OLUWANIFEMI DAHUNSI
NIGERIA, 17
Project: Teens World Empowerment (TWE)
Basic Human Needs: Education
While growing up, Oluwanifemi felt students in his community in Lagos, Nigeria didn’t value their education. Many of his close friends engaged in drugs and gang activity very early on, instead of focusing on school. He researched Nigeria’s education system and learned ~10.5 million Nigerian children had little or no access to education. He recognized the correlation between inaccessible education and Nigeria’s high unemployment rate. Oluwanifemi wanted to tackle the root of the problem. In September 2016, he founded Teens World Empowerment (TWE) – a nonprofit organization bridging the workforce opportunity gap in low-income communities by providing quality education and employable skills to young people. TWE’s online events have reached 10,000+ young people across Africa, Europe and the Americas, and their online empowerment programs have provided 800+ young leaders from 14 countries with training in digital, mentorship and employment opportunities. In March of 2020, TWE partnered with Agility CMS and Vercel to lead school tours that trained 800+ students across two Nigerian states in web development. Oluwanifemi is currently working with state governments to include technology and digital skills in school curriculum, which has already been implemented in schools throughout the Badagry and Lagos State. Oluwanifemi is a 2020 SME100 25under25 Nominee, an AgilityCMS Ambassador, an AdamStart Global Ambassador, an IIT Scholar, a Teenation Africa Leader, an Ashoka Young Changemaker, a HumanityUp Ambassador, HundrED Youth Ambassador, and a Social Shifters Youth Council Member. He hopes to create a nation that equips, trains and empowers young people for the future of work.