Massive Celebration As CNN Gives Young Nigerian Heroes Award

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CNN has announced that #IVLP Alumna, Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin has been named as one of the  Top 10 CNN Heroes of the year. Pearls Africa Foundation which she runs assists girls that are disadvantaged in Nigeria to acquire tech skills in order to transform their lives.

She Has made Nigeria proud by winning the award at just 33 years of age.

Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin (born Abisoye Abosede Ajayi, 19 May 1985) is a women’s rights activist from Nigeria. She also founded Pearls Africa Youth Foundation, which is a Non-Governmental Organization aimed towards educating young girls in under-served areas in Nigeria with skills in technology. On November 1 2018, Ajayi-Akinfolarin was named one of ten CNN Heroes of the year, 2018.

Abisoye was born in the capital city of Ondo State in Nigeria, Akure. She received a BSc in Business Administration from the University of Lagos but prior to that, she attended the Nigerian Institute of Information Technology (NIIT).

Ajayi-Akinfolarin began her career working for E. D. P Audit and Security Associates. She started out at the company as an intern, before she gained promotion to the level of Associate Consultant, ultimately working in the company for seven years. She discovered a large gender gap while working in technology. A government survey conducted in Nigeria in 2013, found that less than 8% of professional, management or technological positions are held by Nigerian women. Wanting to help close that gap and encourage more women in her field, Ajayi-Akinfolarin established her own non-profit organization.

In 2012, Ajayi-Akinfolarin founded Pearls Africa Youth Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization that assists girls in developing technology skills through various programs including; GirlsCoding, G.C Mentors, GirlsInSTEM and Empowered Hands. Since 2012, the organization has trained over 400 young women to code

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