Grace Ihejiamaizu-Paul

Grace Ihejiamaizu-Paul is a social entrepreneur, educator, and opportunity curator with over a decade of experience in facilitating access to quality education and opportunities. She is an academic currently pursuing a PhD in Social Work. Grace is the founder of iKapture Centre for Development, an afterschool center that empowers the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs, and OpportunityDesk.org, the largest global platform for sharing relevant opportunities for youth. Her work with Opportunity Desk inspired her to write her first book, Go Global with Opportunities.

Committed to shaping a world where young people have unlimited access to quality education and opportunities, Grace volunteers her time to mentor young people, particularly women, and serves on the board of several youth-focused organizations. She is a Technovation Regional Ambassador and Faculty Advisor for Enactus UNICAL. Grace has spoken and facilitated sessions at numerous national and international conferences, including the GCM Global Youth Summit, World Economic Forum, UNESCO Youth Forum, and OpenCon.

Grace's passion and dedication to youth development have earned her numerous accolades, including being named one of Google's 12 brightest Young Minds in 2011, a Global Changemaker in 2012, and an Honoree for the 2013 Future Awards Africa Young Person of the Year Prize. In 2016, she became a Mandela Washington Fellow and was recognized as one of 50 Youth Leaders to watch during the [email protected] celebration. She received the President's Award for Selfless and Outstanding Service as Vice President of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria (MWFAAN) in 2017, was named one of the 100 Most Influential Young Nigerians by Avance Media in 2018 and 2019, received the 2020 Cross River Spirit of Enterprise Award, and was included on Donors for Africa's list of 100 African Women in Development in 2020.