Uche Pedro is a Nigerian entrepreneur born on 26th July, 1984. She is the founder and CEO of BellaNaija, a media tech brand known for entertainment and lifestyle content.
Under her guidance, BellaNaija’s social footprint has grown to be the largest on the African continent, with over 200 million impressions per month across its collective brands – BellaNaija.com, BellaNaija Weddings, and BellaNaija Style.
Uche was born and raised in Nigeria, where she attended primary and high school. Uche earned an Honors Business Administration degree from Ivey Business School in 2006, where she graduated with distinction. She received her Masters in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School in 2020.
Uche Pedro’s Career
Uche formerly worked for Shell Canada, Cadbury Middle East & Africa Unit in the United Kingdom, and Cadbury Nigeria. She started BellaNaija in July 2006.
She stated that the idea for BellaNaija occurred to her while she was studying at a university in Canada, where she had a two-week vacation and quickly became bored. When she visited Nigeria and saw the developing advancements in fashion, entertainment, and business, she was motivated to start something that mirrored the country’s dynamic young attitude.
Uche is a TEDGlobal Fellow and a member of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative.
Uche recognized the potential of what she was creating and proceeded to form the company. Taking the first step in corporate organization by forming a parent company, BainStone Limited. BainStone Limited is dedicated to creating and managing engaging internet media content for Africans. The company was recognized as one of 50 high-potential SMEs and received a British Airways Opportunity Grant.
Uche Pedro’s Recognitions/Achievements
Uche was named the British Council International Young Media Entrepreneur of the Year for Nigeria in 2013. Forbes Magazine Online named Uche one of the 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa in 2014 and 2015. In December 2015, Ventures Africa named her one of the Most Influential CEOs of 2015, as well as New African Woman’s Women of the Year for 2015, and she was named to the QUARTZ’S List of 30 African Innovators.
She was named African Blogger of the Year at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in 2016. Uche was invited to the first-ever Obama Foundation Summit in 2017 as a civic leader making a difference throughout the world, and she also participated in the Stanford Seed Transformation Programme.
Uche was featured in the annual OkayAfrica100 Women campaign in February 2018, which honors remarkable women from Africa and the diaspora who are creating waves in a variety of professions while making a positive effect in their communities and the globe at large. Uche was chosen to take part in Bill & Melinda Gates’ 2018 campaign.
Uche Pedro was invited to attend The Obama Foundation Summit, a two-day gathering of around 500 civic leaders from around the world. In 2017, the BellaNaija team completed the Stanford Seed Transformation Program, a 12-month program that challenges high potential leaders to examine their companies’ vision and clarify strategy.
Uche is passionate about making a difference in her society and educating the future generation. She is the founder of #BNDoGood, an effect-driven project that continually supports a diverse range of non-profits and social impact organizations such as LEAP Africa, Slum2School, Django Girls, Junior Achievement Nigeria, and many more.
Uche co-founded PVCitizen in 2018, a project to inspire millennials and Generation Z to vote and become active citizens. Uche got an ELOY Award for Innovation/Invention in November 2018, which is reserved for a woman who has used her expertise to discover unique methods to tackle problems and invented solutions to various challenges.
In addition, she received a Frown Award from UNFPA/UNICEF for her work to preserve the rights of all girls and her commitment to the abolition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria. In August 2018, Uche hosted the TEDxLagos Spotlight event.
