Olubunmi Odejimi
Our woman crush for today is Uche Pedro, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BellaNaija.
Uche Pedro is the Founder of BellaNaija, Africa’s leading lifestyle digital media company with a distinct focus covering a diverse range of areas including entertainment, cinema, fashion, culture, and advocacy.
It’s almost impossible for Nigerians living in Nigeria or in the diaspora to say they haven’t heard of BellaNaija before, that’s how powerful the brand has become in it’s 13 years of existence , and it all because of the wonderful works Uche has done with her brand.
BellaNaija has a digital footprint of over 200 Million impressions and 10 Million Followers across platforms.
Uchenna Jennifer Eze, well known as Uche Pedro, hails from the south-eastern part of Nigeria. She was born on July 26, 1984. She had her primary and secondary school education in Nigeria and afterwards moved to Canada where she obtained her Bachelor’s in Business Administration.
Uche has worked for Shell Canada, Cadbury Middle East and Africa Unit in the United Kingdom, and also for Cadbury in Nigeria.
In July 2006, she founded BellaNaija. She is also the founder of BNDoGood – an impact-driven initiative, and a co-founder of PVCitizen.
In 2018, Uche was one of 10 emerging African leaders selected for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – Gates Letter campaign. Uche was recognized at the Frown Awards by UNICEF/UNFPA for her efforts toward the abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria.
She was listed in Forbes, Africa’s 50 Most Powerful Women in 2020, and the second publication of 100 Most Influential African Women in 2020 by Avance Media. Her other achievements include Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards – African Blogger of the Year, Bloomberg Africa Business Media Innovators – Speaker 2018 etc.
