“I Learnt Perseverance After My Fire Accident” Meet Eco-friendly Entrepreneur, Chidiebere Nnorom
If there’s one thing Chidiebere Nnorom wants us to know, it is that she’s a typical Igbo girl with a never die attitude, never ever wanting to give up! Even after going through a rough patch, she refused to succumb and found her way back up. Chidiebere Nnorom is the Co-founder of Paperbag by Ebees. She has a strong passion for the environment, social impact and business. Watch this space as Chidiebere is determined to change norms and make waves as an entrepreneur, environmentalist and a young global leader. Scroll down to read more of her story. What’s your background story? Before my business grew to the stage it is at now, I went through a lot! I was involved in a fire accident which kept me indoors for a while. I had to stop business operations and lay off staff. It was unbelievable. Imagine being at a point in life where you are clueless about what to do next. Well, that was me then. It took me almost a year to heal. I couldn’t work or do anything. My savings had been zapped and I kept wondering how I’d scale through. There was a personal instinct to do something, I knew it wasn’t the time to give up but to breakthrough! I needed to turn the light on in my heart and that I did. To cut the long story short, the accident was a validation to move on. Months later, I picked up my business and started building up gradually. Next thing I knew, business calls were coming in! People said they saw the paper bag and wanted to order. Some of the paper bags they saw were made way before the accident. The referral rate was massive! I was so elated and grateful I didn’t give up back then. What ignited the spark to start Paperbag by Ebees? In 2016, we started off as a food delivery business but one of the problems we faced was the packaging, we just couldn’t find the right packaging. With a background in geography and my love for the environment, we decided to start creating eco-friendly packages. There were a lot of “buts!” That was the year the foreign exchange was high, fuel scarcity and other things kept creeping in. We had to take a step back to think of how we could make it. My team and I carried out some research, tried out different products, monitored what was moving and what wasn’t. Everything was coming up gradually. Before I knew it, we made it official! What business challenges have you faced and how have those challenges shaped your mindset? At the early stages, our major challenge was accessing raw materials in Nigeria. It meant having to buy in large quantities and also importing from China. We had other expenses to run the business and couldn’t afford it. This caused a setback. We had to think of how to make it ourselves. We carried out some research and found alternative ways to come up with the resources. That was when we started the business for real! Business development was our second challenge, it took us a while to see that the market was ready. We had to try out different products to see if the market will accept us. It was quite hard, to be honest. After a series of experiments and market research, we were able to count a milestone. Finally! We achieved growth. These experiences really shaped our mindset as a company. To every business owner out there, celebrate your little wins! We count every little effort we make as a win and an opportunity to do better. I’m learning to take joy in the little things, every small success is a validation. I say to myself, “Chidiebere well done!” It tells me that every step I took at the time was worth it. How do you come up with the designs on your paper bags? I won’t take all the credit, I have a really good team. My own inspiration came from purpose. The point is, if we chase our real purpose there are things we won’t struggle to do. I found my passion, and everything fell into place. Finding the right people who know what they are doing is key. I also took some time to learn product design. It’s a combination of all these things. What have you learned so far from running this business? I was in paid employment and transitioning was quite drastic. Take your time and plan! If you’re transitioning from paid employment to business, have enough money to cover up for your expenses. Make sure that the business can take care of your bills. There is no need to go through stress because you’re an entrepreneur, life can be easy!
Be Consistent About Your Growth- Kutama Peanut Founder, Mary Asanga
Mary Asanga juggles being a full-time student of biochemistry at the University of Uyo and running a business with grace and grit. “I started my business to make ends meet but along the line, I wanted to make my business distinct. I wanted to serve a purpose,” she says. Once Mary was set on what she wanted to do, she decided to be intentional- “When I started, I wasn’t business savvy. I didn’t know the basics but I wanted to learn. There was this drive to be better and that drive gave me the desire to apply for many opportunities.” In this piece, Mary shares her business story and valuable insights from her experience as a business owner and full-time student. Why did you choose to sell peanuts? I got a Nature Valley snack bar as a gift from a friend and it was really nice. So I went to the supermarket to find something similar that is locally produced and there was hardly any. It was just imported peanut snacks or regular peanuts. That inspired me to do something. So, I began researching peanut snacks and how they can be used to support the diet plans of diabetic people. I noticed that this particular group of consumers are often ignored by the food and beverage industry. What does Kutama mean? Kutama means, “when you see, you will love. How do you juggle being a full-time student and a business owner? When I started, I ensured to move productions to weekends, I would source for raw materials during the weekdays after lectures. This way production was less tedious. On weekends, my team and I would block off a time to produce and then on Mondays, we distribute to schools, staff quarters, student hostels, stalls and some locations in Lagos. We managed this model up until 2019. Once my course load reduced and I had more time, we increased production by 50% and our customer base also grew. What are some lessons you have learned from running a business? Fight your fear- One of the problems I had when I started my business was fear. There was this fear that, “Oh, it is just peanut snacks. What is so special about peanuts that other people cannot do?” At some point though, I realised that I had to fight the fear. There are still times when I doubt myself and when I fall into that trap, I look at where I am compared to when I started and it gives me hope. Be consistent about your growth- Never stop looking for opportunities that will further your growth. Regardless of what your business is, so far, if you are providing a solution that people need, you should not hold back from seeking avenues to be better. There are so many lessons to learn from experienced business owners who have gone before you. They can give you insights so that you don’t step on the same land mines that they did. It also gives you an opportunity to network. When you are hungry for personal growth, you get to learn more, broaden your horizon and realise that your business has the ability to create more impact than you ever imagined. Do your research- Study your customer. It is very important to research your potential customer. Don’t assume that you know what they want. Research on how you can serve them better with your product and your business practices. Follow Mary Asanga to keep up with her journey and you can buy delicious peanut snacks from the unstoppable Kutama brand via Instagram or Twitter.
