Leading Without Limits

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The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve 

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From 

Our Guest 

Editors 

Celebrating the 

Visionary Woman 

Published By 

Publisher 

Frank Aigbogun 

Head of Business Development 

& Client Services 

Ikenna Onuorah 

Head of Marketing 

Akintunde Marinho 

Head of Business & Growth 

Oghenevwoke Ighure 

Editor 

Patrick Atuanya 

Head of Operations 

Fabian Akagha 

Head of Advertising & Sales 

Rerhe Idonije 

ED, Growth 

Lanre Solarin 

Chief Strategy Officer 

Lehlé Baldé 

Chief Communications Officer 

Chima Francis Nduka 

Associate Editor 

John Iyoha 

Ass. Managing Editor 

Ayandola Ayanleke 

Specialist Editor 

Lucy Onuorah 

Digital Communications 

Opeolu Adeyemi 

CSR Administrator 

Precious Aligba 

Design | Illustration 

Sodeinde Oladapo 

The visionary woman is a woman of purpose, a woman 

who is leading without limits, and a woman who does not 

back down in the face of challenges. She is a risk taker, a 

woman who owns her story, knows herself and her worth, and is 

unapologetic about reaching for the stars. 

For many years, women empowerment has been a recurring 

discourse on different platforms. The United Nations, in 

particular, has proudly taken a lead role in making sure that 

women are empowered and celebrated. 

As such, the annual International Women’s Day has now 

become a day widely acknowledged by both men and women. 

And sometimes, despite, all these beautiful changes, the 

definition of a strong leading woman is unclear and even 

controversial. 

But then comes the visionary woman, who is helping to change 

the narrative. The one-sided narrative that has accompanied 

women for years has been transformed by the visionary woman 

because she is not deterred by limitations. 

And just like the International Women’s Day theme for 2019, 

she is building smart by building her brand and owning her 

story, making sure to pass the baton to the younger generation 

through education and other forms of empowerment and also 

innovating for change by acknowledging the need for gender 

inclusion across board. 

In this edition, we have tried to bring together different 

visionary women to share their stories and illuminate the 

different dynamics they experienced to get to where they are 

presently. We hope that their stories guide you to move from 

where you are to where you really want to be. We were careful 

to pick women across different industries to inspire and to 

simply let you know that you can... 

#BeTheChange #DreamBig 

Tomi Otudeko and Tosin Faniro-Dada 

Guest Editors 

Tomi Otudeko and Tosin 

Faniro-Dada 

Managing Editor 

Sharon-Ann Adaigbe 

Consulting Editor 

Oge Modebelu 

Creative Director 

Segun Adekoye 

Art director 

Kola Oshalusi 

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Adeola Ajewole 

Advertising 

Linda Ochugbua 

ED, Strategy & Planning 

Bankole Jamgbadi 

ED, Innovation & Marketing 

Damilola Oyewusi 

Address 

In-house Graphics 

Ralph Ifie 

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James Otihi 

IT Team 

Andre Udegbe 

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Ozinna Anumudu for 

The Style Concierge 

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Lilian Paul Omozele 

for The Beauty Precinct 

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T’S Beauty Ace 

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Contributors 

Adedoyin 

Jaiyesimi 

Francesca 

Uriri 

Oluwatosin 

“OloriSuperGal” 

Ajibade 

is the Head of Communications at Content Craft, a bespoke 

content development and brand communications agency. She 

has over six years’ experience creating content and developing 

and executing social media strategy for brands and individuals. 

She has successfully executed projects for the Bill and Melinda 

Gates Foundation, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group 

(NESG), the W Community, Women in Business, Management 

and Public Service (WIMBIZ), Leading Ladies Africa, African 

Philanthropy Forum amongst others. 

is the Head of Communications for West Africa at Uber. 

She is also the Founder of Leading Ladies Africa; a women 

empowerment non-profit that celebrates the lives of African 

women, and promotes leadership, diversity and gender 

inclusion. She is a Public Relations and Communications 

expert with 11+ years’ experience spanning corporate relations, 

corporate reputation management, event architecture, media 

management and content development. 

is the Founder of leading lifestyle and entertainment website, 

OloriSuperGal.com. One of the early adopters in the Nigerian 

social media space, she has also founded Media Exposure, 

a digital marketing arm of Olori SuperGal Limited. Through 

the OSG brand, Tosin recently championed the New Media 

Conference (NMC), an annual gathering of key stakeholders 

with the aim of improving marketing and advertising 

standards in the Nigerian online/digital media space. 

Arit 

Okpo 

Kemi 

Okusanya 

Tolulope 

Omoleye- 

Osindero 

is a Media Entrepreneur who currently focuses on 

Documentary Filmmaking, Voice-Overs, TV Presenting and 

Event Moderating. She has produced and presented content 

for the EbonyLife TV platform and is the current voice of 

CNN’s African Voices as well as season host for web talk 

show Untold Facts. She also served as the Channel’s Senior 

Correspondent to the Nigerian Presidential Villa. Arit worked 

with the CNN team on Richard Quest’s visit to Nigeria for 

Quest Business Traveller. Follow her on @menoword on both 

Twitter and Instagram. 

is the Vice President, VISA West Africa. With an MBA from 

Warwick Business School UK, Kemi has and has over 18 

years of experience in Global Payments, Money Transfer 

and Banking. Prior to joining Visa, Kemi worked as Head of 

Anglophone Africa for MoneyGram. 

is a Senior Associate at Udo Udoma and Belo-Osagie’s 

Banking and Finance team with a focus on fintech, corporate 

finance, syndicated lending, secured transactions, trade 

finance, structured finance and project finance. She is also 

a member of the Finance and Financial Markets Policy 

Commission of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. 

Bidemi 

Zakariyau 

Misan 

Rewane 

Tomi 

Otudeko 

is the Founder & CEO of LSF|PR, a full service public relations 

agency with core competencies in corporate communications, 

consumer and lifestyle brands. The agency’s clients include 

some of the best global and local brands including Philips, 

Branch, Baker Hughes (a GE Company), TREXM Oil and 

Gas Services, Reckitt-Benckiser, Remy-Cointreau and many 

more. LSF|PR is a recipient of a certificate of excellence by 

the SABRE Awards (2018). Bidemi has been listed by Forbes 

Africa as one of the innovators and game-changers in business 

on the prestigious 30 Under 30 list (2018) amongst other 

awards and recognitions. 

is co-founder and CEO of WAVE. After graduating from 

Stanford University, she worked with The Monitor Group, 

TechnoServe, and the Centre for Public Policy Alternatives. As 

an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School, she partnered 

with fellow West Africans who were passionate about tackling 

youth unemployment and launched WAVE in 2013. WAVE 

tackles youth unemployment by identifying motivated but 

underserved West African youth, training them on crucial 

employability skills, and connecting them to entry-level job 

opportunities. 

is the Head, Innovation and Sustainability of the Honeywell 

Group Limited and Director of Itanna, Honeywell Group’s 

venture capital platform. She is a graduate of Kings College, 

London with a Bachelor’s Degree in Law, holds a Master’s 

Degree in Economics and is an Alumna of Stanford University 

Graduate School of Business. Tomi has deep roots and a 

career network that spans across notable brands such as IBM, 

Stanbic IBTC and First Bank Nigeria. 

Folashade 

Ambrose- 

Medebem 

Nkem 

Okocha 

Tosin 

Faniro-Dada 

is currently the Director of Communications, Public Affairs 

& Sustainable Development for Lafarge Africa PLC. She 

has also worked with multinationals, such as, Diageo Plc., 

PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ford Motor Company – UK & 

Germany, Zurich Financial Services, Learning & Skills Council 

UK, Nigeria Ministry of Finance and the Department for 

International Development (DFID) UK. Fola is an alumnus of 

Said Business School, Oxford, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in 

Accounting and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). 

She is also a certified Financial Management professional with 

the Chartered Insurance Institute (Cii) in the UK amongst a 

plethora of other professional qualifications. 

is the founder of Mamamoni, a Fintech Social Enterprise that 

empowers rural and urban slum women with vocational/ 

Financial skills and Mobile Loans. Since 2013, she has impacted 

and empowered over 6000 poor women in several rural 

communities in Nigeria. She is a member of Lagos Innovates 

Advisory Council. She is a Tony Elumelu Foundation Alumna, 

A Mandela Washington Fellow, and LEAP Africa Outstanding 

Social Innovator. She has won many awards for her work with 

women in Nigeria. 

currently Head of Start-Ups at Lagos State Employment Trust 

Fund (LSETF). She joined LSETF as the Head of Strategy & 

Partnerships in 2016. Prior to working at LSETF, Tosin worked 

in the Corporate Banking Division at Skye Bank (now Polaris 

Bank), and also as a Financial Analyst at ARM. Tosin spent 

three years in PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston auditing 

mutual and private equity funds. 

Ukwuori- 

Gisela Kalu 

Yadichinma 

Ukoha-Kalu 

is a Clinical Psychologist who obtained a Bachelor (BSc Hons) in Psychology, a Masters (MSc) in 

Neuropsychology and a Doctorate (DClinPsy) in Clinical Psychology from the Institute of Psychiatry. 

She has worked clinically and in research in a variety of countries, including Germany, the United 

Kingdom, the United States of America, Mexico, Argentina, and Tanzania. She also consults for 

several Nigerian hospital, as well as national and international NGOs. She is a registered member of 

the United Kingdom Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). 

was born in Nigeria in 1995 and studies lines and forms to question the world and navigate the 

experience of discovery. An experimental artist, her varied mediums include digital media, film, 

painting, photography and sculpture. Her work is in constant evolution as she is inspired by the 

theme of change. 

Copyright © 2019 The Spark. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be transmitted in any form or by any means, 

electronic or mechanical, without prior permission of The Spark. 

We do not endorse any products or services mentioned in any of the articles and are not responsible for the outcome of using such products or services.


Contents 


04 

BOTTOMLINE 

Kemi Okusanya 

The Payments Maven 

23 

Special Features 

Ibukun Awosika 

The Torchbearer 

Osaretin Demuren 

The Trailblazer 

06 

PRO BONO 

Tolulope Omoleye-Osindero 

The Start-Up Counsel 

27 

FEATURES 

Nkem Okocha 

The Financial Inclusion Advocate 

Folashade Ambrose-Medebem 

The Business Maverick 

07 

VITAL SIGNS 

Ukwuori-Gisela Kalu 

The Mental Health Practitioner 

Misan Rewane 

The Passionate Humanitarian 

Fab Five 

Women to Watch 

Tosin Faniro-Dada 

The Start-Up Enabler 

Adedoyin Jaiyesimi 

The Creative Content Connoisseur 

08 

FREESTYLE 

Yadichinma Ukoha-Kalu 

Third Person in the Third Space 

38 

Tomi Otudeko 

The Enterprise Igniter 

FAST FORWARD 

Arit Okpo 

The Amplifier 

09 

Bull’s Eye 

Bidemi Zakariyau 

The Voice 

Francesca Uriri 

The Communicator 

40 

START UP 

Tosin Ajibade 

The New Media Icon 

13 

THE SPARK EFFECT 

Leading Without Limits 

Ndidi Nwuneli 

Cherry Eromosele 

Eyitope Kola-Oyeneyin 

Jumoke Oduwole 

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BOTTOMLINE 

Kemi Okusanya 

The Payments Maven 

Kemi Okusanya is the Vice President at VISA West Africa. She has always led 

her life by setting goals and going all out to meet them. She shares her story 

on reaching for the stars as a visionary woman. 

“Leadership is 

you leading 

yourself. “ 

Early Start 

I 

grew up being exposed to innovation 

and technology at a young age. I 

usually would set up all the gadgets 

in the house, change light bulbs, and 

so on. While this interest may not have 

directly led me to where I am right now, 

I’ve always believed that you attract 

who you are. So, in my role at Visa, I 

have seen this existing passion come to 

the fore as we sit at the crossroads of 

today’s innovation and technology. 

One of the things I love about working 

at VISA is understanding the merchant 

space and the consumer space and 

how they relate. That understanding 

helps me in my current role where I’m 

able to ensure we bring in the right 

technology to solve these problems. 

Technology is about solving things, it’s 

about finding newer and interesting 

ways of solving problems. 

Taking Charge 

Having lost my mum at 13 while I was 

in secondary school, this was one point 

in my life that seemed like the end. 

My mum practically formed me - my 

thinking, my desires and dreams were 

built around her. She was someone 

who believed in me, she felt that I was 

going to conquer the world. That said, 

I didn’t realise until that moment that 

there was a strong woman on the inside 

that saw this hurdle as a step forward. 

I asked- what would my mum want 

me to do? Will my dreams just die? I 

picked myself up and this is where my 

success story begins. At 13, I began to 

take charge of my life. 

Career Evolution 

Interestingly, I studied Geography in 

the university which does not exactly 

relate with what I currently do at 

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VISA. I remember starting my career 

in ExxonMobil, shortly before NYSC. 

From there, I moved on to banking, 

then, the remittance industry and now 

technology. 

I always had goals for myself which I 

have built consistently. I started having 

these goals early on. For example, 

during my NYSC days at ExxonMobil, 

it was common knowledge that Youth 

Corp members are known to only run 

errands in and out of the office. But I 

told myself that I was better than that 

and found that my bosses started 

giving me more relevant assignments. I 

give myself targets of what I wanted to 

achieve which went into my everyday 

work life. 

I have also applied this principle in 

my current role at VISA. One of our 

goals is to ensure that more people are 

financially-included. It is one thing to 

have a goal and another thing to plan it 

out and set the path to achieving these 

goals. An important factor is pretty 

much how I work and also the efforts 

of my team. 

To My Younger Self 

I always assumed that leadership was 

all about being placed in a position 

of authority. This isn’t the case. 

Leadership begins with you leading 

yourself. I started doing that early on 

but I didn’t realise it. As early as when 

I was 13 or 14, I took charge of my life. 

I didn’t realise when I was doing this. 

Perhaps, if I had, I would have done 

more because somehow, I kept waiting 

for the day when I would be a leader. 

So, I love to share my experiences with 

young people to let them know that 

you don’t have to be a prefect or a 

team lead to make an impact. 

If I could go back in time, I would tell 

my younger self - There is nothing 

stopping you. If there is a dream, go 

for it. I saw certain limitations and 

didn’t go for some things I wanted. But 

now, I have learnt you are the only one 

stopping you. I am happy about where I 

am but I probably would have achieved 

more if I knew this earlier. 

Peers and Friendships 

As an individual, if you really want to 

be successful, you need to leverage 

relationships and invest in those 

relationships as well. 

I have friends that we do not get to 

see each other or talk every day - 

and I think this is what defines true 

friendships. These kind of friends will 

always be there for you when push 

comes to shove. I believe we all need 

each other to get to where we need 

to be. 


Memorable Moments 

During one of my previous careers, we 

had a request we needed to be granted 

by the CBN. This particular request had 

been on the pipeline for years, even 

before I joined the company. We kept 

on pushing and eventually, we got the 

approval but it was far from what we 

had wanted. While my team wanted 

to relent, I decided we needed to have 

another meeting, which we did. Long 

and short, our request was granted. 

What I learnt from this is how little 

consistent actions can change an entire 

industry. Being a significant part of this 

process, made it a very memorable 

moment for me. 

Changing the Perception of Women 

The first thing that needs to be done 

is to change the mentality of women 

about themselves. We are the ones 

who can actually create the change 

we desire. If as a woman, you want to 

be an auto-mechanic, why hold back? 

Who cares if you are the only female 

student in the class? Women need to 

start supporting themselves and also 

engage in conversations where we 

need to discuss the stereotypes we 

need to fix. 

I know there are societies where 

women are limited in achieving their 

full potential. If there is anything that I 

want changed, it is that policies should 

not be made to limit women. I believe 

people should be allowed to compete 

based on competence, talent and skills. 

Continuing Education 

We never stop learning and for me, 

beyond the informal skills learnt 

from our day to day interaction, it is 

important to invest in continued formal 

education as much as you can. This 

allows you see things from different 

perspectives, it broadens your thought 

process. When you interact with 

colleagues from other industries, you 

find there are certain things you can 

pull from their industry into yours. I 

always say that formal education is 

very key. 

I believe so much in education and 

I believe it is one thing we should 

all invest in. I believe if you want to 

upscale in your career as a woman, get 

education. 

Attracting the Right Talent 

This is not just about the skills, it is also 

about attitude. Can this person work in 

a team? Does this person have the right 

passion? You need the right people to 

deliver the right products because you 

can only attract the right clients with 

the right product. And it is not about 

simply bringing them in, it is also about 

bringing the best out of them. So, a 

company needs to continue to invest in 

personnel so they can get better. 

This is the abridged version. Find the complete article on our website www.thesparkng.com/category/catch-up 

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PROBONO 

Tolulope Omoleye-Osindero 

The Start-Up Counsel 

Tolulope Omoleye-Osindero is a Senior Associate in Udo Udoma & Belo 

Osagie’s Banking and Finance team. She shares her journey and some 

pointers towards building a successful career. 

I 

wish I could say that I had always 

wanted to be a lawyer, unfortunately 

this is not my story as I really wanted 

to study economics or a businessrelated 

course. When I look back at the 

many times I rehearsed debate points 

with my dad, I should have known that 

the universe was preparing me for this 

career. Ultimately, I am grateful that I 

stumbled into a profession where my 

skill, knowledge and input is required 

across different sectors. 

By way of background, I am a qualified 

legal practitioner and I have been 

practising law in Nigeria for close to 

ten years. My major practice areas are 

Banking and Finance, which includes 

Fintech and Project Finance, Corporate 

Advisory and Investments. 

How did I get here? I think my interest in 

economics and commerce in secondary 

school ignited a sense of commercial 

awareness that has increased over the 

years ... I would say that having a sense 

of focus and direction has played a 

strong role in my career choices and 

path. For instance, I intentionally did 

not choose a master’s degree in Law 

and instead opted for a MSc in Law and 

Finance specifically because I wanted 

to increase my understanding of the 

financial system. 

Was it easy? No, but I studied hard and 

took extra online classes that helped 

with my finance subjects. I finished my 

post graduate degree with just a few 

points shy of a distinction. Completing 

that course not only helped me 

professionally as a finance lawyer but 

also boosted my self-confidence and I 

am quick to advise anyone to identify a 

challenge that is pivotal to their career 

and go for it. 

While focus is important, I believe that 

relationships are even more important. 

Some of the opportunities that have 

helped me professionally have come 

from former colleagues, my supervisors 

or even clients. I am indeed very grateful 

for the support from my superiors 

and colleagues at work. Younger 

women need to cultivate professional 

relationships from day one. You must 

remember that it’s a two-way street 

and you can only build relationships 

by giving. The singular act of sharing 

useful information or industry updates 

with your contacts can help you nurture 

lasting relationships. 

Recently, I started developing capacity 

and knowledge in the startup space and 

I have found this to be very interesting. 

As a consultant used to advising large 

corporates, you need a paradigm shift 

to advise start-ups and smaller entities. 

The last three years have taught me 

how to invest in client relationships, 

become a trusted advisor to my clients 

and caused me to expand my service 

offerings even beyond typical legal 

advice. 

