Nigerian Entrepreneur Wins Swiss Government Migration Entrepreneurship Prize

By Chinecherem Ojiako

Chidi Nwaogu, a Nigerian entrepreneur, has won the Migration Entrepreneurship prize organised by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) Human Security Division (HSD).

This announcement was made by Seedstars at its first online Seedstars Summit last week, with over 5,000 in attendance named Nwaogu among the 10 winners of the prize for entrepreneurs with social business models in countries and regions prone to strong migration movements, offering innovative solutions that reduce the vulnerability of migrants.

Seedstars is a Swiss-based private group of companies with a mission to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship.

Nwaogu is a serial tech entrepreneur and software developer and also doubles as the co-founder and CEO of Publiseer, a digital platform that has helped nearly 5,000 independent and underserved African writers, musicians, and filmmakers earn above the minimum wage and live above the poverty line from the sales of their creative works.

For his contributions to the growth of the tech ecosystem in Nigeria, Nwaogu has won the 2018 African Entrepreneurship Award, the 2019 Africa 35.35 Award for Entrepreneurship, the 2019 Young Leaders Award for Media and Entertainment, and the 2019 Bizz Business Excellence Award.

He has been described as one of the “Young Innovators making Africa great in 2019”.

The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs is one of the seven departments of the Swiss government federal administration of Switzerland and corresponds in its range of tasks to the ministry of foreign affairs in other countries.

The FDFA’s Human Security Division is responsible for the promotion of peace and human rights as set out in the Federal Council’s foreign policy strategy.

It focuses on the security of the individual and protecting people against violence, war, and acts of arbitrary treatment. It works towards ensuring that policy on migrants and refugees is based on human dignity.

The HSD is part of the Directorate of Political Affairs. The Migration Entrepreneurship Prize aims to support 10 socially driven business models in countries and regions prone to strong migration movements, which offer innovative solutions that reduce the vulnerability of migrants thereby alleviating the pressure for people to move through irregular channels.

Nwaogu, who has also been shortlisted for the 2019 Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Award, nominated for the 2020 African Excellence Awards, 2019 Achievements Award, and the 2019 Excellence in Quality Award expressed his appreciation for being nominated for the award.

The 30 year old is an Acumen Fellow 2020 (West Africa), Halcyon Incubator Fellow 2019 (Washington DC), Westerwelle Fellow 2019 (Berlin), AfricanPLP Fellow 2019 (Cairo), and Yunus &Youth Global Fellow 2019 (New York).