Interviews&profile Archives

In Interviews&profile January 30, 2017 By Women of Rubies

#POFILE | MEET ADA OSAKWE , THE CREATIVE FOOD ENTREPRENEUR

Ada Osakwe is a creative food entrepreneur and passionate agribusiness advocate. As the Founder and Chief Executive of Agrolay Ventures, an investment firm targeting early-stage agribusinesses, Ada seeks to redefine the food production and retail opportunity across Africa’s large consumer markets. Agrolay invests in food start-ups as well as incubates its own new agri-ventures. The company currently has four investments including The Nuli Juice Company, Nuli Foods, Nature’s Bounty and African Courier Express. For three years, on a secondment from the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ada served as the Senior Investment Adviser to Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. There, she advised the Minister on agriculture investment-related activities involving private sector investors and led investment policy and financing initiatives including the development and launch of the Fund for Agricultural Financing in Nigeria (FAFIN).

Prior to her role at the Ministry, Osakwe was a Vice-President at Kuramo Capital Management in New York, where she led the firm’s Private Equity investments. For four years, she was a Senior Investment Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), based in Tunisia. She began her career as an Analyst in the Debt Capital Markets team of BNP Paribas investment bank, London.

Ada received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, holds an MSc in Economics and Finance from the University of Warwick, U.K. and a BSc in Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Hull, U.K.

Osakwe is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and on the 2016 Choiseul 100 Africa list, a unique ranking of young African economic leaders. She received the ‘Achiever in Agriculture’ Award in 2015 and in 2014, was named one of Forbes 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa.

A lover of nature and food production, she likes to describe herself as a creative food entrepreneur.

In Interviews&profile January 28, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

#INTERVIEW | “DON’T EVER LET ANYONE CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU DESERVE LESS” – OLUSHOLA PACHECO, CEO WHOOTAFRICA

Olushola Pacheco is a visionary young Nigerian woman passionate about illuminating the business growth of Africa through inspirational business conversations and interviews. She is a business graduate from the University of Wales and Founder of Whoot Africa. Shola hasn’t had it all rosy. Her parents separated when she was just 17 years old. This made her get a grip on life and shaped her outlook towards life. Her unpleasant life stories have contributed to making her a woman of rubies who is passionate about telling the business success stories of Africa.

Early Preparations

Growing up through some tough situations surely had its impact both positively and negatively. Negatively because I wish things were a lot easier, but positively without a doubt; I wouldn’t be the woman that I am today. I learnt how to be determined and resilient even in the face of challenges, I learnt how to not expect anything from anyone, especially when it came to things and decisions that affect me and where I see myself in the future and most of all I am grateful for how a tough life birth my compassionate side, I never miss out on the opportunity to encourage anyone going through tough times, that was something I didn’t have much of during my struggles. My parents separated in my teenage years, so I understood that one of the constant things in life is change, whether we like or accept it, change happens to everyone and just how well you handle these changes determine just how far you are willing to go to rise above your circumstances. I Picked up my first job at 17, a cleaning job for an amazing woman whose career life inspired me to push for the best I could ever be, and I realized how much of what you get out of life is what you are willing to fight and work hard for. So, yes these events influenced me a lot. Also, I have seen people’s lives change and that helps me to stay grounded because nothing is promised. And the fact that your decisions will always be your cross to carry whether someone made the decision for you or not, you get to live with it. I am also not easily influenced; I do what I want irrespective of what anyone thinks.

Discovering my passion for business and online marketing

It is amazing how they say your worst times often birth the best journey of your life, right from an early age, I wanted to be an accountant, I was good at it and it was everything I knew. In fact, I was already helping out university students with financial accounting assignments as at my 5th year in secondary school. Unfortunately for me, life happened and I struggled to get into the university here in Nigeria because of the nepotism in the system at the time. I was heartbroken about it, but never gave up on what I truly wanted. I got into marketing from an early age out of necessity, but somehow I found my true passion. When I finally got university admission, I quit accounting for a business degree because I enjoyed strategic management courses and the likes. I owe this passion of mine to my best friend, Ladi Tokosi. He was such a brilliant man who knew something about every business topic you could mention, he taught me almost everything I now know about the business world, he not only mentored me, he helped shape me and I am ever so grateful to him.