Last year was the year I did the most 

work with startups and accelerators 

as a lawyer and I enjoyed the process 

of helping the founders navigate legal 

and operational issues. I worked on a 

project two years ago and seeing the 

company being recognized as a force in 

the consumer finance space in Nigeria 

gave me a renewed vigor to work with 

even more startups. 

My wealth of experience advising 

big financiers and investors has also 

proved to be an asset in terms of 

helping startups prepare for funding. I 

would like to think that my recognition 

by the Chambers and Partners for my 

work in the Fintech Space is a result of 

some of the startup projects I worked 

on in the last two years. 

In the course of my career, I have seen 

an increase in the number of womenled 

businesses in Nigeria and Africa, 

even outside of the conventional retail 

and fashion space. Many professional 

women are starting and running 

profitable businesses and this is a 

development I am proud of. I am even 

more excited about women in the 

technology and innovation space and I 

believe that we will see more of these. 

What can we do better? Not being 

an advocate of affirmative action or 

policies, I would simply push that we 

give women the same opportunities 

that men are given. 

Lastly, I am looking forward to doing 

more in the start up space both in the 

financial services and the innovative 

space as a whole. 

#WhatSheSaid 

To be successful in any endeavour you’ll 

need to be focused, identify challenges 

that are pivotal to your career and go 

for it. You should also cultivate professional 

relationships from the start. 

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VITAL SIGNS 

Ukwuori-Gisela Kalu 

The Mental Health 

Practitioner 

The mental health sector in Nigeria has been relatively 

ignored. While there are opportunities in this sector, a 

mental health professional who is looking to run as a 

private business should learn from Dr Kalu’s experience 

and draw from these guidelines. 

I 

studied Psychology in the UK, I 

did my first degree, masters and 

doctorate there. While writing my 

doctorate thesis, I realised I lacked the 

support that came with a robust social 

network of friends and family. So, in a 

quest to be closer to my loved ones, 

and excited by the opportunity to 

contribute to the relatively neglected 

area of mental health care in Nigeria, I 

moved to Nigeria in 2016 and started a 

private psychology practice. 

When I first opened my private 

psychology practice three years ago, 

I had little business experience and I 

didn’t really understand what it takes 

to run a business in Nigeria. If you are 

considering working (privately) as 

a mental healthcare professional in 

Nigeria, here are some things that I 

wish I’d known. 

Private Practice is a Business 

My initial decision to establish a private 

psychology practice was based on the 

fact that the country currently lacks 

adequate mental health infrastructure 

and does not have adequate 

governmental investment in mental 

health. I wanted to provide evidencebased 

diagnosis and treatment for 

individuals suffering from mental ill 

health. 

Yet the truth is, running a private 

psychology practice in Nigeria is a 

business. No matter how much you 

see yourself first and foremost as a 

clinician concerned with your patient’s 

health, the sooner you accept that you 

are running a business, the better. 

The Importance of Marketing & Social 

Media 

I have learnt that you can be a terrific 

clinician and have a tiny private prac- 

tice if you’re not good at marketing. 

Social media is definitely a good way, 

if not the way, to do some marketing 

these days. Instagram, Facebook and 

Twitter are all good ways of reaching 

people. Not just to talk about yourself 

or your service, but to advocate or educate 

people about mental health, for 

example. 

Finding Your Niche 

Developing a niche can also be 

helpful. There is currently still a need 

for professionals and services in all 

areas of mental health and clinical 

psychology in Nigeria. Before moving 

to Nigeria and opening my practice, I 

gained experience and skills in working 

with a variety of people. Given the lack 

of services, this allows me to provide a 

wide variety of people in Nigeria with 

access to psychological care. 

However, my areas of expertise are in 

trauma and addictions psychology. I 

have a very strong knowledge base 

in these areas, and as a result, I not 

only practice, but I consult for several 

NGOs. I believe it’s best to specialise 

in an area that you are particularly 

passionate about and a good way of 

finding out which area that is can be 

through volunteering. 

The Danger of Isolation 

When you work as a clinician in 

a hospital, it’s easy to take social 

interaction and peer relationships for 

granted. There’s always someone to 

consult when there are difficulties. 

For many clinicians, the transition into 

private practice therefore often means 

a loss of a professional support system, 

and there is a need to actively seek 

social interaction and consultation. 

Due to the low number of trained 

mental health care professionals in the 

“You can be a terrific clinician 

and have a tiny private 

practice if you’re not good at 

marketing. 

country, this is even more so the case in 

Nigeria. It will be important for you to 

seek regular clinical supervision in your 

practice. 

The Importance of Boundaries 

When I began my private psychology 

practice in Nigeria, I was driven by 

the need for mental health care in the 

country. The stigma around mental 

health means that the individuals 

I see are often more severely ill. 

Accordingly, I felt a huge responsibility 

to be available for all my clients all the 

time, and so I returned phone calls 

and emails 24/7. As time went by, this 

became more difficult to maintain. It 

is also unhealthy and a contradiction 

to what I teach my clients. I have now 

been able to put healthier boundaries in 

place. if you are thinking of establishing 

a private practice, I encourage you to 

do the same from the start. 

#WhatSheSaid 

In summary, to succeed as a private 

mental health doctor, you have to treat 

it as a business, you have to market your 

business, carve out a niche for yourself, 

stay in touch with your colleagues and 

set proper boundaries between you 

and your clients. 

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FREESTYLE 

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BULL’S EYE 

Bidemi Zakariyau 

The Voice 

Bidemi Zakariyau is the founder of LSF|PR, one of the fastest 

growing PR agencies in Nigeria. In this piece, she shares her story to 

ignite the growth of potential women seeking to reach their dreams. 

How I Began 

I 

have always been interested in media 

and communications since I was a 

teenager. However, the dream of 

studying Public Relations in university 

died when I turned out to be the best 

law student in college. But after law 

school, and working at top-tier law 

firms, I decided to finally follow my 

passion for public relations. 

The Challenges 

My journey was not void of challenges, 

notable of which are diversifying 

my client portfolio, building a team 

and scaling – with no PR experience. 

Initially, I worked with fashion brands, 

but I wanted to work with corporate 

and consumer brands too. However, 

the biggest challenge was finding the 

right people because of the skills gap 

in Nigeria. 

I also had to deal with Nigerians not 

believing and respecting the talents of 

young women. I started my company at 

23 and found that not only were clients 

skeptical about working with a young 

woman, but many people, including 

potential employees and their family 

members found it odd that I was such 

a young entrepreneur and this made 

hiring even more difficult. 

Going Global 

I continued to build our client portfolio. 

The breakthrough moment happened 

when we did the PR for a client’s 

art exhibition and we secured Laurent-Perrier 

Champagne as an alcoholic 

beverage sponsor. The art exhibition 

received a lot of press coverage which 

Laurent-Perrier benefited from. 

I called the Laurent-Perrier team and 

asked to meet with them and discuss 

PR strategy that could help in positioning 

the brand in Nigeria. I knew full well 

that this was a longshot as a company 

that big may not want to work with 

small PR agencies such as mine. 

After the meeting, I was informed that 

the company represented other brands 

and was told to send a proposal for the 

twelve beverage brands under Ledrop. 

They loved all our ideas and offered us 

all their key accounts. 

These accounts were huge for us as 

they were all global brands, our work 

with these brands – positioning them in 

the Nigerian market - had a beneficial 

effect on the growth of my company. 

If I Could… 

I wish I had worked at a PR agency 

first. I think getting experience first 

before starting my own business 

could have prepared for some of the 

operational challenges of running a PR 

business. Personally, that is a piece of 

advice I would give my younger self 

and any potential entrepreneur out 

there. Getting experience cannot be 

overemphasised. 

Support System 

Having a great support system is 

valuable as a business owner. You 

need people who troubleshoot with 

you when you have problems and 

people who cheer you on when you 

have bad days. Partnerships are great 

because you can move faster when you 

collaborate with others. However, you 

have to be careful about it. 

On Vision... 

Vision is important because it gives 

you a direction and something to look 

back at even if you succeed or fail. 

From a leadership perspective, vision 

is everything. What type of leader are 

you if you have no vision? You have a 

“You don’t want to look back 

on your life and have regrets. 

Regrets that you didn’t pursue 

your passions and you spent 

your life focusing on other people’s 

ideas of who you should 

be as a woman.” 

team depending on you and it’s your 

job to share that vision with them so 

they can execute effectively. 

Being a Woman 

There’s no gainsaying that it is definitely 

challenging being a young woman in 

Nigeria - across family, social and political 

expectations – but you have to be 

fearless. You don’t want to look back 

on your life and have regrets because 

you didn’t pursue your passions but 

spent your life focusing on other people’s 

ideas of who you should be. 

From a business perspective, programmes 

that demand diversity across 

all levels of a company are also important. 

You can claim to be a diverse company 

that hires women but if all these 

women are lower staff and not the decision-makers 

- managers, directors, 

board members and so on, then there’s 

something wrong. Investors need to 

give more funding to women to help 

balance out the gender wealth gap 

and the gender pay gap. 

#WhatSheSaid 

• Live fearlessly and follow your 

passions. 

• As a boss, you have to live out 

your vision if you want your staff 

to believe in and run with it 

This is the abridged version. Find the complete article on our website www.thesparkng.com/category/catch-up 

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Francesca Uriri 

The Communicator 

Francesca Uriri is the founder of Leading Ladies Africa, a non-profit 

organisation focused on gender inclusion, especially for women of African 

descent. She sits on the Board of Trustees of The Future Project and 

serves as the Head of Communications in West Africa for Uber. In her 

piece, she shares with us how she has learnt to live fearlessly... 

“If I knew then when 

I was younger what 

I know now, I would 

have been less 

doubtful about my 

capabilities and less 

fearful about the 

future. Most of my 20s 

was spent worrying 

and fearful about 

what was coming 

ahead that I didn’t really 

spend time living 

and enjoying myself.” 

Back to the Beginning... 

I 

would LOVE to say that there were 

pointers from my childhood to what 

I’m doing now, but that wouldn’t be 

the truth. First, because I wanted to be 

so many things – A newscaster, Onyeka 

Onwenu, Superman (yes, Clark Kent in 

the movie), to mention a few... Lol! As I 

evolved and became older, my dreams 

evolved too – and I think it’s important 

for others to know that. Sometimes, 

the path isn’t clear until you start 

walking in it. And for me that didn’t 

happen until I became a Marketing & 

Events Executive for a global cosmetic 

company when I was about 20 years 

old. It was only then that the path for 

me began to get clearer. 

I did experience challenges in the 

course of my journey but although 

this might sound a little weird, for me 

the biggest personal challenge was 

“staying the course.” I started out in 

Public Relations 12 years ago – but I 

wasn’t always sure it was something I 

was meant to be doing. Because I’m a 

creative person, it was easy for me to 

do different things – so my attention 

was a bit all over the place at the 

beginning. 

I dabbled into presenting, acting, etc. 

But I think as I got older, I started to 

get a lot more focused and grounded. 

Add that to all the experience I was 

aggregating – the more experience you 

have, the more confident you become. 

And the more confident you become, 

the more you enjoy what you do. So 

the last 6 years in my career have really 

been this incredible time of deepening 

my roots and flying higher. 

The Spark 

However, the moment I would consider 

as “the spark” to my success was 

definitely when I started out as a PR 

Executive at Sesema Public Relations 

12 years ago. Prior to this time, I’d been 

reading and learning about Public 

Relations, and it seemed like something 

I could be great at – because I was a 

good writer, creative, I loved meeting 

people, and I was great at organizing 

events. 

But if Alima Atta, then CEO of Sesema 

PR didn’t give me the chance to prove 

myself, and brush my very rough 

edges, I never would have known. Not 

to mention that I didn’t do really well 

(in my opinion) in my first interview – 

but somehow, she overlooked that and 

gave me an opportunity that set me on 

the path to becoming the professional 

that I am today. 

Every time I have been given the 

opportunity to shine and achieve 

something of measurable impact – yes, 

that would count as being memorable. 

I also imagine that becoming a mother 

(for the first time) would definitely be 

something I’d never forget. I have much 

more up my sleeves that I can’t reveal. 

Just stick around and watch me make 

magic. :-D 

Younger Self 

I would have been less doubtful about 

my capabilities and less fearful about 

the future. Most of my 20s was spent 

worrying and fearful about what was 

coming ahead that I didn’t really spend 

time living and enjoying myself. Not 

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to say that some of the fears weren’t 

valid, but riddling myself with fear and 

anxiety was definitely NOT the way 

to go. Stepping into my 30s gave me 

fresh perspective and really gave me 

the required confidence and validation 

I needed. 

The Blueprint Called Vision 

Having a vision for your life and 

what you want out of it is extremely 

important. And this cuts across career, 

business, family and even spirituality. 

Having a vision is kind of like having 

a blueprint that guides what you’re 

doing and the person you’re becoming. 

Not everything works out exactly the 

way one envisions it – but it’s ultimately 

best to have a mental picture of what 

you want out of life, if not you’ll just do 

anything that comes your way. 

Challenges 

In terms of challenges and obstacles, 

Nigeria is sadly riddled with them – 

lack of basic infrastructure, the fact 

that unexpected things can and do 

happen frequently (the postponed 

elections as an example), changes in 

policy & regulation, etc. It’s hard to plan 

and stay enthused in the midst of all of 

that. So, one must develop a means to 

switch quickly to option B, and adapt 

to some of these challenges. And also, 

if possible, take some time away from 

all the stress to some place quiet to 

decompress and reimagine. 

The Right Circles 

Relationships are absolutely essential 

to me, and I work really hard to 

maintain the ones in my life. I have a 

small circle of friends, and an even 

smaller circle of mentors, advisers 

and those who provide counsel and 

direction for my life. I call them bridges 

– because their influence is evident in 

the things I’ve achieved in my life, and 

they’re constantly rooting for me and 

cheering me on, while also serving the 

fantastic purpose of bringing me back 

to earth if and when my head gets lost 

in the clouds. I’m also focused on being 

bridges for these people as well – to 

ensure our relationships are symbiotic. 

Dear Young Woman... 

I never like to be seen as the “stuffy” 

person giving advice Lol! But I would 

say this to you – do NOT be afraid to be 

yourself – to be truly and confidently 

yourself. We have a culture that 

encourages women to pretend to be 

something other than themselves – and 

that stifles growth in so many ways. So 

be yourself, speak up about your ideas, 

be confident, and do the things that 

resonate with your heart and spirit. 

And if like me, you want to cut your 

hair and colour it red – just do it! Be 

unafraid to be your most authentic and 

original self. Of a truth, the society is 

not favourable but you can still write 

your own story. 

Policies 

Most of the laws and policies in Nigeria 

don’t favour or benefit women. Nigeria 

is one of the most oppressive places to 

be a woman – culturally and legally, and 

that needs to change urgently. So it’s 

not just about “favouring women.” It’s 

about creating a society where women 

are given the opportunity to thrive and 

reach their highest potential. It’s about 

federal lawmakers formulating relevant 

laws and policies, that show they are 

aware and attuned to the needs of 

women in the 21st century. 

It’s about women refusing to be pacified 

by tokenist attempts to placate them. 

It’s about gender parity. It’s about men 

seeing women as equals and realizing 

that they need to become allies in 

creating a more equitable system that 

benefits our local communities and 

society at large. These are some of 

the issues we’re currently tackling at 

Leading Ladies Africa – a non-profit 

I founded for the main purpose of 

redefining leadership for women, and 

creating a space where women are 

encouraged to thrive. 

#WhatSheSaid 

• As you mature and change as 

a person, your dreams can also 

evolve - and that’s okay. 

• 

• Having the right relationships 

around you is vital; they are bridges 

from where you are to where 

you want to be 

This is the abridged version. Find the 

complete article on our website www. 

thesparkng.com/category/catch-up 

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THE SPARK EFFECT 

Ndidi Nwuneli 

The Entrepreneur 

Extraordinaire 

“Do not follow the path, go where 

there is no path and leave a trail.” 

…On Vision 

My name is Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, 

co-founder of AACE Foods and 

founder of LEAP Africa and Managing 

Partner of Sahel Consulting Agriculture 

& Nutrition. I am a serial social entrepreneur, 

a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, 

Board member, author, philanthropist and a 

proud African. 

Propelled by my Christian faith, a purpose 

driven life has been my mantra from a very 

young age. My mother – Prof. Rina Okonkwo 

- helped me identify my interests and 

strengths in business and management. 

She encouraged me to apply to the Wharton 

School of the University of Pennsylvania 

for my undergraduate education, which 

provided an excellent foundation for me to 

build a career in the business world. At 20, 

when I graduated and started my professional 

career with McKinsey & Company in 

their Chicago office, I worked in a range of 

sectors. However, I was drawn to the social 

enterprise and consumer goods sectors, 

because they had a direct impact on the 

lives of people. 

I also spent some of my summer breaks 

working in emerging markets and was most 

fulfilled when I engaged on projects focused 

on wealth creation and entrepreneurship 

development! This propelled me to leave 

McKinsey and return to Nigeria to serve as 

the pioneer ED for the FATE Foundation, 

founded by Mr. Fola Adeola and to go on 

to establish a range of organizations and 

initiatives. 

“Choose a life partner who 

shares your dreams and 

visions and will support you 

to achieve your highest potential 

and vice versa.” 

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For everything I have started I have 

been propelled by a very clear personal 

vision, and also believed that every 

organization that I establish should 

have clearly articulated missions, 

visions and values. 

…on LEAP Africa 

I established LEAP Africa in 2002 

based on two convictions. First – that 

Africa desperately needed a new 

generation of visionary, ethical, creative 

and disciplined servant leaders and 

second – that a small group of people 

who shared the same vision could work 

together to change their communities, 

countries and indeed the world. Over 

the past sixteen years, the LEAP Board, 

team, and volunteers have worked 

diligently to achieve its mission and 

vision. It is currently expanding its 

reach beyond Nigeria to six African 

countries, in partnership with a range 

of other organizations. 

…on AACE Foods 

The passion and sense of urgency 

behind the creation of AACE Foods 

was motivated by three facts. Firstly, 

according to the 2013 Demographic 

and Health Survey, 37% of Nigerian 

children under 5 years old are classified 

as stunted and 18% are considered 

wasted. This contributes to Nigeria’s 

high under five mortality rates. 

Second, researchers at the University 

of Agriculture Abeokuta estimate that 

40-60% of the fruits and vegetables 

grown and harvested by smallholder 

farmers across the country are 

wasted annually. Third, 90% of the 

processed food consumed in Nigeria 

is imported. AACE Foods’ vision is 

to be the preferred provider of food 

in West Africa, thereby contributing 

significantly to the improved nutritional 

status of our people, and better 

livelihoods of our farmers. 

…on Sahel Consulting 

Sahel Consulting’s vision is to be 

recognized as the most trusted 

consulting partner and point of 

reference in the African agriculture 

and nutrition landscape, integral to 

building effective and efficient value 

chains and attaining food security. 

Through our pioneering work in dairy 

farming through the Nigerian Dairy 

Development Program, our work in 

seed systems, value chain and policy 

analysis and our cutting edge research, 

we are starting to live up to our vision. 

