Abayomi Ogundipe
Founder, Festa Design Studio
Professional summary
International development professional with 15+ years of experience in program design, management, and fundraising. Demonstrated success in leading global teams, securing over $900,000 in funding, and implementing high-impact educational initiatives. Expertise in developing innovative STEAM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts & Maths) programs reaching 3,200+ underserved youth and managing cross-cultural partnerships with UN agencies, OECD donors, private philanthropy and corporate sponsors.
Professional experience
Founder — Festa Design Studio
2024 – Present
Strategic design consultancy supporting nonprofits, NGOs, and impact startups to design programs, communication systems, and campaigns that drive measurable social impact.
Key Focus Areas:
- Strategic framework development (Theory of Change, Logical Frameworks, stakeholder mapping)
- Trauma-informed interface design for vulnerable populations
- Multi-stakeholder facilitation and partnership coordination
- Capacity-building through educational platforms
Founder, Head of Project design, Fundraising and Communication — TEKEDU
2013 – 2023
Nonprofit organization focused on technology-enabled education for marginalized communities. Led project design, fundraising, and communication across multiple flagship programs in partnership with UN agencies (UNICEF, UN Women), OECD ODA, government, and international donors.
Key Programs:
GirlsGoIT
Technology education program for adolescent girls (ages 12-18), co-designed with UN Women and Government of Moldova.
- Scope: Coding, robotics, digital literacy, and leadership skills
- Technologies: Curriculum design, camp delivery model, M&E framework
- Impact:
- 5,200+ girls reached across 29 camps in 26 districts (out of 35 in Moldova)
- Expanded from 3 districts (2016) to 26 districts (2023)
- With and For Girls Award (2017) for impact in girls' education
- Featured in UN Women Moldova publication Women in ICT and STEM (2020)
- Transitioned from donor-dependent to government-supported program
- Partnerships: UNICEF, UN Women, OECD ODA Ministry of Education, private sector tech companies
- Resources: The Liechtenstein Development Service | UN Women Europe and Central Asia
UPSHIFT
Youth entrepreneurship program for NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) youth, co-designed with UNICEF Moldova and ODIMM (State Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises).
- Scope: Social innovation, entrepreneurship training, mentorship
- Technologies: Program design framework, Theory of Change, M&E system
- Impact: Empowered marginalized youth to launch social enterprises
- Partnerships: UNICEF Moldova, Government of Moldova, ODIMM, private sector mentors
- Resources: UNICEF | UPSHIFT
STEAMpeRoti "STEAM on Wheels"
Mobile STEAM education initiative co-designed with UNICEF Moldova and funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Global Funds for Children, and Liechtenstein Development Services.
- Scope: Mobile STEAM learning for rural and underserved communities
- Technologies: Curriculum design, mobile delivery model, accessible learning materials
- Impact: Expanded STEAM access to remote and underserved districts
- Resources: STEAM on Wheels | UNICEF
HireMe STEM Career Board Game
Interactive career education tool co-designed with MEGA Generation to encourage girls and boys to enter the IT sector. Funded by
- Scope: Game design, gender-transformative messaging, STEM career awareness
- Technologies: Board game mechanics, gamified learning
- Impact: Culturally relevant tool challenging STEM career stereotypes
- Resources: IWPR | Prototyping
Volunteer experience
Founding curator — Global Shapers Chisinau
2015 – 2016
- Established and led local hub of World Economic Forum's youth leadership initiative.
- Facilitated community impact projects and cross-sector partnerships.
Ambassador — EU Code Week / EU Robotics Week
2014 – 2017
Coordinator of EU code week in Moldova.
Mentor — Technovation Girls
2014 – 2018
Mentored girls team in collaboration with Peace Corps Volunteers. Girls team mentored won first place global prize.
Education
- Advanced Diploma, International Development — Institute of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall, University of Cambridge, UK
- B.Sc. Business Administration — University of Lagos
Certifications
Professional Diploma in UX Design — UX Design Institute, Ireland
Professional Diploma in Front-end Web Development — General Assembly, Washington D.C.
Skills
UX research & design
- UX Research
- Interaction Design
- Design Systems
- Figma
Frontend web development
- Tailwind CSS
- Laravel
- PHP
- jQuery
- HTML5
- CSS
As seen in
- "Moldova: Hire Me" — The Institute for War & Peace Reporting
- "Speaker at 2016 CYBERSEC" — European Cybersecurity Forum
- "Innovative learning tools and ideas to bring down the digital gender gap" — European Training Foundation
- "Meet EU Code Week Ambassador to Moldova" — EU Code Week, European Commission