Hakeem Subair

Summary

Hakeem Subair is a co-founder and the CEO of 1 Million Teachers (1MT), an organization committed to creating a world with high-quality teachers and access to a proper education for all children. It empowers educators to provide inclusive, gender-responsive instruction to students in the most under-resourced communities around the world. The organization leverages technology, combined with peer-to-peer support, to train and empower teachers at scale.

Entrepreneurial Impact

Faced with the challenge of finding suitable educational facilities for his daughter in Nigeria, Subair and his family established their own school in 2008. This venture exposed Subair to the profound issues plaguing the Nigerian education system, particularly the chronic shortage of qualified teachers. Motivated by this revelation, Subair embarked on a mission to transform education through 1MT.

The aim of 1MT is to ignite a transformative wave of highly trained, innovative educators to drive grassroots change in their communities. Its journey is a narrative of struggle, resilience, and triumph, mirroring the challenges and victories that have defined educational reform in many parts of the world.

Since its inception, the organization has trained more than 60,000 educators—61 percent of whom are female—across over 20 countries and has indirectly impacted four million students. Through innovative programs, strategic partnerships, and a deep-rooted passion for education, Subair and 1MT are shaping a brighter future for educators and students worldwide.

One of the flagship initiatives of 1MT is the Black Belt Program, an innovative teacher training model inspired by martial arts. Teachers progress through various levels of mastery, from white belt to black belt, by completing online courses, mentoring sessions, and community projects. This program covers essential aspects of teaching, such as pedagogy, curriculum design, classroom management, leadership, and innovation. It also fosters a collaborative learning environment by providing teachers with a global network of peers, experts, and partners.

In partnership with HP® and Girl Rising, 1MT has launched the HP Mentor a Teacher Program, which focuses on gender equity, digital literacy, leadership development, and a success mindset. This six-month program pairs HP employees with Black Belt educators to help them empower girls and advance quality education.

Further, 1MT partners with numerous academic institutions and organizations to provide supplementary teacher education, global knowledge exchanges, and professional development opportunities. These collaborations ensure that aspiring teachers receive comprehensive training that prepares them for the challenges of the education sector.

Subair’s academic background informs his visionary leadership in the education field. An edtech fellow in the Cambridge University/HP Partnership for Education, he received his Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Certificate in Social Impact from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Ontario. Subair also holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Administration with a concentration in strategy and entrepreneurship from the the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor, also in Ontario, and a Bachelor of Sciene in finance from the University of Ilorin in Nigeria.

Subair’s expertise has led him to serve as an adjunct professor at St. Lawrence College Kingston, where he teaches courses in Innovation and Change Management as well as Artificial Intelligence and Entrepreneurship. These roles have allowed him to apply business principles to tackle global challenges and shape his vision for 1MT.

Additional Information

• “1MT Cares,” 1MT Cares website
• LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/hakeemsubair/