Forbes unveiled , on November 29, its 12th annual Under 30 List for the Class of 2023, recognizing 600 trailblazing innovators across North America, within 20 different categories, who have turned to entrepreneurship to solve the world’s most complex challenges – from global warming to reproductive health.
Forbes’ Under 30 Class of 2023 features honorees in 20 different categories, including: art and style, media, entertainment, social media, science, sports, healthcare, energy, enterprise tech, consumer tech, music, finance, food and drink, social impact, manufacturing and industry, venture capital, marketing and advertising, retail and e-commerce, games, and education. To compile the list, Forbes collaborated with an expert panel of judges, including Joe Jonas, singer, songwriter, and actor; Aimee Song, designer and fashion blogger; Bobbi Brown, makeup artist, author, and founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics; and Sid Sijbrandij, co-founder and CEO of business software firm GitLab.
Collectively, the Class of 2023 has raised over $5.3 billion in venture funding, nearly 5 times more than the collective $1 billion raised in 2022.
Kristin Stoller, Editor, Forbes Under 30 said: “The 2023 Under 30 Class is Forbes’ is one of the most diverse to date, with nearly half of listers self-identifying as people of color. More than one-fifth of listers also identify as immigrants, hailing from 46 countries including Afghanistan, Cameroon, China, Ecuador, India, Kenya, South Korea, and Uganda. This year’s list also boasts the highest contingent of Gen Z in Forbes’ history, with 22% of listers aged 25 or younger.”
Steven Bertoni, Assistant Managing Editor at Forbes, said: “Unconventional thinking is at the heart of Forbes’ Under 30 list, and amidst war, market crashes, and layoffs, tomorrow’s brightest minds continue to forge new paths forward. Many of the honorees on this year’s list derived these innovated business models during the Covid-19 lock down are reimagining the ways we consume media, approach reproductive health, fight global warming, and play games, and so much more”.
Below is the list of young people of African origin on this list (Source Forbes)
Ayo Edebiri, 27 | Actor
Only a few years ago, Edebiri was torn between a career in education or showbiz, studying to be a teacher at NYU and interning with improv group Upright Citizens Brigade. Comedy won. In 2019 she appeared on Comedy Central’s stand-up series “Up Next,” but it was her scene-stealing performance as an ambitious chef in 2022’s comedy-drama series “The Bear” that won praise from fans and critics. Says Edebiri: “Even if you’re at the highest level in your field, in the arts you’re always a freelancer. You’re always trying to make your own lane and your own path.” New projects include starring in the film “Bottoms,” a queer comedy set to release in 2023.
Eni Akintade, 28 | Motion Picture Literary Agent, United Talent Agency
Eni Akintade is a motion picture literary agent at UTA representing Ziwe Fumudoh, Malala Yousafzai, Lili Reinhart, and others. Her recent deals include Adamma and Adanne Ebo’s film debut ‘Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul’ to Focus Features and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions (a high seven-figure deal following its Sundance premiere). She’s also behind ‘Secret Daughter,’ based on the New York Times bestseller, which Priyanka Chopra Jonas will produce for Amazon Studios.
Josef Adamu, 29, Founder, Sunday School Creative
Nigerian-Canadian creative director Josef Adamu made headlines with his live photography exhibition ”The Hair Appointment” in 2018, which celebrated Black braiding salons. It was viewed more than one million times and earned praise from Ava Duvernay, Tracee Ellis Ross, Vogue, Essence, and more. Since then, he’s spearheaded Nike’s Yardrunners campaign, which celebrates HBCUs, and produced shows alongside Kevin Durant and Tina Knowles.
Flo Ngala,27, Photographer
A daughter of Cameroonian and Nigerian immigrants, Harlem-based photographer Flo Ngala was already working with Cardi B and Gucci Mane when she landed her first New York Times cover in 2019. This year, she made history as the first Black woman hired by Vogue to shoot the Met Gala.
Kimiloluwa Fafowora, 26, Founder, Gander
As a Harvard undergrad, Kimiloluwa Fafowora helped the admission’s office recruit more diverse students. Now she runs Gander, which works with brands to display user-generated videos on their websites so shoppers can visualize products used by a variety of people in real life. The company has raised $4.2 million in funding from Harlem Capital, Crossbeam Venture Partners and others.
Selom Agbitor, 26 (With Oliver Zak,25), Cofounders, Mad Rabbit
When Oliver Zak (right) couldn’t find good skincare products for his tattoos — petroleum jelly just didn’t cut it — he decided to start Mad Rabbit with college classmate Selom Agbitor. The company sells products that numbs skin while getting a tattoo, and then brightens, preserves and soothes inked skin afterwards. Mad Rabbit has raised $7 million in funding from billionaire Mark Cuban and others, and revenue is expected to top $16 million in 2022.
TJ Ademiluyi,27, Cofounder, Alaffia Health
In the US, around $300 billion is lost to medical fraud every year, so TJ Ademiluyi cofounded Alaffia Health, which uses AI to protect patients from erroneous medical bills. The company currently has over 300,000 members and $6.6 million in funding. The company claims it’s on track to save its customers $15 million by the end of the year.
