Leadership
From commodities to technology: Wale Ajisebutu's road to 21CTL
A profile of the chairman and CEO of 21st Century Technologies that separates published biographical detail from his own recollections.
From an idea in 2018 to the Digital Expert Academy, and an American Corner in Lekki
How a publicly stated intention about retraining graduates became an academy, and how that campus later hosted a ribbon cutting attended by the U.S. Secretary of State.
Skills are one of the longest threads in the 21CTL story, and the record lets us follow it from a stated idea to an opening.
- 2018Wale Ajisebutu speaks publicly about building an academy and retraining graduates.
- January 2023The Digital Expert Academy is officially opened, with U.S. Consul General Will Stevens taking part.
- 24 January 2024U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken takes part in the ribbon cutting for American Corner Lekki, hosted at 21CTL.
2018: an intention, in his words
In 2018 Wale Ajisebutu spoke publicly about building an academy and about retraining graduates. This is his stated intention, reported as his.
January 2023: the opening
The Digital Expert Academy was officially opened in January 2023. U.S. Consul General Will Stevens took part in the opening. Academy material names AI, machine learning, cloud, data science, digital infrastructure and data-centre management among its areas.
January 2024: American Corner Lekki
On 24 January 2024 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took part in the ribbon cutting for American Corner Lekki, hosted at 21CTL. The archived U.S. State Department record is the authority for this.
The Academy today
The Academy was reported as the Digital Expert Academy at its opening. Its own site now lists its published programmes, an application route, an enquiry route and a certificate-verification page, and the Academy trades there as Digital Experts Academy. Programme details, start dates and eligibility belong on those pages and are not repeated here, so that this article cannot drift out of date.
Sources and attribution
This article draws on the sources below. Statements made by Wale Ajisebutu or by the company are attributed in the text and are not presented as independently established.
- Wale AjisebutuPublic remarks, 2018 (attributed)
- Press and event reportingAcademy opening, January 2023
- U.S. Embassy and Consulate in NigeriaReport on the Academy opening
- U.S. Department of StateArchived record, 24 January 2024
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