…on Support Systems 

God remains my source of strength 

and wisdom. I am also blessed with a 

very close and supportive family, and 

biological and spiritual sisters who 

uphold and encourage me. I also have 

“Only hire and retain team 

members who share your 

values of hard work and 

integrity.” 

some amazing mentors and champions, 

and I lean on them during my tough 

days. I believe in asking for help when 

I need it and God always sends angels 

to support me. 

I believe that everyone should surround 

themselves with at least three critical 

people – a mentor, a champion and 

a critic. A champion serves as your 

biggest cheerleader, encouraging you 

to dream big and achieve results. A critic 

tells you the truth about your shortcomings 

and provides constructive 

feedback. A mentor shows you what is 

possible through their life example. 

…On Talent and Turnover 

Your ability to attract and retain 

talent will determine the success of 

your organization. I strongly believe 

in the importance of instituting 

systems and structures around human 

resources from day one. This includes 

a clear recruitment process, complete 

with screening tools and interview 

standards, an employee handbook that 

clearly stipulates your expectations, as 

well as their rights and responsibilities, 

and a clear training and promotion 

plan, as well as a disengagement 

process. Only hire and retain team 

members who share your values of 

hard work and integrity. Invest in them, 

through training, provide them with 

opportunities for growth and personal 

development and enable them to 

have ownership in the business, where 

possible. 

…On Doing it All 

It is only by the grace of God, and yes, 

sometimes balls drop. However, I am 

quite disciplined about how I use my 

time. I try to organize my home like I 

organize my business, with systems 

and structures. I do not currently have 

a very balanced life, but I am working 

at improving on this as my children 

grow older. 

…On Impact 

It has been a joy and privilege to work 

in the African agricultural sector. Every 

single positive intervention in the sector 

has enormous impact. Every time I visit 

the AACE Foods factory and interface 

with our workers – many of them who 

were previously unemployed and now 

have a stable income, health insurance 

and a warm meal, I am overwhelmed 

with joy. Similarly, our ability to source 

from over 10,000 farmers, whose 

lives have been transformed through 


training, the provision of microfinance 

and the introduction of technology, 

has been fulfilling. The best part is 

seeing our products on the shelves 

of Shoprite, Ebeano, or Spar, in IDP 

camps or even in a friend’s kitchen and 

recognizing the many people and steps 

involved in getting it from the farm to 

the fork…and the impact along the way. 

Key Success Principles 

There’s a lot to share here, so let’s begin 

1. Choose a life partner who shares 

your dreams and visions and 

will support you to achieve your 

highest potential and vice versa! 

Choose someone who is your 

friend first, is kind, patient and 

disciplined. Surround yourselves 

with friends who make you a 

better person. 

2. Invest in lifelong learning, always 

upgrade your skills. Be proactive, 

develop and implement new and 

exciting strategies to respond to 

changes in the marketplace. 

3. In every season of your life, be 

sensitive to exactly who you 

should be spending your time with 

and what you should be spending 

your time on. Learn to let go a little 

easier, realizing that God places 

people and projects in your life for 

a season, a reason and a lifetime. 

4. Recognize that setbacks and 

failures are great learning 

experiences and do not define 

your future. Be encouraged by 

these truths that have helped me 

in my journey: 

• You may not know what the future 

holds, but you know who holds the 

future! 

• God who has started a good work 

in you will be faithful to complete 

it. 

…On Relaxation 

I spend time with my husband and 

children. They are so full of life and 

energy, and always challenge and 

inspire me. 

“I believe that everyone 

should surround 

themselves with at least 

three critical people – a 

mentor, a champion 

and a critic.” 

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“There’s really no 

perfect ‘balance’ 

between ‘work’ 

and ‘life’. It’s hardly 

ever clearly cut 

out for anyone, 

priorities change 

with the day, and 

work and life are 

intertwined.” 

Cherry Eromosele 

The Corporate Force 

Cherry Eromosele is the Group 

Chief Product and Marketing 

Officer at Interswitch Group. 

And with over twenty years of 

experience in strategic marketing 

and product innovation in varied 

sectors (FMCG, Telecoms, 

HealthCare etc.) of the corporate 

world, it’s no wonder we call 

her the corporate force. She 

describes herself in three words 

- passionate, conscientious and 

altruistic. She’s all that and more… 

The Journey 

Moving to Lagos (the big city is 

what we called it) from Benin 

left quite an impression on me. 

Benin, a serene town incredibly rich in 

heritage was home for me, I grew up 

and schooled there. But I had to leave, 

I’d say I pretty much had a strong desire 

for greatness, to make something out 

of my life – even though the specifics 

only became clear to me as I went 

along. 

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My initial desire was to study medicine 

and become a doctor, but things played 

out quite differently and I found myself 

studying Biological Sciences with a 

slant towards Education. I suppose this 

seeming disadvantage (considering I 

fell short of my initial desire to become 

a doctor) only succeeded in further 

propelling me to ‘make something’ out 

of my career, and strengthening my 

resolve. I joined Guinness (Diageo) in 

Brand Marketing soon after graduating 

and have never looked back since then. 

Joining Guinness, I’d say was a tipping 

point - as 1 of 10 successful management 

trainees out of what we were told were 

over 2,000 applications from all across 

the nation was a milestone that shaped 

my quest for success as a marketing 

practitioner – It was a very rewarding 

moment considering again that I was 

the 1st female to be selected into the 

marketing stream of the programme. 

As the number of candidates kept 

being whittled down, I remember 

determining within myself that I wasn’t 

going to be intimidated by the number 

of folks competing for spaces, and 

resolving to “fight” to get myself in. I 

think that was the point at which I got 

sold on building a career in marketing. 

…On Crisscrossing Industries and 

Personal Development 

For me, personal development has 

been quite critical, based on my own 

experience from my career moves. 

Whilst the concepts and functional 

principles in a field like marketing 

and communications are largely 

consistent and transferable, in reality, 

a professional that is crisscrossing 

industry lines is faced with a set of 

challenges which include having to 

learn the “lexicon of terms” used in the 

new industry, not having an extensive 

number of contacts in the new industry, 

not yet being deeply conversant with 

products, processes and technicalities. 

On the flip-side however, with the 

right level of personal commitment 

to learning and development, the 

professional with breadth of crosssector 

experience is likely to be able to 

bring value-adding lateral thinking and 

approaches to bear – indeed, I have 

always seen myself as an intrapreneur 

within all the organizations I have 

worked, by challenging status quo 

and taking hands-on responsibility for 

influencing and creating innovation to 

move the businesses to the next level. 

…On Challenges in a Male-dominated 

Industry 

In my case, I really don’t think it’s been 

too much of a challenge, given that I’ve 

worked closely with not only men but 

also women, starting out in the industry, 

and particularly because at Interswitch, 

it’s been largely a merit-driven, equal 

opportunity environment. By virtue of 

the nature of the Industry (Payment/ 

Technology), you do find out that there 

are more men expectedly, however 

over the years, I’ve been excited to 

see a steady increase in the number 

of motivated, talented and capable 

young women (many of them even on 

the technical side) holding out their 

own comfortably. My belief is that the 

environment is going to get even more 

enabling for females, with increasing 

advocacy and consciousness. 

…On Risk 

I have taken quite a few, including 

making a move to venture out of a 

company (and industry) where I not 

only cut my teeth, but spent 15 largely 

rewarding and interesting years, 

at the point I elected to move into 

telecoms (MTN) from Diageo. Another 

memorable experience in this vein, is 

when many years back, as a young, 

single woman in my twenties at the 

time, I accepted a ‘stretch’ posting, 

having to take primary responsibility 

for growing market share for one of 

my company’s newest brands at the 

time in Northern Nigeria, which was 

seen as the most challenging market 

in the beverages space in Nigeria due 

to cultural contexts. These were seen 

as a disadvantage to the brand (i.e. the 

populace had very strong anti-alcoholic 

religious sentiments which were being 

extended to the company’s malt brand 

just by virtue of its association with the 

company’s Masterbrand), and again, 

key stakeholders within the business 

felt that it would be overwhelming 

for a female to manage these issues, 

but I steeled myself and accepted the 

challenge. 

My driving force was the need to 

succeed despite the odds stacked 

against me. I told myself I had to 

rise to the occasion regardless of all 

the constraints, and fortunately, we 

succeeded in that quest – something 

which provided a stepping stone to 

go on to drive something even bigger 

and more demanding, the launch of 

that same brand on a larger scale in 

East Africa (I relocated to Tanzania 

for some months to drive this). Again, 

very challenging, but I took up the 

gauntlet, and turned out to become a 

pathfinder/leading light, in a sense for 

other upcoming young women in the 

organization at the time. 

I moved on to become marketing 

manager for the company’s flagship 

brand…this was another milestone, 

despite inhibitions and reservations 

from certain quarters which only fueled 

my drive to succeed in the role. 

I also like to think that leaving Glaxo 

SmithKline (GSK) for Interswitch over 

4 years ago is also something of a risk 

which however appears to be paying 

off so far! (Laughs) 


…On Work-Life Balance 

Honestly, my perspective? There’s really 

no perfect ‘balance’ between ‘work’ and 

‘life’. It’s hardly ever clearly cut out for 

anyone, priorities change with the day, 

and work and life are intertwined. Think 

about it - sometimes, for extended 

stretches of time, we actually spend 

more time in offices with colleagues 

than with family at home. As a mother 

of 2 teenage girls, this makes life even 

more dynamic. Another truth is that 

you cannot do everything yourself 

and from that comes the realization 

that the balance of life will come as 

you know and maximally utilize your 

personal strengths while being very 

self-aware of those other aspects you 

are better off delegating and letting 

other capable hands run with. 

…On the Payment Solutions Space, 

Financial Inclusion and Relevance 

In a nutshell, I say without much fear 

of contradiction that this is the best 

time to be in e-payments, and the 

sector is just on the cusp of another 

huge wave, in fact I believe we are just 

at the frontier of the phase that would 

meaningfully crack the long-elusive nut 

of financial inclusion in Nigeria. 

To stay relevant in the fintech industry 

you have to stay plugged in to trends, 

research, insights etc. There’s just 

something new happening in the space 

globally every blessed day, and these 

are very likely to have immediate, 

far-fetched or multiplier effects on 

the local payments space. There’s 

also certainly a need, like I’d earlier 

mentioned to upskill and to continue 

to do so. I just completed the Oxford 

Fintech Program at the Said Business 

school recently, for example. 

#WhatSheSaid 

• It’s important not to stay stagnant 

professionally; you need to upskill 

• The balance of life will come as 

you know and maximally utilize 

your personal strengths while 

being very self-aware 

“To stay relevant in 

the fintech industry 

you have to 

stay plugged in to 

trends, research, 

insights etc. There’s 

just something new 

happening in the 

space globally every 

blessed day.” 

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Eyitope Kola-Oyeneyin 

The Business 

Improvement 

Engineer 

A partner with McKinsey, 

Eyitope shares how her career 

journey began and how her 

firm belief in being an agent 

of transformation plays out in 

every aspect of her life. 

“I see myself doing business deals” 

I 

remember the moment – I was 14 

years old in my parents’ living room 

making the pitch for why I needed 

to urgently relocate to the United 

States to continue my education. My 

mom asked “So, what do you want 

to be when you grow up”? I replied, 

“I see myself doing business deals.” I 

was not so sure what “business deals” 

meant – I just knew it would involve 

global travels, it would be fast paced, 

and I’d be dressed up in power suits, 

high heels and a fancy briefcase in tow. 

I have been doing and thoroughly 

enjoying these “business deals” for 

around the last 20 years – as an 

entrepreneur as well as spearheading 

transformation, group operations and 

international expansion for First Bank 

of Nigeria, developing and executing 

the Cashless Lagos program at the 

Central Bank of Nigeria, and supporting 

global businesses to transform their 

business with McKinsey & Company. 

Engineering to Finance 

Finishing secondary school, I did 

not know exactly what I wanted to 

study in University. I knew I wanted 

to understand technical things, but 

did not want to be a typical techie – 

afterall, I wanted to do business deals. 

I initially considered doing chemical 

engineering – I liked my chemistry 

teacher in secondary school (she made 

the topic interesting), engineering was 

technical, and my grandad, whose 

business acumen I admired a lot, did a 

lot of business in oil & gas, so I figured I 

“My personal belief 

is have a general 

idea of where you 

want to go, but 

“lean in” and be 

open and flexible 

to opportunities 

that cross your 

path.” 

could apply the knowledge to business. 

However, the university I decided to 

attend at the last minute did not have 

a Chemical Engineering program. 

In the process of attending a ‘’free 

food’’ event, I learnt about a field 

of engineering I had never heard of 

before then – Industrial Engineering. 

At that moment, it was as though 

someone took what I thought of in my 

head and created a degree program 

for it. It was perfect! A mix of technical 

and business; in fact it was often called 

management science or business 

improvement engineering. 

It was easy to excel in school, because 

I was doing what I loved and truly 

enjoyed. My background in Industrial 

Engineering made it easy for me to crisscross 

across industries – from working 

with IBM as a software engineer to 

working in financial services. However, 

I often tell people the most important 

thing about a University education is 

not so much your course of study, but 

learning how to learn. Yes, a course 

can influence the opportunities that 

will be immediately available to you 

upon graduation, but your work ethic 

and ability to learn and solve problems 

will ultimately open doors for you and 

differentiate you. 

Life Choices 

My career choices have always been 

governed by the opportunity to learn, 

develop and drive impact. Typically, 

this is usually determined by the type 

of institution, the level of ambition, 

and the people I’d be working with – 

especially the leaders who shape the 

ambition and the agenda. I also like 

variety – I was at First Bank Nigeria 

for 7 years and I had three roles 

during the period, including a stint at 

the Central Bank. I find it important 

to keep challenging myself with new 

opportunities, different problems, 

etc – it’s the fastest way to grow as a 

professional. 

Where I live has always been a different 

matter - when I was younger I had the 

liberty to optimize for location and 

I did – from living in Jos to living in 

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California; and I still do now when the 

opportunity presents itself, but it’s 

more difficult to connect the dots of 

work and location. So, I do the work 

I’m passionate about and try to make 

time to enjoy the things I would have if 

I lived elsewhere. 

I enjoy what I do and I bring all of 

myself into what I do. I don’t have 

my work separate from community 

service, or from play, and so on; it’s all 

intertwined. So, it’s very important to 

me that my work reflects what I am 

passionate about. It is important to 

me that I leverage every opportunity 

to drive excellence, improve standards, 

build capacity and change mindsets. 

It is my little way of contributing to a 

better Nigeria and changing the world. 

Culture Shock 

I have always been passionate about 

Nigeria and its potential. Perhaps it’s 

because I know when Nigeria occupies 

its rightful position, it will create respect 

for all Africans and also inspire them 

to achieve their potential. Attending 

school outside Nigeria, I realized other 

nationalities didn’t have multiple heads 

– there was absolutely no reason the 

things I saw overseas could not be 

done in Nigeria, and even better than 

was done there in some cases. This 

belief has shaped a lot of things I do, 

including relocating to Nigeria. 

But relocating to Nigeria requires a 

different mindset. Every environment 

has a protocol, and Nigeria, doubly so 

– especially for a young single female, 

working in executive roles. Here, 

you must be cognizant of cultural 

perspectives on age and women. 

In terms of work ethic – I have seen 

people with poor work ethics in 

Nigeria and outside of Nigeria; so it’s 

not an ‘only Nigeria’ thing. Most times, 

it’s a function of mindset, values, 

exposure and the environment – some 

environments squeeze the life out of 

people. 

But beyond work ethic, what was 

more concerning was the ‘’manage 

it’’ mindset – instead of aspiring for 

excellence, we stay satisfied with just 

‘’good enough’’. I spent a lot of time 

working on mindsets and trying to paint 

a picture of why excellence matters – 

and how our little actions have such an 

impact on the bigger picture. Some 

of the best talent I have ever worked 

with are young Nigerians - born, bred 

and groomed in Nigeria. It often makes 

me wonder what these same people 

could have achieved if given more 

opportunities, exposure and resources. 

That’s why Nigeria has to work! 

Vision and Setting Goals 

I enjoy reflecting a lot – so I have 

always had a broad perspective of 

the types of things I would want to do 

and impact I would like to have. Years 

before I worked at FirstBank, I knew 

that I would love to have a ‘’hands-on”’ 

execution role in an institution that 

could make a difference. So when the 

FirstBank opportunity came along, it 

was easy to know – this is it! 

But there have also been opportunities 

I had no vision or plans for, but they 

just came about. So, my personal 

belief is have a general idea of where 

you want to go, but “lean in” and be 

open and flexible to opportunities that 

cross your path. Having said that, any 

time I start a specific role – I take time 

to develop a clear vision of what I want 

to achieve in that role, specific targets 

and a timeline for when I am ‘’done’’. 

This is critical for me – again like a 

coach, it gives me something to aim 

for and channel our energies towards; 

it ensures I am focused on impact and 

not day-to-day. It also provides a form 

of self-assessment – I don’t need to 

wait for feedback from anyone to know 

if I have done a good job or not – the 

scoreboard tells me. 

Proud Accomplishments 

It has to be building capacity and 

working with teams to accomplish 

great things. Working together to do 

things initially considered not possible 

or with people considered inexperienced. 

As a consultant, it is doing this 

with your client teams and forming lifelong 

friendships through the process. 

At FirstBank, it was initially challenging 

young FirstBankers, and eventually 

across the board; and providing them 

the platform to drive the Bank’s transformation 

– changing mindsets, giving 

them opportunities and providing necessary 

support. 

From a project perspective, the execution 

of Cashless Lagos is probably 

the accomplishment I am most proud 

of. When the then CBN Governor, HRH 

Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, set it as a 

goal – most people said it was impossible; 

but under the leadership of the 

then Deputy Governor Operations, Mr 

Tunde Lemo, and commitment and 

innovation of NIBSS along with other 

stakeholders, it became possible. 

It left the biggest impression on me, 

because you see what can be accomplished 

at scale when you have a 

committed leader with a laser focused 

vision, and when you bring all stakeholders 

to the table. It’s a pointer and 

a blueprint for how we can tackle some 

of Nigeria’s biggest problems. It is possible! 

Sponsors and Mentors 

Absolutely! People are a central part 

of anyone’s career journey and many 

people have influenced and shaped 

mine significantly – from my siblings 

and close friends, to university professors 

and leaders I have served. My 

mom has been central to shaping my 

mindset (not just in career but life in 

general) – encouraging me to go for 

gold, supporting me in every way and 

shifting my mindset from career to purpose; 

she helped me see that there was 

nothing wrong in loving your career; 

just make it purposeful and do it well. 

Every woman needs a good friend and 

brother like Onche Ugbabe. He challenged 

me, supported me, and helped 

open doors for me at multiple points in 

my journey. 

And then my life partner and Partner 

of Life and in life, Kola Oyeneyin, who 

is extremely supportive and makes it 

possible for me to do what I do, even 

with little kids – typically why and when 

many women leave the workforce. 

Who you marry is so very important, 

and especially if you have career aspi- 

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rations. I can take on opportunities and 

keep dreaming big dreams, because I 

am so very blessed to have a partner 

who is supportive not just in words but 

in actions. 

However, it is important to note, beyond 

sponsors and mentors, the single 

biggest element of sponsorship in my 

life has been the grace and favour of 

God. Period. 

