Nigeria is on the global stage once more and it’s all thanks Fade Ogunro, foremost techpreneur and CEO of Bookings Africa – an online talent service in Africa, who has been appointed member of the Global Campaign Board for The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.
She becomes the first African and Nigerian woman to be a part of the organization’s board.
The Foundation set up by Cherie Blair CBE QC in 2008 lends help towards harnessing the potentials of women entrepreneurs in low and middle-income countries, it also aims to bridge the global gender gap in entrepreneurship.
Since inception, the Foundation has applaudably directly supported over 175,000 women across more than 100 countries by encouraging women to start and grow successful micro, small and medium businesses, teaching them the reigns through training, technology, mentoring and networking. It opens doors to finance, markets, and much more, creating networking opportunities, thereby empowering women to create better futures for themselves, their families and the economy as a whole.
In Nigeria, one of the key countries of operation: The Foundation reached 11,300 women entrepreneurs in 2020 through its business skills learning app, HerVenture, which was made possible by its partners ExxonMobil Foundation and Nigeria’s Enterprise Development Centre. The app forms the first part of the blended learning Road to Growth Nigeria programme, which is currently in its third consecutive iteration.
As part of the Foundation’s 100,000 Women Campaign, which set out in early 2020 to support another 100,000 women across the world by the end of 2022, Cherie Blair is convening the Global Campaign Board of visionary leaders and philanthropists to help raise funds and garner support for the Campaign. Fade Ogunro joins this board as the first African member, where she will lend her expertise.
Fade has a background in Journalism and creative writing from Roehampton University, Fade’s sojourn into the industry started in the UK where she worked for Google. Upon her return to Nigeria, in 2010, she worked for The Beat 99.9 FM radio while co-founding and executive producing The Film Factory Productions which specializes in TV adverts, documentaries and music videos.
Fade Ogunro is an ambitious techpreneur and innovative problem solver, with goals to impact Africa by increasing digital gig-work and self sustainable employment.
In 2019 she launched her latest venture Bookings Africa, a pan-African on demand digital marketplace that allows professionals and service providers from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa to sell their services and skills online. The platform currently has more than 85,000 users, among which 60% are women.
Fade said: “It’s my dream to build great leaders, drive gender equality and reduce the rate of unemployment across Africa. I believe this can be rapidly achieved through digital adoption and inclusion; where learning, training, delivering a service and making money is done digitally.
Africa has the largest workforce, we are the youngest continent in terms of demography, we are hardworking and it is my vision to help create an innovative hardworking Africa.”
A native of Ekiti State in South West Nigeria, Fade Ogunro who speaks English, French and Spanish left Nigeria to the United Kingdom with her parents when she was 7 years old. She studied journalism and creative writing in Roehampton University, UK. After her university education, she worked for Google in the UK. She came back to Nigeria in 2010 and started working for Radio Continental the same year. She has worked for PM News, Guardian Newspaper, 234 Next and Beat 99.9 FM radio. She resigned from Beat 99.9 FM radio in 2016. In April 2019, she launched her app called Bookings Africa.