The birth of WhootAfrica.com

While I was a student at the London college of Accountancy, I ran into financial difficulty at some point and had to talk to my school’s accounting officer. While at the office, the Asian lady who headed the accounting office made a statement about how beautiful I looked for an African, compared to the others she had come across, accompanied by a few more distasteful remarks; while offering me an affordable payment plan and discount. As condescending as she sounded I had two choices, defend Africa from her distasteful comment or take her discount and let mother Africa defend herself. Unfortunately, I chose the latter; I walked out with a good discount on my fees, but failed to defend my own. With that guilt in one hand and my degree in the other, even though Africa hadn’t given me much in terms of opportunities; I still felt guilty. Six years later with the emergence of E-commerce and start-up opportunities, I decided to find one good thing about Africa via the business world of start-ups and inspirational CEO conversations. Whoot Africa was born out of a need to right a wrong and to also convince myself that there was an important story to tell about Africa, beside the scams, financial aid and the poverty in the continent. In my quest to find one, I found many inspirational stories. And somewhere along my discoveries, my journey was born and my life continues to take shape towards my vision everyday.

Challenges

I am not sure I have challenges with running Whoot Africa or maybe I just don’t see my challenges anymore. I am doing something I absolutely love and walking through doors I never thought I’d ever be able to walk through and sitting down to interview people I am constantly learning from. I would say, I am exactly where we need to be right now, every stage is a lesson and how well I learn determines how much growth I get to experience. As cliché as this answer sounds, it is the absolute truth. I have since stopped chasing those I thought would help push my dreams and vision of telling the African story; now I am telling the stories that I can and ensuring to enjoy the process. It took me a long time to understand that my rewards and everything I hoped for come in the little jigsaws pieces that are adding up every day towards the bigger picture. Would I like for bigger organisations to support me in telling the inspirational stories out there? Off course yes, but I am not waiting for anyone anymore, those who need to support this vision, can feel free to catch up with me when they are ready. 2017 is about pushing entrepreneurship education by sharing the best voices that will inspire the next generation of Nigerians and African’s, we have started on a great note and we plan to keep pushing.

Temptation to give up on the cause

Oh, every day. I am tempted to give up, dust my certificate and find something with steady monthly rewards. But one of my best qualities remains my determination; without sounding cocky, I am a very dogged and determined person. I don’t stay down for too long, irrespective of how I feel or how bleak things look; I wake up, hope and try again. When you have a vision and not just a wagon you jumped on because it felt cool, and you play your part, when you want something, the universe conspires to make things happen for you. From one person referring you to someone else for an interview or related opportunities, to someone emailing you to say “great job and that you inspire them” on your worst day, nothing great comes easy and I have such a beautiful and vivid imagination of where I see myself and my dreams, so what’s there to give up for? Besides I have the greatest support ever, my immediate family. And an inspirational story being birth to tell my daughter someday.

Testimonies of changed lives

Whoot Africa will never be just about me and doing business interviews, I believe that for every door opened to me, I am not meant to walk in alone. I make sure that I always have CV’s of people in need of jobs, especially for those who are currently unemployed, having someone’s life and story change because they got something through a door that was opened for you is everything, to go to bed knowing you are not hoarding your opportunities means the world to me. I went through some of the worst times of my life growing up. If one person gets to smile and be inspired from my work, then I am a fulfilled woman.

Nigerian women and enterprise

Nigerian women are some of the most enterprising women you will ever meet, from the woman who sells tomatoes in the market to the corporate CEO, Nigerian women are phenomenal. Despite our challenges and cultural barriers as a result of the hierarchical system we were used to, women who are determined to succeed are pushing through every day. A good percentage of Nigerian women are not waiting for handouts, they go out and try to make things work, and those are the women who daily inspire me and whose stories I am daily seeking to share.

