Lagos

Nabo Ekiyor grew up in Lagos before attending high school in Florida.  Introduced to a new game, football, Nabo turned his two years of experience into a college scholarship and 7 years in the NFL.  After football, he became an entrepreneur dedicated building talent and opportunity in his home nation.

Nabo Ekiyor is a Nigerian-born entrepreneur, community leader, and former NFL player whose work is shaped by a deep connection to both Africa and the United States. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Nabo came to the United States at age 15 to pursue educational opportunities, eventually earning a football scholarship to the University of Central Florida and playing six years in the National Football League. His experience crossing continents, cultures, and industries has given him a unique perspective on the talent and economic potential of African and Black communities. Today, through InnoPower, Nabo works to create pathways to entrepreneurship, talent development, and economic opportunity in Black communities in Indiana and across Sub-Saharan Africa.

  1. He is building bridges between Africa and the American heartland. Emil’s work extends beyond supporting entrepreneurs in Indiana. In 2025, he launched InnoPower Africa to help build resilient economies across the continent by connecting entrepreneurs and young professionals with skills, capital, tools, and global opportunities. 
  2. He sees African talent as one of the continent’s greatest assets. His work focuses on turning talent and ideas into ownership, businesses, jobs, and long-term economic growth. InnoPower Africa is working across West Africa in areas including entrepreneurship, AI literacy, workforce development, and access to global opportunities.
  3. He has spent his career creating opportunity for others. Before founding InnoPower, Nabo worked in Indianapolis Public Schools, coached youth football, led nonprofit and community initiatives, and founded businesses in the United States and Nigeria. In Indianapolis, his work has included the Minority Business Week Conference, Indy Biz Pass, and initiatives designed to expand access to technology, entrepreneurship, and capital for Black entrepreneurs. 

Nabo Ekiyor

Founder / InnoPower Africa

Rally Africa

InnoPower Africa is teaming up with Sterling Bank to launch RALLY AFRICA at the 2027 Africa Social Impact Summit in Lagos.  The partnership will be announced during the 2026 United Nations General Assembly. 

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ImagineAfrica Fund

InnoPower Africa is launching a Fund of Funds with capital raised from the African Diaspora. This mutual transformation replaces aid with investment and invites Africans who created wealth around the globe to invest in Africa’s future.

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BUILDING TALENT

AI Training for the Next Gen

Ekiyor is expanding his work in entrepreneurship and workforce development into AI training in Nigeria, using InnoPower Africa to make practical AI skills more accessible to young people, entrepreneurs, educators, and community leaders. InnoPower Africa has partnered with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund to launch EkoAI Academy, a free program designed to equip 10,000 young Lagosians with practical AI and prompt-engineering skills while training and certifying 100 local AI trainers who can take the curriculum into communities. Through an AI Master Trainer model, training hundreds of individuals who then teach small-business owners and other community members creates a multiplier effect rather than limiting AI education to a small group of technology professionals. The broader vision is to use AI literacy as a tool for human-capital development, entrepreneurship, and access to the global digital economy, helping Nigerian talent turn technology into greater productivity, employment, and business opportunity 

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West Africa Innovations

Sagamore’s work in Africa is grounded in a commitment to advance locally led solutions that expand opportunity, strengthen communities, and contribute to the continent’s long-term prosperity. Our partnership with World Shoe provided support for the development of a biodegradable, disease-preventing shoe designed to address neglected tropical diseases while helping establish local manufacturing capacity and jobs in West Africa. In Liberia, Sagamore has maintained a long-term commitment to helping the country move from post-war recovery toward a thriving modern society, led by Senior Fellow Donald Cassell through research, development partnerships, and efforts to strengthen entrepreneurship and private enterprise. The Institute’s broader African work reflects a consistent philosophy: creating economic “hand-ups” that equip individuals and communities to participate in the global economy, build local capacity, and break cycles of aid dependency. 

WORLD SHOE
LIBERIA

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