Lola Shoneyin says that she considers herself very lucky to have a day job that she absolutely loves: teaching English and drama at a secondary school in Abuja, Nigeria. She is also Deputy Principal of the school and says she writes in her spare time then admits she really writes 'all the time', constantly trying to memorise a memorable line or jot down phrases on paper. Lola wanted to be a writer because of the many stories she had to tell, having spent exactly 7.673% of her life day-dreaming. Her best seller; "The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives" is set in modern-day Nigeria. It explores the intricacies of a polygamous family. It has been described as "A fiercely funny, endearing and provocative novel" and as "...a powerful, mature and absorbing work of fiction". Lola has four children and is married "to a lovely, compassionate man who used to have a huge moustache."

Femi Temowo is a guitarist ‘par excellence’. Born September 1976 in the city of Akure in Nigeria, Femi moved to London in 1986. He began playing the guitar at 17 and by 21 was already highly regarded on the jazz and popular music scene. Between 1998 and 2001 Femi studied jazz at Middlesex University under the great educator Stuart Hall (Loose Tubes). After graduating, he was approached by UK Jazz/Hip-Hop artist Soweto Kinch to join his then brand new quartet. The quartet went on to win many awards including a Mercury Music Prize nomination, BBC jazz award for best new group and several Mobo awards. Femi’s slick and melodic guitar sound has earned him a place beside many great musicians and artists from across many genres. His latest project sees him in a Trio/Quartet setting where he is currently expanding some of the ideas he started on his debut album but in a smaller group setting, experimenting with Nigerian folk sounds and jazz song form. The trio consists of Guitar, Bass and Drums and are sometimes joined by a vocalist.

Kwame Kwei-Armah was born Ian Roberts to poor immigrants from Grenada. His father was a factory worker, and his mother worked three jobs to put her three children through private schools. They lived in a nieghbourhood dominated by skinheads and Kwei-Armah couldn't go to the subway without having to fight his way down the street. He changed his name in his early twenties after tracing his family ancestry to Ghana. He is a musician, playwright and actor who recently took over as artistic director of the largest regional theatre in Maryland, USA. Kwame first found fame as an actor in the popular BBC hospital drama ‘Casualty.’ He was the first Black Briton to stage a play in London’s West End when his award winning piece ‘Elmina’s Kitchen transferred to the Garrick Theatre in 2005. In 2008, he completed a trilogy of plays for the National Theatre with "Statement of Regret". In 2010, Kwame was also artistic director of the World Arts Festival in Senegal, a month long celebration of black arts and culture.

Paula Akugizibwe, a writer and activist, was born in Nigeria to parents of Rwandan and Ugandan origin and grew up largely in Southern Africa. She considers herself a happy pan-African nomad. For the past few years, she has been based in Cape Town where she coordinated a regional advocacy project aimed at improving access to and quality of HIV/ TB services in Southern Africa. Prior to this, Paula worked in several roles relating to health and human rights in Rwanda, Burundi and Botswana. She has also served on technical advisory groups for the Southern African Development Community and the World Health Organization. Paula has a Bachelor of Pharmacy and is currently completing her Master in Public Health (Epidemiology) at the University of Cape Town. In her spare time, she writes political poetry and non-fiction. Her work experience has exposed her to a broad array of political paradigms ranging from community mobilization in rural areas to policy making process at the United Nations and US Congress, provoking unsettling questions as well as inspiring visions for African freedom in the 21st century.

Moky Makura is a TV presenter/producer, publisher, writer, actress and entrepreneur.  She holds an Honours degree in Politics, Economics and Law from Buckingham University in the UK. After selling the PR business she founded to the advertising group FCB in 2001, she decided to follow her media passions. From 2001 to 2006, she was the African Anchor presenter and field reporter for Carte Blanche.  In 2005, she produced and hosted a 26 part marketing show on the South African business channel; Summit TV. She is currently appearing in the MNet’s Pan-African drama series: Jacob’s Cross. Moky is an editorial contributor to various magazines and recently completed a book; ‘Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs’ which was on the Exclusive books bestseller list in 2008. In 2008, she co-produced and presented a lifestyle TV series for MNet called “Living It, about the lifestyles of Africa’s wealthy elite. Moky recently started a publishing business which produces fiction for the mass market.

