Hi, I’m Adaora Mbelu – many people call me “Lumina”. I am a Bright Light, Chief Storyteller, Creative Consigliere, and CREATOR.
I am driven by a vision to empower creators and cultivate a thriving creative ecosystem on the African continent. I believe that Africa is home to an abundance of untapped talent, waiting to be discovered and nurtured. Through my mission work, I aim to unlock this potential and provide opportunities for creators to flourish.
Whether I’m working with someone to tell their story, advising on their brand, business, or project, connecting them to opportunities, managing their talents, negotiating on their behalf, providing learning resources, or helping them dream again, I’m always in a stance that allows me to vision the big picture of their life and reverse engineer the steps required to actualize these dreams.
Over the past 15 years, I have built skills in Ideation, Brand Strategy, Storytelling, Creative Strategy, Content & Media, Entrepreneurship, and Project execution.
I’m a creative person who is also analytical, and understands structure. Hence, I’m able to not only ideate, but also bring ideas to life. People come to me for my ability to think outside the box, see the big picture, strategize on execution, AND bring good energy to every project. I believe that energy is contagious, and I tell my clients that I choose them as much as they choose me. Where good energy flows, great work is born.
I truly believe that people are the bedrock of society, and by helping them find clarity, while simultaneously inspiring and empowering them, to become the best version of themselves, we will see a ripple effect of love, peace, innovation, and growth across the world. This is where my mission lies.
Global Young Leadership Conference (GYLC) Scholar
MIPAD 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (in support of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent).
Royal Leadership Award by His Imperial Majesty, The Ooni of Ife
Nigeria’s Top 30 Under 30
"Most Inspiring Woman of The Year” by Her Network Woman of the Year Awards
The Future Awards Africa Nominee for “Entrepreneur of The Year”
The Future Awards Africa Nominee for “Prize for Media Enterprise”
Leading Ladies Africa 100
Power Woman 100 List by The Power Woman Network
The Richer Woman “100 Most Impactful Women”
Adaora Mbelu is a Bright Light who is passionate about purpose, storytelling, and influence for impact. She is a co-founder at Lumination, an Afrocentric Transformational Learning Company on a mission to empower individuals and organisations to take decisive action to get their best self and best work into the world. She is also a brand strategist & Chief Storyteller who is passionate about helping individuals & organisations own and tell their stories, she has worked on projects with multinational brands including Google, Guinness, Johnny Walker, Microsoft, Hennessy, Pepsi Co, Zipline, Fenty, Adidas, amongst others. She has also been a talent manager for Osa Seven, Tobi Bakre, Godwin Strings, Denola Grey, amongst others.
Her professional background spans across various industries – Adaora has served as a content developer on the UNWTO Conference, Nigeria Centenary Awards, and International Conference on Peace & Security. She was also the project manager for Fremantle Licensed TV Shows, Nigerian Idol and Nigeria’s Got Talent, where she managed the business, brand, and production of the shows. Adaora was the Corporate Communications Manager for OSMI during the 2010 World Cup managing all communications on the broadcast rights for Nigeria. OSMI was also a broadcast marketing licence owner for the UEFA Champions Leagues, UEFA Europa League, FA Premier League, La Liga, and Bundesliga. Prior to moving to Nigeria, she was a Credit Analyst at Citigroup USA, where she received awards for organisational efficiency and team spirit.
In 2017, she was mentioned in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “11 Africans that are changing the business landscape in Africa.” Adaora is a recipient of the Royal Leadership Award by His Imperial Majesty, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi (Ooni of Ife). She is a Future Awards Africa Nominee for “Entrepreneur Of The Year” and “Prize For Media Enterprise” category. In 2019 ,she was awarded “Most Inspiring Woman” at the Her Network Woman of the Year Awards. Adaora has been featured among Nigeria’s Under 40 CEO’s, and Top 30 Under 30. In 2020, Adaora was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent in support of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.
