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Oluchi Madu is a talent development coach who helps people to discover, develop and monetize their creative abilities so they can function in their ruling domain. She is an efficient and highly organized professional with extensive experience in Human Resources Management.

She is also a public speaker who has authored four books to her name: Divine Asset, The Seed of Greatness, Every Challenge is a Message and Talent: The Money Magnet.

Drawing from her wealth of knowledge as a talent development coach, she founded Talent Maximization With Oluchi Madu, a platform where people are trained on how to discover, develop and maximize their creative abilities to reign in their ruling domain.

Oluchi is happily married with children and lives with her family in England.

She shares her story and the inspiration behind her book in this interview.

Who are you?

My name is Oluchi Madu, a Family Life Practitioner who majors in Talent Maximization.

 How it began? Journey to writing

The Lighted Candle  is an experience and research-based novel which I created from a challenging experience our daughter had with a school teacher when she was 4 years old. Her class teacher instructed a classmate to flog her because she could not assign a pronoun to a name written on the board.

The teacher went further to call her unprintable names and this experience got our daughter’s self-esteem and confidence badly battered. It got so bad that she developed an irreconcilable hatred for the English language and school in general.

We moved her to another school thinking that it was something a change in environment was going to rectify. Little did we know that it was going to be a long and stressful journey, started researching the things that can make her come back to her usual happy bubbly confident child, then in the course of the journey and  discovered something very interesting, talking about the power of the creative abilities of children.

I discovered that a child that explores his creative abilities easily builds self-confidence knowing that there’s a particular thing that he’s very good at. Our daughter loves singing and playing musical instruments, so we got down to work to ensure that she explores her love and talent for music and that was the miracle she needed. She became that confident child we’ve ever known and started writing songs and stories.

She recently won a director’s award in her school – best in the English language here in England. I decided to share my result-proven findings with as many families as possible in form of a novel.

Where can we get the book?

The Lighted Candle is on Bookplaze and Amazon. Just a click on the link below will direct the buyer to the site to purchase https://oluchimadu.com/

 Writing Process?

I documented our daughter’s recovery process from damaged self-esteem and my experience as a Talent Maximization Coach. It took me 6 years to write this book because I was studying, implementing, and recording all my findings, processes and results.

 What’s the book about? And where it was published

The lighted candle is an experience and research-based child-self-training and parenting tool created in form of a novel. It is a documented process of how children battling with low self-esteem, peer pressure, academic challenges, and non-connection with parents, can build their self-esteem, enjoy a deep connection with their parents, excel academically using their creative abilities, develop and leverage social capital, and become great in life.

This book is needed by every growing child to learn how to jump every hurdle set by life and navigate to greatness. It is also a tool needed by parents, teachers and every child handler to understand children’s varying personalities and the best way to connect with them.

The lighted Candle introduces every child to his or her great personality. It teaches how to navigate through stages of childhood, grow and leverage social capital and attain greatness using creative abilities.
Every child is designed to be great if only he is shown his Lighted Candle and how to use it to illuminate his way and also lighten the paths of others.  It was published in Nigeria by Worital Publishing Company.

Why should families read the book?

Reasons why every family should have The Lighted Candle;
1. The Lighted Candle introduces every child to their personalities and creative abilities.
2. It is a self-training tool. This means that with this book, a child can train himself on how to navigate through life challenges.
3. It is a tool that teaches children how to build self-esteem and become a person of positive influence.
4. The Lighted Candle is also a tool that teaches children how to build and leverage social capital to become great in life.
5. It teaches children empathy and emotional intelligence.
6. The Lighted Candle is a tool needed by every parent, teacher and child handler, to understand children’s personalities, how to connect with them and how to help them leverage their creative abilities to become who they are created to be.

Are you a first-time author? Otherwise, how did your other books fare?

The Lighted Candle is my 5th book, my 1st book is titled Divine Asset, 2nd – The Seed of Greatness, 3rd – Every Challenge is a Message and my 4th  – Talent, The Money Magnet.
Which are all selling and making impacts.

 What next now the book is written?

The purpose is to share the solution that I found with as many families as possible. So, we’re on a mission to ensure that The Lighted Candle get to as many families as possible.

 Growing up

I was raised by the best parents anybody would want to have. My parents, especially my father, prepared me for greatness. I have always been a confident child who oozes great leadership qualities because my father inculcated those qualities in me. With these qualities, I find myself always picked by the spotlight wherever I go. So growing up, I was the head girl in my primary and secondary schools.

 Favorite author?

My favourite author is Dr Myles Munroe of the blessed memory. Through his books, I found my path in life.

