Young, black and with the world at their feet

They are the politicians, bankers and business people of tomorrow.

Thirty of the country's most promising black students were today tipped as future leaders — in all walks of life — as part of a "power list" of the 100 most influential black people in Britain.

Among them is Yaa Ofori-Ansah, 21, who grew up on a council estate in Battersea, is entering her third year studying law at the School of Oriental and African Studies and has racked up an impressive list of political experience.

She has done placements in Parliament, with her local MP Martin Linton, at West London magistrates' and county courts as well as shadowing an MP in Ghana. She is building an orphanage in her mother's hometown in Kwahu in southern Ghana.

"I've grown up interested in politics, especially African politics. I had a very independent and focused mother who always encouraged my education. If I can be a role model for other young people then that's an honour and a blessing," she said.

Lawson Nzekwe launched an iPod import business at the age of 16 when his parents told him to "get a summer job". His turnover hit £300,000 in the first year. Now 21 and a business management student at University College London, he has been identified as an inspiring example of young talent emerging from within the country's Afro-Caribbean and African communities.

Mr Nzekwe, from Streatham, who put his business on hold to concentrate on his studies, said: "It's a real privilege to be on this list. It was difficult getting people to take me seriously and some were definitely put off by my age.

"But once people started to realise that I was serious, it became a lot easier. I learned that starting a business from scratch is one of the hardest things you can do." Also on the list is Vicky Ngari-Wilson, 21, who is studying creative writing at Roehampton University. She combined her role as Miss East Africa with setting up a creative agency, which is an official partner for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Thomas Chigbo, 21, this year became the first black president of Cambridge University students' union. Mr Chigbo, from Kentish Town, was elected after the highest turnout in years. He graduated with a 2:1 in geography and is part of an organisation set up to encourage ethnic minority pupils to apply to Oxford and Cambridge. He said: "When I got to Cambridge it gave me an opportunity to question the whole world and the chance to get involved in things that I thought I wouldn't be able to do."

The list, published by Powerful Media, only includes students who have achieved or are on course to get a 2:1 or higher degree.

Its editor, Adenike Adeniture, said a list of role models near their age could encourage young people: "We constantly hear peer pressure is what gets a lot of young people into trouble, so we reasoned that surely it could work the other way round, too."