First African Woman Wins Telecoms Champion Title at Comms Council UK

A Nigerian-born product manager has become the first African to win the “Women in Telecoms” champion title at the Comms Council UK Awards 2026. Obiageli Okafor, known professionally as Obii, received the honour in London while working as a Senior Product Manager at 8×8 and serving as CEO of her nonprofit, PMHelp.

Okafor learned of the win at the ceremony itself. She described her first reaction as shock, followed immediately by gratitude toward her colleagues, family, and the PMHelp community she has built over the years.

A Nonprofit Built on Mentorship at Scale

Beyond her corporate role, Okafor founded PMHelp to address a gap she lived through herself. The nonprofit has supported more than 52,000 professionals across more than 70 countries through mentoring, education, and career development programs.

The Comms Council UK award recognises women making an outstanding contribution to the UK telecommunications industry. For Okafor, it follows a string of earlier honours, including the TechWomen100 award, the She Inspires Awards for Women in Digital Innovation and Communication, a spot on the Brummell 30 Rising Stars of London list, and recognition among the 50 Women Tech Titans in Nigeria.

Starting Over After Moving Countries

Before arriving in the UK, Okafor built a career across multiple fields. She worked as a poet, then as a shoemaker, and later as a product manager leading technology and partnerships work in Dubai and Nigeria.

Relocating meant rebuilding almost everything. Her experience did not transfer automatically to a new market. She had to learn a different industry, build a new professional network, and prove herself again from the beginning. “There were moments where it felt so hard and almost like pressing the reset button,” she said. She chose not to let moving countries define the ceiling of her career.

That trajectory is increasingly common among immigrant-origin leaders in tech. Immigrant founders and executives have become a significant presence in the global technology sector, often building institutions and networks that outlast their original roles.

What the “First African” Title Carries

Okafor said a friend called to tell her about the historic nature of the recognition. She had not known she was the first African to receive it. Her response was measured: awards belong to more than one person, and the milestone carries a message she wants to send forward.

“Being the first African to receive this recognition means our people now know that there are no barriers stopping us from achieving what we want,” she said. She added that talent has no borders and that African women belong in every room where technology decisions are made.

Nigerian women entrepreneurs already identify as entrepreneurs at unusually high rates compared to regional averages, yet capital access and professional visibility remain persistent gaps. Okafor’s recognition adds a specific, named data point to that story. A third internal reference reinforces how systemic barriers extend well beyond leadership for women building careers across borders.

For the younger professionals PMHelp serves across 70 countries, the award may carry more weight than the trophy itself. Okafor said she hopes it encourages more African women to pursue leadership careers in technology and telecommunications, specifically because no one had held the title before her.