Jennifer Obiorah

SOAS University of London

Major / Minor: Economics

Graduation Year: 2025

Jennifer Obiorah, the founder and CEO of TeamUpcyclers, is a 28-year-old Nigerian economist and multiple award-winning climate activist. Jennifer helps an average of 6,000 people annually with her organization's green skills training, empowerment, energy, menstrual health, and climate education initiatives targeting IDPs and marginalized groups. In 2023, she provided training on climate, energy, sustainable agriculture, menstrual health, and SDGs to over 5,000 students in Anambra State, 50 IDP children, 25 IDP women, and 50 PWDs in Abuja. In 2023, she trained over 3,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from 6 IDP camps in Abuja and over 2,000 youths virtually on SDGs, climate change, energy, and waste management, leading to a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a 30% increase in green jobs and waste management practices across Abuja and Anambra State, Nigeria.

Possessing a BSc in Economics, Jennifer has used her knowledge to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation. Her path through academia demonstrates an unwavering quest for workable answers to urgent environmental problems. Jennifer has gained important insights into climate science and policy through her studies in "Introduction to Climate Change" and "Strategies for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change in Production, Distribution, and Use of Water" at the Canary Islands Institute of Technology, Spain, through the Learn Africa Canarias Scholarship. This academic feat has encouraged her to pursue research and launch climate justice projects, and she has published two significant journals on the effects of climate change on Nigerian agriculture and food security, as well as the viability of renewable energy technology in Africa's fight against climate change. She also served as a researcher specializing in "Green Jobs and Skills for Energy Transition" at the BRICS Youth Energy Agency, where she contributed to the development of the 2024 BRICS Youth Energy Outlook, which was presented in Russia last month. When it comes to leadership and policymaking, Jennifer is a pro, as she has received top-notch training on political economics via the Don Lavoie Fellowship 2023/2024 at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University, USA; advanced training on sustainability via the "Key Essentials: The Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development, and the Law" at the World-Class University of Cambridge, UK; and specialized leadership training via the "Aspire Leadership Institute" at Harvard University, USA. She advocates for climate justice, SDGs, and gender equality, most notably at COP28's Greening Education Hub, the African Climate Summit, the 7th African World Heritage Youth Forum, the IRENA Youth Forum 2024, COY17, and COY18.

Also, Jennifer's leadership is not limited to the classroom. Inspired to take action after a terrible flood plagued her homeland of Anambra State, Nigeria, she started a journey of transformation by educating victims and refugees about climate change and sowing the seeds of resilience. In December 2022, Jennifer established "TeamUpcyclers" during the "Trash To Cash Challenge December 2022 edition (1st place winner)" as a brilliant project to turn trash into wealth since she saw waste pollution as a major problem causing flooding, waterborne illnesses, and environmental devastation in Nigeria, and so far, she has led campaigns in 8 schools across Anambra State, 6 IDP camps, and 1 PWD home across Abuja to raise awareness of climate action, thus reaching over 10,000 youths and women. Her leadership is distinguished by inventiveness, ingenuity, and a strong commitment to promoting long-term, locally, and globally viable change.

Currently, she leads 3 WhatsApp groups: the "Achiever's Forum," the "USA/UK Scholarship," and the "Research Team," where she shares opportunities daily with over 2,000 youths, mentoring them one-on-one on how to win global opportunities and scholarships and how to launch green businesses. The impacts of these WhatsApp groups are huge, including about 100 youths winning over $400,000 in grants; 20 members have won fully funded undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and fellowships worth over $1,000,000 to study across Africa, Europe, Asia, and America; 15 group members have secured their first fully funded international trip; and over 500 members have launched their own green businesses, all from the opportunities she shares daily and the one-on-one mentorship she selflessly offers in the group.

Moreso, her outstanding accolades include winning the WEGA "Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Champion for Women" Award 2024, the JCI Creative Young Entrepreneur Award 2024, the IRENA "Teaching For Net Zero" Award 2023, the MasterCard Women SME Leaders "The Humanitarian" Award 2023, the Nigeria Youth SDGs and Oxfam "Youth Day Spotlight" Award 2023, the "Nobel Prize for Women Empowerment" by Food and Agriculture Youth Institute (FAYI) 2023, and the Pan African Women Empowerment Network "Diversity and Inclusion Champion" Award 2023, amongst others for her innovative projects. She is presently a finalist for the prestigious QS Reimagine Education Award 2024 under the "Sustainability Education Action" Award category, a nominee for the "Gender Just Climate Solutions" Award 2024 under the non-technical category, and a Chegg Global Student Prize Finalist 2024.

Last but not least, Jennifer recently emerged as the only Nigerian and one of the four Africans who bagged the prestigious Dr. Mai Yamani Scholarship, and she's currently studying for her MSc in Economics at SOAS University of London, UK. Her work in turning waste into wealth has been featured in the World Bank Knowledge Brief titled "Putting Waste to Work in a Circular Economy: Creating Good Jobs for Youth in the Waste Sector (Page 19).” She also featured in Vanguard, Chronicle, NigeriaWorld, The Guardian, ITPulse, Education, Mirror, Achiever, The Nation, etc. In five years, she aims to grow TeamUpcyclers into Nigeria's first textile waste recycling company.

Detailed Biography:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qp7MaC6-3cwUnWDTUX17aA4Fxgv3YrLHTmPQk-EsDBk/edit?usp=drivesdk