A village farm boy from Southern Nigeria, Dr. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, has become a worldwide tech phenomenon. Earlier in his career, he co-designed iPhone and iPad sensors. Some have described him as a genius with a number of academic degrees and professional accolades.
Dr. Ekekwe graduated from his secondary school with eight distinctions, establishing his school’s all-time record for the best test scores on that exam. His remarkable brain power began to manifest in his early years, as evidenced by the fact that he prepared himself for non-science subjects and scored brilliantly in GCE exams.
Academic Achievements
In 1998, Dr. Ekekwe graduated first in his class from the Federal University of Technology, Nigeria, with a BEng in electrical and electronics engineering. His insatiable thirst for knowledge has led him to obtain four masters and two doctoral degrees:
- MTech (Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria)
- MSE (Johns Hopkins University, USA)
- MSc (Tuskegee University, USA)
- MBA (University of Calabar, Nigeria)
- PhD in Management (St Clements University)
- PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a focus on Microelectronics and Medical Robotics Engineering (John Hopkins University, USA)
Ekekwe has received a total of 17 fellowships and scholarships. Shortly after completing his MSc at Tuskegee, he was given the prestigious United States EMCWA fellowship and the opportunity to work on NASA’s Jet Propulsion Project. The project focused on exploring the spread of high frequency into space.
Entrepreneurial Journey
Dr. Ekekwe founded First Atlantic Semiconductors and Microelectronics (FASMICRO) and is now a major participant in the semiconductor sector in the United States. He is credited with developing the microcontroller used in medical robots.
He is also the founder of Tekedia capital, a company which invests in early-stage technology businesses and companies. In 2021, Tekedia was recognized as the best venture capital investing group in Nigeria.
Dr. Ekekwe is also the President of the African Institution of Technology, which he founded. The objective of this company is to make it easier to provide practical education support, encourage the adoption of technology policies, and promote bottom-up creativity technology in African economies.
Currently, Dr. Ekekwe works as a consultant for universities, IT companies, and the World Bank. He is also the serving lead investigator of Africa’s first microelectronics institute, as well as a visiting professor at a number of African universities. He also serves as a technology and entrepreneurship advisor to five African governments.
His passion for business has led him to become a venture investor, and he has invested in a number of organizations, particularly startups, including PayStack.
Publications
Dr. Ndubuisi Ekekwe is accredited in a number of critical areas of technology, and he has a number of high-ranking technical articles published in some of the world’s most prestigious journals and conferences. He also edited Nanotechnology and Microelectronics: Global Diffusion, Economics, and Policy, which won the IGI Global 2010 “Book of the Year” Award.
Awards and achievements:
Dr. Ekekwe’s exceptional intellect and contributions to science and technology earned him several high-profile awards. He was designated one of 60 Nigerians in 60 years making “Nigerian Lives Matter” by the Guardian Newspapers in the UK in 2020.
He was also listed in the 2010 edition of Marquis Who’s Who in America, as well as in the 2009 edition of Strathmore’s Who’s Who Worldwide, as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
In addition, he was nominated for the Johns Hopkins Institutions Diversity Recognition Awards and, most notably, a SAMSTAG fellowship at the Whiting School of Engineering. He also received awards from the ERC and the National Science Foundation in the United States.
Entrepreneurial Lessons From Dr. Ekekwe’s Life
- You must have a strong vision. Despite his youth, Dr. Ekekwe had a clear vision of the value he wanted to create. Even though he was working in other places, his vision never waned. When he was ready, he fulfilled his dream.
- Skills are crucial in a life of an entrepreneur: Dr. Ekekwe knew he needed to broaden his knowledge in order to achieve his vision. He needed to develop expertise in different fields. He ended up having four masters degrees and two PhDs.
- You need to learn from those that have done it. Dr. Ekekwe knew that theoretical knowledge was not enough in his field, so he decided to work in places that built electronic systems. He eventually co-designed iPhone and iPad sensors.
- You must have a strong network: Dr. Ekekwe collaborated with like-minded individuals in his field to establish various businesses. Social capital is a critical component in the life of any entrepreneur.
