Women of Rubies, Author at Women of Rubies

In self development July 19, 2018 By Women of Rubies

SEUN ADIGUN BECOMES AFRICA’S FIRST-EVER WINTER AND SUMMER OLYMPIAN

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially recognized the captain of the Nigeria Bobsled team, Seun Adigun as the first African to compete at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games.

Seun and her team represented Nigeria at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and made history as the first bobsled team ever to qualify from Africa.

Before appearing at PyeongChang 2018, Adigun had represented Nigeria in the women’s 100-metre hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

According to Temple Management Company, Adigun’s confirmation came alongside that of Tonga’s Pita Taufatofua, who was a taekwondo practitioner before switching to skiing.

Seun Adigun said:

“This is a real-life example of what it means to represent African excellence and a true testament to the fact that impossible is nothing. This milestone is truly a blessing.”

Credit: konbini.com

In self development July 16, 2018 By Women of Rubies

MEET IRENE AUMA, THE YOGA INSTRUCTOR USING YOGA TO REHABILITATE FEMALE PRISONERS IN KENYA

Yoga Instructor, Irene Auma is inspiring female prisoners in Kenya through the country’s first-ever yoga-in-prisons program.

Using her initiative, Peace Within Prison Yoga (PWPY) Auma gets female prisoners to come together for yoga and meditation. This creates a relaxed environment in which the inmates openly reflect on their crimes, thereby making their rehabilitation easy.

Speaking about what inspires her to do more in her work, Auma said:

“[The female prisoners] are here with different cases and some are sad, some are missing their families. They are missing their normal lives and I do it because it is a service to humanity.”

You can follow PWPY on Instagram.

Source: Konbini.com

In Interviews&profile July 14, 2018 By Women of Rubies

“THE BACKBONE FOR AFRICAN AGRICULTURE REMAINS WOMEN WHO ACCOUNT FOR 50% OF THE HUMAN RESORCES REQUIRED FOR PRODUCTION” – ATINUKE LEBILE

Atinuke Lebile, a vibrant lady with utmost interest in Agriculture and its value chain, A graduate of Agricultural Science from University of Ilorin, who also works with rural communities to mentor young out-of-school girls on various entrepreneurial leadership skills through her initiative called MAGIC (mentor A Girl Child) and “SheAgric” Initiative where she raises intending female farmers, empower and motivate women and youth into Agriculture and its value chain to ensure Food security, Poverty reduction and curbing unemployment in Africa. Atinuke also earn a certificate in Business and Entrepreneurship from Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana USA

Atinuke who is also fondly called a “ Cutefarmer” is a global ambassador for A world at School, 2015 Global Alliance for youth Leadership Fellow, 2016 YALI(RLC)West Africa Fellow and 2017 Mandela Washington fellow under the flagship of Young African Leaders initiative of former USA president, Barrack Obama, 2017/2018 Leap Africa fellow. She is presently the Program and Membership Mobilization Officer for Youths Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD), Nigeria. Her organization has benefitted from several funding including YOUWIN, USADF, OVATION/ESTHER AJAYI FOUNDATION among others.
Atinuke shares her story in this interview, In her words; “Agriculture comes with a lot of risk, patience, dedication, passion, Prayers and determination”.

Childhood Preparation
I grew up in a family that allows for free expression of oneself once you are determined and legal. An environment that allows you to always think of how to make life better and easier not just for yourself but for others around you.

Meet Me!
My name is Atinuke Lebile, I have utmost interest in Agriculture and its value chain, I’m passionate about feeding the nation and ensuring Food security, I’m the Strategist Officer for Ogunmod Farms and Farmers’ Academy and the Co-founder/ COO of Cato Foods and Agro-allied Global Concepts. A graduate of Agricultural Science from University of Ilorin, who also works with rural communities to mentor young out-of-school girls on various entrepreneurial leadership skills through her initiative called MAGIC (mentor A Girl Child) and SheAgric Initiative where we empower intending female farmers, empower and motivate women and youth into Agriculture and its value chain to ensure Food security, Poverty reduction and curbing unemployment in Africa. I also earn a certificate in Business and Entrepreneurship from Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana USA and being able to undergo training on Building a Sustainable Business with the Enterprise development centre at the Lagos Business School
We collaborate with Harvestplus, Nigeria (harvestplus.org) to also cultivate Vitamin A biofortified Cassava and Orange Maize to curb the ever-increasing rate of Vitamin A deficiency in Nigeria, which is the Major micronutrient we lack, especially in pregnant women and children below the age of 5 and presently the first producer of Vitamin A cassava custard in Africa.
I’m opportune to be global ambassador for A world at School, 2015 Global Alliance for youth Leadership Fellow, 2016 YALI(RLC)West Africa Fellow and 2017 Mandela Washington fellow under the flagship of Young African Leaders initiative of former USA president, Barrack Obama, 2017/2018 Leap Africa fellow.
I love to be called a Cutefarmer, cos it reminds me of the great work I have to with my small petite pretty stature. I’m also presently the Program and Membership Mobilization Officer for Youths Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD), Nigeria.