If in-charge of  National matters

If I should find my way into the educational system of Nigeria, I will change a lot of things.
1. Our educational system will be reformed to be a platform where talents are refined.
2. Teaching jobs will no longer be for those who cannot get other jobs but for those who are qualified and are passionate about teaching as a career.

Trending topic I would like to jump in?

As a Family Life Practitioner, I will jump in to discuss the high rate of broken marriages and its effects on growing children. I will like to change the wrong perspectives about marriage and also help people to learn how to build happy marital relationships.

 Sell yourself

If there is one thing I love about myself, it is my idea of success. I see myself successful when people that come in contact with me learn the things I have succeeded in.

I don’t like people around me suffering and begging for means of livelihood because God has given every human being on earth all we need to become wealthy and great.Talent is the seed of greatness but many people don’t seem to understand this.

So as a Talent Maximization Coach, I set up an academy called The Talent Maximization Academy where we teach people;

1. How to discover their talents and the audience their talents are meant for.
2. How to develop and refine their talents to be sellable.
3. How to monetize their talents and explore the business of their talents.
So this 2013, we have a goal of raising at least 1000 people who’ll record mind-blowing successes using their talents. So we crashed the tuition fee to accommodate as many people as possible who may have a problem with funds.

Sell your book

The Lighted Candle is my 5th book. My 1st book called Divine Asset is an inspirational book specifically designed for women. This book reveals the treasures and the influence women have that some do not know about. It teaches women how to discover and leverage these treasures to become great and live as the queens they are designed to be.

Oluchi Madu

My 2nd book called The Seed of Greatness teaches about Talent, Vision and Purpose. It explains the relationship between Talent, Vision and Purpose. It reveals how people can create a lifetime vision from their talents and live a life of purpose.

3rd book, Every Challenge Is A Message just as the name goes explains why people should not see challenges as all negative.

It details how people can turn challenges into positivity, while the 4th book, Talent: The Money Magnet teaches how people can build transgenerational wealth with their talents.

My just-published book which is the 5th and is called The Lighted Candle.

1. The Lighted Candle introduces children to their personalities and creative abilities.
2. It is a self-training tool. This means that with this book, a child can train himself on how to navigate through life challenges.
3. It is a tool that teaches a child how to build healthy self-esteem and become a person of positive influence.
4. The Lighted Candle is also a tool that teaches children how to build and leverage social capital to become great in life.
5. It teaches children empathy, emotional intelligence kindness and compassion.
6. The Lighted Candle is a tool needed by every parent, teacher and child handler, to understand children’s personalities, how to connect with them and how to help them leverage their creative abilities to become who they are created to be.

How did you get to know worital, your experience  and what makes worital different.

I actually stumbled on Worital on Emeka Nobis post and started studying them on Facebook. Working with Worital is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

I’ve had an amazing experience with Worital to the extent that the business relationship will be a lifetime journey. I can go to bed with my two eyes comfortably closed knowing very well that I will get the best from them. The touch of excellence in all their works is simply captivating.

Team Worital works with authors to ensure that they record huge success as authors. They do not leave authors after publishing their books. They work with the authors to make sure that the books serve the purposes for which they are published. Fola is exceptionally designed for the vision of Worital.

Oluchi Madu

 On being a  Woman of Rubies?

I see myself as a woman of Rubies because I am releasing the treasures in me to the world. Any willing mind that comes in contact with me will either succeed or succeed. I do not give up on willing minds. Like a proverbial woman in the good book who gave up her coins to look for a lost coin, I can give in my all to ensure that a willing mind succeeds.

Then I am so passionate about my family. My husband Charles Madu is my soulmate and my most favourite person in the world. Together we created a beautiful world for our beautiful children where the gifts of every family member find expression and we enjoy priceless bliss. We don’t joke with natural creative abilities because we understand that talent is the seed of greatness.

 

Many people who surfed the Internet space have come to a realization that they could make money and create a career optimizing social media as content creators.

Over the years female content creators are emerging in setting the pace in the skit making venture which has been dominated by the male folks. Women of Rubies highlights some women taking over the Nigerian Internet space with their funny, Interesting, and exciting content. The 8 top female content creators in Nigeria are:

1. Taaooma:

Maryam Apaokagi, popularly known as Taaooma is a content creator, actress, social media influencer, comedian, and cinematographer. She was born 28th of February, 1999. She spent her childhood days in Namibia but later attended Kwara State University where she studied tourism and travel management.

Taaooma began her content creator journey in 2015 and came into spotlight in 2019 with funny skits centered on African parenting, mothers and ways in which they discipline their children incredibly with a slap. Taaooma is topping the rank of female content creators with 3.5 million followers on Facebook, 4.4 million Instagram followers and a whooping net worth of $65,000.