I am a rare ruby

I am a rare ruby; I understand what it means to first believe in myself, believe so passionate that I don’t bother anymore with what anyone has to say. I focus on my focus and try to do my best. I am not perfect and I don’t plan to be, but I will always do my best and try to ensure that my quest to be a better version of me every day means more to me than anything else.

Final words

Find the people who inspire you in ways that are unique to you, don’t ever let anyone convince you that you deserve less, those who think so little of your efforts and all you stand for today, will one day have no choice than to acknowledge how awesome you are, if you keep working hard and smart. The only validation needed are yours and those who truly deserve the front row seat in your life, those who see so much greatness in you that you are forced to start believing in you too. Keep oiling the squeaky wheels of your life, and soon your ride will be effortlessly smooth.

In Interviews&profile January 27, 2017 By Women of Rubies

#PROFILE | MEET DEDUN OLUWA, THE 24-YEAR OLD DOCTOR WHO OWNS FOUR BUSINESS VENTURES

Dr. Dedunmola Oluwo – 24 started 4 business ventures while studying to become a medical doctor in Hungary. She is a baker, a makeup artist, a cook, and a hair stylist. Yes… all that while undergoing the gruelling task of going through med school. Dedun’s multi-faceted reach into the world of entrepreneurship was the result of her determination to survive economically – as a student. This grew into something else when the spectrum of services she provided increased, and she became beholden to the needs of her customers.

Her work ethic is admirable, and behind it all she says was the unwavering love and support of her mother, brothers and friends.

Dedunmola, graduated in 2016 and has now embarked on her Masters degree. She was nominated as the Young Person of the Year at the 2016 The Future Awards, and in an interview recently, she said: “I was able to combine all these without repeating a year in the 7 years of medical school. I was able to make enough to pay for my Masters. I’m sharing my story to inspire others that it doesn’t matter what your situation is, you can always challenge yourself to achieve great things whether you are a 17 year old (like when I started) or older.”

Dr. Oluwo’s passion for hard work and her CAN DO spirit is what makes her a woman of rubies

In Interviews&profile January 26, 2017 By Women of Rubies

#PROFILE| CELEBRATING THE WOMAN WHO HAS PUT A NEW SPIN TO HOSTING AND PRESENTING,BOLANLE OLUKANNI

Bolanle was brought up in Nigeria, Israel and Kenya. Olukanni went to St. Guardian angels Primary school in Lagos and went ahead to Queens College . She moved to Nairobi, went to Rosslyn Academy in Nairobi, Kenya for some portion of her secondary school. Preceding her last year of secondary school, she moved to America for her senior year and went to Wichita Southeast High School in Wichita, Kansas, where she partook in the National Speech and Debate Tournament for Dramatic Interpretation .
In 2011, she got a Bachelor’s degree from Loyola University, Chicago, with a twofold degree – Bachelors of Arts in both Communications and International Studies. In May 2010, while still in school, she won the Loyola University Chicago Kale Williams Award for Exceptional Work in Promoting Human Rights and Social Justice.
Bolanle co-hosts Nigeria’s number one singing competition, MTN Project Fame with Joseph Benjamin and is also a co-host on Moments with Mo. She is a co-founder of ‘Girls For The Future’, an empowerment training workshop which focuses on giving aid to Nigerian girls through education.
Today, we celebrate a woman who is making a difference in our society!

In Interviews&profile January 25, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

#PROFILE: CELEBRATING MUSIC STAR NIYOLA

Eniola Akinbo, known by her stage name Niyola, was born on December 9, 1985 in Lagos state, Nigeria. The female Nigerian recording artist, singer, songwriter and performer developed interests in music at a very early age and sand in church with her siblings.
Her interest in music piqued and she ventured into music in 2000 and she was the runner up in Amen Starlet Competition,2000. 2005 brought a new turn as she decided to go professional with her music. Her breakthrough came with her single ‘toh bad’ which was released in 2013 under EME label.
She has since won awards as the female artist of the year by Nigeria Entertainment Award in 2014 and 2014 Headies award as Best Vocal Performance. With a voice that is so rich and unique, and an impeccable sense of fashion, Niyola is a force to reckon with in the Nigerian Entertainment industry.

