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ABOUT ME
(2024)
TOYOSI AKERELE-OGUNSIJI●
Visionary Leader Driving Africa’s Digital and Social Transformation
An AI Safety and Governance Expert, EdTech Entrepreneur and Media Industrialist driving Africa’s social and digital transformation
ABOUT TOYOSI
A Journey Fueled by Purpose and Vision
Early Life and Years
Her work with Rise Networks has led Toyosi to be revered globally as an Artificial Intelligence for Development Professional. She is passionate on leveraging AI for Social Good, Technology Education and creating Ethical AI. Named by Forbes as one of the 20 most Powerful Young Women in Africa, in 2023, Toyosi was recognized as one of the Top 30 Global Artificial Intelligence Ambassadors by the World’s Leading AI Network, Swiss Cognitive and was also appointed into the #AI4Dev Reference Group of the UNDP recently.
Rise Networks represented Nigeria at the AI Safety Summit hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom in 2023 and with its sister Company, Rise Interactive Studios, supported by some of the world’s prominent donors and leading corporations, co-produced Africa’s first feature film on the fast-rising profile of its youth especially girls in using tech innovation including Artificial Intelligence and other STEM skills to tackle some of the Continent’s biggest problems, MAKEMATION, billed for release in 2025.
CERTIFICATION
Education &
Credentials ●
Academic Excellence and Lifelong Learning
But behind every project is a relentless learner. Toyosi’s academic path mirrors her dedication to excellence and lifelong learning. Dr. Toyosi holds a PhD in Defence and Strategic Studies at the Nigerian Defence Academy, where her research focused on the intersection of emerging technologies and national security. Her thesis investigates how machine learning, drone networking, predictive analytics, and economic intelligence can transform Africa’s approach to defence reform and economic resilience in a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.
Dr. Toyosi also holds a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, where she was a Mason Fellow and a Women in Public Policy Program Fellow. Her studies cut across infrastructure finance, political reform, statecraft, and international development, with complementary coursework from Harvard Business School and MIT. She also holds certifications from the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School, University of New Hampshire, UK’s Institute of Digital Marketing, and Pan Atlantic University, among others.
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Harvard Kennedy School (MPA, Mason Fellow)
Harvard Business School & MIT (Coursework)
Cambridge Judge Business School
University of New Hampshire
Institute of Digital Marketing (UK)
Pan Atlantic University
Nigerian Defence Academy (PhD Research)
Career &
Professional Trajectory ●
Toyosi started small as Publisher of youth and pop-culture centric Magazine known as RISE in her third year in university. In 2007, after Toyosi graduated with a Civil Law Degree from the University of Jos in Plateau State, Toyosi, kickstarted the Rise National Youth Forum, which was by far, the biggest social and capacity building program for young people across several Nigerian states of those days. That mindset would shape every decision that followed.
By 2012, Toyosi founded Rise Networks, a social enterprise rooted in the belief that data, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies could be used not only for profit but for public good. With a mission to harness the Fourth Industrial Revolution for inclusive development, Rise quickly became a powerhouse for innovation in Nigeria and across Africa. Toyosi later launched Rise Interactive Studios, a media production company creating educational and socially impactful film and television content to inspire, entertain, and empower Africans.
Under her leadership, Rise Networks has evolved and delivered pioneering initiatives across tech, education, and governance. The organization developed West Africa’s first AI-powered career chatbot, integrated into the United Nations AI for Good mentoring project. Rise also led a groundbreaking research and advisory initiative on AI for border governance and national security in collaboration with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. In 2023, Rise represented Nigeria at the UK Government’s AI Safety Summit, placing Toyosi and her team at the centre of critical global conversations on responsible and inclusive AI. Through Rise, she has mentored thousands of youth, advised government stakeholders, and collaborated with multilateral institutions on designing policies that work for Africa, not in theory, but in practice.
Professionally, she has also held earlier roles in the private sector, including as member of the technical committee of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, a Corporate Communications Executive at Oando Oil and Gas Plc, and remains active in policy, advocacy, and civic innovation circles.
Toyosi’s commitment to youth empowerment is consistent and far-reaching. She has served as a judge and mentor for major initiatives such as USAID’s Young Women Transform Prize, Nestlé’s Get Started Africa Challenge, and the Africa Entrepreneurship Awards. She sits on advisory boards and judging panels where the next generation of African entrepreneurs and changemakers are shaped. In each role, she brings a clarity of thought, an insistence on execution, and an eye for long-term impact.
She is also a respected thought leader and author. Her book, We Have to Belong, launched at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Centre for Public Leadership, explores why economic inclusion is urgent for Nigeria’s stability and prosperity. She argues that true transformation begins with creating systems where all citizens, regardless of background, feel a sense of ownership, dignity, and stake in national progress.
She has been invited as Speaker at global conferences hosted by Harvard University, MIT, the Oxford University. Government of Turkey, Government of Saudi Arabia among others. Her insights have been featured in top media outlets including Forbes, BusinessDay, The Guardian, Punch, AFK Insider, and ThisDay. In 2014, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama publicly cited Toyosi as one of her personal inspirations, further validating the depth and reach of her influence.
Toyosi’s leadership is not just technical, it’s deeply human. At Rise Interactive Studios, she co-produced Makemation, Africa’s first feature-length film focused on the use of AI and STEM by African young people especially girls to solve local problems. The film, released in 2025, received backing from global donors and corporations and signals Toyosi’s belief in storytelling as a powerful force for shaping culture, identity, and aspiration. Makemation isn’t just a movie, it’s a movement.