I also have a LOT of virtual mentors – 

I engage them regularly through their 

books, articles, etc. I read a lot and I 

am open to learning from anyone who 

is good at what they do – I admire and 

respect expertise. Their experiences 

have challenged me to think bigger; 

and provided valuable insights and 

counsel at different decision points and 

in challenging situations. 

Advice 

If I had one piece of advice to give to 

young women, it would be - know your 

stuff. Be diligent and put in the effort to 

build competence; add value and be a 

problem solver. If you choose to marry, 

get married to someone who celebrates 

who you are, supports you and has 

genuine joy in your accomplishments. 

In other words, make sure your spouse 

is a ‘’SwagAssist”. As a bonus, I’ll also 

say make sure you have personal 

standards, manage your income well, 

master protocol, and send the right 

‘message’ with your dressing! 

Work-Life Balance 

“My career choices 

have always 

been governed 

by the opportunity 

to learn/develop 

and drive 

impact.” 

I try to identify the things I don’t like 

and find ways to outsource them, so I 

can focus on what I am good at and 

truly enjoy. That’s critical to minimize 

stress and create capacity. I try to prioritize 

what’s most important per time 

– so things might not all be in equal 

portions at a time, but at any given 

point, I focus on what’s most critical. A 

couple of years ago, I took a one-year 

sabbatical and that was a refreshing 

break and an opportunity to reflect, 

refocus and ensure the things I am doing 

now are consistent with my aspirations 

for impact and truly making a 

difference. Unwinding for me is about 

connecting with loved ones, reflection, 

and learning; enjoying the little pleasures, 

which includes everything from 

spa days and hanging out a nice cafe 

to just a hot bath, uplifting music and 

family time. 

#WhatSheSaid 

• Know your stuff - put in the effort 

to build competence. 

• People are a central part of 

anyone’s career journey. 

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Early Beginnings 

As a child, I didn’t know I wanted to be in 

the public sector. I grew up on a university 

campus. My father was a Professor of 

Surgery and my mum was the first female 

registrar at the University of Lagos. I’m a middle 

child, third of four children, second girl. Nondescript 

position really. I grew up in that idyllic 

setting of campus life, with friends everywhere, 

a microcosm of Nigeria. I have extremely fond 

memories of growing up on campus. 

When I finished my law degree, some of my 

lecturers wanted me to go on to become a 

lecturer but I didn’t see myself in that role at all. 

I thought I would practice law, but ended up in 

investment banking. I basically wanted to see the 

world, which is the typical attitude a lot of young 

people have; a good attitude to have. 

“Gender has only 

being an advantage 

to me in life 

and I don’t say 

this lightly.” 

Even getting my law degree was never the plan 

from childhood. You know how some children, 

at age 5, already know they want to be lawyers? 

I wasn’t like that. I wanted to be an architect, 

then an interior designer, and at some point an 

archaeologist, and then an industrial chemist to 

make perfumes. I happened upon law because 

as I was preparing for university I wanted to 

study economics but when my mother tried to 

insinuate that I study a professional course like 

accountancy instead, I quickly re-strategized 

and selected what I knew would be considered 

a very “decent” degree choice. Even back then 

I knew law would be a good foundation for 

anything, because as I now tell my students, 

law is about life and aids your understanding of 

how society functions. Whether you want to go 

into the music industry, tech, photography, or 

even sports, you will be extremely well served 

by a solid understanding of the law of contract, 

negotiation strategy, analysing and balancing 

diverse and sometimes contrary perspectives 

and the like, which is where law comes to play. 

The Transition 

Jumoke Oduwole 

The Impactful 

Public Servant 

Dr. J, as she is fondly called, is one 

technocrat making a difference in 

the public sector. Her work with the 

Presidential Enabling Business Environment 

Council (PEBEC) is lauded for the tangible 

impact that’s being made in the lives of 

entrepreneurs across the country, and 

for foreigners looking to do business in 

Nigeria. She shares with us how her passion 

for imparting knowledge and love for 

service have influenced her career choices. 

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After I graduated from studying Law and completed 

Law School, I went for my Master’s Degree 

at Cambridge University, where I was exposed 

to even more interesting areas of law such 

as Corporate Finance. Perhaps most importantly, 

I learnt about the asymmetry that exists between 

developing and developed countries in International 

economic law, particularly at the macro 

level through trade agreements. That course had 

an indelible effect on me. My lecturer, Daniel 

Bethlehem, took us on a field trip to the World 

Trade Organization (WTO) and I came to understand 

first-hand the unenviable position of many 

developing countries, particularly African countries, 

in the world economic order. 

When I came back to Nigeria, I chose to become 

an investment banker having been completely 

smitten by the fast paced world of Corporate 

Finance. I joined FCMB Capital Markets and was 

immediately thrown into the deep end! I had a 

great time there as the youngest member and 

only lawyer on the team, and acquired a lot 

of formative skills and work ethics that have 

remained with me till this day. I often tell my 

mentees that your entry position into the work 

force is extremely important because it defines 

at least your first trajectory, so you should 

always go after skills above all else. I went on to 

join another high-powered team in Corporate 

Banking at GTBank , which was another defining 

position in a bank with a very strong culture. 

Again, I learnt a lot, and by this time I knew 19 I


wanted to leave the sector for academia 

because I was drawn towards making 

an impact. During my years in banking, 

I began to ask myself if I wanted to set 

up my own law firm or if was interested 

in becoming the Managing Director of 

a bank. At that time, the answer to both 

questions was no – but I was ambitious. 

So, the question became - how would 

I make impact? It took me about two 

years to figure this out. 

I didn’t just happen upon it. In the 

course of my soul searching, there was 

a matrix a colleague and I developed 

and we would interrogate different 

job and career scenarios for hours. We 

looked at skills set, work-life balance, 

remuneration, opportunity to develop 

skills, and several other factors. So, using 

those metrics, I selected academia. 

Truth be told, it was also probably influenced 

by some nostalgia from my 

background and the kind of work-life 

balance I yearned for being the mother 

of a toddler by this time, but I knew 

I could have a stellar career imparting 

knowledge to young people, shaping 

their minds and influencing society. So 

that’s how academia emerged on top. 

It is unbelievable how difficult it is to 

get an academic position anywhere 

in the world because there just aren’t 

very many openings. So, though I had 

already started teaching Business Law 

part time at Lagos Business School, I 

was really delighted when I finally got a 

full time offer from my alma mater after 

about nine months of waiting post 

applying - but I must confess, my heart 

did skip a beat when I saw my offer 

letter and realized I would literally be 

taking a 90% pay-cut from my banker 

salary. The reality of the pay-cut was 

quite daunting to be honest, so I think 

it was good that the position didn’t 

come easy. It made me appreciate it 

regardless of the pay and embrace 

the sacrifice. I remember confidently 

telling my husband that my income level 

wouldn’t go down because I was going 

to go after consultancy jobs on the side 

but I soon realized that good academics 

are very busy people – they have to 

read constantly to stay current in their 

fields, they write articles, conference, 

teach (which takes preparation) and 

also have administrative functions at 

their faculties. Perhaps most strikingly, 

as an academic, you have a deceptive 

amount of flexibility over your time and 

your schedule that can easily lead you 

astray. You have to self-modulate by 

setting your own goals and achieving 

them – or remain mediocre. 

There is a level of commitment that 

good teaching demands, when you 

know you are responsible for impacting 

and potentially moulding fresh minds. 

Coupled with the liberty of thought 

that academics enjoy, I fit right in. I do 

believe being part of the ivory tower 

and that academic lifestyle is truly one 

of the best jobs in the world; sacrifices 

and all, teaching is certainly one of the 

loves of my life. 

Literally, in academia one has to “publish 

(papers) or perish” so I found myself 

continuously writing for policy-makers, 

typically with a slant that bordered on 

issues of development because of my 

“aha!” moment on international trade 

at Cambridge. When this public service 

opportunity presented itself, my 

husband simply said since I was always 

writing for a policy-maker audience, I 

may as well go and actually shape the 

policies in practice – in short: go and 

practice what you preach! 

But again, I didn’t simply happen upon 

it. I had known my boss, the Vice President, 

for quite a few years and had had 

the privilege of working with him when 

he served as Chair of the Board of an 

NGO I ran for a year. I remember exactly 

where I was the day he was named 

the running mate to Mr. President in 

2014. I was so excited about the possibilities, 

because I know him, his work 

ethic and what he stands for. After having 

been an avid supporter for change 

through the campaign, shortly after the 

elections I took him a short brief detailing 

what I felt could be done in some 

areas of economic policy, particularly 

international trade. 

I was out of the country as a visiting 

professor in the Netherlands for the 

summer of 2015 when he emailed me 

soon after his inauguration and gave me 

an assignment. I was so excited I stayed 

up two nights researching and distilling 

a 3-page brief for him, and that was 

basically the beginning. When I came 

back to Nigeria, I went to see him again 

and talked some more and he put me 

on his economic team. It has truly been 

such a privilege and honour to serve 

Nigeria under him, and I don’t say that 

lightly. It is most humbling when you 

can do something you love and you can 

see the impact your country. It hasn’t 

been (and still is not) easy - change 

is not always fast and governance 

can sometimes be frustrating, but it 

is extremely gratifying! And when you 

have a boss that supports you, shields 

you and believes in you, you give it all 

you’ve got and you definitely do not 

want to fail. 

I think in all of this, I grew to realise that 

it is important to have a burden for the 

society, for making an impact on the 

country, and on people’s lives. The way 

I see it, I didn’t really change careers 

as teaching and working in the government 

are both public service. You 

have to be ready to pour yourself out 

and be fully committed, and to endure 

personal sacrifice in order to live your 

passions. There is no time for apathy 

because life is very short and I have every 

intention of dying empty. I’d rather 

do everything that I can to serve and 

make an impact, than to wallow in selfpity 

about things and complain about 

the state of the nation. I know there 

is something we all can do to create 

change, so I’m a firm believer in what 

Mahatma Gandhi said “be the change 

that you wish to see in the world.” 


Being a Woman in the Public Sector 

Working in the Office of the Vice 

President, where I currently serve is 

merit-based. I have colleagues with 

different backgrounds, of different ages 

and skills sets; at least half of his team 

were under 40 in 2015, with several 

women on board in highly technical 

roles. Although my boss had known 

my human rights and development 

inclination as a socio-legal scholar, I was 

able to persuade him that I had value 

to add in the economic policy space. 

Because he believed in my capabilities 

from our previous interaction, he did 

not hesitate to bring me onboard, 

and I ended up writing my own job 

description and KPIs because my 

official role - Senior Special Assistant 

to the President on Industry, Trade and 

Investment at the OVP - did not exist 

prior to this time. 

In addition, I am currently also Secretary 

to the council because of my position 

on the Vice President’s economic 

team and I was asked to lead the delivery 

of Business Climate Reforms for the 

country and coordinate the activities 

of the PEBEC’s secretariat by the Honourable 

Minister of Industry, Trade and 

Investment, the line minister in charge 

of the intervention. The Deputy Chief 

of Staff agreed to release me from majority 

of my other duties to focus more 

on the intervention and it was really 

uncharted territory for me. I saw that I 

would have to collaborate with civil and 

public servants, heads of government 

agencies, Permanent Secretaries, Honourable 

Ministers (there are about ten 

of them on the PEBEC alone). Later on, 

we expanded the project to cover interaction 

with Governors, Honourables at 

the National Assembly, Justices, magistrates 

and private sector players at all 

levels. 

I took on the responsibility with 

humility, passion and enthusiasm, along 

with my team, which grew organically. 

I am privileged to work with about 20 

bright, young and passionate Nigerians 

from diverse backgrounds and 

together with our colleagues across 

the board we have been able to make 

some traction in this area for Nigeria. 

I have learnt ssssooooo much on this 

job! Mistakes and all, it has definitely 

stretched me to my limits and brought 

out a resourcefulness that I did not 

know I possessed. 

On Being Female 

Yes, I have experienced gender and 

youth bias out of my office, however, 

I am a strong believer that my gender 

has only ever been an advantage to 

me in life and I don’t say this lightly. I 

have gotten a visiting professorship 

and global recognition in my academic 

field, because I was a black Nigerian 

female working in Nigeria, and the 

world wants those kinds of good 

examples. I had a full scholarship to 

Cambridge for my first Masters degree 

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to its fullest. 

Mentors and Mentees 

based on my foundation from the 

University of Lagos because I applied. 

When I got accepted to Stanford for my 

Doctorate, only 11 of us were accepted 

from all over the world that year. When 

such opportunities come, you have to 

remember that you are an ambassador 

for your country, and for Africa. When 

you are female, and you are prepared 

and ready, just enjoy being female. 

Don’t focus on the irritating, and 

frankly hindering, assumptions that 

other people make because by the time 

you speak and you completely slay, it 

becomes their problem, not yours. 

I actually enjoyed being underestimated 

at the start. I could go to a meeting 

or step out to speak and be looked 

down on, but when preparation meets 

opportunity, one cannot help but 

shine. People do respond to value, 

and when you shine they end up 

overcompensating, and being overly 

deferential to you because they know 

they misjudged you earlier. 

Culturally, I don’t have a problem with 

my role as an African woman, as defined 

by me. I cook in my house – I don’t have 

a cook. I am bringing up my children 

and taking care of my husband. I can 

serve my family and in-laws at events 

as I deem appropriate and it does not 

in any way diminish me as a career 

woman because I love them and they 

love me. I don’t have to choose, and no 

one can make me choose who I want 

to be. I am who I am and I define my 

femininity for myself. I enjoy my life, I 

enjoy being female, and I have always 

considered it an advantage. Have the 

courage to be the best you. 

This is probably again influenced 

by my background. Growing up on 

a university campus, we grew up 

freely, without much consideration for 

ethnicity or gender bias. I have two 

sisters and one brother and my mum 

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“I don’t compartmentalise 

a 

lot; my life is my 

life and I love all 

parts of it.” 

was definitely stricter on my brother 

than she was on us. We all grew up 

empowered and strengthened – but 

that’s another message; the way we 

bring up our children matters. I have a 

daughter and a son; my daughter cooks 

extremely well, she is now the lead 

chef of the house and my son is right 

there with us learning and assisting. He 

is five years younger, so he is taking 

over a lot of the chores as she grows 

older. They are best friends and she is 

literally in charge of him educationally 

and socially – I even report him to her, 

and she has a huge say on important 

decisions affecting his life. This has 

created a situation where he already 

respects women, he respects her 

authority, and he knows how much 

he is learning from his sister, mother 

and grandmother. So, why should he 

become a chauvinistic male? Why 

should he disrespect or look down on 

women in his life? Why should he be 

inconsiderate when he is watching his 

father empower his mother to be all 

she was born to be, to go anywhere 

she wants to go in the world? 

When I was to apply to schools for 

my doctorate, my husband agreed to 

move to the US as a family. He paid for 

my doctorate degree, this was after 

supporting me without complaint as I 

took that drastic pay cut to “follow my 

dreams” in academia. He subsidized 

my academic career, paying for me to 

attend conferences around the world in 

order to develop. And now, I’m in Abuja 

from Monday to Friday and in Lagos 

at weekends, and he is completely 

undaunted by my working in a maledominated 

area. Husband apart, he 

remains my career and life coach, and 

angel investor. I tell my students that 

the choice of the person you marry is 

probably one of the most important 

decisions a person can make because 

it can either hinder you or liberate you 

to actualize your God-given potential 

I think I’ve been mentored from when 

I was a teenager, but I have certainly 

had well defined mentors throughout 

my adult life. I can’t even begin to 

explain how catalytic their role has 

been in my decision-making. I should 

start from my parents; I did not have 

to be coerced to do well in school 

because I was enabled. My parents 

both worked at the ivory tower all 

their lives – one in academia and the 

other in administration. Growing up on 

campus, because we had parents doing 

incredible things, I think we naturally 

appreciated achievement and hard 

work. Being around a university campus 

exposed us to so much concrete 

success at a young age., We would just 

know casually that someone’s father 

was a world-renowned expert in some 

rare field or someone’s mother was one 

of the most sought after dermatologist 

in the world. There was no reason not 

to love knowledge, achievement, and 

hard work. 

I remember when I decided to switch 

careers from banking to academia, my 

father was thrilled and encouraged me 

110%. I remember he said to me that 

one day I could win the Nobel Prize. 

When I wanted to apply to Cambridge, 

I knew as middle-income earners my 

parents wouldn’t be able to afford the 

fees so in my final year, after enduring 

several ASUU strikes, I went by myself 

to the British Council and hand-wrote 

a request for application forms to the 

university (I didn’t yet have access to 

email then). The forms arrived after 

weeks and my mother helped me 

with filling out the application, and 

a scholarship form. I got a full DFID- 

Cambridge Commonwealth scholarship 

with accommodation, allowance, 

tuition, feeding and everything else 

provided. All my parents had to do was 

drop me at the airport and pick me 

up again when I got back – the only 

condition attached to the scholarship 

was that after my course I return home 

to Nigeria to serve. Both my parents 

have had a significant impact on my 

career choices all my life. My elder 

sister, who is far more streetwise, 

strategic and connected than I am, who 

knows everyone and everyone knows, 

has always been there guiding me and 

opening doors at pivotal moment of 

my life. She is a born connector. 

From my early twenties, my mentor, 

Mrs Morin Desalu, a founding WIMBIZ 

trustee has been a constant in my 

life. She and some of her friends such 

as Mrs Bola Adesola, Ms Mairo Bashir 

and Mrs Ibukun Awosika all supported 

me when I wanted to go to Stanford 

for my second Masters Degree, which 

was a precondition for admission to 

the doctoral programme, and have 

watched me grow ever since. My second 

mummy, Pastor Laolu Adefarasin is a 

home-maker extraordinaire and a born 

nurturer. Women like Dr Myma Belo- 

21


Osagie and and Justice Adesuwa Oke- 

Lawal and a number of other women 

(I better stop naming names before 

I get into big trouble) have given me 

time, attention, advice, money, and 

extremely wise counsel over the years. 

I have learnt from their examples how 

to be a complete woman in every area 

of my life. There was even a particular 

mentor of mine whose children were 

just so well brought up - four boys, and 

they are all polite, well-behaved morally 

upright and doing very well in school. 

I just knew someone had to be doing 

something right, and when I asked her, 

she told me to ‘just get it right with the 

first born’. I have both female and male 

mentors for business and investments, 

and one of my mentors nominated me 

for a board seat in a leading bank a few 

years back. I have mentors across all 

areas of life that are important to me. 

To whom much is given, much is 

expected. I have a large number of 

mentees, including several of my 

former students and former church 

youth fellowship members. It is 

humbling and unbelievably rewarding 

to see the impact one can have on a 

life under your care – I will not make 

the mistake of listing any of my 

“star mentees” here because I will 

DEFINITELY get into trouble with that! 

They know themselves. But all I will say 

is that my mentees are perhaps some 

of the greatest joys of my life. When my 

time here is spent and the Lord calls me 

home, I do not need to wonder about 

those who would attend my funeral. I 

already know. 

The mentor-mentee relationship is one 

that has to be nurtured. If you have a 

mentee who breaches trust, who isn’t 

listening, who sets appointments and 

does not show up, then that person is 

disrespecting the time of the mentor. 