MOLPED FEATURE ON SIMI DREY: AWARD WINNING RADIO AND TV HOST
Molped sanitary pad is a product from Hayat Kimya Limited (manufacturers of Molfix diapers), and is a skin-friendly, ultra-soft, sanitary pad, designed to make young girls feel as comfortable, soft, and secure as they feel beside their best friends. Molped’s breathable layer keeps young women fresh, and it’s skin-friendly, cottony soft layer does not cause irritation. Molped sanitary pad is every girl’s best friend, helping them be more confident, and supporting them through their periods. Molped has partnered with She Leads Africa to highlight the beauty and importance of valuable female connections. You can connect with Simi on Instagram and Twitter. ABOUT SIMI DREY Simi Drey is an experienced multi-award-winning Broadcaster who has worked across media platforms in both the United Kingdom and Nigeria. With a First Class Degree in Broadcasting and Journalism from the University of Wales, she currently hosts the Saturday and Sunday morning shows on the Beat 99.9FM and on television anchors 53 Extra on African Magic. Having won the Future Awards Africa for Best OAP (TV and Radio) in 2019, Simi Drey uses her platform to share her passion for entertaining and educating the youth; tomorrow’s leaders. What does friendship mean to you? Friendship means family. My friends are people who know me, they know my strengths, they know my weaknesses yet they still love me. They have been there for me and always will be at different stages of my life and I will do the same for them. Can you tell us of a time when any of your girlfriends connected you with a career or business opportunity? There have been numerous occasions where my girlfriends helped me but the most recent would be Gbemi Olateru Olagbegi who nominated me for the OAP category of the Future Awards Africa. She did this without my knowledge and even when I won, she still didn’t tell me what she had done. Someone else informed me. Since then, winning the award has opened so many other doors for me such as being the Nigerian representative of a panel in South Africa, to discuss the role and emancipation of women in African society. Can you tell us about a time when your friend (s) helped you through a difficult situation in your career? In the first year of my career, while I was more or less fresh out of university, I did not know anyone in Lagos and I was hardly earning anything. I didn’t feel like I was making progress and I was extremely frustrated. During this period, I became friends with Dr Kemi Ezenwanne. She constantly encouraged me and prayed with me. She also helped me get a foot into the modelling industry which eventually brought about enough funds for me to move out of my aunt’s house, and rent my own place. Without her, I may not have continued pursuing a media career. How many women do you have in your power circle, and why did you choose them? I have three different power circles. One consists of four women including myself, the other consists of three people, myself included and the last, five in total. I don’t think I chose them to be honest. I think we realised how much we had in common and we just ‘clicked’ as friends. However, they have remained in my power circles because of their loyalty and support throughout the years. When the world saw me as a nobody, they were there. We have grown together and stayed together through stages of our lives; school, employment, marriage, childbirth and even divorce. No matter what though, we see the potential in each other and we strive daily to bring it out. One person’s success is a success for the entire group. How do you think young women can network with other women to achieve career success? I think now more than ever, networking is much easier especially with social media. There are people I am friends with on Instagram for example that I had forgotten I had never met. However, because we talk a lot and exchange ideas, it feels like we know each other inside out. Social media networking can start simply by liking or commenting on a person’s picture. Search for someone in a similar industry as yourself or someone who has inspired you along your journey and send them a message. Don’t just write ‘hi’ though. Make it personal. What is your fondest memory of you and your girlfriends, from when you first began your careers? Before I started working in Nigeria, my friend Deena and I auditioned for the X-Factor. Neither of us made it past the first audition. Along with our friend Sully, we thought we were going to become a successful girl band- Deena and I as the singers and Sully as a rapper. We never released a single together. Our dreams of a girl band were pretty short-lived. Fast forward and Sully is now a successful Investment Banker in London, I have become a multi-award winning Broadcaster and although Deena actually continued to pursue a career in music, she now has been booked for shows across Nigeria and the UK and her songs play on mainstream radio stations. Finally, what advice/tips do you have for young career women, to help them build and maintain valuable relationships with other women? I think the phrase ‘women don’t support women’ has been one of the most damaging statements for young women. I would say first and foremost, do not compete with other women. See them as allies. Celebrate their victories and try to lift them up in ways you can. They will do the same for you. Society is difficult for women generally but when we stand together, we have so much power. #MyGrowthSquad series is powered by Molped (@MolpedNigeria). Connect with them on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Sponsored post
MOLPED FEATURE ON OMOWALE DAVID-ASHIRU: COUNTRY DIRECTOR, ANDELA