Top female content creator
Taaooma

2. Kie Kie

Bukunmi Adeaga-Ilori, popularly known as Kie Kie is a content creator, actress, TV personality, fashion icon, and model. She was born 20th of June, 1990. She went to a private primary and secondary school in Ibadan then proceeded to Bowen University, Osun State where she studied mass communication and advanced to the London School of Business where she obtained a master’s degree in marketing.

Kie Kie started appearing in skits in 2019 and grew to fame over the years through consistency and dedication. She has 2M followers on Instagram and 1.2M Facebook followers and an estimated net worth of $800,000.

Top female content creators
Kiekie

3. Bimbo Ademoye

Bimbo Ademoye is a popular actress and household name in the Nigerian movie industry .

Bimbo was born on the 4th of February 1991 and attended St. Margaret’s Primary School, Ikorodu then Mayflower Secondary School in Ikenne and advanced to Covenant University in Ota, Ogun State where she studied business administration. Bimbo has 267k Facebook followers and 2.4 million Instagram Followers always on the lookout for her funny videos.

Bimbo Ademoye
Bimbo Ademoye

4. Maraji

Gloria OBimbo Ademoye loruntobi, also known as Maraji was born on the 6th of February, 1997 and is a native of Edo State. She completed her elementary and secondary school in Edo state and advanced to Covenant University where she studied International Relations.

Maraji began her content creation journey in 2015 by miming the songs of Nigerian musicians and they keep reposting her content that is how she accidentally became a celebrity. She was featured in falz and Yemi Alade’s music video. Maraji has a whooping 1.6 million Instagram followers and 66k Facebook followers always eager to watch her comedy skits and engrossing videos.

Top female content creators
Maraji | Image: Instagram

5. Dat Warri girl

Oluwatoyin Albert, popularly known as Dat Warri girl is a Nigerian dancer, actress, On-Air Personality (OAP), comedienne, and content creator. She was born on the 26th of December from the Yoruba ethnic group but spent her early days in Warri, Delta state.

Dat Warri girl went to Delta State University, Abraka where she studied Theatre Arts. She has 686K Instagram followers and 677k Facebook followers.

Datwarrigirl-womenofrubies
DatWarrigirl

6. Kemz Mama

Kemi Ikuseedun, popularly known as Mummy Wa or Kemz Mama was born on September 26, 1996 in Orile, Iganmu, Lagos state. She attended Bell University, Ota ogun state where she earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and bagged a master’s degree in management from University of Lagos State.

Mummy Wa is a qualified member of ICAN and a trained actress from Emem Isong’s Royal Arts Academy. She has 726k Facebook followers and 371K Instagram followers and her role as Mummy Wa in Mr Macroni’s comedy series brings smile to many.

Nigerian content creators
KemzMama aka Mummy wa

7. Flora222

Gabriel Omozele, popularly known as Flora222 is comedienne and actor who was born on the 2nd of November. She is from Edo state and graduated from Ambrose Ali University where she offered Theatre and Media Art.

From an early age Flora loves being in front of the camera and that sparked her interest in content creation and after her tertiary education she went into acting full time and is doing well for herself. Flora222 has 631k Facebook followers and 310k Instagram followers.

Nigerian content creator
Mizgabbie-Flora222

8. Jessiekaey

Jessica Anagor, also known as Jessiekaey was born early 1990s and attended a boarding school for her basic education.

Jessiekaey began her content creation journey in 2019, and her comedy centered around African mothers and their relation to their daughters. She came into spotlight after releasing the skit about how course mates behave during exams; that video was reposted by Kraks TV and speedily gained traction, with numerous shares. She has 548K Facebook followers, 153k Instagram followers and an approximated net worth of $50,000.

 content creators
Jessiekaey

Sharing information around the globe has become trendy across social media platforms due to the improvement in technology. Blogging is one of the main communication platforms accessible in this digital age.

A blog is an information platform where a writer or team of writers craft interesting content on a wide range of subjects such as news, food, fashion, lifestyle, and many more.

Nigeria is blessed with numerous talented bloggers trending on social media with active followers of their blogs. Women are ranking top in the list of influential, popular, and successful bloggers in Nigeria.

These 13 top female bloggers are experts in creating detailed and engaging content that captivates readers and entertains steady advertisements. These blogs focus on a variety of topics that Nigerian society can relate to and find interesting.

Below are the top 13 female bloggers in Nigeria you should follow this year.

