Feels great to be back in the United Kingdom to honour an invitation at the House of Commons - this time to receive a recognition award as one of UK’s 2022 Top Ten Black Students and the top spot in the #RareRisingStars rankings for exceptional achievements in community service, social innovation and academic excellence.
From over 500 nominations from across top UK Universities notably Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Birmingham, Manchester and others, yours truly was singled out as the leading figure for the country’s most notable rankings that tangibly showcase the resilience of incredibly talented Black Students from across Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean states.
It does feel surreal to join an extraordinary league of African Scholars whose stories of ambition, resilience and passion continues to inspire present and future generations of Black students in the United Kingdom to contribute to their communities and pursue their dreams. This is onwards on a path of self-rediscovery for the betterment of humanity and the conscious utilisation of academic freedom for remarkable impact across policy and practise!
Dedicating this one to my honeycomb @theglobaltemi whose emotional and spiritual support I thrived upon as I navigated the rigours of another academic pursuit during an incredibly challenging period. Without the funding support of the Standard Bank Chairman Scholarship, my experience at
#CambridgeUniversity would have been impossible. Graciously musing! #Cambridge #UniversityOfCambridge #MasteredAtCambridge
#RareRisingstars #Rarerecruitment #Awards #Students #Research #StudyUk
Beyond euphoric and honored to stand on another global stage acknowledging the ambitious work we are doing @areai4africa with our recently piloted “Digital Skills Accelerator for Women and Girls” which was an offshoot of the Education Digital Equity Initiative. Over the last 2 years, our drive and support to promote digital inclusion for women, girls and youth through digital skilling and awareness has seen us engage over 40,000 beneficiaries through research-based offerings. Our #DigitalLearningManual is currently being used by students in over 10 states across Nigeria while our Basic Digital Skills for Learning Program just enabled the digital competencies of over 300 school girls across 10 schools in its maiden edition.
A huge thanks to the International Communications Union (ITU) @ituofficial for the recognition and supporting our cause and mission through @equalsintech .
#AREAI #DSA #DigitalSkills
#LanreShaper #Genderequality #EqualsInTech #GirlsInTech
Honoured to receive the 2024 @UNESCO Confucius International Literacy Prize on behalf of @Areai4Africa from DG @AAzoulay for our groundbreaking intervention #FastTrack - which supports out-of-school and refugee children with quality tech-enabled literacy instruction. Our programme, leverages the power of bilingual instruction and translanguaging to enhance and enable the provision of and access to quality multilingual literacy instruction to thousands across rural communities and internally displaced persons camps across Nigeria.
From 1500 beneficiaries in a small pilot intervention in 2021 to over 25,000 beneficiaries across 10 refugee camps and communities in Nigeria, AREAi’s results with FastTrack is a culmination of the selfless contributions of generations of employees who have devoted their time and expertise to the growth of an indigenous learning solution we built from the ground. From community based facilitators to school teachers, from camp administrators to government officials, from substantive staff members to volunteers and corp members, this pristinely conceived intervention have made it thus far based on the tireless work of those who have been a part one way or the other. And to each and every one, I say thank you!
We’ve been backed by a community of donors and partners, within the local ecosystem and the global community. From @theirworldorg to @solvemit , from @clintonfoundation to #JacobsFoundation, from @unleashlab to @communityjameel , from @ashokaafrica to @cheveningfcdo , from State Agencies for Mass Education to the @officialncfrmi , we owe a lot to you all for investing financially in the scale of what remains a promising humanitarian solution under my visionary leadership.
I want to specially thank @hms_policeaffairs@immaculateiman whose leadership under #NCFRMI shaped the outputs in the preceding year upon which our candidacy for this prize was premised.
Finally, @theglobaltemi - I love you - thank you for helping me through it all; I owe my accolades to the peace and tranquility that our bond brings.
Onwards to the NEXT. Viva AREAi.
#LanreShaper #AREAi #LearningWithoutBorders #Education
The blueprints for our children’s minds were never meant to be drafted in distant boardrooms.
For too long, the rhythm of African learning was set to a foreign beat. But the tide is turning. We are realizing that the solutions to our challenges don’t live in imported textbooks; they live in our languages, our history, and our unique digital innovation. It exists within existing standards of indigenous approaches now being championed by enabling partners.
The future of African education is being written in Swahili, in Wolof, in Yoruba, and in the code of the next great African tech revolution. It is led by us, for us. We hold the ink. We hold the keys. We hold the future of every African child in our own hands. @areai4africa holds up to its mandate to leveraging community ownership, African intelligence and local knowledge to advance learning gains, even as we march on as part of @luminosfund FIRST EVER Learning Lab.
