Hauwa Liman
Hauwa Liman currently serves as the Technical Adviser to the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Women, Youth Engagement, and Impact. An accomplished Youth Development Strategist, Business and Social Entrepreneur, she has over a decade of experience in empowering under-served communities through collaborative initiatives. She has extensive experience in youth and community engagement, program design, implementation, impact assessment, and entrepreneurship. She is the CEO and Creative Director of the Afrocentric modest fashion brand AFRIKABAYA and the Founder of the Inspire for Impact Initiative. She has won recognition for her visionary leadership, strategic thinking, and ability to forge impactful partnerships.
Hauwa holds a first degree in Economics and a master’s degree in Development, both from Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. As a Commonwealth Scholar, she completed another master’s degree in Migration, Mobility, and Development from SOAS University of London. She holds various certificates, including a Certificate in Leadership and Entrepreneurship from the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, Austin; a Certificate in Leadership, Design Thinking, and Public Policy from the University of Cambridge, England; and a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Oxford, England, among others.
She founded the Inspire for Impact Initiative—an award-winning women- and youth-centered initiative focused on human capital development and the empowerment of women and young people to establish micro and small businesses to drive sustainable social change. An Inspire for Impact Initiative project on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 won the Leveraging Innovation in New Communities Award from the US Department of State in 2022.
Hauwa is a recipient of numerous local and international awards. In 2016, she was selected as a Mandela Washington Fellow, a flagship program launched by former US President Barack Obama to identify promising young African leaders with the potential to promote innovation and make positive changes in their communities and countries. Hauwa was also selected as one of the top 50 emerging global policy leaders by the British Council in 2017. She was a member of the British Council’s Nigeria Task Force for the 2020/21 Next Generation research project, which explored the conditions necessary to support young people to become creative, fulfilled, and active citizens in their countries.
An effective bridge builder and mentor with vast experience working across diverse communities, cultures, and sectors, Hauwa curated and delivered robust youth-focused training programs and workshops across seven states in the North-Western and North-Eastern regions of Nigeria in 2017 under the Young Africa Leaders Initiative platform. The workshops taught skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, and leveraging opportunities. Hauwa’s empowerment workshops have contributed immensely to the establishment of a network of purpose-driven and informed young leaders across Nigeria who are shaping and driving sustainable change.
In the past decade, her career has been with the largest government youth agency in Africa, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Nigeria. She served in various capacities across Kaduna and Kano states, and in the FCT, Abuja. In 2019, she was awarded the NYSC Best Officer Merit Award in Kano for her role in promoting positive youth development, fostering resilience, and inspiring young people to reach their full potential. Beyond her direct work with youths, Hauwa has been a vocal advocate for policy changes at local, regional, and global levels, particularly on women and youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and education. In 2018, at the invitation of the President of the UN General Assembly, she represented Nigeria at the United Nations Youth Dialogue on Education, Employment, and Prevention of Radicalization.
Hauwa is a passionate advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She exemplifies the power of mentorship to shape the next generation of global change-makers. Through a combination of leadership development, advocacy, and strategic guidance, Hauwa is playing a crucial role in empowering young people to take meaningful action toward achieving the SDGs. Her passion for the SDGs is evidenced by her selection in 2018 as a Goalkeeper for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, her policy ideas on accelerating some SDGs were pitched in the UN SDG Action Zone on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2019.
An avid creative entrepreneur with a fashion brand to her credit—AFRIKABAYA—Hauwa’s designs have graced some prestigious runways, including the Nigeria Fashion Design Week in Lagos, Nigeria, and internationally, where she won second prize for innovation at the Accademia Riacci in Florence, Italy.
Hauwa is married with children.