Reimagining education in Nigeria
J.P. Morgan alumna Damilola Okonkwo is on a mission to transform how Nigerian students learn.
Growing up, Damilola Okonkwo experienced firsthand the transformative power of education and hard work—it took her from social housing in the U.K. to a career in global finance. But in 2013 when she returned to her country of birth, Nigeria, she was faced with a stark reality: for many Nigerian children, that ladder of opportunity simply doesn’t exist. Okonkwo committed herself to helping change this.
Now, she’s the founder and CEO of KEY academy, a social enterprise that’s working to democratize access to 21st-century education across Nigeria through initiatives including a model school and teacher training and accreditation. Her Lagos-based school has shifted away from rote memorization to teaching transferable 21st-century skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, resilience, and adaptability alongside reading, writing and math.
“Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children globally, and that rightly deserves a lot of attention*” Okonkwo says, “But focusing solely on access does not solve the problem. You cannot memorize your way out of poverty.”
Developing future-ready skills
This spring, in collaboration with Eko Hotels & Suites and Guinness World Record holder for the longest chess marathon Tunde Onakoya’s Chess in Slums Africa, KEY academy launched a critical piece of its programming: ChessMasters, Africa’s largest primary school chess tournament. Designed to equip students with critical thinking, strategy, and problem-solving, the tournament brought together more than 500 students from over 100 schools in Nigeria. Okonkwo and her team plan to expand the tournament across Africa.
“We incorporated chess education into our curriculum several years ago and saw first-hand how it helped develop 21st-century skills in our students,” Okonkwo says. “I wanted to take this beyond the four walls of our classrooms and share the power of this ancient game with children across Nigeria on the biggest platform possible.”
Meanwhile, from thousands of nominations across the world, Okonkwo’s school was shortlisted as a top-10 global finalist for the “World’s Best School Prize in Innovation” by T4 Education, marking the first time a school from Nigeria and West Africa made the shortlist.
“This was a huge moment for our organization, as it helped confirm what we already know—despite the huge constraints, innovation is possible in the education sector in Nigeria,” Okonkwo says.
Next on the horizon, KEY academy is preparing to launch its flagship secondary school and innovation campus in September 2027. Students will master core academics and learn through projects, design challenges, and real-world problem-solving. The school will blend Nigeria’s varied traditions of education, from apprenticeships to storytelling to communal knowledge, with modern pedagogy and global best practices. Okonkwo’s goal is to create a model that honors cultural wisdom while equipping young people with the skills they need to thrive in an ever-evolving world.
KEY academy will also continue to expand its reach through technology. Its nationwide platform, ImpactEducators, provides Nigerian teachers with training videos, lesson plans, and professional development so they can combine project-based learning with literacy and numeracy foundations. Currently in pilot, the platform is designed to be free, so income and infrastructure don’t block access to quality education.
“This way, we can transform classrooms nationwide and reach millions of children. It starts with the educators,” Okonkwo says.
A global career
Okonkwo joined J.P. Morgan’s Graduate Program in Asset Management after university. She worked in the firm’s European Product Development team in London before becoming a client portfolio manager in its Global Multi-Asset Group.
“You always had a great support network,” she says. “That ability to deliver at the highest level possible has continued through my career, and my time at the firm instilled in me a sense of community and responsibility, values I’ve carried with me ever since.”
Okonkwo’s experience at J.P. Morgan was instrumental in her being headhunted for a role as head of Strategy and Corporate Development for First Bank’s Asset Management business, a brand new role for Nigeria’s oldest bank, she says.
“Despite Nigeria’s challenges, my husband and I both felt a deep sense of connection to the country and could see the impact we could make, so we decided to stay and start a family,” Okonkwo says. The move marked a turning point as Okonkwo began to rethink what kind of education would prepare her children for life. That, coupled with her desire to help the millions of Nigerian children who lack access to the same opportunities she had growing up, was what sparked her to start KEY academy.
Education as the engine of change
Now, going forward, the fundraising skills Okonkwo honed at J.P. Morgan will be essential as KEY academy scales, especially given the lack of public funding for education in Nigeria, she says. In 2023, the Nigerian government spent under 7% of its expenditure on education compared to the 15 to 20% UNESCO recommends**.
“You want to help build a society where access to opportunity can truly transform lives,” Okonkwo says. “But it’s challenging, because too often education is treated as a cost, not as a critical investment for progress.”
Still, she remains committed to her mission: to ensuring every child has access to world-class education, no matter where they are born. “We remain 100% committed to democratizing access to 21st-century, project-based education across Nigeria,” she says. “Because when you empower the next generation, you empower a nation.”
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