Raphael Stephen is an exceptional leader and an advocate for great leadership, Raphael has worked tirelessly to build a foundation that is transformational and known as a force for good in Nigeria.
Today, the Fashioned and Made for Excellence Foundation is one of the leading non-governmental organizations in Africa. Its vision is a world where every youth in a secondary school has access to leadership education in their classroom. Under Raphael’s leadership, the Foundation has focused its work in Oyo State, Osun State, and most recently Jigawa State, Nigeria.
The FAME Foundation has invested millions to help improve leadership education and provide access to skills training for youths in various local communities in Nigeria. Its programs have impacted the lives of over 40,000 youths.
A strong believer in listening, Raphael can often be found in the field, working directly with the people whom the Foundation’s programmes serve.
Raphael has a massive passion and purpose to become a major contributor to the national reorientation of youths in Nigeria and youth development globally. He believes once we get our values right as African people, we will become more productive people.
Raphael’s dedication to the work of the Foundation has its roots in his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) experience.
While serving in Kano State, Nigeria, Raphael discovered a leadership identity and values crisis through conversations with the students in the Secondary School he was assigned to teach, this experience he said marked a turning point in his life and enabled him to realize how big this leadership mindset problem was in Secondary Schools, it helped develop his capacity to listen and the empathy with which he approaches the Foundation’s work.
Raphael is regularly called upon by Secondary Schools, Youth Organizations, Universities, local stakeholders in the education space and governments to speak, train, mentor, consult and contribute to educational development strategies.
Raphael Stephen has nearly a decade of experience as a development professional and he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Ibadan and an Executive Education in Non-Profit Management from Lagos Business School.
He was named a winner of the Talent of the Future award in 2019, as well as a fellow of the 2019 Ashoka ChangemakerXchange program. He was also recognized as a recipient of the 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Young Leaders Award in the Education Category and was recognized as one of the 30 Outstanding Youth Leaders in Oyo state for 2023 by YALI Network Oyo State.
He was recently recognized as the Education Personality of the Year 2024 by the UCJ, University of Ibadan. Additionally, he has spoken at TEDx events.
He currently serves as the Executive Director of the FAME Foundation
