Nigerian entrepreneur and investor Surayyah Ahmad has been named one of the Best & Brightest MBAs of 2025 by Poets & Quants, the world’s most influential platform for graduate business education.
The recognition places Ahmad among an elite group of MBA students globally, celebrated not just for academic excellence, but for outstanding leadership, entrepreneurial innovation, and meaningful community impact.
Currently completing her MBA at Oxford University’s prestigious Saïd Business School, Surayyah’s selection is particularly significant. She is not only the first Nigerian in recent years to be featured on the list, but her journey from a nomadic Fulani background in Ibadan to the heights of global business leadership has become a powerful symbol of transformation.
“We invest in the parts of Africa the world often overlooks,” Surayyah said, reflecting on her work with Sabou Capital, the venture firm she co-founded. “Not just Lagos or Nairobi, but Kano, Bangui, Maroua—places with talent, energy and ideas that are too often ignored.”
Born into a community with little access to formal education, Surayyah began primary school late and was still unable to read or write English at the age of 12. Two decades later, she now stands as Co-Chair of the Oxford Africa Business Alliance, a Laidlaw Scholar, and an Oxford Impact Lab Fellow—roles that have allowed her to amplify African voices and opportunities in international business conversations.
Her firm, Sabou Capital, is reshaping the narrative of venture capital on the continent. By focusing on women-led enterprises and underserved markets in West and Central Africa, Surayyah and her team are challenging conventional investment models and proving that innovation thrives far beyond traditional urban centers.
Before her MBA journey, Surayyah built and scaled YDS Online, a pioneering logistics and e-commerce support company in Nigeria, which she successfully exited in 2022. Her entrepreneurial success and operational insight now inform her work as an investor and advocate for inclusive business ecosystems.
“Technology could be a game changer for women in Northern Nigeria,” she previously noted, underlining her commitment to connecting lived experience with systemic reform.
At Oxford, she has been a catalyst for dialogue on Africa’s development, engaging global investors and fellow scholars on how to create scalable, inclusive solutions for emerging markets. Her story has inspired countless peers across the globe.
“Surayyah’s journey from the margins to the centre is nothing short of extraordinary,” said a spokesperson from Poets & Quants. “She exemplifies what it means to be a Best & Brightest—leading not just with excellence, but with purpose.”
With this recognition, Surayyah joins a rarefied list of global changemakers and sets a new precedent for what African women—and young leaders from underrepresented backgrounds—can achieve on the world stage.
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