Jerome Okolo’s life story provides a vivid and personal illustration of our tumultuous and rapidly changing epoch. He was born just as Nigeria’s Civil War was breaking out. His parent's journey took them from being penniless refugees, to privileged University of Nigeria staff – classical music, tennis, swimming – and then to facing the ire of the successive Military Administrations. Sent off to the far North of the country for his college education, he got caught up in the first outbreak of Islamic militant violence, when the Maitatsine sect attacked Nigerian Security forces, an attack that had to be repelled by the Nigerian army. He left Nigeria to study in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, just as that town was the flash-point of the ill-fated Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He traveled on to Ukraine for further studies, just as the world’s worst Nuclear disaster takes place at Chernobyl. Traversing East to West and back again, he witnessed the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. He was completing his dissertation in Moscow, when the August 1991 putsch against Gorbachev was launched in Moscow. Returning to Central Asia after completing his studies, he was again caught up in civil war, this time in Tajikistan, and escaped on the last Tu-134 out of Dushanbe. In 1993 Jerome was just re-launching his business career when another violent event, the siege of Parliament by Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1993, almost ruined everything.

Herman Chinery-Hesse is a software engineer by profession, although his early training was Industrial / Manufacturing technology. Twenty years ago, he co-founded the SOFTtribe Limited, which became the leading software house in Ghana and possibly West Africa. Herman’s current venture Black Star line (BSL), seeks to financially empower rural Africans via e-commerce via their webmall (www.shopafric53.com) as well as their proprietary novel, global payment system and related technology, which serves as the platform for their "African liberty cards/credits" (ALC). Herman has won a number of awards including "Outstanding Ghanaian Professional" and "Distinguished Alumnus Award" from the Texas State Alumni Association and Texas State University-San Marcos, USA. He is the first and currently only African recipient of the award. He was a speaker TEDGlobal conference in Arusha, Tanzania. The BBC describes him as "Ghana’s Bill Gates" and he is widely viewed as an African technology giant. Herman believes that "If Africa misses the current global IT boat and participation in resultant new economy, there may never again be another opportunity for rapid wealth creation on the continent". He is smart, dedicated and passionate about Africa.

Kola Karim is the Chief Executive of Shoreline Energy International. Shoreline Energy International is a leading energy holding company operating in Africa with a diversified portfolio of holdings in Construction, Oil and Gas, Power, Telecommunications, Engineering, and Manufacturing, and with a current valuation of over $120m. Shoreline has grown rapidly through strategic acquisitions in the Nigerian Infrastructure Sector. Key acquisitions include ABB Electrical Systems (Nigeria), Costain (West Africa), Schlumberger Testing and Production (Nigeria - 17%), Premier Paints Plc (Nigeria) and Alumaco Plc. His current portfolio consists of business in the construction, commodity trading, agro-allied products, oil and gas, engineering and power sectors. In addition to his role at Shoreline Energy International, Karim is the Chairman of Costain West Africa and serves as director in seven subsidiary companies, including Schlumberger Testing & Production Services Nigeria and Trans Amadi Facilities, and is Chairman of Nigerian Ropes. Karim has delivered opinion and position papers at international conferences and investment forums. Kola is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader 2008 honoree

Hadeel Ibrahim is founding executive director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which was established in 2006 to support good governance and great leadership in Africa. She is also on the board of Refugees International and UNESCO's LEAP programme, which fosters local effort and preservation of cultural heritage. Prior to this, she spent time with the Africa section of Actis private equity investors, and with the private equity fund management group EMP Africa. Hadeel graduated from Bristol university with a degree in Politics and Philosophy