Joel Embiid, 28, Center, Philadelphia 76ers
Embiid was no sure thing as an NBA prospect: He started playing basketball at 16, and injuries wiped out most of his first three years with the 76ers. But the Cameroon native says his mindset has always been “nothing is going to be easy; I’ve always felt like, to earn something, I had to work harder than the typical American.” Now that the 7-footer has finished second in league MVP voting in back-to-back seasons and turned Philadelphia into a title contender, that work is paying off. Forbes estimates Embiid makes $8 million annually in pretax earnings from endorsements and licensing income, and next season he will begin a four-year, $196 million contract extension with the 76ers that he negotiated himself, sparing him an agent’s commission of up to 4%. “Whatever I want, I’m going to get it,” he says, offering no reason to doubt him.
Arike Ogunbowale, 25, Guard, Dallas Wings
Arike Ogunbowale hit two of college basketball’s most iconic shots ever while at Notre Dame in 2018 and has gone on to become a WNBA scoring champion, in 2020, and a two-time All-Star. She is a founding member of LeBron James’ “More Than a Vote” initiative and is an investor in media startup Just Women’s Sports.
Chidera Ufondu, 29, Creative Lead for Brand Partnerships, Netflix
Chidera Ufondu oversees creative for Netflix’s brand partnerships, which have included working with brands on campaigns for the streaming service’s releases of Bridgerton, Stranger Things and Emily in Paris. Ufondu’s goals also entail partnerships for Netflix’s diverse projects and titles. The company has partnered with brands like Mielle, a Black haircare company, as a result.
Elsa Majimbo,21, Comedian
After growing up in Kenya and becoming one of her first family members to go to college, Elsa Majimbo dropped out to pursue comedy. She found fame as a comedian during the pandemic, building large audiences on TikTok and Instagram by posting parodies of quarantine and an indulgent, lazy life. The 21-year-old, who now has some 4 million followers on social media, has scored partnerships with Valentino, Beats By Dre and Bumble and won an E! People’s Choice Award and YouTube Streamy. Majimbo was ranked No. 49 on the inaugural Forbes Top Creators List in 2022.
Pelkins Ajanoh, 28, Cofounder, CassVita
CassVita has invented a patent-pending biotechnology for increasing the shelf life of woody shrub cassava, primarily cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, from 3 days to 18 months. Thereby, CassVita has raised the incomes of over 1,000 smallholder farmers by as much as 400% by minimizing post-harvest losses. Prior to founding the company, Cameroonian immigrant Ajanoh got his undergrad degree in mechanical engineering from MIT and a joint MS in Engineering/MBA from Harvard.
Izunna Okonkwo, Olamide Oladeji, Abuzar Royesh, 27, 29, 28 | Cofounders, Pastel
Olamide Oladeji is a big believer in the ability of technology to bridge divides in economic development and ultimately, end poverty. That’s why he and his two cofounders, Abuzar Royesh and Izunna Okonkwo, founded Pastel to provide offline-enabled software tools for small businesses. Pastel has helped over 120,000 small businesses around the world access software to manage their business, make payments and receive low-cost financing. They operate in 40 countries and have raised $6.1 million.
Toni Oloko, 26 (Daniel Hanover) 25, Cofounders, Dandy
This New York-based duo is digitizing the dental office, replacing uncomfortable putty impressions and burdensome paperwork with digital mouth scanners and automated software. “Dentists have all sorts of administrative burdens and overheads that don’t help them deliver care to patients,” says co-CEO Hanover. Dental offices use Dandy’s tech to digitally map a patient’s mouth. Its software then searches a network of independent labs to find the fastest turn around and lowest price for products like veneers, dentures, crowns and teeth aligners. That translates into less time in the chair and better-fitting products. Hanover and Oloko met at the University of Pennsylvania and launched Dandy in 2018. The startup has grown to 700 employees and serves 4,000 dentists across the country.
Valentine Nwachukwu, 29, Cofounder, Zaden Technologies
A first-generation immigrant from Nigeria, Valentine Nwachukwu started programming at the age of 12 when his dad decided to teach him C++ instead of buying him a PlayStation 2. He started Zaden in 2020, a combination of his prior experiences working in the defense sector and at Amazon as a program manager. The bootstrapped, Alabama-based company helps defense firms to set up their software infrastructure more quickly. Thanks to customers like Boeing and Northrop Grumman, it’s made more than $2 million in revenue in 2022.
Bobuchi Ken-Opurum, 28 | Founder, The Re-HOUSED Decision Support Toolkit
Bobuchi Ken-Opurum is the creator of Re-Housed, a decision support toolkit for low- to moderate-income self-builders in the tropical Global South. The kit combines tools including design solutions, an algorithm that diagnoses vulnerabilities, and a simplified guidebook to inform non-expert builders on how to design, build or make improvements to their housing to increase resilience against floods and heat stress. She is also the Director of Research at the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, where she studies the nexus of energy burden, energy efficiency and distributed energy, particularly as it impacts lower income households.