In Interviews&profile January 25, 2017 By Women of Rubies

#PROFILE| MEET TRACEE ELLIS ROSS, THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO WIN BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES IN 34 YEARS

Tracee Ellis Ross is an American actress, model, comedian, producer, and TV Host. She was born on October 29, 1972 in Los Angeles, California, to a Jewish American father and an African American mother. She is the daughter of singer/actress, Diana Ross.

She made her big screen debut in 1996, in the film ‘Far Harbor’. She has since then starred in a lot of feature films and TV series including, Sue Lost in Manhattan, A Fare To Remember, Daddy’s Little Girls, Labor Pains, Girlfriends, CSI:Crime Scene Investigation, Bad Girls, Black-ish, Broad City, Five, etc. She has also been nominated and won quite a number of awards including, Golden Globe Award, NAACP image Award, BET Comedy Awards, Prism Award, BET Awards, etc.

On January 8, 2017, Tracee Ellis Ross, who is a passionate advocate for freedom and equality, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a comedy series; thus making her the first black woman to pick up the award since 1982. In her acceptance speech, she said,

”This is for all the women, women of color and colorful people whose stories, ideas, thoughts, are not always considered worthy or valid and important. But I want you to know that I see you, we see you.”

In Interviews&profile January 24, 2017 By Esther Ijewere

#PROFILE | MEET DR. AMY JADESIMI, THE WOMAN EXCELLING EVEN IN A MALE DOMINATED INDUSTRY

Dr. Jadesimi received her first degree from Oxford University, where she earned a BA in Physiological Sciences. She then attended Oxford University Medical School, from which she graduated as a medical doctor (MD). After Oxford, Dr. Jadesimi joined Goldman Sachs International in London as part of the Investment Banking Division, specializing in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. She then attended Stanford Business School, from which she earned her MBA in Business Administration.

While at Stanford, Amy completed an internship with Brait Private Equity in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she worked as a transaction executive in Private Equity.

The beautiful, intelligent and pacesetting Amy Jadesimi is truly one of Africa’s leading ladies. She is the Managing Director of LADOL, an oil and gas fabrication and multi-logistics services base in Nigeria. Amy graduated as a qualified medical doctor from Oxford University Medical School. She later joined Goldman Sachs International’s investment banking division in London, before attending Stanford Business School, where she earned an MBA.

On her return to Nigeria, Amy set up a financial consulting firm on her return to Nigeria before joining the management team of LILE, an oil services company, and then LADOL as the managing director. In an industry dominated by the men, Amy has excelled greatly.

Apart from her work in the corporate world, Amy is also a contributor for Forbes where she writes about business trends in Africa, particularly Nigeria, her home country. She was also on the 2015 Advisory Board for the UN Development Programme’s “Africa Human Development Report.”

Amy has been honoured with many awards and accolades. In 2012, she was named an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow; in 2013, a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and a Rising Talent by the Women’s Forum for Economy and Society. Again, in 2014, Forbes included her in The 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa; and in July 2015, the Financial Times named her one of top 25 Africans To Watch

Keep being amazing amy!

Sorce: LeadingLadiesafrica.org

In Interviews&profile January 23, 2017 By Women of Rubies

#PROFILE| MEET SOPHIA IKE-ONU, CEO, THE5KSHOP

Sophia Ike-Onu is the Co-founder of DRYV, and the Founder/CEO of The5kShop. She has a BSc in Architecture and a Masters in International Architectural Regeneration and Development from Oxford Brookes University.

The5kShop is an online retail store, stocking fashion and home solutions all under the price cap of 5000 Naira, and have been in business for over 3 years. She invested all her savings into the business. Their first office was based in her living room- they rented their first office and warehouse 8 months into operation, and move into a bigger space shortly after then.

DRYV.ME is a service that allows users to request for drivers, on demand.

Sophia Onu won the 2016 Enterprise Challenge organised by Virgin Atlantic in partnership with Zenith Bank and Samsung. She has been profiled as one of SME 100’s young entrepreneurs under 25, making socioeconomic impact in Nigeria.