The classroom of 2050 looks like us. ✊🏾📚
#DecolonizeEducation #TheFutureIsAfrican #LandofLiberty #FoundationalLearning
2016 keeps resurfacing on the timeline, not because it was perfect, but because it was formative. At least, meaningfully for me.
Before clarity, titles or strategy decks and funding conversations, there was experimentation, discomfort, and a lot of learning in public and misaligned interests. As well as over-trimmed coats and exaggerated swagger.
For emerging leaders in the field of non-profit management, the lesson is practical:
The early years are not for polished shoes, customised plate numbers or sophistication; they are for foundation. Use them to build judgment, values, and stamina. Chase exposure more than applause. Learn how systems work before trying to change them. Make mistakes when the cost is low, so you can make impact when the stakes are high.
AREAi was born from that same season of learning, long before it had a name, structure, or recognition.
What exists today is not the result of a single breakthrough, but of years spent listening to communities, testing ideas, failing both loudly and quietly, and then refining purpose per time. The work grew because the commitment did.
As AREAi continues to evolve, the reminder is simple but demanding: institutions inherit the character of their founders’ early decisions. The clarity, the discipline, humility, and patience cultivated at the beginning become the culture that sustains impact at scale and capacity for success. Growth rarely announces itself in real time. It only becomes obvious in hindsight.
The past is not content for nostalgia, it is evidence of compound effort.
In all, remember that the same water that refines “DIAMOND”, bursts “PIPE”. (think about it), the message is in the LAST PICTURE SLIDE.
Shalom.
#ImpactThatOutlives
Happiness is a discipline, not a destination.
I’ve learned that waiting for the “perfect circumstances” to be happy is a losing game. If you can find a reason to smile while you’re in the thick of the grind, you become unstoppable. It’s easy to be inspired when everything is going right. The real magic happens when you embrace joy in the middle of the mess, the stress, and the “not there yet” moments. That spark is what keeps me pushing when the hours get long.
In 2026, Do NOT let your circumstances dictate your spirit. Use your joy to build THE future.
When you work from a place of gratitude, the results just hit different.
#MindsetMatters #ChooseJoy #GrindWithGrins #Happy2026 #ImpactThatOutlives
For all it’s worth, 2025 was indeed a great year.
Despite ALL, we persevered and we were preserved.
Lessons learnt, skills built, character tested, relationships grew, vision reinforced.
Through Pain. Resilience. Rigour. We built. We won. We failed. We prevailed. We celebrated.
As 2025 ends, I carry forward a relentless spirit of peace and tranquility in assurance of a more prosperous, fulfilling and successful 2026.
To God, always. Cheers to a vision-aligned future!
forever and many days more.
love you always my champ @lanreshaper
for the many ways you love and care for me.
for your quiet but loud gestures
I really do love you Adelani mi.
my 8th Christmas with you.
it only gets better
I’m learning that your viable ideas don’t have to die if you can look within your network and form partnerships with those who can fine-tune your vision and keep you on your toes!
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Did you know there are over 50k scholarships globally you can have access to? Are you tired of getting rejections with your scholarship or graduate school funding applications?
Join us at the virtual launch of Scholars Link, a platform that provides equitable access to information on scholarship opportunities.
🗓️: Sat, 29th November 2025
🕛: 12 PM (WAT)
Register now to secure your spot.
Link in bio
🔥 Excited to share that I’ll be speaking at the AfriLabs @afrilabs Annual Global Gathering 2025 in Nairobi over the coming week! I’ll be joining an incredible lineup of innovators and policymakers for a fireside chat on “From Policy to Practice: Lessons from AI Regulation and Sandboxes.”
Last year, the team at @areai4africa set up the Centre for Digital Development and Innovation Research to drive a critical work at the intersection of research, policy and practise for digital transformation— translating high-level policy into practical, scalable technology solutions that empower teachers, enhance foundational learning, and strengthen education systems. Conversations like this are crucial to ensuring that AI for education moves beyond hype to genuine, inclusive impact for African learners and educators.
I’m looking forward to sharing lessons, exchanging ideas, and co-creating pathways that make digital transformation not just a policy ambition, but a lived reality across classrooms and communities. Let’s shape Africa’s AI future responsibly, together. 🇳🇬🤝🌍 If you are in town, please say Hi, let’s catch up and map new frontiers together. Karibu, Asante and all of that Swahili stuff 😉.
#AfriLabs2025 #DigitalDevCenter #AI4Education #PolicyToPractice #EdTechAfrica #ResponsibleAI #FLN #TeacherDevelopment #InnovationForLearning #AfricaRising
