Stephen Shehu Abaka

Director — Board of Directors, Impact Hub Foundation

Abaka has over 12 years of technical and management experience in telecommunication, customer service management, humanitarian response, relief, and development. He is an expert in Cash & Markets, Food Security & Livelihoods. He started his early career as a Customer Care Representative at Airtel in Ibadan and later joined MTN in Adamawa as a Field Support Officer.

He joined the International Rescue Committee in 2014 to serve the vulnerable population after the insurgency in North-East Nigeria as a voucher programme assistant. From there he rose to the position of Programme Manager and Global Advisor, working with several international organisations including Mercy Corps, Première Urgence Internationale, Christian Aid, Cuso International, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD).

He is a member of the NORCAP expert team and currently serves as the CashCap Expert – Central Asia with UNICEF Europe and Asia Region, supporting five countries of Central Asia. His most recent assignment was with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP-Tajikistan), where he served as Inter-Agency Cash Working Group Technical Advisor supporting Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

As a surge expert and technical advisor, Abaka has been deployed to provide technical support and training in South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and the UK. He is a seasoned capacity development expert and certified CALP Network trainer in Project Management, Food Security & Livelihoods, Social Protection, and Humanitarian Cash Programming.

He holds an M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering (University of Maiduguri, 2011), a PGDE from the National Open University (2014), a Postgraduate Diploma in Agronomy and Farm Management (Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri, 2018), a Master's in Humanitarian and Refugee Studies (University of Maiduguri, 2019), a Master's in International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (Kalu Institute, Spain, 2020), and is currently pursuing a PhD in Business Management at UNICAF University, Zambia.

Abaka is the founder of Hand Open-Wide Development Initiative (HOWDI), a charity organisation, and CEO of OO1 Football Talent Hub. He serves on the boards of several organisations and enjoys travelling, football, and spending time with family and friends.