TIME100 Honours Ene Ojaide With Change and Impact Maker Award as Nigerian AI Leadership Gains Global Recognition

Tolulope Oke

The 40UNDER40NIGERIA Initiative has named Nigerian-born data scientist, AI strategist, and entrepreneur, Ene Ojaide, among recipients of the TIME100 Change and Impact Maker Award, effective April 25, 2026. The recognition honours individuals driving measurable impact across innovation, leadership, and systemic transformation.

Ojaide is the founder of ThinkData Nexus Ltd, a technology company focused on designing and developing intelligent AI systems powered by Large Language Models and modern machine learning infrastructure for growth-stage organisations. She also works as a Data Scientist within a US-based organisation. She serves as an AI and Data Coach at Multiverse UK, where she contributes to Level 6 Advanced Degree apprenticeship programmes.

Her academic background includes a Master of Science in Data Science with Distinction from Nottingham Trent University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Abuja. She is also a member of the British Computer Society and the Chartered Institute for IT.

Ojaide’s recognition by TIME positions Nigerian expertise more prominently within the global conversation on enterprise AI systems and emerging technology innovation.

Her work addresses a growing challenge facing organisations worldwide: integrating artificial intelligence into operational systems in ways that are scalable, commercially sustainable, and enterprise-ready. Through ThinkData Nexus, Ojaide has focused on building intelligent AI systems, machine learning infrastructure, and enterprise solutions that enable organisations to move beyond experimental AI adoption toward practical operational deployment.

For Nigeria’s digital economy stakeholders, the implications are significant. As banks, telecommunications firms, fintech companies, and public institutions accelerate AI integration, demand is increasing for professionals capable of designing scalable and production-grade AI systems. Ojaide’s international recognition reinforces the growing relevance of Nigerian talent within that global market.

Her emergence also strengthens the credibility of African-led AI capability platforms seeking institutional partnerships, investment access, and cross-border enterprise adoption opportunities.

BACKGROUND STORY

Ojaide’s TIME100 recognition follows a series of industry acknowledgements across Africa and the United Kingdom. In 2024, she received the Trailblazer in Tech Award at the Limitless Without Borders Awards for her contributions to AI systems development and technical leadership. Crest Africa also honoured her with the Women in Data Award for advancing applied machine learning and strategic data capacity across sectors.

In early 2025, she received the Innovation and Technology Award at the Global Excellence Summit and Awards, further reinforcing her standing within international technology and innovation circles.

Beyond industry recognition, Ojaide has contributed to research in applied machine learning and remains active in enterprise analytics and AI systems development forums. At Multiverse UK, her work extends beyond technical instruction into systems thinking, commercial awareness, and enterprise-level AI applications.

ThinkData Nexus represents the institutional extension of that work, positioning intelligent AI systems and machine learning infrastructure as operational tools for enterprise transformation rather than isolated consulting interventions.

Ojaide’s TIME100 recognition reflects a broader shift in how African technology leadership is being positioned globally. Increasingly, recognition is being tied not to visibility alone, but to measurable operational and institutional impact.

Her approach to AI systems deployment offers a framework particularly relevant to emerging economies navigating infrastructure limitations and rapid enterprise digitisation. At a time when Nigeria’s AI discourse is still evolving, her work provides a practical reference point for how commercial application and enterprise adoption can coexist within modern AI systems deployment.

The recognition also raises a larger strategic question for Nigeria’s technology ecosystem: whether globally recognised expertise from Nigerian professionals will be systematically integrated into domestic policy, enterprise development, and institutional capacity-building or continue to remain primarily acknowledged from a distance.