Olugbenga Agboola is the co-founder and CEO of the New York-based company InnoCentive. Agboola is an entrepreneur and scientist with a wealth of experience in various fields, including nanotechnology, biology, and neuroscience. He has published in notable journals and written over 30 books. Olugbenga was also the founding director of New York University’s nano-science program and co-founder of Proteus Digital Health, where he spent 11 years building a company that provides healthcare for people across the US for free.
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- Education
He holds a Bachelor of Science from The University of Manchester, UK, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from New York University (NYU) with a research concentration in drug development and neuroscience.
- Career and Experience
Olugbenga Agboola has spent most of his career being an inventor, entrepreneur, and scientist. When he was still a teenager, he was the youngest student to earn a scholarship to study physics at The University of Manchester, UK. After graduating there, he received a scholarship to continue his education in New York City, where he went on to study at NYU and after acquiring his Ph.D.
- Awards
He has been the recipient of several awards for his entrepreneurial efforts, including ‘Entrepreneur Of The Year’ by the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and the “Black Enterprise” Magazine’s “Entrepreneur Of The Year” award. He was presented with the “Charlton Heston Memorial Award” by the President of New York University. In 2007, he received the ‘Billy Graham” Award for his contributions to Public Service in science, culture, and religion and received it in London. Later that same year, he won ‘The Recruit of The Year award at the United Negro College Fund. He is a member of both and was nominated for the “Outstanding Young Black Men Of America” award.
- Membership, Boards, and Honors
He is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Institute for Nanotechnology, Neurotechnology, and Society, and a member of the International Society for Nanomedicine. He has also served on several boards, councils, and committees, including consulting for organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Council on Competitiveness. He is currently on the President’s Advisory Council for Global Entrepreneurship Summit.
- Achievements
Olugbenga co-founded InnoCentive, a crowdsourcing platform that offers an incentive to anyone who can solve a problem they cannot solve using their means. It is said to be the largest company in the world in the areas of “crowdsourcing” and “technology transfer.” The company has partnered with over 4,000 organizations and has facilitated technology-related projects for over 40 Billion dollars. Olugbenga Agboola has been married to Adebisi, a medical doctor, for 20 years. Together they have three children, two girls, and a boy. Olugbenga is an avid marathon runner and winner of the 2015 New York City Marathon. He served as Guest Curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
He is currently working on several initiatives to encourage innovation in Africa and the rest of the world. He once said, “I believe we have kept Africans down for way too long as a society. We need to allow ourselves to dream big and use our imagination.” In 2012 he published his autobiography entitled “The Dream: My Quest for Africa’s Future.”