Uche Eze
Also recorded as Uche Pedro
Uche Eze
- Born
- 1984 · Maiduguri.
- Nationality
- Nigeria
- Occupation
- blogger · entrepreneur · social media expert · writer · journalist
- Education
- University of Western Ontario · John F. Kennedy School of Government
- Honours
- OkayAfrica 100 Women
- Languages
- English · Nigerian Pidgin
In this article
Key facts
• Name — Uche Pedro
• Birth Name — Uchenna Jennifer Eze
• Born — 1984 7 26
• Birthplace — * Maiduguri, Nigeria
• Organization — BellaNaija
• Other Names — Uche Pedro
• Occupation — Media Tech Entrepreneur
• Education — * Harvard Kennedy School
• Ivey Business School
• Alma Mater — * University of Western Ontario
• Years Active — 2006–present
• Spouse — Bode Pedro
• Children — 3
• Known for — BellaNaija
Uche Pedro (born by Uche Eze ; 26 July 1984) is a Nigerian entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of BellaNaija, a media tech brand known for entertainment and lifestyle content. Under her leadership, BellaNaija's social footprint has grown through its collective brands - BellaNaija.com, BellaNaija Weddings and BellaNaija Style - to be the largest on the African continent with more than 200 million impressions each month.
Early life and education
Uche was born and raised in Nigeria, where she finished her primary and secondary school education. Uche holds an honors business administration degree from the Ivey Business School, where she graduated with distinction in 2006. In 2020, she graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School with a master's in public administration.
Career
Uche worked for Shell Canada, Cadbury Middle East & Africa Unit in the UK, and Cadbury in Nigeria. In July 2006, she founded BellaNaija.
She claimed the idea for establishing BellaNaija came while she was studying at a university in Canada, where she had a two-week holiday and soon got bored. She said she was inspired to start something that represented the country when she came to Nigeria and observed fashion, entertainment, and business.
Uche is a Fellow of TEDGlobal and a Nigeria Leadership Initiative associate.
Uche realized the potential of what she was building, and she went ahead to organize the business. Taking a step in organizing the business by registering a parent company, BainStone Limited.
BainStone Limited is focused on developing and managing innovative and exciting online media content for Africans. The company was among the 50 high potential SMEs chosen and awarded a British Airways, Opportunity Grant.
In 2013, Uche was honored as the British Council International Young Media Entrepreneur of the Year for Nigeria. In 2014 and 2015, Forbes Magazine Online listed Uche among the 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa. In December 2015, she was listed amongst the Most Influential CEOs of 2015 by Ventures Africa as well as New African Woman's Women of the Year for 2015 and made the QUARTZ’S List of 30 African Innovators.
In 2016, she won the African Blogger of the Year award at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. In 2017, Uche was invited as a civic leader making a difference around the world for the first-ever Obama Foundation Summit and participated in the Stanford Seed Transformation Programme. In February 2018, Uche featured in the annual OkayAfrica100 Women campaign, celebrating extraordinary women from Africa and the diaspora making waves across a wide array of industries, while driving positive impact in their communities and the world at large. Uche was selected to participate in the 2018 campaign for Bill and Melinda Gates.
Uche Pedro received an invite to The Obama Foundation Summit; a 2-day gathering of about 500 civic leaders from around the world. The BellaNaija team completed the Stanford Seed Transformation Program in 2017, a 12- month program where high potential leaders are challenged to assess their companies’ vision and redefine strategies.
Uche is passionate about impacting her community and nurturing the next generation. She is the founder of #BNDoGood - an impact -driven initiative which consistently supports a wide variety of non-profits and social impact organizations including LEAP Africa, Slum2School, Django Girls, Junior Achievement Nigeria and a long list of others. In 2018, Uche co-founded PVCitizen, an initiative to encourage millennials and Generation Z to register to vote and become active citizens. In November 2018, Uche received an ELOY Award for Innovation/Invention, reserved for a woman who has used her skills to create innovative ways to solve problems and also invented solutions to different challenges. In addition, she was honored with a Frown Awards by UNFPA/UNICEF for her efforts to protect the right of every girl child and contribution to the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria. Uche served as a host for the TEDxLagos Spotlight event in August 2018.
Personal life
On 16 June 2012, Uche married Bode Pedro, a son of former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro. She gave birth to a set of twins in 2015.
Recognition
• 2023: World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders Class of 2023
• 2020 Forbes: "Africa's 50 Most Powerful Women"
• 2019 Speaker BBC "Countering Fake News" Event.
