The maiden cohort of the Innocent Chukwuma Social Impact Fellowship (ICSIF) at Lagos Business School hosted a Social Impact Youth Conference on Saturday, October 29, 2022. This event marked the close of the 2022 fellowship which is designed to facilitate the emergence of young dynamic and ethical leaders who will have a significant impact on Nigeria’s development through social impact initiatives. Opening the conference, Dr Franklin Ngwu, Associate Professor and Director of LBS Public Sector Initiative, in his speech, congratulated the youth fellows and said “the remarkable impact made by Mr Innocent Chukwuma inspires so many people and the first cohort of the Innocent Chukwuma Social Impact Fellowship should continue to share their learnings with other youths” Delivering the keynote address on “Social Impact Leadership For Nation-Building”, Mrs Josephine Effa-Chukwuma, founder of Project Alert and the wife of the late Innocent Chukwuma explained the importance of social impact in nation building and why leaders should care about it.

The social impact conference which drew youths and young social innovators and entrepreneurs together also included talks and interactive panel sessions by the youth fellows titled ‘Impact Investment Readiness: How Youths can attract and retain support for Sustainable Social Impact’. The youth fellows shared their learnings on how to access funding and the different ways and means of accessing funding.  Samson Itodo, the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, talked about how the fellowship is one that is very dear to his heart as the Late Mr Innocent Chukwuma is one he had personal interactions with for over a decade and comes across as his mentor. He spoke on how to make a real difference in society. In his words, “to make a real difference, you must understand that your comfort zone is your worst enemy” as it will impede your ability to reinvent yourself and improve.

The Innocent Chukwuma Social Impact Chair and Fellowship (ICSICF) is a legacy initiative in honour of the late Mr Innocent Chukwuma, human rights activist and civil society leader. ICSICF is hosted by the Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre and supported by Ford Foundation. For more information visit https://icsi.lbs.edu.ng/