Inspiration behind “SheAgric”
The backbone for African agriculture remains women who account for more than 50% of the human resources required for production. However, these women have over the years been disenfranchised when it comes to opportunities available in the agricultural sector. Women do not get the same access to factors of production like capital and land. Worse still is the fact that young women don’t consider agriculture as a first choice profession as the sector has been considered to be men’s world. I want to use my story to inspire women especially young women that agric sector is not a men’s world, it is only dominated by men. You can be beautiful and still be involved, even if you don’t want to soil your beautiful nails in soil just like some of us who can and are happy we can, you can still be involved in the various Value chain of production.
SheAgric also is a platform to let the world know that women stand a better chance to excel in the sector as we are the gateways to household nutrition, good and healthy feeding. I want to see a situation where we have more women in agriculture than what it used to be.
Being a fellow with several notable organizations locally and internationally

This gives me more sense of responsibility. I have to even exceed expectations so as to open ways for other young African females. See the most important thing here is that there are still lot of grounds to cover and this scare me most times but I won’t relent or give up.

Giving hope to pregnant women and children with Harvestplus
HarvestPlus is doing a lot of work using biofortified staple foods to combat hidden hunger (micronutrient deficiency) and malnutrition. My company, CATO FOODS is a private partnering organisation with HarvestPlus. With support from HarvestPlus, we are using biofortified crops such as vitamin A cassava, vitamin A maize and Orange flesh sweet potato to develop value added products especially for children under 5years and pregnant women. Statistics show that 33% of children below 5 years in Nigeria are vitamin A deficient. 145 pregnant women die daily in Nigeria that is about 28% of pregnant women, with half of the deaths attributed to malnutrition. We work with HarvestPlus to achieve a global mandate of reaching 1billion households in Africa with biofortified crops by 2030. Currently over 1million households have been reached in Nigeria and a lot is going on to reach more.

Challenges
Just like many startups, the major challenge is finance. There is need to scaleup, hence the need to invest in infrastructures that can help scaleup my work as we need to reach more children and women. Another challenge is access to raw materials which still comes down to finance which can help us empower farmers and farming households. Bottlenecks around policy implementation and regulation are also experienced.

Other project and activities
We have an outgrower farmers scheme to empower rural farming households. We have a project called MAGIC (Mentor a Girl Child) through this project we also work with out of school children especially girls by empowering them with skill training to become self-sufficient. I have a back to school project which provides educational support for rural school children annually. We desire more supports, sponsorship and Volunteers so as to reach more rural children.

Reward
My greatest reward is seeing that my daily little efforts makes positive impact in people’s lives.

Our organisation in 5 years
I look forward to seeing us creating massive impact across Africa by making more nutritious food available, accessible and affordable. Helping more children attain optimum development through access to essential micronutrients. We want to influence policies that can help give people a better life through healthy feeding because you are what you eat.

Giving up
Sure. There has been time I felt like giving up, However, when you look at the lives of children and pregnant women at stake due to the scourge of malnutrition, post-harvest waste and losses that we experience in Nigeria (Imagine about 60% of what ordinary farmers cultivated) and the only direction for me is forward and upward in a better way.

Who and what inspire you to be better
My greatest Inspiration Of all time has been GOD, who never get tired until he feeds the 5000 people with that small boy little resources. When you look at the lives of Great Women like, of blessed memory Dr Dora Akunyili and Mrs Ibukun Awosika, women of virtue, integrity and honour, Mummy Awosika started career as a carpenter and succeeded in men dominated world, then I know I can be better.
Also looking those wonderful future leaders (Children) dying due to Malnutrition you can’t but do more.

