Africa Initiative

Chikezirim (Chike) Nwoke is an anthropologist and political economist whose research investigates how young people in West Africa—apprentices, traders, tech workers, day jobbers, even scammers—negotiate economic and technological transformations. His research shows how youths work with and against long-standing traditions, state governance, and transnational financial regimes through improvisation and the imagination of new sociopolitical and economic orders. He earned his PhD from Carleton University, Canada in 2025, receiving the Governor General’s Gold Medal, awarded since 1873 to the student standing at the head of the graduating class. He holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Memorial University of Newfoundland, a Master’s degree in International Media from Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences in Germany, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. His research has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, Mitacs Globalink Fellowship, Transport Canada (through the Flight 302 award), and the Institute of Humane Studies. Chike has served as a consultant to governmental and international agencies, contributing to projects with organizations such as UNESCO, UNDP, and Save the Children Canada. He is Co-Director of r0g Agency for Open Culture and Critical Transformation Canada, where he works with grassroots organizations and governments to advance open knowledge, open technologies, and inclusive development in underserved communities. He was the inaugural chair of the Ottawa Responsible AI Summit and is the founder of B.I.T. (Black Innovation and Tech Futures Forum), a platform that supports dialogue and collective advancement for Black makers, innovators, and thinkers in Canada. He also serves on the boards of international organizations across Europe, Africa, and North America. His work has been featured widely including in the Journal of Humanitarian Affairs and the Canadian Journal of African Studies.