1. Linda Ikeji

Linda Ikeji uses her more than 15 years of experience to dish out entertaining and outstanding content. She owns Lindaikeji.blogspot.com. Her blog releases stories and news, which consists of political news and celebrity updates that are unique to her blog. Linda Ikeji who is also known as the Queen of bloggers is one of the most popular, wealthiest, and influential bloggers in Africa.

Top bloggers
Linda Ikeji

2. Uche Pedro

Uche Eze is the CEO of ‘Bella Naija’ which is one of the most trendy and winning blogs in Nigeria. Her blog posts consist of a detailed analysis of African weddings, beauty, fashion, music, entertainment, lifestyle, and many more. Numerous newbie bloggers draw inspiration from Uche Pedro.

Top female bloggers
Uche Pedro

3. Tosin Ajibade

Tosin is popular for dishing out entertaining and lifestyle content from her blog ‘Olorisupergal.’ She is an accounting degree holder from Lagos State University (LASU). Her top-notch blog posts have attracted several awards, and nominations consisting of Leading Ladies Africa, and YNaija’s 100 most significant women in Nigeria.

Olrisupergal-Tosin Ajibade
Tosin Ajibade- Olorisupergal

4. Laila Ijeoma

After quitting her job as a banker she turned her focus on blogging as a profession. Over the years she has demonstrated that blogging is a profitable career. She joins the list of top bloggers in the country. Fashion, lifestyle, politics, and celebrities gist are covered in her blog_ LailasBlog.com

Laila Ijeoma top blogger
Laila Ijeoma

6. Yemisi Aiyedun – Sisi Yemmie

Yemisi Aiyedun also called Sisi Yemmie, is a top Nigerian blogger. A mass communication graduate from Igbinedon university. Her blog ‘sisiyemmie.com’ publishes fashion tips, food and restaurant reviews, lifestyle, beauty, and many more. Her unique approach to numerous topics has landed her multiple awards.  Three words for Yemisi’s blog are engaging, entertaining, and educative.

Top Female Bloggers
Sisi Yemmie

7. Kemi Filani

Kemi is a journalist and blogger. She owns one of the most visited blogs_ KemiFilani which offers valuable information on Love/weddings, spirituality,  juicy celebrity gossip, news break down in contemporary styles, and movies.

Kemi Filani blogger
Kemi Filani

8. Stella Dimoko Korkus

Another successful female blogger that covers a wide range of topics such as entertainment, gossip, events, inspiration, lifestyle, news, fashion, and a lot more is Stella Dimoko Korkus .  Over the years she has become a daring journalist and her blog stelladimokorkus.com reflects that.

Top female bloggers

9. Moji Delano

Moji Delano  is an online media aficionado, lawyer, communications strategist, and entrepreneur, She is behind  popular blog; mojidelano.com, and  also the owner of SMD media.

Top female blogger
Moji Delano

10. Ladun Liadi (Oladunni)

The blog ‘LadunLiadi‘ was founded by Oladunni. She publishes blog posts on fashion, trends, celebrity updates, and hot gossip in Nigeria’s entertainment industry. Her blog is captivating, juicy, and interesting.

Top female bloggers
Ladun Liadi

11. Chidimma Umeh

Chidimma Umeh is the founder of ThatIgbochick blog. A beauty, lifestyle, and fashion blog that virtually shares detailed information on facial cosmetics, make-up, and fashion. She passionately writes on the listed subject and this attracts make-up and fashion lovers to her blog. Her posts are engaging and entertaining as she also writes about interesting aspects of her personal life, beauty tips, traveling, and others. Her blog is also known as dimmaumeh.com.

Dimma Umeh Thatigbochick

12.  Kate Ijeoma

Kate loves to write  about women, their fears, struggles and challenges  on her blog. She tell stories of women no matter where they come from in a bid to inspire and encourage them to embrace their uniqueness. Her blog  feminine.com.ng blog educates women on the importance of having a voice and identity.

Top female blogger
Kate Ijeoma

13. Tobi Ayeni

Tobi Ayeni a Banking and Finance graduate at covenant university is one of the top female bloggers in Nigeria who founded missitechy, a technology-based blog that bloomed tremendously over the years.

Tobi is multi-talented because apart from being a blogger she is a digital marketer and proficient in regulating online communities, generating campaigns, unraveling insights, accessing metrics, and educating clients about the above listed.

Top female blogger in Nigeria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ejiro Osakede  is a woman of many expressions. She’s a Singer, Trainer,  Author, Sound Engineer, VoiceOver Artist, Master Storyteller, Podcaster and Event Host.  She is the resident MC at the Female Founders Initiative MEA.