Government and the Agricultural sector
I appreciate what government is doing, nevertheless there is a lot that needs attention and government should pay real time attention better than lip service.

What makes you me woman of Rubies?
Having the heart to touch lives beyond me.
Final word for young women who want to go into Agriculture
Agriculture comes with a lot of risk, patience, dedication, passion, Prayers and determination. However, inside everyone resides the capacity to overcome any form of challenge. Be determined to see it through once you start and in the end it will be worth it. You can have the bigger picture, so dream big, aim high, Infact Dream Global but please start small wit proper planning and mentoring

Advice for women all over the world
Women are high performers, we conceive and deliver better, hence it is imperative for women to get involve in the national affairs. Don’t sit back. Get involved!. If you feel you can been at women is good for you or that you are a weaker vessel, yo. are still the only one in that dream, we have left you behind. So please get involved, go out and make difference in your little way. If you don’t know how to go about it seek for mentorship, we all learn and start small. Don’t be shy or proud to do that

In Interviews&profile July 13, 2018 By Women of Rubies

MEET NKEMDELIM BEGHO, THE WOMAN SETTING TRENDS IN THE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

ICT Champion Nkemdilim Begho of Future Software

Nkemdilim, a Bioinformatics graduate from the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU), Germany, has been in the tech space for over 15 years, working in the Nigerian tech industry for over 10 of those years.
Growing up, Nkemdilim was surrounded by computers and she had a growing interest in them. She hails her father, Chris Uwaje, one of Nigeria’s foremost ICT policy makers, as a huge influence on her success today.
Uwaje actually incorporated Future Software and envisioned Nkemdilim to take over, which she did in 2008, and has since grown the company from a stand-alone IT solutions provider to a web-based educational, enterprise and business solutions firm focusing on online solutions, e-learning and IT-security.
Nkemdilim started her career as an application developer at Max Planck Institute for Psychiatric Research, Munich, Germany, in 2002, developing software tools to aid genetic research and plugins for Micro-array database (Java).

In 2005, Nkemdilim was the Channel Manager for Leapsoft Nigeria Limited.

Between 2004 and 2009, she worked as a bioinformatics consultant and software developer for Affectics Pharmaceuticals.
Nkemdilim is a board member of the World Summit Youth Award who has experience in business development and marketing following years of working in Nigeria.

Nkemdilim became the MD/CEO of Future Software in 2008.
Nkemdilim also heads technology operations for Compare IN – a technology-based solution provider for the insurance industry in Nigeria, and Fucaire Lifestyle – a luxury lifestyle company in Nigeria

She is also the executive creative director for a babies and kids accessories and clothes brand Always Me by Anne Li.
Nkemdilim also gives back to the society, volunteering as a facilitator at Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC), Ajegunle.org, an initiative of the Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) which addresses the gap in economic empowerment in the country “by providing demand-driven Information and Communication Technologies, entrepreneurship and life skills training”.

We celebrate Nkemdilim for being a trailblazer, and for her volunteer work in ensuring social justice.

About Future Software

Future Software is “a turnkey website design & web-solution provider located in Lagos, Nigeria. We offer website development, web hosting & web portal development.”

The company also specialises in “online marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content management system development, online recruitment, graphic design, brand development (logo design and branding), workflow, business and educational software development and IT consultancy services for Nigerian corporates and start-up businesses, as well as the public sector.”

In Uncategorized July 12, 2018 By Women of Rubies

OPRAH EXPANDS HER FOOD EMPIRE

Winfrey’s latest investment is in True Food Kitchen, a healthy restaurant chain backed by celebrity doctor Andrew Weil. Specific terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the Phoenix-based chain said she’s also joining the restaurant’s board of directors and will “collaborate and consult” with True Food Kitchen’s leadership team.

“When I first dined at True Food Kitchen, I was so impressed with the team’s passion for healthy eating and, of course, the delicious food, that I knew I wanted to be part of the company’s future,” Winfrey said in a release. She was introduced to the restaurant by her trainer and a regular on her former talk show, Bob Greene.
Related: How Oprah built Oprah Inc.