• Speaker 2018 "Bloomberg Africa Business Media Innovators" Forum.
• Keynote Speaker #ADICOMDAYS2018
• OkayAfrica100 Women campaign.
• Gates Foundation/Gates Africa #GatesLetter Campaign.
• 2017 Obama Summit - "Civic Leader Making a Difference around the World"
• Stanford Seed Transformation Programme.
• SME 100 List of 100 most innovative female-owned businesses in Nigeria.
• Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards - African Blogger of the Year.
• Nigeria's 100 Most Inspiring Women – #YWomen100 #LLA100Women 2016
• Forbes 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa- 2015
• QUARTZ’S List of 30 African Innovators.
• Ventures Africa - Most Influential CEOs of 2015
• Tiffany Amber Women of Vision Honoree - 2014
• Forbes 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa - 2014.
• New African Magazine's "50 Trailblazers under 50 Made in Africa" List.
• Forty-Forty: A Compendium of Young African Legends by Ventures Africa.
• New African Woman Magazine - 10 Young Nigerian Women to Watch.
• Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI) Future Leaders Seminar.
• TEDGlobal Fellow.
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Uche Pedro, revision 1361819673 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record.
Awards
• Year — Award — Prize — Result — Ref
• 2010 — The Future Awards — Young Person of the Year
• The Best Use of Technology
• African Fashion Week — Outstanding Contribution to Fashion Communication Award
• 2012 — FAB Awards — Online Publication of the Year
• 2013 — The Future Awards — Young Media Entrepreneur of the Year
• TW Magazine Phoenix Gala Awards — Business Protege Award
• The British Council — Young Media Entrepreneur Award
• 2014 — WIE Africa Conference — WIE Next Generation Leader Award
• 2015 — Creative Industries Awards — Creative Industries Awards for Bloggers
• 2016 — Kids' Choice Awards — Best African Blogger
• La Mode Awards — BellaNaija Style - Outstanding Recognition for contribution to the Fashion and Entertainment Industry
• Nigerian Fashion and Style Awards — BellaNaija Style - Fashion Support
• African Entertainment Award — BellaNaija - Most Popular Site
• Beatz Awards — BellaNaija -Best Blog
• 2017 — APPOEMN's TEIC — BellaNaija Weddings - Wedding/Event blog of the Year Award
• Corporate Communications Award — BellaNaija - Special Media Recognition
• Beatz Awards — BellaNaija - Best Blog
• Glitz Style Award — BellaNaija Style - Fashion Blog of the Year (Africa)
• 2018 — Beatz Awards — BellaNaija - Best Blog
• ELOY Awards — Innovation/Invention Award
• The Frown Awards 2018 by UNFPA/UNICEF — For efforts to protect the right of every girl child and contribution to the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria
• Spice Lifestyle Honours — Social and Digital Media Person of the Year
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Daily Mail Nigeria. The Story of Uche Eze Founder of BellaNaija. 29 September 2014.
- 2.Ajia, Jide. BellaNaija, online platform unveil campaign to empower Nigerian women. The Punch. 2024-09-14.
- 3.Oyedotun, Ayoade. 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa 2014. Woculus. 2011-07-19.
- 4.A New Story for Nigeria. Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. 13 October 2020.
- 5.Biography of Uche Eze; Blogger. www.nigerianbiography.com.
- 6.Damidez. Uche Pedro Biography (BellaNaija Ceo, Net Worth) Naija Biography. NaijaBiography. 2020-06-10.
- 7.Uche Pedro. TED Conferences.
- 8.Most influential Nigerian CEOs of 2015 - Ventures Africa. Ventures Africa. 2015-12-13.
- 9.Quartz's list of 30 African innovators. Quartz.
- 10.Uche Pedro: In Chicago for the #ObamaSummit because #GirlsCount. BellaNaija. 2017-10-31.
- 11.Uche Pedro. OKAYAFRICA's 100 WOMEN.
- 12.Gates Africa on Twitter. Twitter.
- 13.#BNDoGood. 2017-12-20.
- 14.Eta, Phillip. 2face, Wizkid thrill guests as Uche Eze of Bella Naija weds Bode Pedro [Pictures]. Daily Post. 21 June 2012.
- 15.Nigerian Biography. Biography of Uche Eze; Blogger. 11 May 2015.
- 16.Meet Nigeria's top female bloggers. BusinessDay. 2016-12-02.
- 17.Peace Hyde, Uche Pedro shortlisted as Young Global Leaders. Vanguard.
- 18.Africa, Forbes. Africa's 50 Most Powerful Women. Forbes Africa. 2020-03-06.