In all, I cannot overemphasise the 

importance of mentors, role models, 

and mentees in one’s life journey. 

Entrepreneurs in the Nigerian Terrain 

Many Nigerians are naturally entrepreneurial. 

As a people, it’s one of the biggest 

advantages of our economy at all 

levels from micro to multinational. We 

have ENERGY for the hustle! A lot of 

Nigerians have imbibed traits without 

even realising, perhaps because one of 

their parents ran a business or traded. I 

think, more than ever, the government 

needs to provide an enabling environment 

for businesses to thrive. Nigerians 

don’t ask for too much - just provide 

power, infrastructure, broadband, and 

remove legislative and bureaucratic 

reforms and they are good to go! Especially 

our young people I remember 

how many students had one side gig or 

another while at university. 

I think what many Nigerian SMEs 

need to learn is the value of time and 

patience. That 5-year mark at which a 

lot of businesses go under has to do 

with delayed gratification, planning 

and preparation. The academic in 

me would say we need to do a lot of 

thinking - think through the when, the 

how and the why. What makes your 

product different? What would make 

it pass the 5-year mark? If you are 

rushing, working with another’s idea, 

or a half-baked idea (even if it is a good 

idea), it may fizzle out. That patience 

to undertake proper preparation is 

essential to success. 

We are naturally impatient, and it 

sometimes hampers the longevity, 

sustainability and scalability of our 

ideas. I find, sometimes, that non- 

Nigerians running businesses here are 

more prepared to work with where 

we are at because they can see the 

potential, while we that are home 

underestimate the opportunity that is 

around. We are very good at venting 

and complaining as a people (and I 

wouldn’t say without cause!) but what 

do you choose to focus on? The glass 

half-full or half-empty? 

That spirit of waiting it out and thinking 

deeply is very important. I think that 

people who delay gratification and 

invest their capital back into the 

business, do better in the long term. 

If you watch 2 or 3 businesses over a 

period of time, you can almost tell the 

one that will be there in 5 or 10 years’ 

time just by meeting the visionary. If 

the visionary is already living large 

because revenue is flowing, that is a 

problem. But if the visionary is acting 

like there is no profit at all, then you 

know the person is thinking further. 

We don’t lack creativity or energy, but 

deep thinking and continuous learning 

is an area we can definitely improve on. 

Living Life Fully 

I don’t compartmentalise a lot. My life 

is my life and I love all parts of it, but 

I have learnt to understand there are 

times when one part may take some 

priority over the others. For instance, 

when I was in academia, I could do 

school runs with my kids every day; 

all I had to do was plan my lecture 

periods around it and write my papers 

at 4am instead of 4pm. I have a good 

support network - a supportive spouse, 

my parents, one of my sisters and my 

sister-in-law, who all live close by, my 

amazing nanny that has been with us 

for 7 years now, and a driver that has 

been with us for 9 years, my friends 

and mentees close by. I really am truly 

blessed. 

I still run my home from wherever I am 

in the world. I shop virtually and have 

used Easy Shop, Easy Cook for almost 

a decade now. I just email my shopping 

list, send a picture of the list, call or go 

on their website, whatever works for 

me, and the food is delivered to my 

kitchen. So, I could be in The Hague, my 

daughter can tell me we have run out 

of gari, and I can still fix it just like that. 


“The person you marry is 

very important because that 

decision can either hinder 

you or liberate you to die 

empty together.” 

My kids do not know what its like for 

me to go to the market on a Saturday 

because I prefer to spend that time 

doing other quality things that I enjoy. 

I also plan my work schedules. For 

example, if it’s my son’s birthday or he 

has a school play, I don’t need to hide it 

from my immediate boss or my team, I 

let everyone know that I will be working 

from Lagos on that day because it is 

my son’s birthday. Of course, if I have 

an important meeting in Abuja or 

Kano that day, or if I am called at 11pm 

to do an assignment before 8am the 

next day, my colleagues know that I 

will deliver. It’s a matter of trust and 

credibility that you build over time 

with your commitment. Having that 

flexibility with work helps women in 

particular. 

So I try to live by example, and I tell 

even my male colleagues to go home 

if one of their kids is celebrating 

something and there’s nothing urgent 

on ground. But when I need them 

to deliver for our team and for the 

country, I expect 200% commitment 

from everyone around me. I know I 

am pretty intense about pretty much 

everything, which can sometimes be 

tough for those around me. 

All in all, it is really about learning, 

maturity, commitment and making the 

right judgment calls. Having structure, 

being detailed, planning ahead, and 

being a disciplined spender all help 

make life easier because you will be 

under less pressure. Balanced. I love 

God and my family. I try to make time 

for my friends and mentees, I try to 

stay healthy and joyful, I try to have 

compassion on others and to spend 

my time wisely. 

I want to impact the world for good. Its 

not really about fame or fortune, those 

are sometimes by-products in life but 

should never be the focus. Getting to 

know yourself and what inspires or 

agitates you most on this earth is likely 

the key to the solution that you were 

born to deliver. Take the leap! 

#WhatSheSaid 

• Have a burden to make a difference, 

and the passion and 

courage to live the life that you 

want to live without apologies to 

anyone. 

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SPECIAL FEATURES 

Ibukun Awosika 

The Torchbearer 

Words are not enough to describe how much of a leader Ibukun Awosika is, not just in her 

industry, but across board. A vanguard of change, not only for young ladies and women around 

the world but for men alike. In her radiance and grace, she continues to shine the light for many 

who look up to her. She currently serves as Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, and with 

a lot on her plate already, but whenever she finds the time, she passionately speaks on social 

issues that affect women and the country at large. She’s all these and more wrapped in a modest 

package. We are glad to bring you Ibukun Awosika in this riveting interview. 

By John Iyoha 

…on mentors and mentees 

Getting individuals to consciously 

guide you through life comes 

easy now, but for Mrs. Awosika 

and her generation, mentoring wasn’t 

always this available. She recalls that 

guidance for her was gotten from 

reading the stories of other women, 

observing women of influence who 

were doing outstanding things in other 

climes and in Nigeria. Also, at certain 

moments when guidance was needed 

on various issues, there were women 

and men who were there to offer her 

help and advice; great advice has no 

gender. She puts it like this: 

“My position on mentoring is that 

because you are a woman, you don’t 

need to get stuck on getting mentored 

by a woman. The right kind of guidance, 

support and knowledge can come from 

anybody, both older or younger than 

yourself.” 

…on vision 

Mrs. Awosika had previously planned 

to study Medicine and Surgery in 

the University, then she heard that 

in medical school, they worked with 

actual dead bodies, that spooked 

her and she turned to Architecture 

for solace only to eventually end up 

studying Chemistry. She, at some point, 

thought she would make a great lawyer 

and everybody believed so, seeing that 

she could debate on national issues 

seamlessly throughout her time at 

Methodist Girls High School, Yaba. 

Then, she had a vision of becoming a 

Chartered accountant and working in a 

bank. So, as she pursued the Chemistry 

degree, she took a lot of free electives 

in the Faculty of Administration 

and Accounting. Visions come with 

implementation, our torchbearer 

shows us. 

On graduating from the university, she 

took the first job she could find to keep 

busy which was in a furniture company. 

It was barely three and a half months 

into working for that company that 

she discovered that she really liked the 

creative process of furniture making. 

She desired to build a company that 

could do what they were doing but 

with a different set of values. Mrs. 

Awosika then decided to build her own 

furniture company - Quebees Limited. 

That furniture company, now The Chair 

Centre Group, turned 30 this January. 

“I think what we generally do is have 

a sense of who we are and where we 

want to go as we are growing up. 

It is important we have a sense of 

ownership of what our life is about 

because it is that sense of ownership 

that guides the actions and decisions 

that we make along the way. Certain 

factors should exist, a value system, 

commitment to personal integrity, 

commitment to doing things right or 

wrong, and the commitment to dealing 

with people around decently and 

respectfully. Some things are constant, 

even though evolving but some are 

part of our discovery of self and our 

journey of life, which means we only 

know as much as we know. We really 

can’t tell what tomorrow holds but our 

foundational belief systems and vision, 

we know.” 

…on Millenials 

Many people think this is a clueless 

generation, but our very savvy Mrs. 

Awosika thinks differently. She believes 

that the system doesn’t prepare young 

people for times ahead. In her words: 

“You cannot ask a man for what you 

haven’t given him. The quality of 

education is not the same; the skill level 

of some teachers that are teaching 

them are low and the infrastructure of 

education needs serious upgrading. 

I do not think there is anything wrong 

“For an entrepreneur that 

wants to succeed, continuous 

knowledge is important, 

discipline is major, delayed 

gratification is crucial and 

teachability is important.” 

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with the young people; people are a 

product of the society they grow in. 

“Our focus on certification rather than 

skill has destroyed the fabric of our 

human capital. This is because we are 

not building a workforce in line with 

our national plan. If you talk to a lot of 

young people, you will find that they 

want to do well. Of course, there are 

those who don’t fall into this category 

– you will always have those, every 

society has them. But a large number 

want to do well. They are looking for 

opportunities and to be empowered 

the right way with skills and knowledge 

that would enable them achieve 

something.” 


“There are too many 

things in life that 

money cannot buy. 

When you look at it 

from that perspective, 

it demystifies 

money and makes 

it easier for you to 

make the right decision 

when you are at 

a point of conflict in 

your journey in life.” 

…on what an entrepreneur needs to 

grow business 

Placing emphasis on the fact that small 

businesses are the engine for economic 

growth has changed everything from 

government policies and programmes 

to how private firms perceive the 

market. There is so much drive for 

entrepreneurship, but the business 

and socio-economic environment 

seems to be a hindrance for these 

risk takers. Mrs. Awosika believes that 

entrepreneurs can grow regardless 

of the economic downturn if they 

continue to seek after knowledge, show 

financial discipline at all times, become 

more and more teachable and have a 

sense of delayed gratification. They 

must also be innovative and responsive 

to changes in their market or business 

environment. She puts it like this: 

“First and foremost, I don’t think there 

is one entrepreneur that would have 

all the skills they need. That tells you 

about learning to work with other 

people, collaborating and drawing 

resources from others. 

“Secondly, openness of mind is 

pertinent. You can start out with what 

seems like a really great idea but very 

quickly find that changes in the market 

or around you can make what once 

seemed like a good idea not good 

anymore. And you must have the 

openness of mind to respond to that. 

“You have to learn delayed gratification 

because one of the best ways a young 

company can grow is that the resources 

are retained within it to help it grow. I 

am firm believer in small beginnings 

for enterprise because it is important 

to prove a concept and prove it at 

different scale level. It is important to 

grow in stages and not seek overnight 

or rapid growth.” 

“Our focus on certification 

rather than skill has destroyed 

the fabric of our 

human capital.” 

…on raising visionary leaders 

The optimism with which Mrs. Awosika 

speaks on this topic is heart-warming, 

she says without a doubt that there 

are many who are capable of visionary 

leadership in Nigeria. For her, the worry 

is whether we have the proper political 

process and machinery that would 

make it possible for them to emerge. 

She touches on the topic like this: 

“It is a question that we all must ask 

ourselves. It must start from asking 

what we really want. Do we want the 

same thing? How committed are we to 

the goal of building a great Nigeria as 

opposed to building our tribe, family or 

friends? Those are the questions we all 

must ask because we are all responsible 

for Nigeria, no matter what we say. 

Ultimately, the kind of leadership we 

have affects every single one of us. 

Until we get to a point where we set a 

different kind of standard for ourselves 

and educate ourselves on it. 

“For me, I personally believe that an 

unenlightened electorate is a major 

risk for democracy. It is absolutely 

important that we educate our people 

because when people are welleducated, 

they will think differently, 

even though there are people who are 

well-educated but when they speak 

about the political system, you will bury 

your head in shame. So sometimes even 

education itself does not guarantee 

enlightenment but we can’t give up 

because this is our country. We just 

need to get to a place where we are 

committed to a more equitable society 

and then we will push and fight for a 

process that will permit the right kind 

of leadership to emerge.” 

As a Christian, Mrs. Awosika seeks in 

all she does to live by the values of 

her faith. Fairness and equity are her 

watchwords. She believes that there’s 

a lot in life more important than money. 

She says: 

“Again, money is nothing; that is the 

truth. If you do what you do well, 

you will get paid for it. But it is also 

a temporary thing; it is useful but it 

cannot be the ultimate, because there 

are too many things in life that money 

cannot buy. When you look at it from 

that perspective, it demystifies money 

and makes it easier for you to make the 

right decision when you are at a 

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Osaretin Demuren 

The Trailblazer 

In an age where the tides are moving 

in favour of entrepreneurial pursuits, 

it is both inspiring and necessary to 

celebrate the achievements of the 

few women who have made it to the 

top of their corporate careers. From a 

demanding work environment, to welldeserved 

promotions, and advocacy 

for women in her organisation, Mrs. 

Osaretin Afusat Demuren shares vital 

tidbits from her illustrious career. 

Damilola Oyewusi 

“Laziness kills. Hard 

work doesn’t kill. Hard 

work makes you stronger, 

it makes you excel 

because people are 

expecting so much.” 

The Beginning 

Like many school leavers in the 

‘60s, Mrs Demuren took her first 

job before she clocked eighteen 

years. She became one of the first four 

women engaged as office clerks by the 

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This 

glass breaking action in a male dominated 

institution was accompanied by 

high expectations to deliver on the job. 

“We were expected to live up to expectations 

and we did. It was also a continuation 

of what I had been brought up 

with; just do your best and give your 

best.” 

For a female growing up in that decade, 

she enjoyed the gift of a man of 

the house that had no particular preference 

for boys or girls, giving all his children 

equal opportunity to education 

and a dream to make the most of their 

God-given potential. She describes her 

upbringing as ‘fun and non-discriminatory’ 

in a home with fifteen other siblings. 

The family moved her from the Midwest 

as the civil war heated up in 1967, 

preventing her from taking her A-Level 

classes after her WASSCE*. Less than a 

year later, she got engaged as a clerk 

with the CBN. 

However, between the stress of keeping 

up with work demands, unofficial 

assignments, and the desire to further 

her education, this job would be shortlived 

as she soon got a scholarship 

to study in the Soviet Union. She was 

away from the country for six years, 

returning with a degree in Economics 

and Statistics and the man who would 

shape the major part of her life story, 

Harold Demuren. 

Back to the Motherland with Zest 

A confident and excited Osaretin A 

confident and excited Osaretin returned 

to Nigeria in 1976, ready to take on a 

challenge in a different environment 

from the CBN. She giggled lightly as 

she shared that she had accepted 

the Federal Government Scholarship 

and travelled out of the country while 

she was on her annual leave, giving 

no formal notice. Fortunately, the 

CBN runs a structured system that 

requested a resignation letter and the 

return of her ID card, which she did 

from the USSR. 

Going back to the same organisation 

wasn’t the first thing on her mind. She 

had eyes set on the Nigerian National 

Petroleum Corporation. However, 

her husband’s insistence on how her 

expertise would be more relevant to 

the Central Bank soon won her over. 

And so began a second chapter of her 

CBN career in December 1976, that 

would close with her retirement in 

December 2009 as a Director. 

This World is your Oyster 

Brimming with confidence acquired 

through her years in school and a 

certainty that she wanted to get to 

the peak of her career, she began her 

journey to “set some records right and 

to prove cynics wrong that a woman 

would not be able to make it.” 

She started out in the Research 

department and soon enough, caused 

a stir that would change things for 

women in the institution. 

“I wanted to make a difference. Then 

in the Central Bank, when females 

were recruited to the graduate level, 

they were deployed to the Research 

department. It was like an unwritten 

rule.” 

With activism for women in its early 

brewing stages at the time, the women 

of the Research department started 

questioning the reasons why there 

wasn’t more diversity in their job roles. 

They got together and wrote a letter 

to the CBN Governor at the time - 

Governor Abdulkadir Ahmed, asking to 

work in other departments of the bank. 

Refuting reasons as “You are women. 

You are married. You have children. 

You won’t be able to do late hours”, 

these women who signed their names 

in a circle to avoid a ring leader 

getting targeted opened the way 

for other qualified females to work 

in any department of the apex bank. 

Mrs. Demuren got deployed from the 

Research department to the Budget 

and Statistics office of the Exchange 

Control department. 

The journey from there was only 

upward and forward. With hard work, 

an insistence on ‘no shortcuts and 

godfatherism’ the system became 

favourable to women taking higher 

positions within the institution. 

“In 1999, I was appointed acting 

director by the then Governor, Chief 

Joseph O. Sanusi, and confirmed by Dr. 

Paul Ogwuma in March 2000.” 

The sky has been the limit for the 

female employees of the Central 

Bank. With positions like the Branch 

Controller, Directors, and even the 

Deputy Governor occupied by women, 

a female governor in the office may 

come sooner than expected. 

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Staying Clean in Murky Waters 

In a department fraught with a history 

of foreign exchange malpractices, 

coming in with a stern hold on integrity 

made her a name in the banking 

industry. With some experience from 

serving on the disciplinary committee, 

it was easy to see where the faults 

were coming from. Apart from that, 

she believes that “women are better 

managers whether we want to accept 

it or not. They’ll manage the nation’s 

resources better.” 

She also gave credit to her parents who 

taught all their children to be content 

with what they had and lived what they 

preached to their children. Working to 

curb the greed of well paid officials 

breaking the trust of their customers, 

she spoke on the importance of family 

values. 

“Integrity, discipline and honesty 

were family values that I just couldn’t 

compromise. Family values remain 

key today. What are we teaching 

our children? You see people in this 

country who are living extravagant lives 

compared to the income they make 

and nobody is asking any questions. 

Kids bring in their mate’s school items 

and parents are not returning them. 

They are not even checking their bags. 

If things don’t belong to you, they don’t 

belong to you.” 

From Trade and Exchange, she moved 

to Human Resources, putting up 

stricter measures in the recruitment 

process to ensure trustworthy and 

qualified individuals were brought into 

the bank. 

Retirement and Return to Banking 

“It was never in my plan to go back 

to banking because in the thirty-three 

years I spent in the Central Bank of 

Nigeria, I had reached the peak of my 

career and I needed to do something 

outside banking. So I registered an 

NGO, AlphaMIN.” 

No sooner than AlphaMIN kicked 

off with Skill Acquisition programs 

for kids who were dropping out of 

school, did the requests to be on 

boards start coming. From a Pension 

Funds Administrator (PFA) to Microfinance 

Banks, on the recommendation 

of Late Pa. Alile, she began her 

journey in corporate boardrooms. 

The persistent request from the 

Managing Director of Guaranty Trust 

Bank led to the submission of her CV, 

and an affirmation of good corporate 

governance convinced her to join the 

board. Two years later, with another 

surprising turn, she became the first 

of the three top women we’ve come 

to love and respect in the banking 

industry. 

A picture of all three women looking 

graceful at a WIMBIZ* event recently 

made the rounds on social media, 

showcasing Mrs. Demuren and her two 

counterparts, Mrs. Awosika and Mrs. 

Belo-Olusoga as positive examples 

to young women. Her eyes lit up with 

gratitude for the recognition and the 

positivity it carried. 

