A Nigerian-born young lady has been named Women in Telecoms Champion at the Comms Council UK Awards 2026, becoming the first African to receive the honour since the category was created.

Obiageli (Obii) Okafor is a Senior Product Manager at global cloud communications firm 8×8 and leads PMHelp, a nonprofit that supports professionals trying to break into the tech sector. She was recognised for her contribution to the UK telecoms industry and her work widening access into tech for professionals across Africa.

“I was genuinely shocked,” Okafor said. “My first thought was gratitude, for everyone who had believed in me, from my family and colleagues at 8×8 to my PMHelp community, and for the younger version of myself in Nigeria who could never have imagined standing on a stage in London receiving recognition from an entire industry.”

The award recognises women making an outstanding contribution to UK telecoms, an industry where women make up less than one-fifth of the workforce, according to figures cited by industry body techUK, with the shortfall sharpest at management and director level. Ofcom and leading UK telecoms firms have pledged to attract, retain and promote more women in the sector.

“Being the first African to receive this recognition means our people now know there are no barriers stopping us from achieving what we want,” Okafor said. “Talent has no borders, and African women belong in every room where technology is being built and decisions are being made.”

Okafor worked as a product manager across Nigeria and Dubai before relocating to the UK. She faced repeated job rejections after arriving, working three jobs to get by while she rebuilt her career, before eventually rising to her current role at 8×8. That period shaped her decision to found PMHelp, which she says has supported more than 52,000 professionals across 70-plus countries through mentoring and career support. She has since co-founded a second venture, Capstone, which uses artificial intelligence to give product managers practice through simulated workplace scenarios.

Okafor has also written a book, “Impossible to Ignore”, examining how professionals can build visibility around their work. She said she began developing the ideas in the book after her own following on LinkedIn grew from just over 2,000 to more than 11,000 within months, a period in which she said she was approached by recruiters and invited to speak at industry events without actively seeking them out.

Her win adds to a run of recent honours, including TechWomen100 Winner, the SheInspires Award for Women in Digital Innovation and Communication, and a place among Women in Tech Nigeria’s 50 Women Tech Titans.

Asked what she would say to young African women considering a career in tech or telecoms, Okafor said: “Don’t wait for permission to belong. Build your skills, own your voice, and walk into every room knowing you deserve to be there.”