) Joel Hans Embiid  is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks, he was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the 76ers. Multiple foot and knee injuries delayed his [...]

Trevor Noah  is a South African comedian, political commentator, and television host. He is the current host of The Daily Show, an American satirical news program on Comedy Central. Born in Johannesburg, Noah began his career as a comedian, presenter, and actor in his native South Africa in 2002. He subsequently held several television hosting [...]

Idris Elba, Idrissa Akuna Elba OBE  is an English actor, writer, producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ.  He is known for roles including Stringer Bell in the HBO series The Wire, DCI John Luther in the BBC One series Luther, and Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). He has [...]

Beginning as a contract miner in the 80s managing shafts, Bridgette Radebe harboured bigger dreams. She went on to launch Mmakau Mining, a successful business with interests in gold, platinum, coal, ferrochrome, and uranium assets. As South Africa’s first black female mining entrepreneur and president of the country’s largest mining chamber, the South African Mining [...]

Asisat Oshoala is a 25 year old Footballer from Nigeria. In a 2017 photograph taken at the CAF Awards ceremony in Accra, Ghana, Asisat Oshoala, stands proudly as the only woman in the photo among some of the football greats: Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane, and countrymate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. She may not be one of the [...]

Hadeel Osman, Creative Director, Stylist, and founder of DAVU Studio i Sudan at 29. Hadeel Osman has over seven years of experience in the media and fashion industries. Early years Her creative inspiration stems from her years raised in the United Arab Emirates and living in Malaysia. When she decided to return to Sudan in [...]

Lewis Appiagyei is a 16 year old car racer in Ghana. Early years At the age of 10, Lewis Appiagyei already had his first Guinness World Record for the fastest lap driven on the Laguna Seca Circuit in virtual racing on PlayStation3. This record is still unbeaten. While many boys his age were playing with [...]

Sasha Vybz, is the founder and Video Director of Savy Filmz in Uganda. He is 28. Early years Hailing from humble beginnings in the Kabale district of Uganda, Ian Akankwasa, popularly known as ‘Sasha Vybz’, was attracted to motion pictures from a very young age. “When I was a young kid, I used to love [...]

Director Kit, 29, a South African Director, Writer and Producer. When Keitumetsi Qhali, also known as Director Kit, walks into the studio for the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 photoshoot, her demeanor is that of a hard-talking businesswoman, but with a creative twist. Qhali, who hails from the Eastern Cape region of South Africa, is [...]

Maryam Gwadabe is 29 and founder and CEO of Blue Sapphire Hub, an Information Technology company in Nigeria. Dressed in a veil and abaya, an attire known to the Huasa tribe of Nigeria, Maryam Gwadabe is not your typical Information Technology guru. Early years Gwadabe is a tech expert passionate about teaching and supporting young [...]

Nijel Amos, 26, from Botswana is a Track and field athlete and known as Botswana’s 800-meter superstar. Early years Having shocked the nation by gaining podium position at the 2012 Summer Olympics at just 18 years old, he also made history by becoming the first Motswana to win a medal at the Olympics. Since then, [...]

Swanky Jerry is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of Swanky Signatures, a Fashion House in Nigeria. He is 28 years old. Red carpets, glamor, lights and cameras; this is the life of Jeremiah Ogbodo Ike, known as ‘Swanky Jerry’. Featuring gold shoes and a white and black agbada (a four-piece male attire) resembling the [...]

Pieter-Steph du Toit, 27, is a South African Rugby player Early years Being the grandson of former professional rugby player, Springbok prop Piet Spiere du Toit, and older brother to Johan, also a professional rugby player, expectations are high to carry on the family legacy, but Pieter-Steph du Toit is doing well. He hails from [...]

Anwar Bougroug, 29, is the founder and Creative Director of Bougroug in the Moroccan Fashion industry. Morocco is home to very diverse coasts, remarkable architecture, intricate handmade cultural pieces, and it is also home to a young designer making a name for himself thanks to his innovation and unique vision for fashion. Early years Anwar [...]