Angel Adelaja is a Nigerian innovator and community and change developer. She is currently Special Assistant to the National Coordinator of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), where she is tasked with developing creative strategies to revamp the structure, function, funding model and programs of NAPEP. She’s also a freelance consulting for the Office of Economic Development and Partnerships in the State of Osun and has assisted them with their O-BEEF and Opon-Imo projects as well as facilitating partnerships with private sector, NGOs, international agencies, and other governments from around the world.

Angel’s story began in the United States where she grew up and developed a passion for living a life of service and giving back to her community. Her motto is “give a little, change A LOT”. So as she was working on her PhD in Epidemiology, researching risk behaviors in youth and the relationship between drug use and sexual risk behaviors, she kept this in mind and decided to establish UNIHIV, an HIV/AIDS awareness organization that empowers youth to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS for which her training as an epidemiologist has been beneficial. She is co-founder and a Director and looks to replicate the program on Nigerian University Campuses.

Angel prides herself on being able to wear many caps. Her major focus is women and youth empowerment and utilizing grass roots campaigns, technology, and innovation to assist these groups in solving global issues. Some areas of work include good governance strategies to reduce health disparity, poverty, unemployment and boost economic development. She also interested in utilizing agriculture and bridging the digital divide to develop Africa. She is part of Innovation Partners, an organization that seeks to promote innovation, enterprise and technology throughout Nigeria through developing ICT focused programs and resources in various states. She is also Managing Director of EkoSystems, a division under Wind Systems Ltd. (WSL) that is focused on giving younger entrepreneurs a chance to get into the renewable energy sector in Nigeria. Additionally, she sits on the board of Beneva Ltd, a family owned company and has majority stake in ShopModeva.com an online Beauty and Hair Company.

In her spare time, Angel is a big Start-Up Weekend Fan-girl with a passion for all things TECH and entrepreneurial and was even an organizer of the 2011 Start-Up Weekend Lagos Event.

As Miss Nigeria in America 2010, Angel used her reign to promote HIV awareness as well as women and youth empowerment, focus on encouraging women and youth into entrepreneurship and community development.

Business, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Science, Medicine, Political, Technology,