Molped sanitary pad is a product from Hayat Kimya Limited (manufacturers of Molfix diapers), and is a skin-friendly, ultra-soft, sanitary pad, designed to make young girls feel as comfortable, soft, and secure as they feel beside their best friends. Molped’s breathable layer keeps young women fresh, and it’s skin-friendly, cottony soft layer does not cause irritation. Molped sanitary pad is every girl’s best friend, helping them be more confident, and supporting them through their periods. Molped has partnered with She Leads Africa to highlight the beauty and importance of valuable female connections. About Omowale David-Ashiru Omowale David-Ashiru is the Country Director for Nigeria and Ghana as well as the Head of Africa Operations at Andela, a company that helps build distributed software engineering teams quickly and cost-effectively. Before joining Andela, Omowale’s professional career included a decade-long stint at Accenture, where she started as an Analyst and grew to become a seasoned Management Consultant, Business Process Re-engineering expert, Interim Human Resources Lead and a Certified Project Manager. During her time at Accenture, Omowale led complex and challenging projects at numerous strategic clients including the largest bank in Nigeria and West Africa (at the time) as well as a key financial regulatory organisation in Nigeria. In her role, she collaborated and worked with diverse and multicultural teams in various countries, including India, Singapore, Oman, and South Africa. After Accenture, she established and managed a maternity retail company for eight years. As part of the Youth enterprise drive of the Federal Government of Nigeria, her company was vetted and awarded a highly coveted entrepreneurial grant. The company also supported the community by partnering with a Not-for-Profit organisation, to employ secondary school graduates as part-time sales assistants with the aim of economically empowering them while assisting them to prepare for and gain entry into tertiary institutions. Omowale obtained a First Class B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Ibadan. She has won awards for leadership, academic excellence and theatre. She has a deep passion for inspiring people and has a mentoring circle for ladies. She is an avid reader and loves adventure. You can connect with Omowale on LinkedIn and Instagram. What does friendship mean to you? For me, there are two things that stand out when I think of friendship. The first is people who get me, which basically means that we think alike. For example, we could be looking at something and we just laugh because the same thought crossed our minds, at that same time. Friendship is also vulnerability, a friend is someone I can really be myself with. This is particularly difficult for me because I am not a vulnerable person by nature, so I have had two, maybe three friends including my sister, that I have ever been vulnerable with. Can you tell us of a time when any of your girlfriends connected you with a career or business opportunity? Actually, this is how I got into Andela, a connection from a friend of mine. So a friend of mine who was in Andela also, mentioned Andela to me, got my CV and basically connected me with the opportunity to work here. Can you tell us about a time when your friend (s) helped you through a difficult situation in your career? At some point, I was at a crossroads in my career and business. I was running my own business, and it had gotten to a point where I was considering either going back into the corporate space or just continuing my business. I had been considering this decision for about two years, when I had a conversation with my friend and she spoke about the issue from a different point of view. It was a lightbulb moment for me after that conversation, and I was able to make a decision. That decision eventually led me to being open to getting a corporate job, and I found myself in Andela. How many women do you have in your power circle, and why did you choose them? This is a very interesting question because interestingly enough, I actually have a power circle or more like a prayer circle actually, with three women. We talk together, we pray together and I am vulnerable with them. We meet every week for about two hours unfailingly, and we talk and pray through issues and decisions. Just like the earlier example I shared, I spoke with one of them about a decision I needed to make. I didn’t even give her the facts of the issue because I didn’t want her to be biased. After some time, she prayed for me and got back to me with some advice that gave me clarity. It’s an interesting story how I met them. Basically, my husband and I host a bible study course which we have been running for years now, with different sets of people. So these women and their husbands had been attending the bible study, and when it was time to start the life fellowship, we just picked ourselves because we had been together for years and had built an organic relationship. How do you think young women can network with other women to achieve career success? There’s a principle called the four degrees of separation which basically means that you’re four persons away from anybody else you want to meet in the world. What that means is that if I want to meet Obama today, there are four people between him and me. This means that everyone you meet is important and every opportunity to meet someone is a networking opportunity. So you shouldn’t be looking out for who in particular to network or a special opportunity to do so. Instead, simply look for more opportunities to meet people. Also, the more people you meet gives you a wider pool to choose from, and assign positions like a mentor, and an accountability partner to different ones. I have several instances of meeting people like this and how it has helped me. In summary,
HOW I WENT FROM MY 9-to-5 TO PERFORMING ON A WORLD TOUR WITH MR.EAZI – SINGER-SONGWRITER, TOME
