Oscar Ekponimo
Founder & CEO – Chowberry Inc
Named in Time Magazine’s 10 Next Generation Leaders, Oscar is a driven entrepreneur, business visionary and innovator with a passion for leveraging technology to create positive change. He founded Chowberry Inc, an innovative technology-driven social business in Africa, committed to enhancing food access for individuals experiencing hunger. Through strategic partnerships with food system actors Fast and food brands, his pioneering technology service has facilitated the redistribution of over 1.6 million meals to families facing hunger from food at risk of waste.
Drawing upon his diverse background in software engineering, product design innovation, and startups, he personifies the entrepreneurial spirit and possesses an innate drive to develop groundbreaking solutions and approaches to complex problems. As a true self-starter, he established Africa’s inaugural multidisciplinary design lab, in collaboration with Ars Electronica FutureLab Austria. This visionary endeavour has nurtured a vibrant creative community of over 500 innovators, engineers, technologists, and artists.
Oscar has garnered various award and recognition which include being named a Rolex Laureate through the Rolex Award for Enterprise, Harvard Medical bestowing upon him the title of Young Pioneer, an acknowledgment by the World Frontiers Forum that highlights his trailblazing approach in the field. The UN/ITU Young Innovators Award, BBC Top 10 Innovations of 2018 sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and inclusion in the Top 10 list of 2022 for Creative Entrepreneurs by 50Next at the Basque Culinary Centre are among other prestigious accolades.
Oscar serves as a member of the Advisory Board – Digital Communities to Ars Electronica GmBH Austria and has contributed as a jury member at MIT Solve. Passionate about creating positive change, he continuously seeks opportunities to leverage his entrepreneurial spirit and expertise to drive innovation and address pressing societal challenges with a keen eye for emerging trends and a deep understanding of market dynamics.
2 November 2018
