Kobi Ikpo is a seasoned research consultant, youth and gender advocate, licensed educator,  chartered mediator, public relations and development practitioner with extensive experience working in the international development sector on varying capacities before joining the academia as a lecturer in the faculty of Business Administration, Department of Marketing, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus..

Born over fifty years ago, Kobi hails from Ibusa in Oshimilli-North local government area of Delta State. In addition to her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts, she holds a professional diploma in Advertising and Education, a post graduate diploma in Public relations and Gender studies, Master of Science’ in Public Relations and Development Studies, certificate courses in International Trade and Development all from the Universities of Benin, Abuja, Nigeria, Nsukka and the Trade and Policy Center, Arusha Tanzania. Currently, she is a P.hD. student/fellow at Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her research interests primarily revolves around integrating gender lenses, marketing and public relations concepts, alongwith other approaches to influence behaviour with a view to engendering social change that benefit individuals and communities for greater social good in Africa.

As a youth and gender advocate, Kobi is a firm believer in and an advocate for the equal rights and opportunities for young people, women and men. She is the founder and Executive Director of Teenage Development for Africa (Teen Africa), an Independent,  not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that  promotes gender equality,  youth dignity and self-worth through creating and offering diverse opportunities to and for adolescents, teenagers and young people with a view to equip and help them become the best they can be within any environment they find themselves. Operating on the principle of being boy-supportive while remaining girl affirmative, and using dialogical approaches to learning, Kobi, through Teen Africa’s variety of programme offerings,  builds the capacity of young people, women and men, to enable them evolve into self-respecting, focused, purposeful and productive members of society, mutually respectful of one another, the environment they live in, and able to efficiently access social and economic opportunities, contribute to household, community, national and international growth while lending themselves to the attainment of women empowerment both in Nigeria and throughout Africa.