True Food Kitchen has grown to 23 locations in 10 states since its founding in 2008. It plans to double its store count in the next three years with a focus on an East Coast expansion. The chain’s eclectic menu is based off Dr. Weil’s anti-inflammatory food pyramid and features dishes like quinoa burgers, a spaghetti squash casserole and kale-infused drinks.

The investment in True Food is the latest example of Winfrey expanding her business beyond media and into food.
In 2015, she bought a 10% stake in Weight Watchers and received a seat on the board. She recently offloaded some of her shares, but her investment is still worth more than $400 million. She also has a partnership with Kraft Heinz Company for line of soups and frozen side dishes sold at grocery stores.

In self development July 12, 2018 By Women of Rubies

REVLON NAMES DEBRA PARLEMAN ITS FIRST FEMALE CEO IN ITS 86-YEAR HISTORY

Debra Perelman has been appointed the first female Chief Executive Officer of Revlon, a company that’s majority owned by her billionaire father, Ronald Perelman.
“It’s a good time for the company to be led by a woman,” she said in a statement to CNNMoney. “This is another first for the company and I’m honored and humbled.”

Perelman, 44, takes the helm as CEO and president of Revlon just months after she was appointed Chief Operating Officer in January. She has worked at Revlon for 20 years.

A spokesperson for Revlon (REV) said nepotism was not a factor in her ascension to CEO.

“She’s qualified,” said the spokesperson. “I also think she got that benefit, that she did learn from [her father]. He’s been a mentor to her and he respects her.” Ronald Perelman purchased Revlon in 1985 through his investment firm MacAndrews & Forbes, which now owns about 87% of Revlon. Revlon’s brands include the cosmetics line Elizabeth Arden.

Revlon has been struggling financially. The company reported a loss in its most recent quarter, and sales were down compared to a year earlier.
Debra Perelman started working at Revlon in 1998 and became a member of the Revlon board in 2015. She has also worked for Revlon as executive vice president and head of new business development for its holding company, MacAndrews & Forbes.

Women are underrepresented in the top levels of corporate management. The Fortune 500 only has 24 women CEOs in its ranks, like Mary Barra of General Motors (GM) and Indri Nooyi of PepsiCo (PEP). Revlon is not in the Fortune 500.
A CNNMoney analysis showed that women hold only 5% of the CEO jobs in the S&P 500.

Women are also underrepresented in the beauty industry’s top leadership. The Estée Lauder Companies (EL) and L’Oréal, two of the largest beauty companies, are led by men.

In lifestyle July 11, 2018 By Women of Rubies

KYLIE JENNER COVERS LATEST ISSUE OF FORBES, SET TO BECOME THE YOUNGEST SELF-MADE BILLIONAIRE

The 20-year old beauty entrepreneur and reality TV star is on the cover of Forbes Magazine‘s August 2018 issue as the magazine focuses on the 60 richest, most successful women entrepreneurs in America.
The combined net worth of the top 60 self-made women is now a record $71 billion, 15% more than in 2017. These women make their money in everything from fashion and retail to biotech to trucking to venture capital.
Kylie Jenner is the youngest on the list as well as a newcomer.
According to Forbes, Kylie is currently worth an estimated $900million thanks to her cosmetics line, an empire she has built in just three short years.
Forbes says:
What her half-sister Kim Kardashian West did for booty, Jenner has done for full lips. Like Kardashian West, she has leveraged her assets to gain both fame and money. But while her sister is best-known for the former, Jenner has proved adept at the latter. In historic fashion.
Just 20 when this story publishes (she’ll turn 21 in August) and an extremely young mother (she had baby daughter Stormi in February), Jenner runs one of the hottest makeup companies ever. Kylie Cosmetics launched two years ago with a $29 “lip kit” consisting of a matching set of lipstick and lip liner and has sold more than $630 million worth of makeup since, including an estimated $330 million in 2017. Even using a conservative multiple, and applying our standard 20% discount, Forbes values her company, which has since added other cosmetics like eye shadow and concealer, at nearly $800 million. Jenner owns 100% of it.