Mentorship and Peer Support 

Beyond spreading positivity and 

inspiration on the internet, Mrs. 

Demuren shared about the importance 

of women supporting one another. 

With the club houses usually a domain 

for the boys, she talked about how the 

girls could make the hair salon their own 

networking hub, as against minding 

their own businesses. Building a culture 

that allows open communication and 

mentorship is vital to give more women 

the opportunity for success. 

“A mentor is a guide, a counsellor, an 

adviser and we should be able to give 

that to the younger ones so that they 

can also come up and maximise their 

talents and the opportunities that are 

out there.” 

Meritocracy remains important 

regardless. She stressed the importance 

of continuous improvement, 

professional development, integrity 

and hard work. One of her favourite 

statements is “Laziness kills. Hard 

work doesn’t kill. Hard work makes you 

stronger. It makes you excel because 

people are expecting so much.” 

And so, while she would pick a female 

over a male for a job, the prerequisites 

of qualifications and merit will always 

be the first decider. 

Maintaining Balance with Many Hats 

Like many women with a desire to get 

to the top of their careers, they soon 

realise that something has to give, 

especially for her with six children. 

“It was tough. Which was why I said 

a woman has to work twice or thrice 

more than a man in order to balance 

everything. In the early life of my 

career, my social life had to go.” 

She also lost some friends who 

expected reciprocity for every visit, 

while remaining grateful for those who 

“continue from where we stopped.” 

The time for visits and socialising were 

spent on bulk cooking, packaging into 

the freezer, and instructing the help 

and cook. 

“Coping as a woman is a lot of sacrifice. 

And we thank God for women who 

have decided to pursue their careers 

and still maintain the family. I know the 

Almighty is with them” 

Kids and her Legacy 


With thirty-three years spent serving 

in a public service financial institution, 

it is interesting that none of her kids 

followed her line of work. She explained 

this as a generational shift. 

“Nowadays, children are more 

entrepreneurial because of the kind of 

education they get. Some of them do 

not want to sit on an 8-5, every day, 

out there in the corporate world. They 

cannot fathom how we managed to 

stay on one job for 30-35 years.” 

She called it a change in style and 

trend. 

“Stability was the language then but 

now, mobility is the language.” 

Relaxation and Entertainment 

Mrs. Demuren enjoys watching 

documentaries, the National 

Geographic channel or anything that 

talks about life. But that’s when she 

does watch television. 

“I would rather listen to music. Classical, 

gospel, any good music but not noisy 

music. I like sentimental music. I love 

reading too” 

Health and Food 

“I believe you are what you eat. I’m 

very particular with what I eat. I don’t 

do much of going to the gym but I eat 

healthy foods. I avoid carbs and sugar, 

and take fruits and vegetables.” 

Accessibility 

Mrs. Demuren is a sweet lady, saying 

thank you after every new question, 

and entertaining the team. She is easy 

to speak with and will share her contact 

details if you ask. Keep your eyes open 

for the next event she will be attending. 

*WASSCE - West Africa Secondary 

School Certificate Examination, an 

exam administered to senior students 

in Secondary Schools. 

*WIMBIZ - Women in Business and 

Management and Public Service is a 

leading organization supporting women 

in Nigeria. 

“Integrity, discipline and 

honesty were family 

values that I just couldn’t 

compromise. Family 

values remain key today. 

What are we teaching our 

children?” 

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FEATURES 

Nkem Okocha 

The Financial 

Inclusion Advocate 

Financial inclusion is such an important issue in these times, and Nkem 

Okocha is one woman using her difficult childhood experience, her 

passion for empowering women along with fintech to make financial 

inclusion a reality for women living in rural areas and urban slums. 

with their children out of school. The 

sight of that made my heart bitter and 

reminded me of what my own family 

had gone through. After working in 

the banking industry for 8 years, I 

resigned and started a small business. 

I decided to start small and with what 

I had which was N5000, a friend who 

was a vocational skills trainer and my 

church’s zonal center as a location, 

then I went out into the streets to 

invite any woman that desired to be 

empowered regardless of ethnicity and 

religion. We had 70 women in our first 

training and from there, I started going 

to other communities and that’s how I 

got into this business. It is a business 

built out of empathy. 

As a young girl, I wanted to be a 

lot of things, but being a social 

worker was not in my radar at 

the time. Circumstances of life pushed 

me into this calling. My father’s early 

death created such a huge gap in our 

lives because when he died, my mum 

was a full time housewife. So, getting 

funds for school and feeding became 

difficult. Later on, she s tarted a small 

business, which helped to feed us. To 

get funding for my education, I had 

to hawk on the major streets of Lagos 

and later became a nanny. This made 

me promise myself that when I grew up 

and had a lot of money, I would help 

women that were just like my mother. 

However, when I grew older, the bulk 

money required to bring this dream 

to pass was not forthcoming. I was 

working in a bank at the time and 

on my way to work every morning, I 

would see a lot of women sitting idly 

I think God was trying to prepare me 

for the path he had laid out for me, 

because if I had not lost my dad and 

experienced financial challenges, I 

wouldn’t understand what it means to 

want to provide for your children, but 

be unable to because of lack of startup 

capital or the skills to grow a business. 

Also working in the bank also helped 

me understand how to start lending to 

women. 

The spark to my success was when the 

woman whose nanny I was, paid for 

my GCE and POLYJAMB examinations. 

After I finished from the polytechnic, 

she also helped me get my first job as 

a teller in the bank. She gave me the 

leverage in the form of education to do 

all I have achieved today. Also, winning 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation Grant in 

2015 was another spark that helped us 

because after the training/mentorship 

and grant, we fully birthed Mamamoni. 

My vision to uplift poor women 

in Africa from poverty through 

sustainable livelihood trainings, access 

to finance and employment in our 

factories is very important to me 

because of my childhood experiences. 

Imagine the ripple effect my education 

has now had in the lives of women 

from different communities, because 

a financially empowered women 

invested in my education. That’s why 

I remain committed to impacting lowincome 

women in rural and urban slum 

communities, so they are financially 

independent and can take care of their 

children. My vision keeps me focused, 

because I know we have a lot to do, 

so I don’t waste time and resources on 

things that don’t matter. 

My biggest challenge was once business 

support, that is, trainings, mentorship 

and funding. I have been blessed to 

get all this from different fellowships 

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and funding organizations such as 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, LEAP 

Africa, Mandela Washington fellowship, 

YALI RLC, The United States Consulate 

General in Lagos, ACT Foundation, 

GEM/AVDD and Union Bank. 

I wish I had known earlier not to be 

afraid to speak and to share my story. I 

read a lot of self-help books, attended 

numerous trainings and listened to 

many messages, but I was afraid to 

speak because I was so shy and timid 

as a result of what I had gone through 

while growing up. I didn’t want anyone 

to know I was a former nanny, and 

whenever I met someone that could 

help me, I was afraid to speak up. 

After a training by the CEO of ACT 

Foundation, Osayi Alile during LEAP 

Africa’s Social Innovators training, I 

became a networking guru. Joining an 

online community World Pulse where 

a lot of women get to share anything 

and everything also helped me to start 

sharing my story. 

For every fellowship that I have been 

part of, the network has been one 

of the best things that happened 

to me. Most of my friends now are 

from the different fellowships I have 

participated in. My mentor from TEF, 

Mrs Oluwatoyin Sanni, the GCEO 

of Emerging Africa Capital PLC has 

remained my mentor and board advisor 

till date. My best lenders are from The 

Tony Elumelu Foundation and Mandela 

Washington Fellows from 2017. Tony 

Elumelu, Mrs Parminder Vir OBE and 

MWF fellows Mrs Ukinebo Dare The 

SSA to The Edo State Governor on Job 

Creation and Skills, Dr Doris of Maldor 

Eye Care Center and many more are 

now part of my network. All these 

sustained partnerships have helped us 

scale our work and impact to different 

communities. 

The day I got my first award, the 

Sisterhood Award from EbonyLIfe TV in 

partnership with WIMBIZ in 2016, was 

one of the most memorable days in my 

journey. I got to the award ceremony 

in Eko Hotel and when I saw the other 

nominees, I was so sure that someone 

else would get it because one of them 

was a former minister in Nigeria and 

had worked in the World Bank. Imagine 

how surprised I was when my name 

was called and all the women rose up 

to clap! That’s a feeling I can’t forget. It 

fuelled my passion to know that people 

think what I am doing makes sense. 

I’m hoping to soon explore designing 

financial products that fit the lifestyle 

of low-income women across Africa 

to drive financial inclusion. We’re also 

aiming to build the capacity of poor 

women across Africa through our soon 

to be launched Innovation Hub. 

For young girls with big dreams, I 

would tell them to learn every day, 

be diligent, focused and innovative, 

learn from your failures and bounce 

back, delay gratification, learn from 

life’s challenges, these traits build you 

up for success in career or business. 

If you decide to get married, marry 

someone who will help you grow, who 

is not afraid to let you fly and who is 

a friend to you. Associate with friends 

that will add value to your life in all 

ramifications. 

I think some laws should be passed 

to favour women, because our culture 

and traditions has really not helped 

the African girl child. A scheme I will 

like to see work in Nigeria for women 

is monthly financial support for women 

to take care of at least 3 children from 

birth to age 16. For any family that 

refuses to send their female children to 

school, the girls should be taken from 

them and given to foster parents. 

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Folashade 

Ambrose- 

Medebem 

The 

Business 

Maverick 

With a degree in Accountancy, 

Folashade Ambrose-Medebem is 

a business leader with experience 

in finance, project management, 

sustainable development amongst 

others. In this piece, she opens up 

about her story and how she has 

evolved as a career woman. 

Being a visionary woman, for me, 

means having the ability to see 

what others cannot see and 

ensuring others also enrol and see 

this vision too. A vision includes those 

dreams and ambitions which when 

attained, give you a huge sense of 

accomplishment and pride. 

My vision has evolved over the years. 

I remember that as a young teenager, 

my vision was very simple - freedom. 

Freedom from always being the only 

one in my peer group with a 6pm 

party curfew at 18! When I obtained my 

‘freedom’, I kept recalling my parents’ 

parting words as they saw me off at 

the airport back to England alone – 

“Folashade, remember the home you 

come from o Folashade.” (In Yoruba – 

ranti awon ile ti o wa.) This has guided 

me till date and it has enabled me 

not to get swayed by trends and peer 

pressure and to clarify my values i.e. 

what I stand for and why. 

This is an important aspect on which 

to anchor yourself as you grow in 

your career. My vision thereon has 

evolved from doing my best always in 

order to ascend both personally and 

professionally, all of which I achieved 

quite early. On reflection, I now see that 

I always unconsciously set myself new 

goals and vision once attained – why? 

Well, for me I believe without a vision 

and mission, one is like a drifting ship 

without an anchor and with no relevant 

skills, knowledge or tools to navigate 

successfully should there be a storm. 

I must be candid and say that there 

were a number of (far too many in my 

opinion) disappointments, some more 

profound than others. Notice I did not 

say ‘failure’ because for me, failure is 

falling down and NOT getting back 

up. A particular challenge I managed 

to flip to an opportunity was when I 

when I had my first daughter. I felt this 

overwhelming urge to spend extended 

time with my little one but in the same 

vein, I was concerned about the impact 

on my career – would my role still be 

there? Would my job still be held for 

me? 

I did take time out but spent part of 

that time completing my certification 

as a financial planning consultant 

providing financial advice to high net 

worth women. I earned a considerable 

income while on maternity leave, 

returned to work with an added skill 

set that was highly valued and I was 

promoted too! So you see, no matter 

the challenge, always look for the 

opportunities in any given situation 

and embrace disappointments as 

lessons learned. 

Another challenge I faced was adjusting 

to living and working in Nigeria! It was 

a huge change for me and initially 

seemed insurmountable. I just could 

not settle down. Eventually, I simply 

had to believe within myself that this 

is my home, there is no blueprint and I 

just had to go with the flow. With that 

renewed intention, I was able to adapt 

and settle in eventually, coming up 

with tactics and strategies to ease my 

transition along the way – a type of an 

emergent strategy, you could say. 

Having worked for more than two 

decades, a consistent spark to my 

success has been consciously always 

choosing to enjoy what I do. I have 

found it invokes my passion and my 

performance consistently, unlocking 

that discretionary energy in me every 

day,and resulting in my ability to 

always exceed expectations, both in 

myself and others. 

Always reflect and candidly ask yourself 

– Am I really enjoying what I do? And 

then crucially, if the answer is not 

affirmative, be bold and courageous 

to take action accordingly towards a 

work-life balance. This is where you 

seamlessly marry both your work and 

life together deliberately (e.g. working 

for an organisation that has values and 

a culture that resonates with yours, for 

instance). How I wish I knew all this 

when I first started though. I didn’t and 


I suppose it is one of the unconscious 

reasons why I established the Women 

Inspiring Impact Network (WiiN), a 

platform focused on empowering 

women to be their best self, fulfilled 

as growing leaders to achieve indelible 

impact and success. 

On my platform, I share my journey, 

thoughts and insights. I also coach, 

speak and mentor too. Another 

deliberate effort I make is to partner 

with other organizations. I was 

delighted to have been asked by the 

UN Women Country Representative 

to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Comfort 

Lamptey, to speak during the launch 

of UNSDG 5 - Turning Promises into 

Action Report in Abuja (A very good 

and insightful read by the way. It’s 

available online) on behalf of Lafarge 

Africa Plc. This was a remarkable and 

memorable day for me. I urge every 

young lady to assiduously seek and 

seize all moments, opportunities and 

experiences to grow whenever and 

wherever you can. 

If I were to write a note to my younger 

self that certainly would be one of 

my notes along with the critical need 

to be aware of the environment in 

which I find myself and being able to 

understand what the intrinsic cultural, 

political and economic nuances are 

and also ensure that I am able to 

seek all the help, knowledge and 

competency to navigate towards my 

ascent successfully. 

Back then, I grafted with grit; no mentor, 

no coach, no resources to benchmark. 

I hope what I’ve shared enables you 

to soar like an eagle. An eagle has the 

sharpest sight and is the only bird that 

in order to avoid the rain, starts flying 

above the clouds. So spread your wings 

and soar like an eagle. 

Remember that our lives are not 

determined by what happens to us but 

by how we respond to what happens. 

Having a positive attitude causes a 

chain reaction of positive thoughts, 

events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a 

spark that creates extraordinary results: 

“Where there is vision, prosperity is 

close by”. 

#WhatSheSaid 

• Be intentional about seeking out 

opportunities, assistance and 

experiences for growth 

• Having a positive attitude attracts 

positivity your way 

• Every challenging situation has 

hidden opportunities within it 

“Our lives are not determined 

by what happens to 

us but by how we respond 

to what happens.” 

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Misan Rewane 

The Passionate Humanitarian 

Misan Rewane is the co-founder and CEO of WAVE, an organisation that tackles youth 

unemployment by teaching young people employability skills. In this piece, she took us through 

how WAVE came to be and treading the road less trodden to make impact. 

The Beginning 

My dedication to education 

began when I was around the 

age of six when enamored by 

my primary 1 teacher, I said aloud in a 

family gathering that I wanted to be a 

teacher when I grew up, not a university 

lecturer, but a primary school teacher. 

I remember my dad saying, “If you 

want to be a teacher, you’ll be poor, 

unappreciated, frustrated.” He painted 

a very unappealing picture, but it didn’t 

add up. 

While an undergraduate at Stanford 

University in 2007, I began to put my 

thoughts into action, teaming up with 

my sister and some friends to set up 

a program called IMPACT (Inspiring 

Minds, Perceptions and Attitudes 

to Change Tomorrow), which helps 

children in Nigeria discover their 

talents and embrace learning outside 

the classroom. 

In 2010, I took a sabbatical from where 

I was working in London, returning to 

West Africa, specifically Cote d’Ivoire 

to volunteer with TechnoServe, 

helping young people develop their 

entrepreneurial ideas. 

At the end of my volunteer consulting 

project, I moved back to Nigeria 

and I joined the Centre for Public 

Policy Alternatives (CPPA), a public 

policy think tank focused on helping 

sub Saharan African governments, 

institutions and businesses create 

innovative policy solutions to 

development challenges. 

Though I anticipated that my job would 

involve writing and implementing 

proposals to support evidence-based 

policy decision-making, I quickly 

found myself focusing a great deal 

on recruiting. This was because we 

couldn’t find quality research analysts 

and so had to build our own training 

program to take the Nigerian university 

system’s “best and brightest” and still 

train them for 2 years before they could 

deliver the level of analytical rigour we 

required. That’s when I started thinking 

again about education. It was then the 

proverbial “spark” was created, where 

my paradigm shifted from seeing 

education reform as this thing that only 

do-gooders talked about to something 

that would cripple the most powerful 

businesses and governments if the 

system didn’t function optimally. 

I interacted with other West African 

classmates who shared the desire to 

tackle the education-to-employment 

system problems during my MBA at 

Harvard Business School (HBS) and 

the zeal in me grew to implement 

what had started as an idea and had 

become a full-blown business plan, 

which won the runner-up prize in the 

social enterprise track of the HBS New 

Venture Competition. 

Spurred on by the momentum from 

our big win, I moved back to Nigeria 

in the summer of 2013 to run a pilot 

with our first cohort of 12 unemployed 

youth. Five and a half years later, we 

are a team of 40 and have graduated 

over 2500 young people across our 

academies. 

Problems as Opportunities 

Growing up in Nigeria in the 80s and 

90s, there were 2 types of conversations 

about Nigeria that would take place at 

family gatherings. The first was “The 

problem with Nigeria” conversations. 

The second was “The potential of 

Nigeria” conversation … 

• 82 million hectares of arable land in 

Nigeria with only 40% cultivated. 

• Over 40 different types of 

minerals, most of which remain 

unexploited. 

• Top 10 greatest natural gas and oil 

reserves in the world natural gas... 

untapped! 

I got excited by these conversations 

about untapped potential as they gave 

me hope of the endless possibilities of 

what could be and the role that I could 

play in bringing it to pass. I imagined 

I could become an education minister 

and work to make sure that our 

growing population of children would 

all have access to quality learning. 

But with every passing Independence 

Day, there would be the same talk 

about potential and watching my country 

transition from its 20s to its 30s and 

now to its late 50s, I became more frustrated 

with the talk of Nigeria’s problems 

amidst its unrealized potential. 

And so, after 30-odd years of “potentialling”, 

I was deeply dissatisfied. John 

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Stott says that vision is a combination 

of a deep dissatisfaction with what is 

and a clear grasp of what could be. 

Vision 

In 2012, I had a vision … I was deeply 

dissatisfied with the rate at which 

millions of young Nigerians were 

transitioning from a failed education 

system to a labour market that could 

not employ them because they didn’t 

have the skills required to be productive 

and the growing number of employers 

who were underperforming because 

they could not find the right workforce. 

And so I found other friends who 

shared this deep dissatisfaction and 

together we came up with an idea. 

“I got excited by 

these conversations 

about untapped 

potential as they 

gave me hope of the 

endless possibilities 

of what could be and 

the role that I could 

play in bringing it to 

pass.” 

