Simi Nwogugu Appointed JA Africa CEO

September 25, 2020 

JA Worldwide is pleased to announce the appointment of Simi Nwogugu as CEO of JA Africa.

In June 2020, Elizabeth Bintliff stepped down from her role as CEO of JA Africa, and the regional search committee commenced the quest for her replacement. It didn’t take long to identify several highly qualified candidates, but JA Nigeria Executive Director Simi Nwogugu truly stood out.

JA operates in Nigeria because of Simi’s vision. Born and raised in Nigeria, she was first introduced to JA during her time working at Goldman Sachs in New York City. Impressed by the organization, she quit her lucrative private-sector job at age 24 to move home to start up JA operations in 1999. Today, JA Nigeria has grown to become one of the strongest JA offices in Africa, reaching 1 million out-of-school youth across 36 states in Nigeria.

Simi embodies the values of JA, showing the boundless potential of young people. When she founded JA Nigeria in 1999, dictator Sani Abacha had just died, leaving a damaged education system and an economy in recession. Simi believed JA was exactly what the country needed to inspire and educate young people to become change agents for Nigeria’s future. For three years, she set to work building JA operations in Nigeria, while also building a culture of philanthropy among organization partners and a culture of volunteering among individuals.

Simi went back to the U.S. in 2002 to attend Harvard Business School, but she continued to serve as a board member for JA Nigeria, bringing programs from Harvard to JA, including the Venture in Management Program. In 2016, she returned to the role of Executive Director. For the past four years, JA Nigeria has largely focused on communities in the north, particularly on youth who have been displaced by the Boko Haram crisis.

As CEO of JA Africa, Simi will bring her abundance of talent, intelligence, and passion to the region as a whole. “This offers an exciting opportunity for me to work with my colleagues across the continent to expand JA’s mission to empower young Africans for a successful future,” Simi said. “It is my goal to increase the impact of our work to significantly reduce youth unemployment and poverty across the continent.” 

As a regional CEO, Simi will also join the JA Worldwide Senior Leadership Team and the Board of Governors. “I’m grateful to the board of JA Africa and JA Worldwide,” she said, “for entrusting me with this responsibility and look forward to working with our stakeholders and partners to make it a reality.” JA Worldwide CEO Asheesh Advani believes Simi’s background and experience make her a logical choice. “JA helps prepare entrepreneurial leaders for the global economy,” he said. “Simi is a leader of leaders with a proven track record of serving the youth of Nigeria and we are delighted to have her join the senior leadership team of JA Worldwide and oversee JA Africa.”

Charles Olyumuyiwa Moyela, Chair of the JA Africa board, said that the appointment of Simi is “timely and heralds a new era of growth and accelerated development for JA in Africa. She comes well prepared for the tasks ahead and is poised to scale up and surpass the laudable accomplishments of the JA Nigeria team, which she led passionately. As the lingering aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic begins to redefine the landscape and opportunity space for jobs and work across Africa and globally, Simi’s leadership, energy, vision, and partnership credentials will be pivotal to JA’s Africa’s mandate of delivering JA’s work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship offerings to Africa’s fast-growing youth population.” 

The search has now commenced for Simi’s replacement as Executive Director at JA Nigeria. She will officially begin her new role with JA Africa on November 2, 2020, where she will join an outstanding team:

  • Sena Quarm Goka, Interim Officer in Charge; Director, Grants & Programs

  • Solomon Isaac Faibil, Director, Finance and Operations

  • Harrison Boakye Owusu, Director of Development & Partnerships

  • Akosua Essuman, Programs Officer and Board Liaison

  • Senanu Adiku, Marketing and Communications Officer

  • Christiana Ntoso, Finance and Administrative Assistant 

The entire team at JA Worldwide extends a hearty congratulations to Simi and the JA Africa team.

Take a look at coverage of Simi’s work with JA Nigeria:

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