IndabaX

Louis Saha

Former Professional Footballer

Louis Saha is a former professional footballer who played as a striker for Newcastle United, Fulham, Manchester United, Everton, Spurs and Lazio. He also represented France, playing in both UEFA Euro 2004 and the FIFA World Cup in 2006. At Manchester... Read more

David Gyasi

Prominent Actor

Actor David Gyasi has appeared in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Cloud Atlas (2012), What a Girl Wants (2003) and Interstellar (2014), to name a few. On TV, he has appeared in six-part drama White Heat (2012) and starred as the lead role in TV series ... Read more

Stonebwoy

Award Winning Afro Pop Artist

Grammy Nominee who hails from the Volta Region. Born on March 5, 1988 in Ashaiman, a suburb of Accra. Stonebwoy rose to international stardom after being the first artist of his kind to win a BET Award in 2015 and has subsequently won many other inte... Read more

Patrick Vernon OBE

Cultural Historian & Political Activist

Patrick Vernon OBE is a cultural historian and founder of Every Generation and the 100 Great Black Britons campaign. He also played a key role in campaigning for the Windrush Generation. He is a Clore and Winston Churchill Fellow, fellow at the Imper... Read more

Mata

Makeup Artist & Beauty Brand Owner

At just 20 years old, Mata is able to call Skepta, IAMDDB, Stormzy and Ray BLK her clients, while the products produced for her line, Mata Labs, work to ensure that people of colour have more options when it comes to makeup. Big brands have been keen... Read more

Ray Blk

BBC Music Sound Of 2017 Winning Artist

Award-winning music artist Ray BLK, real name, Rita Ekwere, is a 24-year-old South Londoner via Lagos where she lived until she was four. It was after university where she studied English Literature that Ray decided that she wanted to pursue music fu... Read more

Chaka Pilgrim

Music Business Executive

Chaka Pilgrim is a veteran music business executive with over 30 years of experience spanning music, touring, film and management. She currently serves as the Head of Film and TV for Shawn Carter Enterprises. She most recently served as Label Preside... Read more

SMADE

UK's Number 1 Afrobeats Promoter

Arguably the UK's number 1 Afrobeats promoter, SMADE has been essential in bringing African nightlife to the UK. SMADE is also a co-founder of the hugely successful Afro Nation, inspired by a vision of creating an "unforgettable experience" that wou... Read more

Denise Lewis

Olympic Gold Medalist

Heptathlete, Olympian, Gold Medalist, British and Commonwealth record holder, two time runner up for sport personality of the year and recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSA), who better to ta... Read more

Noel Clarke

Award Winning Actor & Director

BAFTA award-winner Noel Clarke is best known for the script of Kidulthood, and writing directing and starring in the sequels Adulthood and Brotherhood. The darling of the Black British film industry, now a Hollywood heavyweight in Star Trek: Into Dar... Read more

Nao

MOBO & Brit Nominated Music Artist

Born Neo Jessica Joshua, East London raised Nao is redefining the music industry with her bold and experimental style. Her new project Saturn is about the process of embracing adulthood and contemplating the naivety of youth. It’s both a celebratio... Read more

DJ Semtex

Prolific DJ, Author, Broadcaster & Producer

Whether it’s predicting, championing or developing the artists of tomorrow, the prolific DJ, broadcaster, author and producer has played a vital role in the careers of some of the world’s biggest names and remains one of Hip Hop’s most influent... Read more

Candice Carty Williams

Author & Journalist

Candice Carty-Williams is an author and the Sunday Times bestselling author of Queenie, a book described as ‘disarmingly honest’, ‘boldly political’, and ‘truly Inclusive’. In 2016, Candice created and launched the Guardian and 4th Estat... Read more

Eve

Grammy Award Winning Artist

Who’s that girl? Grammy award-winning rapper, singer and actress, Eve— that’s who. The artist responsible for hits including ‘What ya want’ and ‘Let Me Blow Your Mind’ takes to the Southbank stage, proving once again that she is one o... Read more

Ramla Ali

Champion Boxer

Ramla Ali is a Somali war refugee who, until last year, hid her entire boxing career from her family. She is a two time UK national champion, multiple International gold medallist and the African Zonal Champion. In 2018, alongside her husband and tr... Read more

Ed Keazor

Historian, Lawyer & Journalist

Ed Emeka Keazor is an historian, lawyer, author and documentary filmmaker. His books include ‘120 Great Nigerians You Never Knew’ and ‘The Nigerian History Photo-book’. His film ‘Onunaekwuluora’, on archaeologist Professor Thurstan Shaw,... Read more

