30 years

How Chude Jideonwo Achieved Extraordinary Success Before 30

Listed by Forbes among the 30 under 30 best African entrepreneurs in 2013, Chude Jideonwo is no stranger to the news. If his several achievements in the media career do not make him popular enough, his interesting conversations on #WithChude and #ChudeExplains will get the job done. When he graduated as the best student in Land Law from the University of Lagos, the media entrepreneur would never have guessed how far he would stray from the Law career. Jideonwo’s story will keep you glued.

Ifechukwude Osanedum Jideonwo was born on the March 16, 1985 to Ifeanyi S. and Ngozi A. Jideonwo in Lagos, Nigeria. He had his primary education in Lagos, at the K. Kotun Memorial Primary School, before attending Adebola Baptist High School and the Mayflower School, Ikenne, for his secondary education.

After this, he proceeded to the University of Lagos to study Law, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2007. He observed the compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at Nigeria LNG Limited, Lagos, Nigeria. He would later obtain a master’s degree in Communication and Media Studies at the Pan-African University, Lagos. Jideonwo also attended the Strathmore Business School (SBS), Lagos Business School, and Said Business School at the University of Oxford.

An early career start

Even before graduating from the University, Chude had started showing his career interests. His novel, His Father’s Knickers, which he wrote when he was 13, was launched in 2001 in conjunction with the National Orientation Agency and the French Cultural Centre.

As a 15-year-old, he worked with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and later with Minaj Broadcasting International (MBI) as a researcher with ‘Celebrating Jesus.’ This was where he was honing his interests and skills in information gathering. He’d later work as a production coordinator at Inside Out with Agatha, a popular TV show anchored by Agatha Amata between 2001 and 2002.

Jideonwo worked with Funmi Iyanda (Miyeti Productions), on the project New Dawn, a program which showed on NTA Network, for three years from 2002 to 2005. He also worked as the Assistant Publicist at Common Ground Productions between 2005-2006, then proceeded to The Apprentice Africa, where he was Lead, Website and Publicity.

He worked on several other productions as a writer, assistant director, and host, including, Rubbin’ Minds talk show on Channels Television, The Academy, Patito’s Gang, Video 10, Big Brother Nigeria in 2006, and Moments with Mo (MNet) in 2007, among others.

By the time he was done with his NYSC, Chude was qualified to work as the Assistant Media Relations Manager at Virgin Nigeria Airways in 2008. His various volunteering and moonlighting experiences had equipped him well. men in their early twenties has grown into an international brand, even consulting for big names like Google, Microsoft, the British Council and even the United State Government.

The Red Group has five subsidiaries which the duo also cofounded. The Future Projects (TFP), (the body in charge of the Future Award Africa, is a social enterprise committed to human and capital development, especially in Africa. The Red Media Africa handles the PR and marketing segment of Red Africa. The group also owns Ynaija, an online newspaper covering news, entertainment, politics, business, lifestyle, environment, culture, technology, comedy and healthy living for young Nigerians.

Y! Africa is a brand involved in the print magazine, television and radio show. StateCraft Inc. is a nation-building company that specialises in election, policy, citizen engagement, governance and many more.

After running Red Africa for 13 years, Chude left to start Joy, Inc. Joy Inc., a teaching and media company that equips people, communities, and nations with tools to solve problems and find joy. All of its profits are invested in selected charities. Joy Inc.’s products include #WithChude, The Joy Masterclass, The Joy Congress, Joy: The Podcast, The Joy Clubs, The Joy Store, and The Daily Vulnerable, among others.

Other service and Awards

Chude, the scribe

A man of many sides, Chude Jideonwo is also a seasoned writer. He joined the NEXT Newspaper (now defunct), a news, opinion, business and entertainment Newspaper as a copy editor in July 2009 and later became a member of the editorial board. He later took up a column on the Sunday edition of Guardian Nigeria Newspaper known as “Sons and Daughters,” focusing on profiling the children of the rich.

He has now written and edited several publications, including the very popular; Are We The Turning Point Generation? (a collection of essays launched in May 2014); How to Win Elections in Africa: Parallels with Donald Trump (launched in November 2017). Even in his teenage years, Jideonwo’s works had started gaining acclaim. He was the Winner of the British Council Telling Stories Competition in 2003 and bagged the Olive Excellence Award in Media and Production in 2004. He has earned several awards in the two decades since he actively started building a career.

Outside his rich career, Jideonwo has served in several other capacities, including the British Council Steering Group for its Creative industries expo, where he was appointed a Youth Champion by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development in 2012. He was also selected as a Nigerian Youth Leader by the United States Government under the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) – 2009. He was the youngest member of the awards committee for the Ford Foundation Jubilee Transparency Award in 2012.

The Red Journey

Chude Jideonwo teamed up with Adebola Williams, a young man he met while working with Inside Out with Agatha. The duo co-founded Red Africa, a media-content, communication and development company. What started as a dream for two young He received the Nigeria Merit Award: Entertainment Writer of the Year in 2007 and The Inside Out Award for exemplary commitment in 2009. In March 2018, Jideonwo was selected alongside several other 17 other young leaders from all over Africa for the 2018 Tutu Leadership Programme.