Building a successful brand is challenging whether you are a small business or individual. Historically, breaking out has especially been a tough job for women in music and entertainment. One talent who seems to have cracked the code in navigating the music business is a 9-to-5’er turned singer-songwriter Tome. In just 2 years of becoming a full-time singer-songwriter, she has performed with Burna Boy, Wizkid and Mr. Eazi on world stages, and she is just getting started. In March 2019, she debuted her single L’amour and released her debut EP, The Money, in February 2020. With her mantra, “I am enough. I am TÖME”, she’s determined to become a household name and empowering voice to African women across the world. Tell us a bit about yourself? My name is Michelle Oluwatomi Akanbi. I’m a Nigerian-French Canadian Singer-Songwriter born in Montreal, Canada. I was raised in the diverse city of Toronto where I grew up listening to Fela, Erykah Badu, and Alicia Keys. Music is a very important part of my life. I am my art! I put 100% of me into my music – sound, vocals, lyrics – all of it. How will you describe yourself as an artist? My music is what I like to call Afro-fusion. With a fun mix of genres, my songs have messages of love, fun, and empowerment. As an artist, I would say I am a lyricist with a message. What influenced your passion for the arts? I honestly can’t say there was any specific influence on my love of the arts. But I remember watching Superstar (1999) with Molly Shannon as a child and thinking to myself, I’m going to be a superstar one day. #Day1Dreams What motivates you to get up every day to make music? My motivation to keep going in my career is to make my family proud. I hope to provide them the ability to live the lives they want to. Other people also motivate me. I am so lucky to be around people I can learn from. They add to my experience and view of the world which makes it easier to write music. There’s always a story to tell apart from my own. Tell us about your career journey. I’ve always been making music. I released my first project on SoundCloud in 2015 – an EP titled One with Self. It was a really personal project of 5 songs I recorded on my phone while I played guitar. In 2018, while I was still working as a Marketing Executive at my full-time job, I recorded Tomesroom Chapter 1 and many other songs. I didn’t release any of the songs at the time because I had no team and didn’t want it to go “nowhere”. I planned to do another year working at my 9-to-5 job and “learn more about the industry”. In 2019 my dad (who is now my manager) heard my song L’amour and asked me if I was ready to work. I said yes and officially started my career as a full-time artist. So far, I have been really blessed. In my first year as a professional recording artist, I have shared the stage with incredible talents like Wizkid, Burnaboy, and done a tour with Mr. Eazi in Europe. I have learned so much and improved my craft in such a short time. It’s amazing to know that it’s only the beginning. What influence do you want your music to have on the African woman in today’s world? I hope my music helps women accept their own strength. Every time I get on stage, I remind myself – “I am enough. I am TÖME”. I want to show that the African woman can be and do anything. You don’t have to limit yourself to what anyone wants to tell you to be. All the obstacles in your way are only temporary. You attract what you think and if you are focused and know what you want, you can never fail. What are your top 3 tips for young African women looking to make their mark in their career or business? Stay on-trend. You have to continuously push yourself to experiment to stay as relevant as possible and grow. Stay open-minded and knowledgeable. It’s the same whether you have a 9-to-5 or business. Stay true to yourself. People can tell when you’re not being genuine. You will never make your mark if you don’t know yourself and get lost in other people’s vision of you. Follow Tome’s journey and vibe to her music. IG: https://www.instagram.com/Tomeofficial_/Fanlink: https://fanlink.to/tome SPONSORED POST
This woman-led startup bets it can help African businesses grow faster
As Sub-saharan Africa lags behind in the World Bank’s 2020 ease of doing business report, one woman-led startup thinks it can help entrepreneurs grow their companies in this tough environment. After years of mentoring startups and running businesses in Ghana and Nigeria, Munachim Chukwuma started IB Consulting in February 2019 to help founders overcome operating challenges she also had to face as a young entrepreneur. Munachim and her team believe they’ve found the recipe to help African business grow quickly with their innovative and affordable service model. Why Nigerian startups are struggling to grow. According to experts from Harvard University, startups that want to stand the test of time must learn new ways of operating and behaving. This is difficult for a lot of entrepreneurs because these new ways tend to be completely different from their start-up roots. Most startups struggle to grow and scale either because they do not know how or lack the proper structure and strategy. This is where we come in. Munachim Chukwuma – Founder, Ibobo Consulting IB Consulting believes that African entrepreneurs struggling to grow their businesses must realize they are in a different phase of their business life cycle, and therefore must change. IB Consulting’s growth recipe for startups. To help entrepreneurs struggling to scale, Munachim and her partners created a service model that combines strategy consultation, negotiation, and content creation. IB Consulting bets its 3 service tentpoles are what entrepreneurs need to grow faster despite the difficulty of doing business in Africa. We decided to focus on strategy consultation, negotiations and content creation as a company because we realized most of the challenges most businesses face in today’s society are tied to those three areas in one way or another. Munachim Chukwuma – Founder, Ibobo Consulting In addition to its unique service model, IB Consulting promises clients efficiency, personalization, and great service. Why you should watch out for IB Consulting. In less than a year, IB Consulting is proving it is not just all talk. The company reports that since February, it has helped over 10 business owners rebuild their structures and execute action growth plans. It’s also not just about the money for this company this woman-led company. They have done some pro bono work for new entrepreneurs who could not afford to pay for some of our services. In 2020, the company plans to expand aggressively to reach, help and educate help businesses across Africa. We intend to grow over the next year of business and reach more people across the continent, as we also reinvent our business and launch more products that can meet the needs of our prospective clients. Munachim Chukwuma – Founder, Ibobo Consulting Visit https://iboboconsulting.com/ for more information on how IB Consulting can help your business. Sponsored Post.