In Interviews&profile January 23, 2017 By Women of Rubies

#PROFILES | TOP FIVE FEMALE VOCALISTS IN NIGERIA

All vocalists can be singers but all singers cannot be vocalists. This is because of the weight in classical music. Singers that are adept in light music often find it difficult to sing in the classical mode. On the other hand, singers who sing in classical mode can sing in the light mode very easily. These are the main differences between the words, singer and vocalist. Here is our list of top five vocalist in Nigeria:

1. Omawumi

Omawunmi, the original Warri queen, came into limelight in 2007 when she became the first runner-up on West African Idol. She has since taken the Nigeria Music Industry by storm with her powerful soprano voice. Her music ranges from Jazz to R&B to Reggae, creating music that anyone can relate to. Her vocal prowess sets her aside and puts her on top of our list

2. Tiwa Savage

A vocalist per excellence, Tiwa has lent her sonorous voice to international music legends Mary J Blige, Chaka Khan, George Michael, Whitney Houston and Andrea Bocelli just to mention a few. After she had accumulated an exhaustive amount of vocal and lyrical credit, she returned to Nigerian shores. Tiwa blessed us with sound goodies that showed her keenness in the vocal department.

3. Waje

The beautiful voice that made Psquare’s Do Me even more pleasant, Waje is another vocalist with a voice so powerful, you find yourself enamored. Her vocal range covers over 3 octaves. Her top notch vocals with her high energy is one of the many reasons why we believe she will be in the music scene for a very long time.

4. Simi

The ‘Ara ile’ crooner ventured into the music scene some years back, giving us a taste of her sonorous voice and giving us something to look forward to. She came back with full force, dominating 2015/2016 with her singles and melodious voice, making us want some more.

5. Chidinma

The winner of 2010 edition of MTN Project Fame dazzled us with her voice while still in the competition, that it was almost not surprising when she won. She then stepped into the music industry, giving us full serve of her rich and beautiful voice. Whether it’s a duet or a feature or her own song, Ms Kedike’s warm and sweet voice is a force to reckon with.

In Interviews&profile January 21, 2017 By Women of Rubies

#INTERVIEW | EVERY HOUR IN NIGERIA, WOMEN ARE DYING FROM CERVICAL CANCER, TEWA ONASANYA, FOUNDER, EMACC

13 years ago Tewa Onasanya took the bold step to start a fashion magazine to celebrate and profile the achievement of women , a medium she has also been using to create awareness for cervical cancer hence the reason why started the EMACC project . The pharmacologist turned publisher tells us her plan to help wage war against Cervical cancer in Nigeria and why she is passionate about the cause.

Me, Myself & My Work

I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother and a Pharmacologist turned Publisher / Entrepreneur. I am very passionate about what I do and I believe anything worth doing is worth doing very well. I have two great children (13 and 10), who I have to set great examples for about being the true and better version of yourself every day. I believe in everyone abilities and it makes me so happy when I see people succeed at what they do and being able to help people the best way I can.

Transitioning from Pharmacology to Publishing

The Transition was great from Pharmacology to Publishing. I must say it was challenging at first but after a while I got used to it, learning on the job. Luckily as you know, there are transferable skills you learn in life and as a student, which could be applied to any profession (to an extent). I have to also say that I was led by my conviction that instead of complaining about something, you do something about it and if I wanted to be good at it, I need to keep learning, take the good with the bad to make a great product.

The Beginning

Yes, I did start Exquisite Magazine when I was still living in England. I used to live in an area where we couldn’t readily buy a magazine that was for the Black British woman and to crown it, then, we only had two or three magazines for women of colour with majority of that two or three being just about hair and beauty. I needed a magazine for us that would also cater to our fashion, beauty and lifestyle needs and that’s how Exquisite magazine was birth. After a few years, we decided to launch in Nigeria and we were well received. There weren’t that many fashion magazines when we started, so the land was still (and still is ) virgin.