- 19.Uche Pedro, Wole Soyinka, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu speaking at BBC's "Countering Fake News" Event. BellaNaija. 2019-01-09.
- 20.More than 90 Media Leaders Discuss Africa's Future Media Landscape at Fourth "Bloomberg Africa Business Media Innovators" Forum. Bloomberg.com. 2018-11-19.
- 21.Uche Pedro to deliver Keynote Address on 'BellaNaija: The Testimony of an African Success Story' at #ADICOMDAYS2018 1–2 March 2018. BellaNaija. 2018-02-28.
- 22.Gates Africa on Twitter. Twitter.
- 23.Uche Pedro: In Chicago for the #ObamaSummit because #GirlsCount. BellaNaija. 2017-10-31.
- 24.Thank you, BellaNaijarians! Let's Look Back Together as we Celebrate our Blessings and Achievements in 2017. BellaNaija. 2017-12-31.
- 25.'Arunma Oteh, Tara Fela-Durotoye, Yasmine Belo-Osagie & more These are Nigeria's 100 Most Inspiring Women – #YWomen100 #LLA100Women » YNaija. ynaija.com. 2016-03-08.
- 26.Nsehe, Mfonobong. 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa 2015. Forbes.
- 27.Kuo, Lily. Meet 30 innovators finding African solutions for African problems. Quartz. 14 September 2015.
- 28.Ochelle, Felicia Omari. Most influential Nigerian CEOs of 2015. 13 December 2015.
- 29.Nsehe, Mfonobong. 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa 2014. Forbes.
- 30.Uche Pedro, Alex Okosi, Chimamanda Adichie, D'Banj, Barack Obama, Asa & more make New African Magazine's "50 Trailblazers under 50 Made in Africa" List. BellaNaija. 2013-06-12.
- 31.Forty-Forty: A Compendium of Young African Legends - Ventures Africa. Ventures Africa. 2012-05-17.
- 32.Uche Pedro. www.ted.com.
- 33.THE BIGGEST PRIZE: Here are Nominees for The Future Awards 2010 – Young Person of the Year!. BellaNaija. 29 November 2010.
- 34.Ada Arinze. TFA: Bella Naija's Uche Pedro Wins Young Media Entrepreneur Award. ConnectNigeria. 22 October 2013.
- 35.Notes from TW Magazine's "The Phoenix Gala: Celebrating Matriarchs & Protégés" Brunch. BellaNaija. 2011-10-07.
- 36.Creative Entrepreneurship. British Council Creative Economy.
- 37.Inspiring Career Women at Temple Muse's WIE 2014 Cocktail Event in Lagos. BellaNaija. 2014-05-13.
- 38.Chinedu Adiele. Don Jazzy, Ayo Makun, Tony Elumelu, Bank of Industry, others win big. Pulse Nigeria. 26 January 2015.
- 39.Women of Rubies. Uche Pedro of Bella Naija wins Best Blogger Africa. 13 March 2016.
- 40.Yemi Alade, Timaya, Toke Makinwa, DJ Cuppy, BellaNaija.com nominated for the 2016 Nigeria Fashion and Style Awards. BellaNaija.
- 41.Yay! BellaNaija nominated for "Most Popular Blog Site" for the 2016 African Entertainment Legend Awards See Full List of Nominees. BellaNaija. 2016-08-31.
- 42.Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Arbitration Awards. 175–184. 2005. 9780470759608.
- 43.Yay! BellaNaija Weddings bags "Wedding/Event Blogger of the Year" Award at APPOEMN's TEIC 2017. BellaNaija. 2017-09-17.
- 44.Tampiri Irimagha-Akemu, Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Dr. Ikechukwu Obiaya, Communication Professionals & Outstanding Brands Shine at the Maiden Edition of Corporate Communications Awards. BellaNaija. 2017-04-06.
- 45.Thank You BellaNaijarians, We Won at the Beatz Awards 3! Tekno, DJ Spinall, Cobhams Asuquo also Emerge Winners See Full List. BellaNaija. 2017-12-19.
- 46.BellaNaija Style wins Fashion Blog of the Year (Africa) at Glitz Style Awards 2017. BellaNaija. 2017-08-20.
- 47.Uche Pedro, Cee-C, Mercy Johnson win at the 2018 ELOY Awards See Full List of Winners. BellaNaija. 2018-11-26.
- 48.OC Ukeje, Zapphaire Events, Uche Pedro, ART X Lagos win at #SPICEHonors 2018 See Full List. BellaNaija. 2018-12-06.
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