Bethany Oyefeso, Oluwakolapo (Tobi) Smith, 27, 29 | Cofounders, AllIDoIsCook
Living in North Texas, the only access to Nigerian food that Oluwakolapo (Tobi) Smith had was a store 40 minutes away–a problem he says was felt by fellow Nigerian immigrants in the U.S. So in 2018, he dropped out of college to found direct-to-consumer Nigerian food and beverage box Adùn, along with partner Bethany Oyefeso. Today, they’ve shipped over 10,000 boxes of their meat pies and stews to more than 3,000 customers and expect to generate nearly $1 million in revenue this year.
Chinemelu Okafor, 29 | Founder, The Research in Color Foundation
A Harvard Ph.D. candidate of Nigerian descent, Chinemelu Okafor founded and runs the Research In Color Foundation. The nonprofit supports and propels aspiring economists of color–and therefore, more inclusive economic policy. Since 2019, 74 diverse scholars have benefited through financial assistance and mentor-mentee pairings in partnership with the Federal Reserve, World Bank and more.
Sayyid Ali, Chisa Egbelu, Kayla Michèle, Vivek Pandit, 27, 29, 27, 24 | Cofounders, PeduL
The four cofounders of PeduL–Sayyid Ali (CTO, pictured far right), Chisa Egbelu (CEO, second from right), Kayla Michèle (president) and Vivek Pandit (VP of partnerships, far left)–created the recruiting marketplace in 2019, aimed at presenting opportunities to diverse Gen Z talent who otherwise might not be reached by large corporations. Partners include Paramount, Visa and Audible. The New Jersey-based organization has raised $1.5 million and reached 160,000 students, including at HBCUs and tribal colleges.
Ham Serunjogi, 28 | Cofounder, Chipper Cash
Five million-plus customers use Chipper Cash to zip money among seven nations including Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, the U.K. and the U.S. Customers can pay bills, as well as trade stocks and crypto. Raised in Uganda, Serunjogi was a junior Olympic swimmer before attending Iowa’s Grinnell College, where he met his Ghanaian cofounder, Maijid Moujaled. “We had seen firsthand how difficult it was to send money from one country to another within Africa,” Serunjogi says. In 2021, San Francisco-based Chipper made more than $75 million in revenue, mostly from foreign-exchange fees. The pair launched it in 2018 and have raised $300 million, hitting a peak valuation of $2.2 billion in November 2021.
Yoan Dipita N’Komba,29 | Vice President, Warburg Pincus
As Vice President in the Energy practice of $82 billion private equity firm Warburg Pincus, N’Komba focuses on investing in technologies to create a more sustainable future. He leads the firm’s investments in environmentally transformative and economically sustainable businesses that offer decarbonization solutions without taxing a “green premium” to investors. As the most senior Black investment professional at Warburg Pincus, N’Komba champions increased representation internally and across the industry, serving on the firm’s Diversity Equity & Inclusion Council.
Oyin Egbuson,27 | Marketing Manager, Epic Games
Oyin Egbuson is one of the youngest members of the “Fortnite” marketing team, and was the first black female. She focuses on sports, music and fashion collaborations, bringing the first female athlete (Naomi Osaka), Asian American athlete (Chloe Kim) and the first Latina and member of the LGBTQIA+ community (Chica) into the game. She’s worked on other collaborations with Lebron James, Jordan brand, and J Balvin, and develops the marketing strategy to bring these collaborations to market. Previously she worked as a marketing manager at Microsoft on the “Minecraft” team and Xbox, where she restructured the content creation program and increased their viewership.
David Iya, Joshua Nzewi, 29, 29 | Cofounders, EZE
Nigerian American best friends David Iya and Joshua Nzewi launched Eze in 2020 as a B2B wholesale marketplace for used smartphones and other electronics. The startup validates the quality of products for buyers, countering the common issue of fraud in used electronics. Eze has been used in 10 countries and is on track to make $2.3 million in 2022.
Helen Huang, Sefunmi Osinaike, 28, 27 | Cofounders, Co.Lab
Sefunmi Osinaike and Helen Huang cofounded and run Co.Lab, an online school that helps provide non-traditional tech talent with a space for learning by doing, collaboration, community and confidence-building. Co.Labs boasts a 95 percent completion rate, and has helped more than 550 people in 35 countries switch careers and land roles at Apple, Google, Amazon and more.
Matthew Musey 22, Associate Narrative Designer, Sledgehammer Games
Matthew Musey is the first African-American narrative designer at any of Activision’s studios, and one of the youngest people ever to get a writers credit on a AAA game. He was admitted into the Writers Guild of America West at the age of 21 for his work on “Call of Duty: Vanguard.” Musey is also developing his own multimedia company STMT Media, a collection of story series focused on uplifting women, minority, & international voices in multimedia.
