Mercy Akamo

Christian, Connector, Consultant, Entrepreneur, Idea generator, Social entrepreneur

Mercy Akamo is the Founder & CEO of Kijana, a workforce infrastructure platform advancing youth economic mobility across Africa, the Middle East, and globally. Her work focuses on one of the defining challenges of the 21st century: transforming Africa’s rapidly growing youth population into a productive force in the global digital economy. While projections from institutions such as the World Bank estimate Africa’s digital economy could reach hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming decades, only a small percentage of young Africans receive practical, job-aligned training or access to structured early-career opportunities. Through Kijana, Mercy is building the missing bridge between education and employment. The platform partners with high schools, vocational institutions, universities, employers, and ecosystem leaders to create structured internship pipelines, scalable early-career work models, and cross-border talent pathways. Her approach treats youth employment as infrastructure; systems that ensure opportunity is designed, accessible, and scalable. Beyond Kijana, Mercy advises organisations across Africa, the Middle East, and the United States on brand strategy, communications, and youth engagement. Her cross-sector experience spans education, fintech, biosciences, ecosystem development and community infrastructure. She serves as a TEDx Ambassador in Africa and is the convener and licensee of TEDxLagos, one of the continent’s leading platforms for ideas and innovation. She also served as a speaker selection judge for the TED Global Idea Search 2025. Previously, Mercy was Chief Communications Officer at Mara, where she led global communications, investor relations, media strategy, community engagement, and product marketing for the company’s mission to expand financial empowerment through blockchain technology. Earlier in her career, she served as Head of Content and Innovation at BellaNaija, overseeing editorial and innovation for BellaNaija Weddings, a platform reaching more than 200 million monthly impressions and a community of over 4.6 million people. Over the past decade, Mercy has worked with organizations including Dangote Industries Limited, as well as global communities such as TED, Skoll Foundation, Google Developer Groups, and Black Founders Hub. Her recognitions include the Most Influential People of African Descent Global Top 100 (40 Under 40) and being a Skoll World Forum Fellow (2020). She also serves on the boards of Civic-Verse and BALL Africa.

I am passionate about youth employment, the future of work, youth economic mobility, and digital talent acceleration. I am also passionate about the role of media, AI, Fintech and vocational learning in a constantly changing world. I am passionate about TEDx.

Africa, Communications, Emerging Countries, Emerging Economies, Financial Inclusion, FinTech, Future of work, Lagos, Media, Networks, Nigeria, Pubic Relations, Television, Youth, Youth engagement, Youth Inclusion