We would find hard working young 

people in our community, teach them 

basic employability skills and we would 

connect them with small and growing 

businesses who needed entry-level 

talent. This inspired the birth of WAVE. 

We started in Lagos with a class of 12 

young people and five years later, we 

have become a 40-person organization 

that has trained over 2500 young 

people and helped over 300 businesses 

access entry-level talent. 

The Future 

WAVE is currently building a movement 

of employers committed to hiring for 

competencies (over credentials) and 

educators committed to developing 

21st century competencies in young 

people. Our next frontier is to rewire 

the education-to-employment system 

so that it provides a level playing field 

for all young people to access the skills 

and opportunity to become what they 

imagine. 

My Younger Self 

I would tell my younger self to slow 

down, reflect more and enjoy the world 

more. I have tended to move at an 

unhealthy pace, racing against some 

life clock, convinced that a long life 

isn’t guaranteed and so, wanting to 

live 2 lifetimes in 1 in terms of the mark 

I leave on the world. As E.B. White 

famously said, “I arise in the morning 

torn between a desire to improve the 

world and a desire to enjoy the world. 

This makes it hard to plan my day.” 

Friendships and Partnerships 

Friendships and partnerships have 

been integral to my personal and 

professional growth! With every 

institution I have passed through, 

I have “collected” a core group of 

girlfriends who have kept me going 

when the going gets tough! We meet 

on a regular basis, both virtually and inperson 

wherever possible. 

Partnerships have been integral to 

our organization’s growth from day 1, 

helping us leverage others’ strengths 

to “go far together”. In the past 2 

years, our WAVE Employability skills 

curriculum has been replicated to 

reach over 6,000 young people 

through partnerships with Lagos 

state government and other social 

enterprises also tackling the youth 

unemployment problem. 

Advice to Young Girls 

My advice to young girls and women is 

probably the same advice I would give 

to any group of individuals treated as 

“other” or “less than”. It’s important to 

believe in yourself, believe that you can 

become the exception to the rule and 


change the paradigm that people have 

of xyz label. One of my favorite quotes 

is from John Stott, which describes 

vision as “a deep dissatisfaction with 

what IS and a clear grasp of what 

COULD BE”. 

Don’t just work hard to learn how to 

“play the game”, once you’ve figured 

out how to play it, the onus is on you to 

“change the game” for others coming 

up behind you! We must remember 

that others who’ve gone before us, also 

made sacrifices to change the game, 

and it was some of those sacrifices 

that have made the world a little less 

unequal for those of us going through 

it now … so in essence, “to whom much 

is given, very much is expected”... learn 

to play the game while changing it 

along the way! 

Role of the Government 

I believe the playing field is very uneven 

and so laws that are seen as “favouring 

women” are barely scratching the 

surface of the gross unevenness that 

exists. For starters, the playing field 

was designed by men so, of course, 

it’s seen from the limiting angle of 

“favouring women”. 

For those of us who work in the 

formal sector and have some control 

or influence over workplace policies, 

simple things like paternity leave 

should be implemented. At WAVE, 

we ensure new fathers get a month of 

paternity leave. We can advocate for 

longer maternity leave and ensure they 

aren’t sidelined because they missed 

3-4 months of a performance review 

cycle every time they give birth. 

A woman loses 3-4 months for 

maternity leave, you can imagine 

the impact on promotions and 

consequently the gender pay gap, 

which continues the vicious cycle. At a 

national level, the fact that the Gender 

Equal Opportunity (GEO) bill (which 

seeks to protect girls and women from 

gender-based violence, among other 

human rights) has been in the National 

Assembly since 2015, is a reflection 

of the state of affairs in Nigeria. The 

problem has never been that our 

“leaders” don’t know what to do...I’ll 

leave it at that. 

#WhatSheSaid 

• Untapped potential should be seen 

as possibilities of what would be. 

• Slow down, reflect, and enjoy the 

world more. 

• Have a vision for yourself and a 

deep dissatisfaction for with the 

way the world is about labels. 




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The Fab Five 

Women To Watch 

Five fab women amongst the numerous who are making 

waves and reaching for the stars in their various industries 

By Ayandola Ayanleke and Sharon-Ann Adaigbe 

Youth empowerment is at 

the heart of The Spark by 

BusinessDay. While there are 

many forms of youth empowerment, 

entrepreneurship is arguably the most 

prevalent because ultimately, it has a 

ripple effect. It ends up empowering 

not just the individual but family and it 

also creates jobs. 

For many years, women have shown 

their knack for entrepreneurship just 

as their male counterparts. And they 

are beginning to get recognised for it. 

In light of the International Women’s 

Day on March 8, The Spark is joining 

the world to celebrate the Visionary 

Woman. There’s no better way to 

celebrate the Visionary Woman than by 

placing a spotlight on women making 

bold moves in the areas of their passion 

and changing lives in the process. 

These 5 women, among many others, are female entrepreneurs to watch out for. 

Affiong Osuchukwu and 

Foluke Oyeleye 

Oh So Nutrition is a lifestyle company 

focused on promoting wellness by 

providing food & beverage options 

and programs that help the whole 

family adopt healthier living habits. 

Oh So Nutrition started in Co-Founder 

Affiong’s kitchen in 2014 due to a 

personal need for convenient access 

to food options that catered to her 

personal health issues. Foluke, Oh 

So’s very first paying customer, 

who was also dealing with her own 

health issues, joined as Co-Founder 

in 2015. At the time the company 

was founded, made-to-order or 

pre-packaged gluten-free, dairy free, 

plant-based food options in Lagos 

were pretty much non-existent. 

Together, we have grown Oh So from 

a small smoothie company based 

in a Lekki home kitchen to a fully 

established Lagos-based, proudly 

Nigerian wellness brand that provides 

primarily plant-based options. We 

believe that achieving wellness should 

be convenient and achievable. We 

also believe it is important to cater to 

the growing number of people with 

health related dietary restrictions. 

These are the reasons why we have 

developed a portfolio of grab-n-go 

products and wellness services to help 

our customers achieve their goals 

and have the options they deserve. 

Our business philosophy is Simple | 

Healthy | Wholesome. Our product 

philosophy is Local | Open | Honest. 

IG: @ohsonutrition 

Odunayo Eweniyi 

Piggybank.ng (now PiggyVest) 

started specifically because we 

realized that Nigerians were saving 

in actual wooden boxes, ‘kolo’. That 

told us that Nigerians wanted to 

save, especially because most of our 

payments are in bulk and upfront, but 

the infrastructure available was not 

quite right. So, we built and launched 

the platform to give people a viable, 

sustainable alternative to that, while 

also encouraging them to save more. 

We exist to help people better manage 

their finances, flexibly, conveniently 

and with discipline. And we have seen 

results that prove that the platform 

does indeed help people save up 

for their responsibilities (rent, fees, 

etc) and dreams without interruption 

in their daily lives and routines. We 

launched in 2016, and in that year, 

we saved 21 million naira. Today, 

Piggybank.ng (now PiggyVest) is the 

largest online savings & investment 

platform in Nigeria.@piggybankng 

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Olayinka Obagun 

Zoomabar started with me looking 

for a convenient on the go healthy 

Granola bar that had no sugar and 

no preservatives. All I could find was 

granola cereal and not a granola bar. 

I couldn’t find any affordable bars 

and the only one that came close to 

what I wanted cost N3,400 for a bar. 

And then I had a light-bulb moment. 

I literally said to myself Olayinka you 

can do this!!! How to do it became 

the challenge because I had never 

ever baked before but I did not let 

that deter me and here are we today. 

The goal was creating an innovative 

Made in Nigeria Granola Bar that 

is, healthy, affordable, convenient 

and on the go. Zoomabar filled the 

identified gap perfectly. Our slogan is 

Yummy, Healthy Goodness. Zoomabar 

is very healthy, tastes good, has no 

preservatives or added sugars and is 

registered with NAFDAC. Today, we 

are currently in various Supermarkets, 

Gyms, Health Cafes and Pharmacies 

across Lagos. IG: @zoomabar 

Olorunfunmi Adebajo 

In 2016, I founded Kindle Africa 

Empowerment Initiative aimed at 

eradicating poverty through the 

provision of education and welfare 

for women and children in slums. In 

2017, We built the Center for Women’s 

Integrated Education in Makoko to 

provide women with vocational, life 

skills and adult education in their 

indigenous languages. We put pictures 

of iconic women like Dr Dora Akunyili, 

Leymah Gbowee, Dr Adadevoh etc 

on the walls and tell stories to inspire 

our students.. We have 25 sewing 

machines and have partnered with 

various other organisations to provide 

other skills, community campaigns 

and welfare. Our target audience 

was women but we had to redefine 

the word ‘women’ when we started 

enrolling 14 year olds with children. In 

2018 alone, we reached out to over 

1,500 women and children through 

our various educational and health 

initiatives. Specifically, in partnership 

with Iranwo foundation, we trained 331 

women in tailoring, soap making and 

adire production and were actively 

involved in the lives of these women, 

providing them with mentoring, 

internships and start-up tools for their 

businesses. We also established a 

community adult education center on 

the Makoko water front where people 

are being taught English Language 

with Egun and French languages. 

As part of our strategic impact plan, 

Kindle Africa will be establishing Men’s 

Vocational Centers. WE also intend to 

expand beyond Makoko and establish 

more vocational and adult education 

centers. IG: @kindleafrica 

Soliat Bada 

I started Nula’s Kitchen while still in 

the UK and initially, it was a sort of 

like an Instagram hobby which was 

inspired by two things. Firstly, the 

“foodie” culture that exploded on 

Instagram. It inspired me to want to 

create food that not only seemed 

like it tasted great but also, looked 

quite appealing to the eyes. I believe 

that we eat with our eyes first. 

Consequently, when really appealing 

pictures of food began popping up 

everywhere and it became, quite 

literally, part of pop culture to capture 

beautiful images of food, it became 

important to me to show that it’s not 

just burgers dripping with melted 

cheese that can look beautiful but 

Nigerian food can look beautiful in 

images as well. A major issue I had 

with Nigerian caterers in the UK was 

the way they presented our food. So I 

wanted to make and present Nigerian 

food that looked like Gordon Ramsay 

or David Chang plated it. Secondly, I 

wanted to show millennial men and 

women like me, especially women; 

i.e, women with careers, how to 

make quick but absolutely delicious 

meals. So when Instagram initially 

started their 15-second video format, 

I thought, this would be a brilliant 

way to show that it’s very possible 

for young people like me to make 

well prepared dishes in a very short 

and non-stressful amount of time. 

My biggest accomplishment with my 

culinary passion so far definitely has 

to be opening up my chicken wings 

restaurant, Byrd, in Lagos, which 

was such a passion project of mine 

and to see it come to fruition is just 

phenomenal. Additionally, my cooking 

special on Accelerate TV, Off The 

Menu, just premiered on January 25th 

and it’s been quite a roller coaster 

ride since then. I have also been 

dancing professionally for about 10 

years. Performing on global stages 

with incredible artists like Rihanna, 

Sean Paul, D’Banj and Fuse ODG and 

by far the coolest thing, going on 

tour with Drake on the U.S leg of his 

Summer Sixteen tour in 2016 are the 

highlights of my dancing career. IG: @ 

soliatmsbada @nulaskitchen 

This list is by no means exhaustive as we have a lot more female entrepreneurs to watch out. That is the beauty really; that there 

are so many you can relate with as a young entrepreneur. We’re excited by what these women are doing and we’ll keep watching 

out to see the great initiatives they come up with. 

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Tosin Faniro-Dada 

The Start-Up 

Enabler 

Tosin Faniro–Dada is the Head 

of Start-Ups at Lagos State 

Employment Trust Fund. She 

shares her journey and challenges 

from being an accounting 

professional, to a social enterprise 

executive. She also talks about 

her vision for the future and some 

advice to young women. 

I 

am not one of those people who 

always had a concrete plan of what 

they wanted to do. I started my career 

in accounting, audit to be specific. I 

worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers 

‘PwC’ in Boston. I spent three years 

auditing mutual and private equity 

partnership Funds, my biggest clients 

were Goldman Sachs Mutual and 

Private Equity Partnership Funds, and 

Putnam Investments. While at PwC, I 

got my master’s degree in accounting 

at Boston College, and also became a 

Certified Public Accountant. 

I moved back to Nigeria in 2010 

and worked at Asset & Resource 

Management Holding Company (ARM) 

as a Financial Analyst in the Hospitality 

and Retail Fund for three years. 

I moved to Banking in 2014 and worked 

at Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank) in the 

Oil & Gas Upstream division of the 

Corporate Banking Group. After Skye 

Bank (now Polaris Bank), I joined the 

Lagos State Employment Trust Fund 

“LSETF” as the Head of the Funds 

Strategy and Partnership division. 

Now, I head LSETF’s program for 

tech startups and innovation-drivenenterprises 

called, Lagos Innovates. 

Challenges 

II started my career at 20. I wish my 

main goal in university was not to finish 

as early as possible. I wish I took time 

to enjoy the experience and diversity of 

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being on a campus with thousands of 

people. So, I would say working in a big 

company at such a young age made 

me a bit socially awkward, because 

most people on my team were older 

and related with each other better. I 

had a good meeting with my manager 

who was female and Indian, so we 

connected as we were both minorities. 

She gave me the best advice, which 

is that you can be the best person 

academically, but you will not get far 

if you are not sociable. So, very quickly, 

I learned how important it is to bond 

with your team, clients, partners, etc. 

I also found the banking industry a bit 

challenging. I did not like the inflexible 

hours, and the lack of openness to 

change. Honestly, I think Banking is 

probably the toughest industry I have 

worked in. The culture was completely 

different from the two previous 

places I had worked. But one thing I 

learned very quickly in the bank is to 

focus on the outcome you want to 

achieve. Focus on the big picture. So, 

I found a way to turn my challenges to 

opportunities. I had never worked in a 

bank prior to Skye Bank (now Polaris 

Bank) but I quickly became the go-to 

person on my team. I spent personal 

time understanding the industry I was 

covering by taking online courses. 

This way I understood the industry 

better and I was in a better position 

to recommend tools to help the team 

achieve its objectives faster. I also 

learned to work around my inflexible 

hours. 

Spark to Success 

The spark of my success is working 

at the Lagos State Employment Trust 

Fund. Prior to this, I had never worked 

for a startup or development agency…. 

it was strictly finance. So, having young 

and smart people come together for a 

common goal and seeing the impact of 

our interventions, changed my entire 

perspective of where I want to be in 5, 

or even 10 years. 

LSETF is changing lives everyday 

through her interventions. We are 

solving Lagos’s biggest problems such 

as unemployment, access to finance, 

access to capacity building, access to 

market, access to infrastructure, etc. 

and I feel honored to be part of the 

team doing this amazing work. 

Importance of Vision 

I am not your traditional professional. 

I never really had a set vision of my 

future. I think It maybe because I am 

an accountant and I am used to dealing 

with historical data…so, I cannot tell 

you that where I am today was part of 

my vision. However, I live by 3 rules: Be 

focused, Be consistent and Be flexible. 

I have finally found a path that I am 

happy in and where I would like to 

grow but I didn’t start there. However, 

I was intentionally open to different 

opportunities because I could not 

figure out my passion. Eventually, my 

curiosity and openness led me to a life 

changing experience. 

So, if you have a vision, that’s amazing 

but always remember to be flexible 

because that may lead you to a lifechanging 

experience. 

Note to Younger Self 

I would tell my younger self to step back 

and enjoy life in college as opposed 

to obsessing about finishing in three 

years instead of four. Take time to learn 

new things, e.g. learn a language, do an 

exchange program, learn how to play 

an instrument, etc. 

I would tell my younger self that she 

has a right to be in the room no matter 

how young she is, she has a right to 

negotiate and to speak up when she is 

not happy about anything. 

I would tell my younger self to be 

more patient, less emotional and 

demonstrate emotional intelligence. I 

once turned down a very good job offer 

because I felt the Human Resource 

representative that I worked with was 

rude and incompetent. 

Lastly, I would tell my younger self that 

life isn’t always about numbers and 

there’s no science to everything. 

Friendships and Partnerships 

Friendships and partnerships are a 

major factor to my growth. I have a 

circle of amazing friends who support 

me. Funny enough, I found out about 

LSETF through a very good friend 

who constantly looked out for me and 

would send me job adverts, and even 

recommend me. My friends encourage 

me, advise me, and keep me in check. 

Partnerships are important, as you can 

leverage their experience and learning 

to achieve your objectives. At LSETF, 

we are always happy to work with 

partners to help widen our reach and 

provide expertise in areas that we are 

testing. We have worked with so many 

partners in the past, such as VISA, 

FCMB, UNDP, IBM, Stanbic IBTC, etc. 

These organizations have helped us 

deliver our interventions. 

Next Frontiers 

I am so excited for our talent program 

called The Lagos Innovates Talent 

Development Program. With the 

sudden urge of tech startups, the need 

for tech skills has become a necessity. 

The objective of this program is 

to subsidize the cost of program 

attendance by tech startup founders, 

subject to a maximum of 80% of the 

program attendance cost. The program 

will run as a student loan program. This 


“you have a right to be in 

the room no matter how 

young you are, and you 

have a right to speak up 

and negotiate... 

program will launch in March 2019. 

I am also excited about IBM’s Digital- 

Nation Africa Project which LSETF 

is implementing in Lagos state, in 

partnership with America Tower 

Corporation (ATC). The project 

intends to help address the digital 

skills shortage specifically amongst 

the millennial population of Africa. 

D - NA, through a free online learning 

environment delivered on IBM cloud, 

provides a vast range of enablement 

resources, ranging from introductions 

to key digital technology through the 

provision of online courses covering 

IT topics. This training will be available 

for free at digital centers in Lagos state 

and will launch in March 2019. 

Dear Young Woman 

Identify what makes you happy and 

be consistent. Be open to different 

opportunities that come yourway, 

because if you are like me and you can’t 

figure out what your passion is, then it 

makes sense to grab every opportunity 

that you believe will add value to your 

career. In addition, network as much as 

you can. it’s a powerful tool that can 

accelerate your career. 

It is also important to stay focused. I 

always focus on my work regardless 

of what’s going on around me. My 

primary focus is to deliver good work, 

and I believe that your work will always 

speak for you. So even if you are in a 

challenging environment, no one will 

deny your experience, expertise, skills, 

and the value you are adding to the 

team. 

Government Policies and Schemes in 

Nigeria and Africa 

Laws and policies in Nigeria and Africa 

should be passed to favour women. 

There should be specific quotas for 

women. At LSETF, we are mandated 

that 50% of our beneficiaries must 

be women, however, we have taken it 

upon ourselves to increase this number 

to 60%, to ensure that it’s clear that we 

are here to support women. 

In conclusion, young women should 

be focused and consistent, sociable, 

partner with each other and be flexible. 

You never know when you can have a 

life changing experience. 




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Adedoyin Jaiyesimi 

The Creative 

Content Connoisseur 

Known and loved for the inspiration and guidance she provides 

writers through Sparkle Writers Hub and her work at Content Craft, 

creating impactful content for clients across different industries, 

Adedoyin takes us through her entrepreneurial journey and the 

lessons she has learnt along the way. 

