Meet the Changemakers

Ony is a seasoned General Manager with a proven track record of driving commercial success in the global packaged consumer food industry. With leadership experience at General Mills, Danone North America, Target, and Campbell’s, Ony brings deep functional expertise across supply chain, marketing, and organizational leadership. 

As an educator and entrepreneur, Ony is dedicated to advancing Africa’s economic development and building sustainable food systems. He lectures on the Africa Business Landscape course at Washington University’s Olin Business School and co-founded ventures including Food Basket, an Afro-centric packaged foods and retail company, and Premier Brand Advisory, an integrated marketing and supply chain advisory firm. Ony has also built and led impactful organizations, including the Olin Africa Business Club at WashU, Danone’s Black Employee Group, and the Twin Cities Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. 

He is passionate about driving systemic change in Africa’s food systems and contributing to global food security through innovation, entrepreneurship, and governance. Ony holds a B.S. in Manufacturing Operations Management from the University of Minnesota and an MBA in Marketing from WashU Olin Business School. 

Odinakachi “Kachi” Nwachukwu is a development leader, agribusiness professional, and enterprise growth strategist with over a decade of experience designing and delivering high-impact initiatives across agriculture, international trade, public sector reform, and economic development. Throughout her career, Kachi has worked with government institutions, development partners, private sector actors, and civil society organisations to drive sustainable and inclusive outcomes. Her expertise spans program management, enterprise development, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, and strategic partnerships.

At African Food Changemakers (AFC), Kachi oversees the Programs and Membership portfolios, ensuring that more than 9,000 agribusinesses, many of them women-led enterprises, are connected to capital, markets, and trade opportunities. She plays a pivotal role in designing and implementing programs that equip agri-SMEs with the knowledge, networks, and opportunities required to scale sustainably and compete in regional and global markets.

She has championed AFC’s Building Resilience Against Climate and Environmental Shocks (BRACE) program, supporting over 3,000 agribusinesses to adopt climate-resilient practices
While embedding robust monitoring and learning frameworks. Before joining AFC, Kachi managed the UK Government-funded Policy Development Facility
(PDF) Bridge Programme, where she facilitated national policy dialogues that secured commitments for inclusive trade reforms and supported over 250 MSMEs to access new markets She also contributed to the Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE) program, engaging smallholder farmers across cassava, aquaculture, palm oil, and poultry value chains, while coordinating high-level advocacy efforts.
Kachi’s academic journey reflects her commitment to excellence and continuous learning. She earned a Master’s degree in Financial Management from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK, and a Bachelor’s degree in Education Accountancy from Abia State University, Nigeria. More recently, she completed a Program in Public Leadership and Policy at the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG), equipping her with advanced skills in governance and policy engagement.

Complementing her academic achievements, Kachi holds globally recognised professional certifications, including Project Management Professional (PMP®) and Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK. This unique blend of financial discipline, strategic thinking, and systems leadership underpins her work in advancing enterprise growth and institutional strengthening. Driven by a vision of an Africa where empowered entrepreneurs, thriving agribusinesses, and effective institutions work together to create lasting prosperity, Kachi continues to shape programs and partnerships that accelerate inclusive and sustainable development across the continent.

Ebere Okoh is an impact-driven program and business development leader with over 15 years of experience designing and scaling initiatives that empower youth, women-led enterprises, and agribusinesses across Africa. As Associate Manager of Membership at African Food Changemakers, she oversees one of the continent’s largest agrifood enterprise networks, connecting more than 10,000 businesses across 50 countries.

At AFC, she engages directly with community members to understand their successes and challenges, and develops initiatives that equip enterprises with knowledge, tools, and techniques to overcome barriers and thrive. She leads pioneering initiatives such as the monthly Agribusiness Clinic and the Agribusiness Finance Readiness Initiative (AFRI), while leveraging partnerships to foster business collaborations and expand access to markets.

Previously, as Senior Reintegration Officer at the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Ebere designed concepts and implemented projects on vocational training and development for Niger Delta beneficiaries aspiring to careers in agriculture, maritime, and aviation. Her work supported large-scale reintegration efforts, empowering thousands of individuals with practical skills and pathways to sustainable livelihoods. She has also held leadership roles in program design, business development, research, and capacity building with organisations such as the Dave Omokaro Foundation, Alneeda Resources Ltd, and Star Sapphire Consulting.

A Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants, she holds an MBA in Human Resources Management from Nasarawa State University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management from Obafemi Awolowo University, and a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Abuja.

Passionate about enterprise growth and sustainability, Ebere is a sought-after facilitator and speaker, known for delivering practical, results-driven insights that help entrepreneurs build resilient, scalable businesses.

Celina Adanna Imafidor is a Program Associate Manager with over 10 years of progressive experience designing and scaling high-impact agribusiness across Africa. Currently serving at African Food Changemakers (AFC), she leads and manages a portfolio of programmes that sit at the intersection of export readiness, agri-food value chain development, gender inclusion, and pan-African economic growth.

Celina serves as Programme Lead for the Scaling Export Program (SEP), AFC’s flagship export development initiative funded by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). SEP is a structured six-week programme designed to equip African agribusiness SMEs with the knowledge, tools, market linkages, and institutional connections required to enter, compete in, and scale within regional and international export markets. As Programme Lead, Celina is responsible for end-to-end programme delivery: curriculum coordination, participant engagement across multiple African countries, mentor and expert management, cohort tracking, MEL systems, and funder reporting directly to Afreximbank.

Under her leadership, the Scaling Export Program has delivered measurable, independently documented outcomes. SEP has directly contributed to the creation of 768 new jobs, demonstrating its role not only as a capacity-building intervention but as a direct driver of employment and economic value across African agri-food value chains.

In addition to SEP, Celina manages AFC’s Building Resilience Against Climate and Environmental Shocks (BRACE) programme, which graduated 3,506 agribusiness owners across Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, and Cameroon, exceeding its target by 17%. 61% reported increased profits, and over 4,399 new jobs were created across BRACE and SEP combined. She also leads the Leading African Women in Food Fellowship (LAWFF), a pan-African women’s leadership sponsorship programme that has engaged over 1,154 nominations across 17 countries in 2025 alone, with 100% of fellows describing the programme as life-changing. Together, these programmes demonstrate her proven capacity to manage multi-programme, multi-country portfolios at the scale and rigour that institutional funders require.

A trained researcher and policy practitioner, Celina previously served as a Researcher contributing to projects on governance, behavioural insights for public policy, and gender. She holds an MBA in Human Resource Management from Ahmadu Bello University, is completing a PhD in Public Policy and Governance at Nasarawa State University (expected 2027) and holds

certifications in Social Analysis and Action (Care USA), Gender and Social Policy (PIC), and Humanitarian Project Management, among others.

Celina Imafidor’s combination of programme management experience, GESI expertise, cross-country stakeholder engagement capability, and institutional credibility with development finance partners makes her an exceptionally strong contributor to any initiative seeking to expand African SMEs.