A Dating App, a Wine Brand — All the Details About Nneka Ihim's Career
The lawyer-turned-Housewife is often inspired by her Nigerian roots, including when she founded a successful dating app and when she created her own wine collection.
The Real Housewives of Potomac’s newest addition, Nneka Ihim, is hard at work, and we don’t just mean working Potomac’s social scene.
“I just love her energy,” RHOP OG Ashley Darby said when bringing Nneka into the group. “She’s fun, and I really do like surrounding myself with empowering, positive, intelligent women.”
Newly wedded to Dr. Ikenna “Iyke” Ihim, whom Nneka described in Season 8, Episode 2, as “a medical doctor by day, a scrubs model by afternoon, [and] nightclub owner by night,” the couple is planting roots in the 2-0-8-5-4. With her, Nneka brings a wealth of experience while adding “Housewife” to her impressive resume.
Here’s everything you need to know about Nnek'a career:
Nneka’s career in law
The Wisconsin-raised Nigerian-American woman earned her Bachelor’s Degree while at the University of Michigan, majoring in English and Literature, according to her LinkedIn profile. She later received her Juris Doctor degree after completing her studies at The University of Wisconsin’s Law School.
Nneka hit the ground running, and in 2009, she became a University Correspondent for CNN from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Almost one year later, she acted as a student attorney for Legal Services of South Central Michigan Inc. (L.S.S.C.M.), whose mission is to “provide free legal assistance to low-income persons with emphasis on homelessness prevention, domestic violence prevention, assisting in accessing health care, food, and needs-based income programs,” according to the L.S.S.C.M. website.
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Months later, according to her LinkedIn, Nneka spent a summer with the Rockford, Illinois location of the Hinshaw & Culbertson L.L.P. law firm as an associate attorney. The national firm, which boasts 400 lawyers across 14 states and Washington D.C., provides services for a broad scope of legal areas, including financial, real estate, finance, and labor.
The bulk of Nneka’s legal career, however, took place in California, where she spent eight years as a labor and employment attorney for the Pasadena-based Shenoi Koes L.L.P. between 2013 and 2021.
According to public records, Nneka (under her maiden name, Nneka Egbujiobi) was admitted to The State Bar of California in December 2013, and her licensure remains active today. Her status as a member of the Wisconsin State Bar is not currently active but shows she became a member in 2012, per state records.
Nnek'a app Hello, Africa!
In 2020, Nneka pioneered Hello Africa, a global dating app and social platform that caters to African people looking for love.
“This was developed to provide an accommodating environment for persons to say ‘Hello’ to single African[s] around the world, meet Africans looking for a real match, and find people from African countries of their choice,” Nneka told Nigerian-based media outlet Vanguard.
Nneka reportedly came up with the idea in 2018 when she was active in the online dating scene and unable to find a connection, according to AfroVibes.
“We have a long way to go, but it’s amazing seeing how many Africans we’ve been able to bring together already," the C.E.O. told the outlet in 2020.
“With Hello Africa, we’re taking the continent to a new plateau,” she added.
Hello Africa was listed among AMAKA Studio’s profiles of six African-based dating apps.
“Although I grew up in the United States, I was raised culturally and traditionally as a Nigerian, much like many Africans raised abroad, which further fueled my desire to connect with others like me," she told the social media platform. “I have seen, experienced, and heard about the struggles of Africans in the diaspora yearning to find an African community outside of Africa and to meet a mate that shares similar cultural values.”
In 2021, Hello Africa won the Best Indigenous Mobile Application of the Year at the Africa Royalty Awards, per AMAKA. The ceremony took place in Abuja, Nigeria, where the app’s developers were also awarded for their excellence.
The app is currently available for download for audiences 17 and up.
Nneka's other business ventures, including her wine
Since the fall of 2021, Nneka has maintained a position on the employment counsel for Square, the large tech company that provides financial software for small- to medium-sized businesses worldwide, according to her LinkedIn.
But that’s not all!
Identified as a “champagne connoisseur and entrepreneur” in her Bravo bio, Nneka is also the founder of Bido wines. "Bido" translates into “to start” or “to begin” in Nneka’s native Igbo language, according to the business website.
While based in New York City, Bido offers a variety of flavors, using grapes from Argentina, Spain, Italy, and France. Brut, Brut Rose, Sweet White, and Sweet Rose are just some of the wine types available for purchase.
“Being of Nigerian descent, Nneka comes from a culture rich in festivities and celebration, and she believes there is always something to celebrate in life,” the website states. “Whenever one does choose to begin [Bido], that moment is worth celebrating.”
Nneka also recently created a nonprofit called Lux of Life, according to her Bravo bio.
When discussing Hello Africa with AfroVibes, Nneka had this to say about her successes:
“Make sure that it’s actually your dream because you may not have the motivation or decide to see it to fruition if it’s not,” said the new Housewife. “There’ll be sleepless nights, greater expenses, and unforeseen delays, but the reward is better.”
See more of Nneka Ihim’s ventures as Season 8 of The Real Housewives of Potomac continues on Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo and streaming the next day on Peacock.
