In September, INMA awarded 30 young professionals around the world with its fifth “30 Under 30” award as part of its Young Professionals Initiative. This is the 15th in a series of 30 features about the impressive rising media stars who are shaping our industry.

When Eden Benibo founded Hello Icon Magazine in 2021, she had a big dream but “zero penny.”

That hasn’t stopped her from growing her digital media platform — which uses art to “empower and create connections” amongst a diverse population of users — to a community with more than 20,000 users.

As the company’s editorial director, Eden leads a team of more than 20 young journalists and creatives in Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia. Under her direction, they have produced dozens of documentaries to give a voice to underserved creatives around the world.

The Hello Icon team has conducted more than 100 digital interviews in over 20 countries and on four continents with both celebrities and unknown voices, including children and young people in the creative industry who share their stories of struggles and success.

Eden has produced investigative projects rooted in empathy and passion, and her editorial philosopy is shaped by a simple belief: A better world is a product of a better people. With her efforts, she looks to showcase the people who are making a difference and encourage others to do the same.

The desire to create online connections for other creatives grew from Eden’s own experiences of racial discrimination and cyberbullying. She previously led a mental health campaign when Nigeria experienced a wave of suicides among young creatives in 2019, and that helped focus her vision for Hello Icon.

She is passionate about leveraging digital tools for advocacy and storytelling particularly as it relates to the struggles of the creative industry, especially for women and young people: “We have built a space [that] creatives call home.”

Eden is watching her dream come true, and in just three years, the Hello Icon community has grown from 2,000 people to more than 20,000. Within the next two years, Eden is upscaling her digital media company to become the first location-independent media powered by AI while maintaining human nature and values.

She hopes to bridge inequality gaps in the global creative industry while creating and advocating for a more inclusive and enabling environment for all.

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