Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Roye Okupe is an award-winning filmmaker, author, speaker, and entrepreneur whose passion for comics and animation led him to found YouNeek Studios in 2012. Under that umbrella, Roye wrote, produced, and directed several animated productions including, but not limited to, the award-winning and critically acclaimed Malika-Warrior Queen animated short film. These productions have allowed Roye to attain many prestigious recognitions such as being #5 on the Ventures Africa list of "40 African Innovators to Watch" (2016), as well as being part of New African Magazine 's "100 Most Influential Africans" two years in a row (2016 and 2017). In August 2015, Roye's debut graphic novel, E.X.O.: The Legend of Wale Williams Part One was received with critical acclaim and has since been featured on CNN, Forbes, The New York Times , NBC, The Guardian , ABC7, BBC, The Huffington Post , Mashable, and more!.