Nigerian born IATA director emerges winner of 2021 Ato Girma Wake award

NIGERIAN born director for Africa at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Adefunke Adeyemi, popularly known as ‘Iron Lady of African Aviation’ has been named the winner of the ‘2021 Ato Girma Wake Lifetime Achievement Award’.

According to the organiser of the event, AviaDev, all award winners were nominated and chosen by the AviaDev advisory board made up of recognised experts in African aviation.

Commenting, the CEO and Founder, AviaDev, Jon Howell declared: “We are delighted our advisory board nominated Adefunke. Her passion for the industry is contagious and she has been a leading light, balancing pragmatism and positivity in equal measure during the last 12 months. This leadership has been vital during some of the darkest times our great industry has known.”

Reacting to the award, Adeyemi said:  “I am deeply humbled to receive this award. Africa is a continent with immense talent in aviation and across the board and I’m proud to represent the people of Africa through this award to continue to promote the integration, prosperity, unity and emancipation of Africa. My passion for Africa and aviation keep burning brighter and I remain committed to working with partners like AviaDev and so many others to ensure the growth and sustainability of African aviation.”

For the former Ethiopian Airline Chief, Ato Girma Wake whose name the award was named after and who received the first award in his honour said: “This is great news. The iron lady of African Aviation deserves the award. I am very happy that due recognition is served to a very accomplished member of the industry. Congratulations and thanks are appropriate at this time to Adefunke for being the advocate of African aviation.”

Adeyemi who was recently honoured as one of the 200 globally ‘Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD)’ in affiliation with the United Nations Decade for People of African Descent, is a lawyer, advocate, global aviation expert and executive mentor with a career spanning over 20 years, and has spearheaded several leadership and capacity building initiatives for aviation and other sectors in Africa and Middle East regions over the past 15 years.

In her current role as Regional Director, Advocacy & Strategic Relations for Africa at IATA, Adefunke advocates for the sustainability and growth of the aviation industry across the region, highlighting its value to economies and societies as a strategic enabler and catalyst for development, growth and a force for social good.

She is IATA’s focal point for the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market initiative and the African Continental Free Trade Area across the continent.

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