Multi-award-winning Nigerian artist Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie, better known by his stage name Patoranking, was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Africa as a Regional Goodwill Ambassador on Tuesday. For two years, he will primarily champion youth innovation and enterprise development, the timbuktoo initiative to build the innovation ecosystem in Africa, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Patoranking joins Yemi Alade, the only other Nigerian who is currently a Goodwill Ambassador at the UNDP, appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) earlier in September 2020.
“Empowering African youth by providing them with the tools, resources, and opportunities they need to thrive is a cause close to my heart”, said Patoranking.
I step into this role to lend my voice to important initiatives that hold immense potential to change development for many of our people through innovation and technology driven by the ingenuity and ambition of the continent’s majority – the young people.
Patoranking
His journey from adversity to success inspires many. Having faced and overcome significant financial challenges, he has made it his mission to give back. His dedication to fostering entrepreneurial leaders and creating educational opportunities for students from underprivileged backgrounds is a testament to his resilience and commitment to making a positive impact.
In 2020, he created the African Leadership University (ALU) Patoranking Scholarship, offering ten fully paid scholarships for promising African students to attend the prestigious African Leadership University in Rwanda and Mauritius. He is finalizing scholarship offers for the next batch of students offering three-year degrees. In May 2024, he launched the Patoranking Foundation Tech Scholarships through a ground-breaking partnership with ALX Africa, a leader in innovative tech skills development for young African talents. The collaboration will soon announce a half-a-million scholarship to empower 40 exceptional young minds with access to cutting-edge technology education and career-ready training.
Creatives are incredibly important to the evolving story of Africa. They bring something more than money—they bring authenticity, dignity, confidence, and influence.
Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa.
“We look forward to working with Patoranking as the UNDP Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Africa as a champion for youth innovation and timbuktoo, where he will use his talent to advocate and create opportunities for others,” said Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa.
Patoranking’s unique craft and voice, which resonates with a diverse audience across Africa and beyond, will be instrumental in rallying young people to create African solutions. As the Regional Goodwill Ambassador, Patoranking will use his creative voice to advocate for SDGs attainment in Africa. He will mobilize a critical mass towards sustainable investment, bring the majority of African youth into the room, and inspire innovative action that helps in closing the gap between opportunity and investment.
He will also play a crucial role in advocacy for the timbuktoo initiative, which features ten thematic vertical Hubs in Accra, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dakar, Addis Ababa, Kigali, Lagos, Nairobi, Lusaka, and timbuktoo University Innovation Pods (UniPods) based across the African continent. His advocacy, UNDP believes, will be critical in investing, reinforcing, nurturing, and building an African youth innovation ecosystem.
timbuktoo is the largest initiative in the world supporting Africa’s innovation ecosystem. It is not just a movement born out of passion and dedication for Africa’s youth. It is a catalyst for change, providing opportunities to transform dreams into reality. timbuktoo is a poverty-disruptor. Inspired by the historic city of Timbuktu in Mali, it is a multi-stakeholder initiative bringing together governments, the private sector and academia to power Africa’s socioeconomic transformation through innovation. timbuktoo is not about supporting one sector or one country. It is about bringing together the power of the collective to create the conditions for scale and impact for the whole of Africa.
