Val Okafor from Nigeria is OD Young person of The Month – April 2025 – YOA

I’m Val Okafor, a Youth Development Professional, Leadership Coach, and Transformational Speaker. My journey into thought management started in 2014, in a small neighborhood in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. I by no means imagined then {that a} single spark of ardour would sooner or later develop right into a motion reworking 1000’s of lives throughout Africa.

Read About his unimaginable journey and be impressed beneath

At the guts of our work is the Next Level Conversation Young Leaders Program, a flagship initiative that has, over the past 4 years, remodeled the lives of about 1,000 younger Africans. Through this program, we offer mentorship, management coaching, and entry to international alternatives. The influence has been profound, our alumni have gone on to launch companies, safe absolutely-funded scholarships, and drive significant social change of their communities. The true energy of management is not in titles however within the capability to multiply influence. Seeing a younger entrepreneur construct a enterprise that employs others, or a mentee safe a global
OPPORTUNITY they as soon as thought unattainable, is the gas that retains me going. Before founding my group, I devoted my time to neighborhood growth, working with initiatives targeted on management and training.

Grand Africa Initiative (GAI) (2020–2023): As the Outreach and Events Lead, I helped manage management and entrepreneurship occasions that impacted over 500,000 youths throughout 30 African international locations. Through the GAIN Entrepreneurship Masterclass, we supplied seed grants, laptops, and enterprise growth coaching, turning concepts into sustainable ventures. Watching younger entrepreneurs go from struggling dreamers to enterprise homeowners creating employment for others stays one of my proudest moments.

On Challenges Faced
My journey was not with out challenges. Before I may empower others, I needed to overcome my very own self-doubt, the inferiority complicated, imposter syndrome, and a hard and fast mindset that held
me again. I discovered energy in learning the lives of nice women and men who reshaped historical past. Their tales rewired my pondering, serving to me see the chances inside myself. I refused to let worry outline my limits, and in doing so, I found the facility to liberate others.

Recognitions & Awards.

Today, over 100,000 lives have been impacted by my work. The journey has been met with unimaginable recognition, together with:
1. Humanitarian Student of the Year Award (University of Nigeria, Nsukka) for my
dedication to neighborhood influence
2. Innovative Young Africans Award (International Internship University, India) for
contributions to youth growth
3. 234 Project Award of Achievement (Texas, USA) for empowering underprivileged college kids in Nigeria Named one of the Top 100 Most Inspiring Africans by Opportunities Hub Fully funded delegate at Jamie Pajoel International Leadership Conference
(Rwanda) 4. Fully funded delegate representing Nigeria on the twenty seventh St. Petersburg International
Economic Forum 5. Inducted as a Mentor on The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Africa’s largest philanthropic
group supporting entrepreneurs

Looking Ahead: Val’s Vision for the Future

Through The Val Okafor Company and my continued engagements, my mission stays the identical: to equip the subsequent era of African leaders and entrepreneurs with the instruments to thrive. The work is far from over. But if there’s one factor my journey has taught me, it is this: No dream is too massive, no problem is too nice, and no influence is too small to matter.

Val Okafor believes that when younger persons are empowered, they don’t simply change their very own lives, they remodel whole communities. In Val’s Words “Keep Knocking on those doors”

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