Burna Boy wins The Future Awards Africa 2019 ‘Young Person of the Year’

Damini ‘Burna Boy’ Ogulu emerged the ‘Young Person of the Year’ at The Future Awards Africa 2019, having captivated the local and global audience with his signature sound and undeniable charisma.

The category, which was endowed by premium malt drink, Amstel Malta, recognises a young person who has become a force for change, capturing the collective imagination of all Nigerians through their personal achievements, public image, and personal triumphs.

Burna Boy cemented his place as this year’s breakaway music star with his 19-track album ‘African Giant’, garnering international awards and nominations, selling out venues globally, while also securing collaborations with renowned artists such as Angelique Kidjo, Damian Marley and Lily Allen.

The award, which was Burna Boy’s second of the night – having earlier won The Future Awards Africa Prize for Music, saw him edge out other outstanding Nigerians such as the speaker of the ninth Oyo State House of Assembly, Debo Ogundoyin; SDG advocate, Kenneth Udekwe; UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, and the #NigeriaMetooMovement, comprising Khadijah Adamu, Damilola Marcus, and Kiki Mordi. 

The Future Awards Africa 2019 is brought to you by The Future Project and RED | For Africa, with support from Mitsubishi, 7Up, CMA Group, Vanguard Allure, Cool FM, Emmanuel Oyeleke Photography, Nigerian Info FM, Wazobia FM, BellaNaija, Pulse, African Movie Channel, Folio by CNN, FilmHouse, Olorisupergal, Channels Television, Legit.ng, TheCable, Ono Bello, Style Vitae, and Pop Central.

The Future Awards Africa has been called the ‘Nobel Prize for Young Africans’, and the ‘most important youth awards’ by Forbes. It is a set of prizes given annually to celebrate and accelerate innovation, creativity and enterprise amongst young Africans aged 18 – 31. It has produced over 150 winners and over 1550 nominees since its first edition in 2006.It is presented in conjunction with The Future Project, which has a mandate to build empowered citizens across Africa, through (inclusive) enterprise and (active) citizenship. This focus on Human Capital Development is informed by our value proposition: Africa’s growth needs a generation of young people who are gainfully employed and able to demand and secure better leadership.Our projects include Aiki.ng, an employability portal presented with Microsoft; the Nigeria Symposium for Young & Emerging Leaders, #StartupsAfrica, Intern4Jobs, YMonitor.org presented with National Endowment for Democracy (NED), The Future Enterprise Support Scheme and The Future Awards Africa, described as ‘The Nobel Prize for Young Africans’