Nnena Nwakanma: The Pioneer in Digital Tranformation
If you live in Africa and have access to the internet, look no further than Nnenna Nwakanma: a leader in the continent’s digital transformation. As one of the early pioneers of the African Data Revolution and a respected voice in the UN’s Internet Governance Forum, Nnenna Nwakanma is passionate about the role that information and knowledge accessibility can play in the struggle for gender equality. Through her advocacy for a free and open internet for all, the Nigerian social scientist continues to open doors for the booming digital economy in Africa, consequently closing the digital divide between genders, societies, and geographical areas! Throughout her work and career, Nnenna has emphasised three engagement points: “Invest in women and girls, use available funds to extend connectivity, and harness the connectivity tipping point.” Currently, Nnenna is the Chief Web Advocate of the World Wide Web Foundation in the US, an organisation that supports free and open-source software (FOSS) and bridging the digital divide. Nnenna also serves on the board of the International Digital Health & AI Research Collaborative in Geneva, which advocates for inclusive, impactful, and responsible research in digital health and artificial intelligence for health.
In addition, Nnenna Nwakanma is the Founder and CEO of Nnenna.org. In this role, she draws on her extensive 15-year career in the United Nations System to advise partners, governments, and organisations on human rights, the information age, gender equality, and sustainable development. Nnenna Nwakanmw is a proponent of socioeconomic technomobility, which is committed to achieving a global digital transformation equilibrium by using all available resources to grow personally and to give back to others.
“Today, I am globally known not because I am a Nigerian, but because I have been someone who has used the Internet to grow myself, grow others and bring value”.
Nnenna Nwakanma is a pioneer in closing the digital divide in Africa and elsewhere. Her advocacy for a “free and open internet for all” has seen her stewardship of numerous non-governmental organisations over the years; she is the co-founder of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (2006), a former member of the Board of the Open Source Initiative (2017), supported the Alliance for Affordable Internet and Web We Want as the interim Policy Director for the World Wide Web Foundation (2018), and co-founded The Africa Network of Information Societies (2019). Nnenna Nwakanma was named one of the World’s 100 Most Influential People in Digital Government in 2019 and Avance Media’s 100 Most Influential African Women in 2021.
Nnenna Nwakanma is fluent in English, French, and several African languages and holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Université de l’Atlantique (Côte d’Ivoire), as well as multiple bachelor’s degrees in Social Science, History, Religion, and English from Andrews University (US).