At the age of 16, Adaora represented Nigeria at the Global Young Leaders Conference in New York, and Washington DC, USA. In university, she was nominated Outstanding Freshman at NKU, Outstanding Sophomore at NKU, and Outstanding Junior at NKU. She was also invited to the National Scholars Honor Society, and Entrepreneurship Institute Honors Committee. She was the president of the African Students Union at Northern Kentucky University, and Vice President/Social Chair of the International Students Union. She was a recipient of “The Spirit of Entrepreneurship” Scholarship by The Castellini Foundation.
Adaora is the author of “This Thing Called Purpose”, a book that helps people understand the true essence of living with and through purpose. Aside from her academic and professional work, She has a super-passion for community development. She is a founder at Socially Africa (@sociallyafrica), a foundation that pays forward to the society through several initiatives. She also teaches and shares transformational content via her social media community.
One of her philosophies is the importance of living a purpose driven life and using as many of her gifts as possible. As a result, She finds several mediums to express her purpose. In 2019, she co-produced and acted in “Truth”- an AMVCA award winning TV series on the Africa Magic Channel. Adaora is a Visual artist, Designer, Photographer, Poet, Rapper – a multi-potentialite who holds the belief that we can do many things in this world.
Adaora Mbelu is a Bright Light who is on a mission to empower individuals and organisations to take decisive action to get their best work out into the world, while living a purpose driven life. She is a co-founder at Lumination, an Afrocentric Transformational Learning Company. She is also a brand strategist & Chief Storyteller who is passionate about helping individuals & organisations own and tell their stories – she has worked on projects with multinational brands including Google, Guinness, Johnny Walker, Microsoft, Hennessy, Fenty, Pepsi Co, Zipline, Adidas, amongst others.
Her professional background spans across various industries – Adaora has served as a content developer on high profile government events, such as the International Conference on Peace & Security and the United Nations World Tourism Organization Conference to name a few. She was also the project manager for Fremantle Licensed TV Shows, Nigerian Idol and Nigeria’s Got Talent, and worked on X Factor Nigeria. Adaora was the Corporate Communications Manager for OSMI during the 2010 World Cup managing all communications on the broadcast rights for Nigeria.
She has been mentioned in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “11 Africans that are changing the business landscape in Africa.” She is a two time Future Awards Africa Nominee and a recipient of the Royal Leadership Award by His Imperial Majesty, The Ooni of Ife. Adaora has been featured among Nigeria’s Under 40 CEO’s, and Top 30 Under 30, and was awarded “Most Inspiring Woman of the Year” 2019. In 2020, Adaora was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent in support of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.
She is also the author of “This Thing Called Purpose”, a book that helps people understand the true essence of living with and through purpose. Aside from her academic and professional work, She has a super-passion for community development. She is a founder at Socially Africa (@sociallyafrica), a foundation that gives back to the community through several initiatives.
Adaora Mbelu is a Bright Light who is on a mission to empower individuals and organisations to take decisive action to get their best work out into the world, while living a purpose driven life. She is a co-founder at Lumination, an Afrocentric Transformational Learning Company. She is also a brand strategist & Chief Storyteller who is passionate about helping individuals & organisations own and tell their stories, she has worked on projects with multinational brands including Google, Guinness, Johnny Walker, Microsoft, Hennessy, Pepsi Co, Fenty, Zipline, Adidas, amongst others.
She has been mentioned in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “11 Africans that are changing the business landscape in Africa.” She is a two time Future Awards Africa Nominee and a recipient of the Royal Leadership Award by His Imperial Majesty, The Ooni of Ife. Adaora has been featured among Nigeria’s Under 40 CEO’s, and Top 30 Under 30, and was awarded “Most Inspiring Woman of the Year” 2019. In 2020, Adaora was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent in support of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.
Adaora has a super passion for community development. She is the Founder of Socially Africa, an organisation that urges people to Be Good, Do Good, and Inspire Good. She is passionate about purpose, brand strategy, storytelling, and content development for influence and impact.