Funmi Fetto

Executive Editor & Beauty Director

Funmi Fetto is Executive Editor and Beauty Director at Glamour, a columnist for the Observer newspaper and a former beauty editor at British Vogue where she also wrote a beauty column aimed at women of colour. In her 20 years’ experience as a fashi... Read more

Davido

Global Afrobeats Superstar

The singer, songwriter, and producer responsible for seminal tracks ‘Dami Duro’ and ‘Fall’: the former of which became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song in Billboard history. With two BET Awards, a Nigeria Music Video Award, and two MTV ... Read more

Dr Angelina Osborne

Historical Researcher & Author

Dr Angelina Osborne is an independent researcher and lecturer. She received her PhD in History from the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull. Her research focuses on the politics of slavery and emancipa... Read more

Akala

Rapper Akala’s won his first MOBO for Best Hop Hop Act in 2006. Since then, his trademark style has fused hip hop and soul riffs with powerful lyricism and an unfailingly conscious message. As a wise man once said: ‘rap is just a part of the ge... Read more

Laura Mvula

Laura Mvula is a Birmingham born singer-songwriter nominated for BRIT Awards, an Ivor Novello and the 2013 Mercury Music Award. Her music combines simplicity and vulnerability with slick composition and exquisite harmonies: truly a modern-day queen o... Read more

Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli’s rap legend status is built on fifteen albums over twenty two years. But since exploding on the hip hop scene as one half of Black Star in 1998, he has prioritised just two things: his own distinctive sound and the centrality of trut... Read more

Nathalie Emmanuel

Star of Game of Thrones & Fast and Furious

Missandei, Game of Thrones; Ramsey, The Fast and The Furious— Nathalie Emmanuel has been part of some of the best-loved franchises of our time. A dancer, presenter, singer and thespian — it is safe to say this talent has come a long way since Hol... Read more

Simon Frederick

Artist, Photographer, Filmmaker & Broadcaster

Highly regarded to be at the vanguard of his discipline, with a career punctuated by firsts; Simon was the lead judge on Sky Arts pan European debut of the series 'Master of Photography'. The portraits made during his award winning documentary serie... Read more

David Killingray

World Renowned History Professor & Author

David Killingray’s most recent book on African soldiers the British colonial forces begins as follows: ‘These men, and a very few women, have not been given the attention that they deserve in the historical literature’. Currently Emeritus Profe... Read more

Clara Amfo

Radio & TV Broadcaster

Starting her radio career at KISS FM and BBC Radio 1XTRA, Clara Amfo is best known for her 10am-1pm BBC Radio 1 show. It’s world famous Live Lounge slot has seen her interview the world’s most prolific artists, such as Jay-Z, Ariana Grande, Kendr... Read more

Big Narstie

Rapper / Tv Host

When rapper and MC Big Narstie refers to himself as ‘the biggest rapper in grime’, it demonstrates the wit that earned him the eponymous ‘Big Narstie Show’ on Channel 4. This grime legend and social media sensation has since shot the breeze w... Read more

Prof Abosede George

Founder of The Ekopolitan Project

Professor Abosede George is Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies whose research explores the urban history of Africa, the history of childhood and youth in Africa, and the study of women, gender, and sexuality in African History. She i... Read more

Akala

Best Selling Author, Rapper & Activist

Rapper, journalist, author, vegan, activist, poet, political activist and public intellectual: Akala wears his many (still peaked) hats with pride. His bestselling book Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire is part polemic and part biography... Read more

Ozwald Boateng

Iconic Fashion Designer

With a career spanning three decades, Ozwald Boateng’s instinctive use of colour, cut and fabric fuses traditional classic British tailoring with a high end modern design. His name is synonymous with originality; and is recognised across genres, fr... Read more

Bethann Hardison

Renowned Fashion Activist and Former Model

How does one become an icon? Bethann Hardison has graced the covers of Allure, Essence, Harpers’ Bazaar and Vogue, set up the Black Girls Coalition (providing advocacy and support to African American models), become a PR powerhouse, a TV producer a... Read more

Osi Umenyiora

2 x Super Bowl Winner

Ositadimma "Osi" Umenyiora - New York Giant, NFL don - still holds the record for the most sacks in one game - now a sports pundit for the BBC; catch him on The NFL Show or at Indaba X. And, as the Royal Television Society's Best Sports Presenter, Co... Read more

Babatunde Aleshe

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Kojo Anim

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Kenny Black

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Dane Baptiste

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Eddie Kadi

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