Vivian Onano Bio

Vivian Onano is an award-winning social entrepreneur and the Founder/Director at Leading Light Initiative. Known for her humanitarian work, she has also been recognized as an emerging woman leader with the courage to lead change on the African continent. With a strong commitment to education, women economic empowerment, and leadership, Vivian continues to play a leading role in re-defining Africa’s growth and development through the direct engagement and inclusion of women and youth. Vivian is a graduate of Carthage College (USA) and holds a Master of Public Affairs from Sciences Po, Paris (France).

Vivian continues to serve as a strategic advisor to government leaders, philanthropists, and the private sector. Through her work, she has forged partnerships with private sector leaders, engaged multilateral institutions on their sustainable development strategies and investments, worked with government leaders on their national development programs, and directly advised youth-focused organizations on the design and implementation of their initiatives to ensure inclusive and transformative impact. Vivian played a key role in the mobilization of young peoples’ input for the consultative process leading to the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. She is a faculty at DUKE Corporate Education, a board director of Nutrition International, a board director of Flying Kites, and a member of African Women Leadership Network (AWLN). Vivian is also a 2024 Young Leader of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, Azerbaijan.

Previously she served as a youth advisor to the Global Education Monitoring Report – UNESCO, a member of the World Humanitarian Forum Youth Council, a Concordia Africa advisor, youth advisor to UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group, Vice-Chairperson Global Youth Empowerment Fund (JCI), a member of Africa Shared Value Leadership Council, and Women Deliver board member.

In 2022 she was honored as one of the global 100 Most Influential People of African Descent under 40, in 2016 New African Woman Magazine featured her as one of the “30 under 30: Faces Changing Africa Now” and Forbes Woman Africa profiled her as “One to Watch”. Vivian is a recipient of the 2017 New African Woman on the Rise Award and 2016 MTV “Africa Re-Imagined” Youth Award. In 2015 she was honored with Mrs. Michelle Obama’s “Let Girls Learn” Award by MORE Magazine for her advocacy work on girls’ education.

Vivian is a respected speaker who often speaks on global education, gender equality, youth empowerment, and international development. She has had prominent speaking engagements at the United Nations General Assembly, World Humanitarian Forum, Afreximbank Annual Forum, Reykjavik Global Forum, Africa Business Forum, Forbes Woman Africa Regional Forum, World Innovation Summit for Education, Concordia Summit, EurAfrican Forum, and the Clinton Global Initiative, among others. She has written and published numerous articles on various development issues with prominent media houses globally.