Thione Niang is the founder of JeufZone Farms, an agricultural business focused on creating jobs and providing food security in Africa. In 2009, he created Give1Project to promote entrepreneurship and leadership which can now be found in 34 countries. Thione Niang is the co-founder of Akon Lighting Africa-Solektra International along with his partners Akon and Samba Bathily. It was created in 2014 to provide solar energy generated electricity to 600 million African families and is now benefiting 18 countries. In 2015, Thione Niang was appointed as the Ambassador to the US Ministry of Energy by President Barack Obama. Thione Niang advocates for women empowerment, young African leadership, and minority inclusion in all sectors.
Thione Niang’s personal journey is one of inspiration.. He immigrated to the US in 2000 with only 20 dollars to his name. He was born to a Senegalese family of 28 children and made efforts to participate in his new American community working as a busboy and sending money back to his family. This was all done while he was saving money for college in order to earn a degree. In 2011, Thione Niang was named one of America’s Ten Most Daring Young Black Activists by the Center for American Progress. In 2012, he was in Applause Africa’s magazine’s “Change Maker Issue” as one of Africa’s Forty Under Forty young leaders. Complex Magazine named him as one of the 10 Young Activists Who Are Changing the World in 2013. He is now on the board of Directors of The Millennial Action Project (MAP), an organization working towards solving the partisan gridlock issue.
We award Thione Niang SIA-Africa’s Person of the Month for January 2022 for providing jobs, electricity, and education to African families, youths, women, and minority populations.