Add to that the millions she’s earned from TV programs and endorsing products like Puma shoes and PacSun clothing, and $60 million in estimated after-tax dividends she’s taken from her company, and she’s conservatively worth $900 million, which along with her age makes her the youngest person on the fourth annual ranking of America’s Richest Self-Made Women. (We estimate that 37-year-old Kardashian West, for comparison, is worth $350 million.) But she’s not just making history as a woman. Another year of growth will make her the youngest self-made billionaire ever, male or female, trumping Mark Zuckerberg, who became a billionaire at age 23. (Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel also became a billionaire in his early 20s, though it’s less clear when he passed that threshold.)

In self development July 10, 2018 By Women of Rubies

TARA DUROTOYE IS THE YOUNGEST FEMALE NIGERIAN MEMBER OF THE FRENCH NIGERIAN BUSINESS CLUB

The Club was inaugurated in Nigeria by the French President, Emmanuel Macaron during his visit to the country with the aim of fostering more business between Nigeria and France.

Tara is the youngest female Nigerian to be a member of this club which has 30 members; 15 Nigerians and 15 French members.

See her IG post below:

See her post below:

In Interviews&profile July 10, 2018 By Women of Rubies

MEET 19-YEAR-OLD JOY UDO-GABRIEL, THE FASTEST GIRL IN WEST AFRICA

According to Making of Champions, Udo-Gabriel won the 100 and 200 metres titles at the recently concluded ECOWAS Under-20 Athletics Championships in Cape Coast, Ghana. During the race, the 19-year-old held her ground against one of West Africa’s fiercest competitors, Halutie Hor from Ghana.

Making of Champions@MakingOfChamps

The fastest girl in all of West Africa.

What. A. Year Joy Udo-Gabriel is having. #MakingOfChamps #mondaymotivation

12:37 PM – Jun 25, 2018

In April, she made her first outing for Nigeria at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and won a bronze medal with her teammates in the women’s 4×100 metres final.

Last month, she qualified for the ECOWAS championships after winning the women’s 100 metres final at the National Under-20 and Under-18 Trials. She recorded the overall fastest time on Day 1 of the trials.

Source: konbini.com

In Career Gems July 10, 2018 By Women of Rubies

GREENHOUSE CAPITAL OPENS APPLICATION FOR FEMALE TECH PROGRAMME

GreenHouse Capital opens application for female tech programme

The Venture Garden Group, GreenHouse Capital, has opened 2018 application for the first-female-focused tech accelerator program in Nigeria. The three-month accelerator programme begins mid-August and will run through mid-November.
According to the Director of GreenHouse Lab, Tosin Durotoye: “To tap into the vast brainpower and opportunity for innovation necessary to propel Nigeria and Africa as a whole forward, our mission at GreenHouse Lab is to level the playing field by providing early‑stage, women-led, high‑ growth technology start‑ups with investments and support infrastructure within the range of 250, 000 USD.
“We also provide exceptional teams with the resources and mentorship network they need to drive growth and scale their companies both in emerging and international markets.”
Durotoye noted that the program is residential and will be hosted at Vibranium Valley tech campus in Lagos. The accelerator ends with a demo day where companies get to pitch their businesses to a wider network of local and international investors.
In a research conducted by Disrupt Africa, $195.1 million in venture capital funding was invested in African start‑ups compared to $129.1million in 2016, an increase of 51 per cent. With $63.3 million in startup investments in 2017, Nigeria was the top investment destination in Africa followed by South Africa and Kenya. As Nigeria continues to emerge as a technology hub, one thing is clear, women are missing on the playing field.
The research further revealed that of the 25 per cent of women in tech, only 21 per cent are tech executives and of these, only 11 per cent are African technology officers. Currently, more than half of global executives report a shortfall of tech workers, which slows or prevents businesses from growing.
“In addition to being under-represented in the tech space, women are also severely under-funded. In 2017, women-led start-ups received just 2.2 per cent of all available venture capital dollars although women-led startups have been found to produce over 30 per cent higher return on equity.”
The first-of-its-kind in Nigeria, GreenHouse Lab is a three-month accelerator focused solely on early stage, women-led technology start-ups in sub‑Saharan Africa, as well as African-run startups domiciled in the US or UK with products that are scalable in African markets. GreenHouse Capital will also invest a minimum of 100, 000 USD in companies that qualify and reach specific milestones at the end of the program. For additional information, contact GreenHouse Lab at lab@greenhouse.capital or visit www.greenhouse.capital/greenhouselab.

Women of Rubies