Her work has earned international recognition. Forbes named her one of the 20 Most Powerful Young Women in Africa, and in 2023, Swiss Cognitive included her among the Top 30 Global Artificial Intelligence Ambassadors. That same year, she was appointed an expert in the UNDP’s AI4Dev Reference Group, joining global thinkers to craft ethical, inclusive frameworks for technology in the Global South. Her voice is consistently sought out for her ability to connect data with dignity, and policy with the lived realities of ordinary Africans.
Professionally, she has also held earlier roles in the private sector, including as member of the technical committee of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, a Corporate Communications Executive at Oando Oil and Gas Plc, and remains active in policy, advocacy, and civic innovation circles.
Rise Interactive Studios (RIS)
In 2022, Toyosi expanded her impact by founding Rise Interactive Studios, a multi-media production company devoted to producing original, culturally resonant, and socially conscious content across film, TV, and digital platforms. RIS bridges the gap between research, storytelling, and social change.
Its flagship production, Makemation, released in 2025, is Africa’s first feature-length film focused on Artificial Intelligence, STEM and emerging technologies. Written, co-produced, and creatively led by Toyosi, the film tells the inspiring story of how young people in developing countries are using AI and tech skills to solve critical challenges in her community. She also served as Executive Producer, Production Designer, and Casting Director. The film premiered in cinemas across Nigeria and at the Kenya Innovation, receiving critical acclaim for its riveting storyline, moving music score, excellent production design and stunning cinematography.
Through RIS, she continues to explore the power of media as a tool for reshaping perceptions, redefining African excellence, and inspiring young audiences across the continent.
Rise Interactive Studios (RIS)
In 2012, Toyosi launched Passnownow.com, a revolutionary mobile-first e-learning platform that digitized the Nigerian secondary school curriculum. Targeted at underserved students and teachers in rural and low-income areas, it was one of the first edtech platforms in Nigeria to deliver accessible educational content directly to students’ mobile phones and it provides syllabus compliant, subject-aligned learning resources, gamified quizzes, and teacher support systems, helping to bridge educational gaps in underserved communities.
In a bold move to scale its impact, Passnownow has been rebranded into Kokokah, its new platform, expanding its core offerings into a comprehensive online education ecosystem, including a Learning Management System (LMS) for schools, tutors and students, a School Management System for administrators, an Exam Preparation tool tailored for external examinations. Kokokah aims to redefine digital education across Nigeria and beyond, with a robust suite of tools and products designed to improve academic outcomes and system efficiency at scale.
Leadership in Governance, Public Administration and Humanitarian Crisis Response
Outside entrepreneurship, Toyosi has has committed herself and engaged in public service, humanitarian leadership and high-level advisory roles. During her Service Year as a Youth Corper, she served as Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Youth Development in Ogun State, where she helped craft youth policies and development frameworks in youth and sports and during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was appointed Chairperson of the Victims Support Fund COVID-19 Task Force, coordinating the logistics of nationwide food, personal protective equipment and medical supply distribution to over one million vulnerable Nigerians in all 36 states, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), after having developed a data collection and beneficiary tracking system, and ensured accountability in one of the country’s most complex relief operations.
Her leadership and people-oriented performance was widely commended for its transparency, efficiency, and grassroots reach.
What makes Toyosi’s approach different is not just her credentialism, it is her clarity of vision. She believes that Africa’s problems require African-led solutions powered by data, design, and deep understanding of context. For her, the private sector is not a side player—it is the engine. But only if it is inclusive, values-driven, and built to last.
Her leadership is defined by systems thinking. Whether it’s founding a chatbot to guide career paths, drafting the next big AI policy proposal for recommendation and implementation, or helping little children learn how to use Arduinos and potentiometers to build engineering stuff, Toyosi focuses on what will outlast trends: structure, sustainability, and service.
She is a respected leader in strategic policy forums hosted by the African Union, UNDP, AfDB, UNECA, and the Open Society Foundations, and contributes to the development of digital governance frameworks that balance innovation with accountability. She is an alumna of the U.S. Government’s International Visitor Leadership Program, and has received honours including Nigeria’s Top 100 Young Leaders, Crans Montana Forum’s New Leader of Tomorrow, and Outstanding Alumni of Pan Atlantic University.
Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria with her husband, Korede Adekunle Ogunsiji and their two incredibly bright young children. Together, they are raising a family rooted in shared values of service, excellence, and faith. When she is not building systems or speaking on stages, Toyosi is mentoring, reading, or writing about the kind of Africa she knows is possible, an Africa that is just, innovative, and led by people who care.
For Toyosi, the future is not something to be predicted; it is something to be designed and built with grit and intentionality. Through her work, her writing, her advocacy and her advisory, she is helping shape an Africa that doesn’t ask for permission to rise but knows exactly how high it’s capable of going.
A Global Voice on Education, Technology, and Policy
Inspired by Toyosi’s story? Ready to collaborate or learn more?
AWARDS
Explore Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji’s dynamic presence in the media through a collection of her impactful interviews, keynote speeches, and public appearances. As a renowned thought leader, Toyosi has shared her insights on education, technology, and public policy at prestigious events worldwide.,