Meet The 2019 She Leads Africa ACCELERATOR Participants
Its been 3 months since She Leads Africa launched the 2019 Accelerator program in Nigeria and this year’s boot camp is about to come to a close. The SLA Accelerator program is designed to identify, support and fund the next generation of Nigeria’s brightest female entrepreneurs. This year, the program went digital and out of about 300 applications, 16 women with innovative businesses were chosen to be a part of this 3-month program. The top 5 finalists will pitch their businesses on Demo Day (November 2 from 11 am – 1 pm) in front of Judges and a virtual audience all across the globe, where the winner will be selected. The winner of the Accelerator program will receive a 2 million Naira funding grant from SLA. Find out all you need to know about the participants and their businesses below. Mariam Ofeh-Sule Business: TheBookDealerNG Mariam is a writer and the founder of TheBookDealer. Her prose has appeared in the Guardian Ng, Brittle Paper, Arts and Africa, ITCH Creative Journal and Litro Magazine UK. She writes monthly articles for ArtxJuJu, a brand committed to challenging the demonization of African culture, which Mariam also co-founded In 2016, Mariam had a major depressive episode that caused her to fold inward and spend a lot of time alone, and avoid people. Books were her only companion. In each book, there was a new story with new characters whose lives were different from hers. She had the liberty to travel far and wide within a book. For Mariam, reading a book was a form of therapy. In a bid to share that warmth with people, Mariam realized that the average Nigerian is faced with inaccessibility to books. TheBookDealerNG is an online bookstore that provides access to African Literature. African literature because the only thing better than the warmth of a good book is a book that sees and validates your existence. Dr. Rebecca Achokpe Andeshi Business: Awe Farms and Consult Dr. Andeshi is the founder of Awe Farms and Consult. A cloud-based digital platform that provides farmers in rural areas in Nigeria with instant financing solutions and veterinary services with the use of a drone for efficient disease diagnosis and delivery of veterinary supplies in remote livestock farming communities. She was motivated to start her business because of the inability of smallholder farmers to afford high-quality input. This has always been a pain point for her as a third-generation farmer. Thus discovering that farmers live on less than $1.25 a day was a rude awakening for her. Dr. Rebecca now provides digital input financing to smallholder farmers in Nigeria from recycled agricultural waste increasing productivity by 33%. Nafisah Oseni Wahab Business: NUFAESAH Nafisah is the founder of Nufaesah – a fashion line that provides workwear for the urban Muslim woman. Her products range between pants, dresses, skirts, jumpsuits, shirts/blouses, jackets/blazers, scarves, and turbans. As a working woman, Nafisah has had two major negative experiences in her career. A judge at the High Court of Lagos State once sent her out of court because of her headscarf. Secondly, it was so difficult finding workwear that made her look the part for work, that was fashionable while keeping within the Islamic guidelines of dressing. These episodes made her design her workwear for religious women – both Muslim and Christian. Cynthia Omokhekpen Asije Business: The Adirelounge. Cynthia is a multi-award-winning textile designer passionate about eradicating extreme poverty using capacity development and entrepreneurship, by infusing old cultural practices and technology. She learned the trade from her mother who used her Tie & Dye making skills to get her family through school. Cynthia has been recognized as the top textile artist by World Bank & International Finance Corp as one of the Next African 100 startups for building a sustainable textile industry in Africa. Cynthia’s desire to sustain and promote Nigeria’s cultural heritage and indigenous method of hand-dyed fabrics, uses this method to empower women and the empowerment is reflecting in these communities by creating a sustainable industry. She wanted to help others like her mother get more out of life, curb unemployment and preserve the Nigeria cultural textile heritage. Omoh Alokwe Business: Street Waste Company Omoh is the founder of the Street Waste Company – a social enterprise in the environmental and waste management sector. Their core focus is on waste recycling collection and waste upcycling training. The company’s business goal is to encourage people to embrace a culture of waste reduction, reuse and recycle to attain a sustainable environment. Her company also gives advisory services to corporate clients, collect recyclable waste and partner with organizations through their corporate sustainability programs. Omoh’s motivation for starting the Street Waste Company was borne out of a passion for making an impact and creating a solution to the endemic waste problem around us. Having studied environmental management at the masters level, she realized the basic solution to this menace is attitudinal. So she Co-founded SWCL where they encourage people to imbibe the culture of waste recycling through our incentive-based scheme. Tola Oyinlola Business: Interg INTERG brings to children the Fun and Learn Tablet. This tablet comprises smart games with several stages of learning and engagement, providing an exciting new way to change the learning content as children grow. In 2018, Tola volunteered to teach with an NGO to give back to her community. She realized how difficult and boring learning can be for the average Nigerian Child. She spent a lot of time trying to find teaching aids online and eventually decided to create an app for mathematics, which was well-received by all her students. Even though she was unable to create an app for all subjects, she had found a solution that she was determined to monetize. In many ways, INTERG is simply building a product that speaks to a historical problem with learning. Lilian Chinweotito Uka Business: EduPoint EduPoint leverages on Artificial Intelligence. It is an innovative online platform that connects students with verified local teachers who deliver one-on-one