I believe we are in a league of our own with our own vision and mission. We are different because before anything else, we are a fashion magazine, then beauty and Lifestyle. We thrive on being able to empower, inspire and motivate people with the information required to get them excited about themselves. We also use our platform to create awareness for a form of cancer that is 100% preventable and a lot of women are dying from (cervical cancer). The ELOY awards which is our biggest baby at Exquisite magazine. After a few years of being in Nigeria, I noticed that almost all the awards ceremonies that were held were to honour men and maybe, maybe one or two females. We wanted to change that, as there are so many women doing exceptionally well in different fields and are not being recognised. These women need to be honoured, recognised and celebrated, so other women especially the younger ones would be encouraged to be the best at anything they want to do even if its male dominated. With the vision and mission of exquisite magazine being to celebrate, inspire, motivate and empower women, we started an event which brings women together to network and communicate. In 2009, we started the only female awards in Nigeria called the ELOY awards. ELOY is acronym for EXQUISITE LADIES OF THE YEAR, which uses its platform to celebrate women of excellence in different fields to inspire and motivate other women.

The EMACC project and its Spread

The focus of the Exquisite Magazine Annual Cervical Cancer (EMACC) project is on all things to do with cervical cancer including information about symptoms and causes of the disease, ways to prevent it and ways people and companies can support us. Every hour in Nigeria, women are dying with cervical cancer, which is preventable thanks to cervical screening and the HPV vaccination programme. However people are still not going in for their yearly screenings. Early detection is also key in increasing survival rates and so educating everyone on the disease, its symptoms and ways to prevent it is key. The reception has been ok but could be great. We are gradually getting there. We are on a mission to make people realise early detection is key, they need to get screened and spread the word. Not all cancers are pink!

To an extent, we are attaining our goals, but not attaining it enough. We want to be able to screen thousands of women monthly and vaccinate children so that deaths associated with cervical cancer can be minimised but we are still trying to get there.

We have already expanded into different states. Aside from Lagos, we have been to cities in Abuja for free screening session and to villages in Rivers state. More states are currently being explored as well

Reason for Focusing On Cervical Cancer

Our focus on cancer especially cervical cancer is a little personal. Too many women have died from a form of cancer that is preventable and for me that is totally unacceptable. Women are the solid foundation of any society, if we keep losing our women what going to be left of us? You hear of different illness that just happen to people in the cause of their lifetime and we hear of preventative medicine for some of these illnesses. I think it is wise to prevent cervical cancer than to have to treat full blown cancer and eventually die from it. Cancer is real, yes it can be beaten but we need to be wise. One death every hour from a preventable cancer is not acceptable.

Balancing it all

God. God is the one helping me day in day out as I even don’t know how I do it. I know what my responsibilities are and I work to make sure one doesn’t suffer for the other. I’m still work in progress though.

My Drive and Passion Won’t Let Me Give Up

As a publisher, the challenges come in different packages. Lol. There is the need for great editorial staff, the need to be able to share your vision with people who are passionate enough about that vision to go on the mission to fulfilling it with you. There is the economic challenge as well but with the different challenges, we are able to raise above them and still churn out great magazine with great content every issue and great events.

What inspired me not to give up is the drive and passion that I have for my work. I love what I do and every day, I believe I can be better at it to bring out the best in me. Plus I love it when people give us the compliments and constructive criticism. It drives me to be better.

Women, Believe in Yourself

My advice would be to believe in yourself. Don’t mind the naySayers or what the statistics say, if you can visualise your vision and are prepared to work on that vision, it has no choice but to be a reality. Notice I said believe and work. It’s not enough to believe alone, you must put in the required work to achieve anything.

Celebrating Other People’s Success Makes Me a Woman of Rubies

I am a woman who has grown into herself, who believes in herself and knows her worth. I am an exquisite woman of rubies who doesn’t let life happen to her but is a go-getter and takes life on with the mind set of being able to do anything I set my mind to. I am beautiful on the inside and outside and I desire that all women and men are a success. I celebrate another person’s success because I believe life is not a competition. I am not afraid to ask for help when I need it.

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