By Dipo Olowookere
Three African students comprising two from Nigeria have won scholarships to further their studies in the United States of America (USA).
The educational grants were given by Prodigy Finance, an international student lender, through the Allan & Gill Gray Foundation African Student Scholarship.
The winners, Ms Emmanuella Ayeley Bentum from Ghana, Ms Jane Chidera Ohia from Nigeria, and Ms Oluwasola Esho from Nigeria, will receive $5,000 each for their master’s degree programmes at different universities in the US in the spring of 2025.
“We are thrilled to support these three amazing individuals. Emmanuella, Jane, and Oluwasola are a testament to the impact of education. We believe this scholarship will help them overcome the obstacles and reach their full potential,” the Global Chief Commercial Officer of Prodigy Finance, Sonal Kapoor, commented.
Ms Bentum will be at the University of Colorado Denver, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, for an MA/MPA in Geospatial Sciences and Public Administration
Her academic journey has been driven by her passion for solving public health and environmental issues in Ghana. Her work on the SCORETB project with Afro Global Alliance made her realise the complexity of the health and environment intersection, which led her to create the Sustainable Health and Environment (SHE) organisation.
She hopes her studies in global health and geospatial sciences will enable her to design targeted health interventions and advocate for healthcare equity. The Prodigy Finance scholarship will allow her to focus on her research and establish international partnerships to scale up SHE’s impact in Ghana.
Ms Ohia will proceed to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Ray P. Authement College of Sciences for an MS in Informatics with a concentration in Health Informatics.
Her love for healthcare informatics has been her guiding light throughout her academic and professional life. Her undergraduate project on digitising patient records shows her commitment to improving healthcare. As a first-generation college student, Ms Ohia faced many financial challenges but her resilience and determination never wavered.
The scholarship from Prodigy Finance will assist with her financial needs, so she can focus on her studies and contribute to healthcare innovation. She wants to mentor other students in her community and share her experience and knowledge to help others achieve their academic goals.
As for Ms Esho, she will be at the Florida International University, Chapman Graduate School of Business for Professional MBA-Flex.
Ms Esho is driven to create opportunities for women in Nigeria and will be pursuing her MBA at FIU to build a strong foundation for leadership. Inspired by the educational inequality she saw in her community, she created the Women for Nations community to advocate for women’s empowerment.
Ms Esho wants to apply her MBA knowledge to advocate for women’s career development and gender equality in Nigeria’s workforce. With the Prodigy Finance scholarship, she can focus on her studies and work towards becoming a leader who will drive change for women in Nigeria.