Diaspora Star | Amala Okpala : Driving Global Growth for Multicultural Brands at Meta

Amala Okpala is a leading voice in the digital marketing space and a powerful advocate for economic equity through technology. As a Strategic Partner Manager at Instagram (Meta), she stands at the forefront of cultural commerce, working directly with some of the most dynamic BIPOC-owned beauty and fashion brands in the world. Her mission is clear: to help underrepresented businesses grow, scale, and thrive in the global digital economy.

In her role, Amala manages a portfolio of over 65 high-performing, multicultural brands including Telfar, Topicals, Tower28, Ami Colé, and Uoma Beauty. She provides strategic consultation on content development, audience engagement, and commerce integration through Instagram’s tools such as Shops Ads and Instagram Checkout. Under her guidance, many of these brands have achieved remarkable growth, with several experiencing a 300% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Amala is credited with leading Meta’s first-ever BIPOC brand audit, a landmark initiative aimed at evaluating the presence, performance, and support of multicultural businesses across Meta’s platforms. Her work not only brought visibility to systemic gaps but also initiated efforts to intentionally scale diverse-owned enterprises within Meta’s ecosystem. She has also sourced and onboarded more than 500 diverse-owned brands, creating new pathways for visibility, funding, and audience access.

Her accomplishments have earned her widespread recognition. In 2024, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Marketing & Advertising category a testament to her innovative approach and real-world impact in democratizing access to digital tools and markets.

Amala holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California (USC), where she built the foundation for her work at the intersection of media, culture, and commerce. But her influence extends far beyond her corporate position.

She also serves as Co-Director of Ambassador Programming for the Cannes Diversity Collective, where she curates panels, workshops, and exclusive events at the Cannes Festival of Creativity. In this capacity, she amplifies global conversations around inclusivity and creative equity, spotlighting diverse talent from across the diaspora.

A proud Nigerian-American, Amala’s work is driven by a deep commitment to representation, economic inclusion, and generational impact. Whether she's consulting on brand storytelling, facilitating capital access, or shaping thought leadership at international forums, Amala uses her voice and position to uplift communities of color, create sustainable growth models, and build a more inclusive future for global commerce.

Amala Okpala represents the new vanguard of diaspora excellence bold, visionary, and unapologetically committed to reshaping the global business landscape.