Hammed Kayode Alabi is an edtech leader, TEDx speaker, poet, author, and social entrepreneur passionate about education and youth empowerment. Raised in Makoko, Africa’s largest floating slum, and having lost his mother at age seven, Hammed’s early struggles shaped his mission to transform lives through education. At 15, he began teaching in rural Lagos and later founded the Kayode Alabi Leadership and Career Initiative (KLCI), which has trained over 10,000 underserved youth in life skills, leadership, and career readiness. Through its Teachers-in-Training Fellowship, KLCI has also empowered 70 student-teachers with innovative teaching methods.

Hammed has supported youth-led change in over 150 countries through his role with Peace First and has addressed more than 100 Ministers of Education at the UNESCO Pre-Summit of the Transforming Education Summit. He is the founder of Skill2Rural.Org, an edtech platform providing career and life skills to rural and displaced youth. In just 12 months, it reached 459 users and educators, impacting more than 130,000 young people.

He also launched Rafiki AI, Africa’s first generative AI career advisor for underserved and displaced youth on WhatsApp. Within three days of launch, Rafiki AI engaged 1,200 users across 16 countries. Today, it has grown to 6,500 users in 54 countries, answering 30,000+ queries and exchanging over 60,000 messages. The solution is also being adopted in 27 low-income non-state schools in Lagos, Nigeria, and used by 70+ teachers to support students’ career readiness.

In recognition of his impact, Hammed was named the 2025 University of Edinburgh Being Edinburgh Alumni Award Winner.