Blessing Ajao is a PhD candidate in Technology Management at the African Institute for Science Policy and Innovation, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. She holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Engineering from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Ogbomoso, Nigeria, and a Masters in Technology Management from Obafemi Awolowo University. Ajao currently works as a Research Officer at the National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), an agency of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in Nigeria.

In 2015, Ajao emerged as the sole African winner of the Emerging Economies Doctoral Student Award (EEDSA) at the POMS 26th Annual Conference in Washington D.C. She is the first Nigerian female to ever receive the award. In addition, she has been an active member of Global Network for the Economics of Learning Innovation and Competence Building Systems (GlobeLics) since 2014. As part of her work at NACETEM, Ajao participated in the review of Nigeria’s National Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy as well as in the development of Nigeria’s STI Indicators, now being used to revamp STI activities in Nigeria. Ajao also teaches at the post-graduate diploma program in NACETEM, especially on courses looking at science and technology policy, R&D management, and innovation Systems among other. Ajao has been published in several international journals and her research interests include strategic alliances in the Nigeria telecommunications industry, entrepreneurship, and innovation in the informal sector.