I am Blessing from Nigeria. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance, and currently studying towards the Global Markets, Local Creativities (GLOCAL) Masters degree. I am interested in the nexus of finance, policy, and development, a fact which has guided my professional career to date. Motivated by the need to instill leadership in the youth, I co-founded Voice of Reason Nigeria, which to date has trained over 2,000 young people in the country. In my capacity as financial secretary of the NGO, I managed resources for the Uhodari program organized across 7 sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Botswana, Nigeria, Senegal & Congo) in collaboration with Fahamu Africa. My quest to explore broader professional opportunities within my field of study also led me to work with the insurance arm of Nigeria’s premier bank, First Bank, an experience that granted me multidisciplinary training. My marketing, communication, and product development skills as well as my knowledge of the financial markets -especially the insurance sub-sector- grew greatly during this time. Passionate about economic theories, entrepreneurship, and their practices, I established a beverage production Start-up– Omoniks Foods. From running that business, I gained extensive insight into the logistics of business and profound respect for the difficulty of successful enterprises. Beyond my professional experiences, my passion for volunteering and civic engagement has seen me serve in the capacity of spokesperson, for a political party in my state, volunteer as an entrepreneurship trainer under the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Kogi state chapter, and much more. Ever desirous of improving myself and my community, I hope to maximize the illustrious opportunity that GLOCAL offers, to reimagine how innovations translate into developmental outcomes for the global south.