SHEAMOISTURE SPOTLIGHT ON HEALTHY LIVING QUEEN: LYNDA ODOH – CEO HEALTHIFY AFRICA
SheaMoisture is the enduring and beautiful legacy of Sofi Tucker. Widowed with five children at 19, Grandma Sofi supported her family by selling handcrafted shea butter soaps and other creations in the village market in Sierra Leone. Sofi became known as a healer who shared the power of shea and African black soap with families throughout the countryside. She handed down her recipes to grandson Richelieu Dennis, who founded SheaMoisture and incorporated her wisdom into the brand’s hair and skincare innovations. SheaMoisture products and collections are formulated with natural, certified organic and fair trade ingredients, with the shea butter ethically-sourced from 15 co-ops in Northern Ghana as part of the company’s purpose-driven Community Commerce business model. SheaMoisture has partnered with She Leads Africa to support and showcase Nigerian women who support their communities. Meet Lynda Odoh Lynda Odoh-Anikwe is the CEO and founder of Healthify Africa. She is a Medical Doctor from the University of Nigeria and started Healthify Africa. Healthify Africa is an enterprise that strives to tackle the dietary risk factors for non-communicable diseases. In the course of her daily interactions with patients, she realized that people were most driven by convenience and availability when making healthy lifestyle choices. Lynda decided to start a fruit delivery service. She hopes this will create an enabling system for busy urban dwellers, to conveniently meet the World Health Organization’s daily fruit recommendation for a healthy life. Her vision is to see an African continent where adopting a healthy lifestyle is easy, practical and sustainable. You can connect with Lynda and her business on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Tell us how you started Healthify Africa. When I began to practice as a medical doctor, I saw that there were so many instances of non-communicable diseases that could have been avoided by a simple dietary change. I started Healthify Africa because I wanted to create a solution to the problem of non-communicable diseases. My goal with Healthify Africa is to address dietary risk factors. I do this by providing a service that helps busy people adopt healthy eating habits. This is done through a simplified system and healthy lifestyle advocacy. At Healthify Africa our focus is on increasing the consumption of fruits for busy urban dwellers through a delivery platform. By providing affordable fruit boxes, fruit cups, fruit and dip platter to school children, homes and offices, we’re building a healthier Africa one person at a time. What was your motivation for finally starting your business? For me, it was because I had been in similar situations and I understood the challenges people face in trying to adopt and sustain healthy dietary habits. I grew up in a health-conscious family and I grew accustomed to having a very healthy diet. However, when I became a young adult and my schedule became tighter especially during my internship, it became extremely difficult to eat the right things. It was a situation of knowing the right thing to do, but being unable to do it. I knew then that there must be other busy young people like me, men, women and even mothers who wanted their children eating fruits but were pressed for time as I was. That for me was a huge community need that I passionately wanted to see addressed. So I made the decision to become the change I desired by creating an enabling platform. A platform that supports healthy food choices so as to help myself and others with the same challenge. What makes your brand stand out? Healthify Africa is not just another food company, that caters to only satisfying hunger. Instead, my brand is particularly focused on ensuring that everyone has access to the daily consumption of 400g of fruits, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The vision is to create a world where healthy eating is most practical and the dietary risks of non-communicable diseases reduced to the barest minimum. That, as well as our commitment to healthy lifestyle advocacy, has been a huge attraction for our clients because they can see it. What are three things you struggled with when your business kicked off and how did you overcome them? When I first started my business, a lot of people did not understand what we were trying to do and that equated to zero orders. We had to create a lot of awareness about the health benefits of patronizing our convenience-based service. Also, through our follow-up and feedback system, we tried to encourage our clients to make referrals and this has continued to help our brand. Secondly, being a fruit delivery service, food hygiene, presentation and safety during transit were some of my topmost priorities. It was a challenge finding the ideal packaging that met all the criteria and would still fit into our production cost. I did my online research and eventually was able to find a reliable supplier that we now work with. Finally, it was important that our fruit packs get delivered in a cold temperature range for a great client experience. This was a challenge when we had to deliver long-distance