By EBELE ORAKPO

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

The announcement was made by Seedstars (a Swiss-based private group of companies with a mission to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship) at its first online Seedstars Summit last week, with over 5,000 people in attendance.

Nwaogu was 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, thereby alleviating the pressure for people to move through irregular channels.

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

The co-founder and CEO of Publiseer, a digital platform that has helped about 5,000 independent and under-served African writers, musicians, and filmmakers, earn above the minimum wage and live above the poverty line from the sales of their creative works, was described as one of the “Young Innovators making Africa great in 2019”.

The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs’ Human Security Division is responsible for the promotion of peace and human rights. It focuses on the security of the individual, 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 30-year-old Acumen Fellow 2020 (West Africa) who has also been shortlisted for the 2019 Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Award, among others, expressed his appreciation to the organisers. (Vanguard)

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