A Youth Leader who is academic, artistic and inspirational
The young and spirited Jennifer Anais Garba is fast emerging as a youth community leader to watch out for! Multi-talented, academic and artistic, she has dabbled in a host of professions before finding her way as the Chief Digital Officer at MOCA- Movement Of Creative Africas. Her ability to interact, innovate, and inspire makes her an exceptional Digital Communications Consultant. She also contributes to campaigns in Africa through her Cultural Roots Association as well as an Urban Afro Dancer in the company Adduna.
Based in Paris, Jennifer completed her Baccalaureate in Computer Science and Management, and Master’s in Communication, Management and Marketing. She began her career at an international architecture agency and grew through Marketing & Communication roles at a Parisian Spa, L’Oreal, and Groupama Bank. In 2007, she joined the world of Digital Marketing with Reed Business Information, followed by Isobar, Microsoft, World Vision, and Generation 2.0 as Project Manager and Digital Consultant.
Telling us how she was inspired on her journey by the versatile work of her father and grandmother, she says, “Their professional background made them climb the ladder to find their own structure with different activities. Fashion and travel for my grandmother, finance and transport services for my father.”
Such a vibrant environment also encouraged Jennifer to pursue her own creative passions, such as dance. She started dancing at the age of 5 with classical and modern jazz lessons, and later moved to Latin dances and hip-hop.
As she began participating in shows with other artistes, Jennifer wished to compose with her roots. At 18 years of age, she wanted to set up an associative structure with friends to unite their values and create a space where people could find themselves through their roots via the medium of different activities (festivals, dance classes, internships, teen and adult solidarity projects). And thus, parallel to her studies, Jennifer co-founded the ‘Roots Association’ which aims to promote Art & Culture in all its forms under the theme of Africa.
After 15 years in the adduna dance company, she continues to dance on different artistic project as a Djembel instructor, while parallelly working as a Consultant on projects aimed at:
– Youth and adult international solidarity projects
– Creative and cultural industries for actors and entrepreneurs in action, on the theme of Africa.
However, Jennifer’s biggest contribution to the community has come in the form of MOCA – Movement of Creative Africas. The MOCA is a collective of African entrepreneurs with an aim to promote the actions of cultural entrepreneurs in 2-3 day events with 4 axes:
1. Conferences to talk about business issues
2. Synergies that allow for collaboration (networking)
3. A line up for concerts
4. A laboratory where the arts are combined
“Our challenge was to implement the MOCA on the African continent starting with a local partner in Kigali, Rwanda. I was able to meet with the Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi, and get us off the ground.”
Jennifer also undertakes other endeavors of support. She conducts digital support activities for various African tech sectors, tourism and others; is a columnist at VoxAfrica; and pilots a Virtual Reality project for young people to discover the hidden professions of the creative and cultural industries.
“I like meeting people, telling stories, and expressing them through art. Passionate about travel and culture, I travel to any country as soon as I can. It is thanks to this that I shared my landmarks and unusual places on the VoxAfrica channel within the program Les RDV de Paris as a columnist.”
Jennifer’s inspiring work through the years has seen her win many laurels:
Winner of the grand prize with her dance company Adduna, Amnesty International, 2006
Successful Horn of Africa fundraiser within World Vision France, 2011
Presentation of the Senegal Solidarity Project of her association Roots on the VoxAfrica channel, 2015
Participation award – Artrimal Festival for the VoxAfrica Paris team, 2016
Winner of the Queen RG Elégance France election, 2017
Outstanding Young Leader award for Virtual Reality Project for Youth (MOCA), Dubai 2023.
A global game-changer in every sense of the word, Jennifer is especially vocal about the role of women in the times to come. Bidding us adieu with some food for thought, she says, “Inclusion and diversity of profiles in leadership around the world is a necessity. As a woman, it is important to show that this path is possible and that solidarity is a strength between women. Each journey is different, but on the principle of equality, there must be as many female mentors as men.”