orders. This was an issue because there is currently no thermostat equipped delivery services operating in Abuja where we operate from. To overcome this, we currently partner with a reliable express delivery service and improvise with ice packs in the chillers for long-distance deliveries. Hopefully, in the near future, we can have our very own thermostat equipped delivery bikes. How do you stay above the noise in your industry? We made sure to implement a system of receiving and acting on feedback, from early on in the business so that we know what exactly our clients want and tweak our approach to offer them that. This has been really helpful in building a business that our clients love and customer retention as well. Did you have any personal experience that taught you a business lesson? Before I started my business, I had a few unpleasant experiences with logistics. On one occasion, I
SheaMoisture Spotlight on Hospitality Queen: Frances Omanukwue – CEO Pro Event Hostess Hub
SheaMoisture is the enduring and beautiful legacy of Sofi Tucker. Widowed with five children at 19, Grandma Sofi supported her family by selling handcrafted shea butter soaps and other creations in the village market in Sierra Leone. Sofi became known as a healer who shared the power of shea and African black soap with families throughout the countryside. She handed down her recipes to grandson Richelieu Dennis, who founded SheaMoisture and incorporated her wisdom into the brand’s hair and skin care innovations. SheaMoisture products and collections are formulated with natural, certified organic and fair trade ingredients, with the shea butter ethically-sourced from 15 co-ops in Northern Ghana as part of the company’s purpose-driven Community Commerce business model. SheaMoisture has partnered with She Leads Africa to support and showcase Nigerian women who support their communities. About Frances Omanukwue Frances N. Omanukwue has over seven years’ experience as an Event Hostess and Event Coordinator. She is also the author of “Becoming A Profitable Event Hostess” which is the first event hostess book in Nigeria. After seeing the potentials in the event hostess industry and how young ladies can maximize this opportunity to be financially independent while bridging the unemployment gap, she started empowering young ladies through event hostess jobs. To increase the number of young ladies who will benefit from this opportunity, Frances founded “The Pro Event Hostess Hub,” a social media platform to groom young ladies who will not only attain a level of financial independence but most importantly, will be hostesses that abide by the ethics of the industry. Recently, The Pro Event Hostess Hub was nominated amongst the top 15 Most Creative Businesses in Nigeria by Global Entrepreneurship Network-Nigeria. Frances interests range from entrepreneurship to volunteering. In her spare time, she loves to volunteer for many causes that cut across health and young women empowerment. Frances tells us more about how she started providing jobs and supporting young women in her community. Connect with Frances on her Website, Instagram, & Twitter… How I started thePro Event Hostess hub… After graduating from the university and not being able to find a job, coupled with encountering some financial challenges on the home front, I decided to look for ways to survive as well as support my family. At the time, I started working as an event hostess which is what most people refer to as an usher. As I grew in the industry irrespective of the setbacks, I observed how the money I earned over the years had helped my family especially my siblings in paying for tuition and fees, as well as sorting out their personal needs. With this realization, I started linking more young women within my community to event hostess jobs. Over time, they’d come to tell me how the opportunity had helped them to pay for school fees or sort their other financial challenges in school, learn a trade and are about to start a business. Seeing the difference it made in their lives, I decided to take it more seriously so that by doing so, I can help other young women irrespective of their location. How I’ve impacted my community since starting this business… So far, I’ve been able to link more than 100 young women to event hostess jobs which they have used to raise money to support themselves in school, learn skills and start businesses of their own. Some have also used this opportunity to learn skills that helped them get into corporate employment as well. 3 things I struggled with at the start of my business… Understanding how to structure the business: I struggled with this in the beginning but I started going for training and I have definitely gotten better since then. Training existing and new event hostesses: It wasn’t easy to convince them to go through the training process at first, but from the feedback and results of other ladies who have attended our training, others can now see the benefit of it. Business Acceptance: Initially, I struggled with convincing people to accept my brand. However, through constantly promoting our work, more people are starting to understand and value the importance and benefits of event hostessing. 3 interesting facts about myself… I am naturally an introvert but people think otherwise. I love driving and playing video games. Learning about new things excites me a lot. My fave skin, hair care product… Shea butter A message to SheaMoisture & She Leads Africa… I am really excited and grateful to She Leads Africa and SheaMoisture for providing a platform where women can showcase their businesses and how they impact their communities. You can find SheaMoisture products at Youtopia Beauty stores nationwide and on Jumia. Sponsored Post.