If someone had told me a decade 

ago that I would run a business that 

consults for leading organizations 

and notable individuals in Nigeria, I 

would have disputed it. Looking back 

now, I am glad I was thrown into the 

deep waters of entrepreneurship. 

Has it been tough? Of course it has! 

Starting without funding, I quickly 

learnt that if you task your mind, you 

will overcome the limitation. I didn’t 

have money but I had my writing skills. I 

sat down and drew up a plan. I knew the 

services I wanted to offer, what I wanted 

to charge and the target audience I 

wanted to attract. I researched and 

discovered a network where I could 

find my target audience. However, I did 

not have enough money to register for 

one of their events. Thanks to a friend’s 

advice, I wrote a proposal to volunteer 

my services. This was a turning point in 

my entrepreneurial journey. 

During this event, I was so engrossed 

with work that I didn’t have the time 

to network as I planned. In fact, I 

forgot my business cards! But I learnt 

a crucial lesson. Networking is not 

about the number of business cards 

you can shove into people’s hands; it 

is about the number of people you can 

successfully pitch the value you have 

to offer to. 

I have to pause here to talk about 

the grace of God as my entire life 

revolves around Him. I remember when 

I realised I had forgotten my business 

cards at home. I was a bit distraught. 

“Adedoyin, you are about to miss a 

golden opportunity,” a voice in my 

head said. I ignored the voice and 

prayed to be divinely connected with 

the right people. And this is exactly 

what happened! I met a young lady 

working behind the scenes with me. 

She shared a particular challenge with 

me which was in my area of expertise 

and I told her what she could do to 

solve the problem. Four months later, 

she was instrumental to me landing 

one of my biggest clients. I find that 

it is very easy to get carried away 

with meeting the big people who you 

believe will make you ‘blow’ but it is 

more important to pay attention to the 

‘regular’ people. They may just be ones 

who will orchestrate that big break. 

I have to confess here that I got carried 

away with the ‘grind’. I pushed my 

body too far. I was diagnosed with 

illnesses I never knew existed. There 

were times I fainted, and times I just 

couldn’t get out of bed because I was 

too weak. I have learnt the importance 

of boundaries and balance. I now have 

days when I unplug and relax. There’s 

more to life than work and I remind 

myself of this daily. 

These health challenges also taught 

me the difference between working 

hard and working smart. This is where 

I remain grateful to mentors and fellow 

entrepreneurs. You need to reach 

out. Find out how others are doing 

things to see if there is anything you 

need to tweak in your operations and 

processes. 

I call myself an accidental entrepreneur 

but I am glad that I am on this path, 

firstly because God has a purpose for 

what I do today and also because I 

have become a more refined woman. 

It is essential to always have a plan 

but know that things will not always 

go as planned. And when you fall and 

fail, own up to your mistakes. I’ve had 

to apologise to a number of clients 

because I (or someone in my team) 

dropped the ball. Instead of beating 

myself up, I take on the lessons to be 

learnt and I move on. 

The beauty of it all is that, no matter 

the setbacks, being able to sit back and 

assess how far I have come is always a 

blessing. I have a vision, God gives the 

grace and I run with it with as much 

grit as I can muster, trusting that by 

the end, I will have built an enduring 

legacy. 

I am still on my journey and I’m looking 

“Networking is not 

about the number of 

business cards you 

can shove into people’s 

hands; it is about 

the number of people 

you can successfully 

pitch the value you 

have to offer to.” 

forward to the future chapters of this 

entrepreneurial story. 

#WhatSheSaid 

• Money will not be an obstacle 

between you and your dreams if 

you’re willing to apply yourself and 

think out of the box. 

• Even when you have a plan, life 

can throw curve balls at you. Be 

flexible and adaptable. 

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Tomi Otudeko 

The 

Enterprise 

Igniter 

Tomi Otudeko is the Head of 

Innovation and Sustainability 

at the Honeywell Group. She is 

also Director of Itanna, a venture 

investing platform for tech 

startups. She opens up on her life 

and finding success within failure. 

The Beginning 

I can trace my success back to my 

childhood; being raised by a mother 

and father who never told me I was 

limited and encouraged me to pursue 

whatever goal I chose for myself. 

I wouldn’t say there was a clear plan; 

the only thing I was truly clear on was 

that I would make impact and leave 

my imprint on this world. I believe that 

each of us is here for a purpose and 

once we find that purpose, things fall 

into place. 

Challenging Times 

As a young child, I had difficulty with 

reading, spelling and writing. When I 

read letters, (particularly P, D, Q & B) 

sometimes floated on the page and 

made it hard to follow, while my writing 

and spelling were poor. It caused some 

people to label me as “slow” and got 

me punished for the quality of my 

work. It affected my learning and led to 

some difficult times in primary school. 

I changed schools to a more nurturing 

environment and at 11 I got tested and 

was diagnosed with dyslexia. Dyslexia 

is a learning disorder that can cause 

problems with reading, writing and 

spelling. It’s a specific learning difficulty, 

which means it causes problems with 

certain abilities used for learning, such 

as reading and writing. It tends to 

affect each person differently. Unlike 

a learning disability, intelligence isn’t 

affected. 

My diagnosis was the “best” thing 

that ever happened to me. It made 

me realise that there wasn’t anything 

wrong with me. I was just different 

and learnt differently. From then on, I 

had great support and started creating 

structures to learn effectively given my 

difficulties. Over the years, I have come 

to see dyslexia less like a challenge 

and more of a blessing because it 

made me understand that irrespective 

of a setback I could rise above it and 

still attain my goals. This mindset has 

helped shape me into the woman I am 

today. 

Success from Failure 

The spark to my success came from my 

first real taste of failure. Growing up, I 

had a thirst for knowledge and despite 

my learning difficulties, I did well. 

Without much effort, I left secondary 

school with 3 A’s in my A Levels and 

entered university. What I didn’t realise 

was that university wouldn’t be as easy 

as secondary school and getting the 

grades I wanted and expected would 

require me to work harder. By the time 

I started to put in the work, it was too 

late and I ended up leaving university 

with a 2:2. For me, that was “failure” 

because I knew I hadn’t worked as 

hard as I could and performed lower 

than I expected. It severely affected my 

confidence but was also the turning 

point for me. It made me realise that I 

had to take my success into my hands. 

I saw the power of hard work and knew 

that things wouldn’t just be handed to 

me. Since then every success I have 

had has been underpinned by hard 

work and grit. 

Vision 

Vision is critical to success. A great man 

once said, “empires of the future are the 

empires of the mind.” Everyone must 

be encouraged to dream, to cultivate 

and nurture vision. So for me, it all 

starts with a clearly defined purpose. 

There will always be challenges but 

rather than dwell on them, we have to 

ensure that we do not lose sight of the 

overarching objective. 

In recent times, I have set personal 

goals and tried to map out the skills, 

people and experience I need to help 

me achieve these goals. I work towards 

preparing myself, so that when God 

presents me with an opportunity, I am 

ready to take advantage of it. 

Circle of Success 

You cannot do it alone and I am 

supported by friends and family that 

have allowed me to be who I am today. 

I am one of seven siblings. I also have 

friends that have become like family. My 

family - biological and nonbiological - 

is the core of my network. They are “My 

People”. 

My people are my cheerleaders, my 

sounding board and the people who 

keep me in check. You need people like 

that in your life, people who remind 

you who you are. People who hold you 

accountable and encourage you to be 

the best you can be. 


“Over the years, I have come 

to see dyslexia less like a challenge 

and more of a blessing 

because it made me understand 

that irrespective of a 

setback I could rise above it 

and still attain my goals.” 

In my career, I have experienced the 

power of your network. It is important 

to be available to help others in your 

network, and don’t be afraid to tap into 

your network so you can achieve your 

goals. 

Memorable Moments 

There have been so many memorable 

days. In recent times though, seeing 

the work we are doing at Itanna come 

together with our first demo day at 

the end of last year, was the most 

rewarding experience. It excites me 

that I am supporting new companies 

while also helping to secure the future 

of one of Nigeria’s foremost indigenous 

companies. 

To African Women 

Never allow yourself to accept the 

status quo, look for solutions to 

problems around you. As we already 

do, we must leverage on the culture of 

hard work that is expected of us early 

in life. We must be knowledgeable, 

resourceful and value creators. With 

that, we cannot be ignored and society 

will have to give us our rightful place 

on the table. 

What she said 

• You need people who remind you 

who you are. People who hold you 

accountable and encourage you to 

be the best you can be. 

• Work towards preparing yourself, 

so that when God presents you 

with an opportunity you are ready 

to take advantage of it. 

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FAST FORWARD 

Arit Okpo 

The Amplifier 

You cannot meet Arit and not be enamoured by her charisma. As you 

start to talk to her, you witness something truly special- the gem that she 

is begins to unveil even brighter, as question after question meet answers. 

Arit Okpo is the media entrepreneur to watch out for. She currently 

focuses on documentary filmmaking, voice-overs, TV presenting and 

event moderating. She has produced and presented content for the 

EbonyLife TV platform and is the current voice of CNN’s African Voices 

as well as season host for web talk show Untold Facts, produced by The 

Initiative for Equal Rights. She shares about her journey, her struggles and 

the glory... 

...On Beginnings 

Hmmm...I was a performing child. 

I recited Bible verses in church, I 

acted in dramas and participated 

in reading competitions in school. I was 

confident and outspoken. I remember 

doing one of those Nigerian Television 

Authority (NTA) exchange programmes 

that used to be so popular in those days 

when I was about 7. I have a picture in 

my head of myself in a double wrapper, 

holding this microphone with the 

cable dangling behind me. I was such 

a talker that everyone thought I would 

become a lawyer. My mother tells me 

often that my favourite question has 

always been – Why? Of course, I didn’t 

think of these things that I enjoyed as 

a pointer to a career; all I knew was 

that they were fun and I was good at 

them. I got into school, was placed into 

the Science and Technology class and 

ended up studying Biochemistry. That 

was never part of the grand plan but 

I’m so glad I found my way back. 

…On Challenges 

I think that one of my biggest challenges 

has been creating a bridge between 

being a creative and making a career. 

As a creative, I like to make things, but 

I haven’t always thought about how to 

monetize these things I make, or about 

how to ensure that said monetization 

is commensurate for my work. So, I’m 

learning to approach work from two 

angles – first in the sense of what it is 

that I am creating and then alongside 

that, making sure that the job is paying 

me and building my career. 

Very closely related to that has been 

creating strategies and plans to make 

sure that I actually do the things I 

dream of doing. I constantly have plans 

and ideas, but I haven’t always been 

structured in breaking down these 

ideas into a realistic plan. It has been a 

beautiful (but not always easy) journey 

of turning my passion into a business. 

. 

…On the Moment that 

Changed Everything 

The big spark moment was working 

with Mo Abudu at Ebonylife TV. It was 

a transition into working in the media 

full time. I had been planning a softer 

entry into the industry and working 

and learning during that period 

jumpstarted that process beautifully. 

Before this break out moment, I had 

felt insecure about my ability to do the 

work that I do, I struggled to accept 

that I did deserve everything that 

was coming, I felt that things needed 

to be more difficult for me to earn 

them. I have a fierce work ethic and 

such a willingness to do well; if I had 

added more self-belief to that already 

powerful mix, what a time it would 

have been. 

“Governments need to 

ensure that policies, job 

positions and opportunities 

actively exist 

for women, and not for 

figurehead positions 

like officer for women’s 

affairs and all of that, 

but for strategic and 

influential positions.” 

38 @the 

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…Of Friendships and Partnerships 

I think that friendships are important 

for life in general and so I think of my 

friendships/partnerships more within 

the context of Arit as a person. I can say 

that I know a diverse group of people 

who do so many different things for 

me. Some are achievers in their various 

fields, and so they challenge me to 

think outside the box. I have friends in 

the industry whose shoulders I can cry 

on and who get our unique struggles. I 

have many friends who are women and 

it gives me joy to celebrate them and 

have them celebrate me as we continue 

to achieve and transcend in our various 

fields. I have met many people who 

have loved my work and invited me 

to be a part of their projects. These 

relationships intersect and connect to 

support, build and challenge me. 

…Most Memorable Day 

I have had many! The day I met Richard 

Quest and worked with the CNN crew 

in 2017 for Quest Business Traveller – 

when I got to watch the episode and 

reflected on the work that we did, I was 

encouraged to think of my work beyond 

Nigeria. In 2018, I got to interview Seun 

Kuti as part of a UN Allies project and 

it was a very impactful experience 

having him talk about his art in relation 

to his advocacy. I currently work with 

TIERS Nigeria as host for their web 

series Untold Facts – we talk about the 

experiences and perspectives of LGBT 

people in Nigeria; this job in particular 

gives me many moments of gratitude 

that I am able to speak and use the 

media to advocate, enlighten and share 

in such a powerful way. 

…On Africa and the African Woman 

My biggest piece of advice for women 

in Africa would be – dream your 

dreams for yourself first. As African 

women, we are often raised to think of 

life purely in the context of others; be a 

good daughter, a good partner, a good 

mother etc. What can happen with this 

is; we never really get to explore what 

we want for ourselves. Our dreams are 

always dependent on the presence and 

approval of those that we are taught 

to exist in the context of. So, before 

anything else, ask yourself – What do 

I want for myself? What is the thing I 

personally want to do? Make that your 

anchor, and ensure that everything else 

that you do exists in a dynamic balance 

with you and your dreams for yourself. 

Don’t be afraid to take the steps: run 

for that office, push for the promotion, 

delay your decision to marry until you 

are ready, refuse to be in situations 

that diminish you as a woman. Every 

time you make a choice that affirms 

you as an individual, it becomes easier 

to operate from a place of personal 

wholeness and that ensures that those 

around you are challenged to relate 

with you in the same way. 

…On Government Programs and 

Policies to Help the Nigerian Woman 

As things stand, women are vastly 

underrepresented across spheres 

of influence in Nigeria and we see 

the impact of this in the creation of 

laws and policies that consistently 

disenfranchise us. So, governments 

need to ensure that policies, job 

positions and opportunities actively 

exist for women, and not for figurehead 

positions like officer for women’s affairs 

and all of that, but for strategic and 

influential positions. Women with the 

right qualifications for these positions 

exist, but they often do not have the 

visibility or support to step forward. 

This can be done with a target to 

ensure a certain percentage of female 

representation within key sectors and 

positions within a certain number of 

years. Then, to add to this, 

• Programs in schools to encourage 

and support women in more 

stereotypically male careers 

• Funds and programs that make 

it easier for women to access 

financing and expertise for 

businesses, with tax breaks and 

market support. 

• Policies to ensure that women earn 

as much as men, have recourse in 

cases of sexual harassment and 

are not discriminated against 

when they choose to start families. 

• Laws need to become fairer to 

women. It is absurd that women 

cannot confer citizenship, cannot 

work in certain industries, can be 

married off as children and still 

do not have Gender and Equal 

Opportunities representation in 

the laws of this country. In 2019! 

• Women can be supported in 

running for office. Many women do 

not have the financial and human 

networks that men have, and this 

comes to play very powerfully in 

politics. So – governments need 

to make it easier for women to 

access forms and run campaigns. 

#WhatSheSaid 

“Every time you 

make a choice 

that affirms you 

as an individual, it 

becomes easier 

to operate from a 

place of personal 

wholeness and 

that ensures that 

those around you 

are challenged to 

relate with you in 

the same way.” 

• Operate from a place of personal 

wholeness and you’ll lay the 

foundation for how others will 

treat you 

• It’s important to find a way to 

properly monetize your passions, 

so you can do what you love and 

get paid for it. 

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START UP 

Tosin Ajibade 

The New 

Media Icon 

Tosin Ajibade, popularly 

known for her lifestyle and 

entertainment website 

Olorisupergal and also as 

the organizer of New Media 

Conference, shares her journey 

with us. She talks about how it 

all started, her passion for media 

and some challenges she has 

faced. 

How it All Began 

Looking back on my upbringing, 

I would say being responsible 

at an early age put me on the 

path I’m on today. I am the first child 

of my family and that meant major 

responsibilities such as taking care of 

my siblings, making sure everything 

is done right at home; also having to 

put in so much effort in school formed 

a large part of my childhood and 

adolescent years. These experiences 

shaped my character and self-discipline 

and helped me evolve to the woman I 

am today. 

I fell in love with social media in 2008 

when it was not something recognised 

as a potential career path. Social 

media influencing did not exist at the 

time. It came to me naturally as I had 

an unusual passion and drive for all 

things social media. My journey started 

with my love for information sharing on 

Facebook before I joined Twitter, then 

Instagram and also started a blog in 

2010. However, I knew media was for 

me in 2012 from the impact of my work 

in the media industry. 

Facing Challenges 

Challenges in business come at different 

times and in different ways. For me, 

it was mostly staffing and content 

creation issues I had to deal with. To 

overcome this challenge, I decided to 

outsource our staff recruitment to HR 

companies. This ensured I got better 

staff and could also work with the HR 

companies to evaluate performance 

and retain talents in my company. 

Big Breaks 

I’ve had several tipping points in my life 

and business and I’ll share some with 

you. I had my first major break when 

I got hired to run a digital marketing 

campaign for a big account in 2013. 

The money I made from that job helped 

me buy my first car. I also got my first 

influencer marketing job in 2011 on 

Twitter for a phone company and I’ve 

had a great partnership with them over 

the years. 

On Vision... 

Vision is very important to me 

as an entrepreneur. Our vision at 

Olorisupergal, is to be the go-to 

lifestyle and entertainment platform 

for millennials in Africa. We have the 

Olorisupergal website and social media 

platforms, the OSG academy that helps 

people become influencers, social 

media managers and bloggers, and the 

annual New Media Conference. 

Like every grand vision, there are 

challenges that will test it. As an 

entrepreneur, I faced challenges in 

getting the right brand and media 

partners, more digital marketing 

campaign jobs and accessing the right 

financing to expand my business. I 

also wish I had developed skills in video 

and photo editing earlier. It would have 

saved me time and money. 

If I could go back in time and give a 

piece of advice to my younger self, it 

would be, ‘’Business is business. Don’t 

do anything for free.’’ 

I would consider friendships and 

partnerships as a major factor in my 

growth. I’m blessed with the best 

kind of friends anyone could ask for. 

My circle is made up of people that 

motivate me, celebrate me, challenge 

me and support my goals. When I 

thought up The New Media Conference 

in 2013, I wasn’t sure I could pull it off, 

but I got overwhelming support from 

my circle and we filled the hall we used 

in Terra Kulture. We’ll have the 6th 

edition this year and their support still 

remains. 

In my journey as a media entrepreneur, 

I have had some really memorable 

days. One I won’t forget in a hurry is 

the opportunity I got to cover the B.ET 

Awards in Los Angeles in 2016. It was 

really enlightening for me, having to 

work with international media and 

influencers. As a business, we are 

looking at expanding our reach and 

influence through more paid coverage 

of international events and growing 

the Olorisupergal platforms for global 

relevance. 

As a female entrepreneur, I am 

very passionate about the girl-child 

reaching her full potential. I encourage 

every female to fight for what they 

want and work hard for it. No one will 

hand you anything because you are a 

woman, so commit to being the best 

version of yourself in every regard. 

‘’Business is business. Don’t 

do anything for free.’’ 

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