Nkiru Balonwu is the founder of Africa Soft Power, an international media project leveraging the creative and knowledge industries to boost Africa. Through its consulting arm, RDF Strategies, ASP provides strategic communication and stakeholder engagement services to clients that include some of the world’s most successful companies.

Dr Balonwu is also the founder and co-chair of African Women on Board, a globally focused non-profit organisation that seeks to improve the lives of women and girls of African heritage. In 2019 she received the Powerlist UK 2020 Black Excellence International Award in recognition of her work in this field.

She was previously chief executive of the Spinlet Group, the first music streaming and digital distribution service in sub-Saharan Africa, overseeing growth in subscriber numbers to more than two million.

She holds an LLB from the University of Manchester, an LLM from University College London and a JSD from the University of California, Berkeley. She has been called to the Bar in Nigeria, England and Wales as well as New York State.