Alumna of the month - August 2011

Chinelo Iwenofu
LLB (Hons) Law

Chinelo started studying at LSBU on the LLB Law course in 1984, she had initially wanted to enrol on the mass media course but having found there was a three year waiting list decided to study law. This was a decision she went on to be very happy with, she excelled in her course and started work as a Solicitors Clerk whilst completing her law qualification at the College of Law Guildford. Having completed her course Chinelo worked in both criminal and immigration law. Although she thoroughly enjoyed her job she was keen to spend more time on her hobby, writing.

Alongside her law career Chinelo started freelancing, “I was always writing whilst working as a lawyer, it was something I really enjoyed doing so I would write as soon as I had some free time.” Chinelo’s freelance work helped secure her a monthly column in both Focus and Hi Life magazines. Soon after Chinelo was offered a position on the editorial board of Focus magazine in London, so she decided to take a step back from the legal work and concentrate on her career in writing.

After her time at the magazine Chinelo knew that she wanted to carry on in this career path. A position became available at She and Bazaar women's magazines on the Marketing panel, being an area that Chinelo was keen to gain experience, she applied for the position and secured a six month contract. Spending time with the Marketing team made Chinelo realise that she was very interested in being involved with the whole publication process and not just the writing, this got her thinking.

Once her contract had finished she decided to move back to Nigeria. Settled back at home Chinelo started looking for work in the media industry and was soon asked by the former Minister of Aviation to work for her publishing company PrimeTime Publications, as the General Manager. Chinelo later moved onto work for Folio Communications publishing group who owned the Daily Times of Nigeria (Africa's largest paper). Although she loved the job, she was working long hours and regularly traveling. This started her thinking about setting up her own publishing company.

Chinelo launched AfricAgenda, a publishing house focusing on books in Africa, in June 2009. She believes publishing is not just about making a profit, but about teaching and learning. AfricAgenda aims to help improve the standard of reading in Nigeria by providing accessible and affordable books.

Chinelo states, “The reading culture in many parts of Nigeria is poor and many do not have access or are unable to afford books. I am keen to change this, by providing people with the opportunity to read a more diverse range of affordable publications and provide people with an opportunity to publish their own books in Nigeria, rather than rely on international publishers”.

The company has been going from strength to strength, currently publishing a second book on The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a book featured in Oprah Winfrey’s book list. AfricAgenda has already experienced rapid expansion, but Chinelo still has big plans for the future. She would like to start distributing books throughout Europe and at some point maybe even globally.

We wish Chinelo and AfricAgenda every success and look forward to hearing more about the company’s success in the future.