Dr. Kayode Fayemi has been the Governor of Ekiti State in Nigeria since October 2010 after winning a three-year challenge against his political opponent in the 2007, alleging electoral rigging. Prior to entering into partisan politics, Kayode Fayemi was Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development, a research and training institution dedicated to the study and promotion of democratic development, peace-building and human security in Africa. Dr Fayemi attended Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti and received degrees in History, Politics and International Relations from the Universities of Lagos and Ife in Nigeria, and a Doctorate in War Studies from King’s College, University of London, England. A prominent leader of the Nigerian opposition to military rule, he was responsible for the founding and management of the opposition radios – Radio Freedom, Radio Democracy International & Radio Kudirat and played a central role in the opposition’s diplomatic engagements in exile. He was the main technical adviser to Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel), which investigated past human rights abuses in Nigeria and also on the Presidential Implementation Committees on Security Sector Reform as well as a member, Africa Policy Advisory Panel of the British Government. Dr Fayemi also serves on the Governing Board of the Open Society Justice Institute. In his book "Out of the Shadows" he chronicles the amazing struggle for democracy in Nigeria.

Helen Lieberman is the founder and Honorary President of Ikamva Labantu (The Future of our Nation), a South African grassroots organisation, constituted in 1992, during the Apartheid years. Helen is a Speech Therapist by training, but 45 years ago turned her attention to the disenfranchised impoverished South African townships. Today Ikamva Labantu is one of the largest non-profit organisations in South Africa working to develop over 1,000 projects to sustainability. Helen’s work in this field has been recognized internationally. What started off as small and localized initiative has grown over the years into a vast organisation with connections throughout the world. The success of Ikamva Labantu has led to the establishment of international partnerships with a wide range of humanitarian organisations, from universities to large NGOs and major corporations. Friends of Ikamva Labantu have been established in the United States, the UK, Germany, France, Australia and Holland. Helen lives in Cape Town with her husband Michael. She has three children, one each in Cape Town, New York and Melbourne, and six grandchildren.

Rt. Hon Paul Boateng MP is a British Labour Party politician. He was born in Hackney, London of mixed Ghanaian and Scottish heritage. His father, Kwaku Boateng was a lawyer and cabinet minister under Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana. Following in his father's footsteps, Paul Boateng read law at the University of Bristol, beginning his career in civil rights, originally a solicitor, and later retraining as a barrister. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, becoming a Cabinet Minister in May 2002, when he was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Following his departure from the House of Commons, he served as the British High Commissioner to South Africa from March 2005 to May 2009. He was introduced as a member of the House of Lords on 1 July 2010.

Mrs. Toyin Saraki is the Founder of The WellBeing Foundation, a front-line maternal and child health focused Non-Governmental Organization in Nigeria. She was until recently the First Lady of Kwara State in Nigeria. Having held various leadership positions in humanitarian organizations for close to two decades, Mrs Saraki now dedicates much of her time to the work of The WellBeing Foundation and various networks of organizations that the NGO works with. She constantly advocates for improved governmental policies, better working relationships between NGOs and the continuum of care for maternal, newborn and child health in communities. These efforts have made Mrs. Saraki one of the most heard voices on every issue relating to the health of mothers and children in Nigeria. Her working style has integrated a strong advocacy profile with a unique model of community participation, direct action, effective communication and the development of innovative funding mechanisms in a resource constrained environment, to ensure universal access to quality basic healthcare. Mrs. Saraki gained her bachelor’s degree in law at the University of London School Of Oriental and African Studies and her masters’ degree in International Economic Law at University of London King’s College. She has researched and promoted the rights of women and children. In 2007 she was appointed Chair of the Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA) Committee on the Protection of Children.

Mr. Arnold Ekpe has been Group Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Transnational, Inc., and its subsidiary, Ecobank Group since 2005. He has over 28 years of African and international banking experience having also worked in Europe, South Africa and West Africa for Citibank and First Chicago. He served as the Group Chief Executive. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration from Manchester University and Manchester Business School respectively.