The Tech and STEM pioneer of Botswana
The goal is to have a national coding competition where all the students will come to Gaborone and showcase their projects. Captain Kgomotso Phatsima is best known in Botswana for her pioneering work as one of the few women pilots in the country. Her career began in the military, and she diligently worked her way up to becoming a real force to be reckoned with. Captain Phatsima’s work as a pilot and her passion for youth development led her to discover that there were very few girls who were adept at – or even interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, which are key for the aerodynamics space. Not only are STEM subjects integral for becoming a pilot, or engaging in the aerospace industry, they are also essential for the development of human capital and the future of business in Botswana, Africa, and the world. She founded the Dare to Dream Foundation (of which she is the President) in 2008 which deals with the advancement of youth, women and girls in STEM, aviation and aerospace as well as entrepreneurship development, with the intention to get young people interested in STEM-preneurship and the aviation and aerospace business. Connect with Kgomotso Phatsima and her business on social media. Why I founded Dare to Dream… When I was growing up, I never had the chance to sit like this with a pilot or get into an airplane until I had the chance to fly one. After I qualified as a pilot, I sat down and thought: ‘What can I do to give the upcoming generation – especially those who grew up in a village, like me – an opportunity to do that?’. I started Dare to Dream to give back to the community and to try and open up their eyes to opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to. On the ‘barrier’ to girls’ entry into STEM & traditionally ‘female/male-dominated’ subjects… I will talk about myself and my own experience here. When I told my parents that I want to fly and be a pilot, my mother said ‘In our time, a girl could never fly a plane. You cannot be a soldier!’ Sometimes it goes back to our upbringing and the culture. A girl must be domestic, and boys also have prescribed activities. So we separate ourselves from engaging in these things. The same mindset goes on to say that ‘Some things are hard, and are only for men’, like piloting or engineering. With some of our families, their backgrounds are what can hinder the involvement of girls in certain subjects and limit girls to certain careers. But as the times and technologies change, and with other women and organizations such as ours showing that it’s possible, there is more of an acceptance that you can be and do anything you want. Is Africa / Botswana in a good position to keep up with the world’s “breakneck’ speed? I think so because the demographic dividend of the youth in Africa indicates that young people make up most of Africa at 60 percent. I think that the whole of Africa is at a good advantage to participate in the technological changes that are taking place right now. There are a lot of young people who are interested in technology. I also think that Batswana are in a good position to take advantage of what is happening. We just need to channel the youth in the right direction to take advantage of the technological era, and prepare them for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the businesses of tomorrow, which will be different from the businesses of today. How Botswana (and Africa) can prepare for ‘The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR)’… In other African countries such as Rwanda, you’ll find that coding and robotics are taught in schools and they are part of the curriculum. Recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa stated that coding will be taught in schools. We in Botswana are a little slower in catching on to these developments. At Dare to Dream, we partnered with Airbus to sponsor 1,500 students across the country in rural places and trained them in robotics in order to prepare them for 4IR. It was also important that they know that there are careers in the aerospace industry that are STEM-related that they can take advantage of. We are looking forward to partnering with the Ministry of Education, but there have been some delays, which I hope will be overcome in the future. Dare to Dream’s most engaged stakeholders…so far… We have engaged Airbus and also partnered with Botswana Innovation Hub, the University of Botswana and Botswana International University for Science and Technology – BIUST. BIUST created an initiative to encourage young girls to get into STEM subjects because they realized that the number of girls applying for these subjects was low. They had called 100 girls from Central District schools to participate. We form partnerships with organizations with the same mandate as us. For example, Debswana is interested in the 4IR and getting young people engaged in it, so we have partnered with them and they have assisted us to roll out our programs. We have also done work with Major Blue Air, who own planes. The girls get a chance to get onto the planes, and I fly the children. It’s not just about STEM, it’s about exposing the girls to new experiences and igniting the passion within them. There are other organizations doing work in the same area, and we are looking forward to also having them on board. There is something very powerful about collaboration. We have also recently partnered with EcoNet, who have chosen me to lead the Youth Development Programme in coding and entrepreneurship. What we are doing differently is that we are teaching the kids how to code and build websites, but also entrepreneurship and leadership skills. We have enrolled the first 500 participants and we are starting in July this year. The role