Bio
Pan African Ecosystem Developer
Investor | Innovator | Storyteller
Kenim Oba is a Pan-African ecosystem developer shaping economic development, media infrastructure, and transformative innovation for Africa’s future. She drives high-impact projects aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, leveraging Africa’s natural and human capital to build sustainable systems, expand economic mobility, and strengthen Pan-African empowerment across the continent.
Alongside her development work, Oba is an established filmmaker, broadcast journalist, and media entrepreneur whose storytelling, technological innovation, and leadership have positioned her as a cross-sector force shaping Africa’s future.
Harvard Business School, Executive MBA (PLD) Graduate 2023-2024.
Tufts University, Fine Arts & Mass Communications BFA 2007-2011
Early Career
2005–2011: Scoop Magazine, Early Journalism & Hollywood Training
Oba’s media career began in 2005 while she was a student a Roedean Moira House (formerly Moira House Girl’s School) in the UK, where she founded Scoop Magazine, a Nigerian teen publication she distributed in Lagos during school breaks. She later completed high school at the Dwight School in New York City, further developing her creative and media skills. During this period, she conducted her first celebrity interviews with Missy Elliott and Victoria’s Secret model Oluchi Onweagba, marking her early entry into journalism and entertainment media.
She later attended Tufts University from 2007, where she developed professional media competencies—studying film, communications, and digital storytelling. During this period, she began building documentary and production skills that set the foundation for her future commercial and broadcast work.
During university summer breaks, she interned in Hollywood, where she worked across music video, film, and commercial production environments, gaining hands-on experience in studio-level filmmaking, editing, and production management.
2012–2016: Founding OVG & Expansion Into Commercial Production
In 2012, Oba founded OVG, a commercial media production company specializing in documentaries, commercials and branded content, corporate storytelling, digital and broadcast media production, and creative direction for global brands. Through OVG, she produced work for clients including CNN, ARISE, and the Olympic Games, and covered major international events such as the World Economic Forum, UN General Assembly, the MTV Video Music Awards, New York Fashion Week, and both President Obama’s Africa trips. OVG marked Oba’s entry into full-scale entrepreneurship, enabling her to produce both commissioned and original content rooted in global and Pan-African narratives.
Breakthrough Era
2017–2020: On-Camera Journalism & Launch of StreamOVG
Oba began developing her on-camera skills in 2015, and her public-facing journalism career accelerated between 2017 and 2020. During this period, she became known for her Nigerian political documentaries, broadcast journalism, and film analysis. By 2020, she had conducted interviews with seven heads of state from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria—including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Muhammadu Buhari, and Goodluck Jonathan—across multiple occasions.
In 2020, Oba launched StreamOVG, a digital streaming platform showcasing her documentaries, films, and original content. The platform marked her expansion from production into independent distribution, enabling her to circulate Pan-African narratives directly to global audiences.
2021–2024: Podcasting, AI Innovation & Executive Leadership
Oba expanded her media ecosystem in 2021, amassing millions of viewers as she entered podcasting and broadened her commentary into African economic literacy, geopolitical analysis, entertainment, and cultural education. Through platforms such as BlackCity Network (formerly Brand Video Pro), Business in Nigeria, and The Kenim O Show, she demonstrated her versatility, delivering complex analysis and high-level technical and critical thinking across a broad spectrum of topics.
In early 2023, at the onset of mainstream AI adoption, Oba developed Räe, an AI chatbot assistant available on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. Räe quickly grew to more than 5,000 monthly users, demonstrating strong market traction and validating Oba’s ability to design innovative, consumer-facing AI products. Her early success in this space aligned with the broader industry shift toward personality-driven AI models, later reflected in Meta’s own rollout of AI characters.
Oba further strengthened her executive capabilities through Harvard Business School’s Program for Leadership Development (PLD), completed in 2024, positioning her to lead large-scale economic, institutional, and Pan-African development initiatives.
Current Era
2025–Present: Pan-African Economic Development & Ecosystem Building
From 2025 onward, Oba founded AfriGen Development & Innovations, an investment firm focused on Pan-African economic development. Through AfriGen, she invests in and builds systems that strengthen African industries, expand economic mobility, and drive continent-wide empowerment. Her work emphasizes:
Strengthening African value chains
Developing sustainable and culturally grounded infrastructure
Building regional economic and technological ecosystems
Mobilizing African resources for community uplift
Advancing a self-determined Pan-African future rooted in shared prosperity
In this era, Oba leverages her media expertise and investment capital to advance strategic development initiatives across the continent. Her work combines economic analysis, systems thinking, and long-term development strategy to support emerging industries and catalyze sustainable growth. As an investor and ecosystem builder, she integrates narrative influence with structural development to contribute to a more resilient, economically empowered Pan-African future.
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