Project Title: Addressing Hybridity Challenges in Social Entrepreneurship through Digital Technologies

Supervisors: Dr Elisa Alt, Dr Michael Etter

Year of Entry: 2021, Full-time

Mmekidmfon Ifiok Umanah is a PhD Candidate in Strategy, International Management and Entrepreneurship at King's Business School. He has a research interest in the intersection between Sustainable Business, Technology and Development Policy.

Mmekidmfon's research aims to understand how social enterprises can leverage digital technology to balance competing commercial and social goals, in order to make a difference in society. He holds an MSc (with Distinction) in International Development from the School of Government, University of Birmingham, where he attended via the prestigious Chevening Scholarship, the UK's most renowned scholarship for future leaders.

Outside of academia, Mmekidmfon is a Business Executive with seven year of management and leadership experience working in the health, tech and non-profit sectors. He has worked as a Partnerships Consultant with the Public Partnerships Division of UNICEF, New York.

He has led Aimcare Health, a health-tech startup interested in disrupting the West African pharmaceutical sector through efficient distribution, innovative financing and inventory management solutions. Aimcare has recently been named as one of the top 29 Healthcare innovators in Africa by the Bill and Melinda Gates, Microsoft, MSD, Cencora and Chemonics, receiving a grant support.

He has also served as a Country Director for DOT Glasses in Nigeria, where he helped in building the brand image of the world's most innovative and affordable prescription eyeglasses company.

Mmekidmfon is the 2023 winner of the Future Awards Prize for Health and Wellness. The Future Africa Awards has been described by the World Bank as “the Nobel Prize for young Africans” and by Forbes as the “most important youth awards”.

Research Interests: Digital Technologies, Social Entrepreneurship, Corporate Strategy, Paradox Theory.