Everyone has talent. What’s rare is the courage to follow it to the places where it leads. There are people who multi-talented in different skills and thrive in all, Ejiro Osakede has succeeded everywhere she has taken her gift.

She is an audiobooks creator for African authors, with works from notable authors.  The multi-award recipient is also known as the Energetic EJ. She is dedicated to training and supporting audiobook creators, narrators and podcasters by creating content and courses that help them thrive in their craft. As well as provide support via a closed community.

She is the convener of THE BECOMING SUMMIT- an initiative to awaken in the young generation (Ages 18 -35) a desire to BE a better version of themselves, being fit for their purpose and has reached Africa, Europe and Asia, spanning several countries across these continents.

Her Podcast, ‘Stretch Street’ focuses on documenting the stretch stories of individuals who have been through tough times and have come out of it as better people. In this interview with Esther Ijewere, she shares her inspiring story.

Childhood Influence

Consider me a womb opening for my parents. They had me after trying for a child for over a decade and so you can imagine the dramatic entry I made into the world. I was told they celebrated for like a week, starting from the hospital to the whole village.

My Dad was a sailor at the time and he worked with colleagues of other nationalities, they were all aware of the long wait and when I came along he was still away on his trip. So, when he returned, it was a whole week of partying and celebrating the arrival of his first child after waiting for so long and going through all manners of ridicule.

I was also told that I was a very bold and confident child and so I became popular as a toddler. You see why I said the spotlight is attracted to me. And that has been the case always. Whether I try or not, I always get noticed in any setting I show up.

In this regard, my childhood prepared me for what I am doing today. God has been faithful in placing me amongst leaders, visionaries and purpose driven individuals and communities.

Inspiration behind BECOMING SUMMIT

As an African Youth, there is a tendency to shortchange ourselves and discount us even before opportunities arrive. Especially for those of us from very humble backgrounds. And to make matters worse, for young people who didn’t have the right set of people around them to help them see that although their environment seems to be stifling, they can curate for themselves an enabling environment by the type of content they consume and the type of people they connect with online.

Ejiro Osakede
Ejiro Osakede, Podcaster and Storyteller

Being a Storyteller, Podcaster, Sound Engineer, Voice-Over Artist and Singer

I will start from singing. I started singing when I was a kid. I was part of the junior choir and then moved on to the senior choir. Then I became a worship leader back then. And since then, I pretty much grew in that regard as a church girl.

Then in 2000 after dropping out of school for lack of funds to pay my final year fee. I stepped into the entertainment industry as a backup singer. So, I became a back up singer both on stage and in the studio.

I had the opportunity to work with musicians from back then like Imona and the crusaders band, Mr. Kool, Ochonma, Tony-one-week, Dabyna and Jahcub Abraham to mention a few.

While that was going on, I also started to train as a field sound engineer. I learned how to build speakers, microphones and set up the stage for mega concerts. On days when I am not with the band backing up on stage, I will be on the stage manning the console and dealing with cables and equipment.

In 2005, I wrote a song and upon reflection while I wrote it, I realized that I wasn’t sure my life was in the exact direction I wanted it to be. I knew I would be in the spotlight, but I wanted my story to be inspiring and I felt if I continued at the pace I was at the time as a showgirl, I might miss my way.

So, I decided to withdraw from the entertainment industry to go figure my life out. Then I decided to go back to school. I wanted so badly to go take an acting course at PEFTI. But I was advised against it. And I was encouraged to take up a Course that could get me a secured job. So, I settled for Secretarial Studies.

Once I was done with my OND I knew this wasn’t the course for me, so I refused to go further with my HND to go out and explore my options.

That was when I took the OAP course with The ProEmcees Academy founded by Kamal Salau, a veteran in the broadcast industry back then. This was where I started to get more interested in the use of my voice. And it was also during this short course that I fell in love with audiobooks.

Ejiro Osakede becoming summit
Ejiro osakede

One of the materials that was presented during this course was THE BIBLE EXPERIENCE. And this project got me hooked so badly I told myself I wanted to replicate it for African Authors. And that became my main project for the next couple of years.

Working with African Authors to convert their books into audio. Years down the line, I figured I must be getting something wrong and maybe I should go back to school to gain more knowledge. So, I went back to get a degree in audio engineering at SAE Dubai.

The storytelling is a result of being a podcaster as my podcast covers the stories of my guests. I started podcasting officially in 2019. It started with a faith-based podcast named Worship Song of the Week which lasted a year.

Then I started The Afrocentrist Podcast towards the end of 2020 and rebranded late 2022 into Stretch Street Podcast where the goal is to document the stretch stories of individuals to draw out life lessons from their challenging experiences while aggregating references for young people of African descent that challenges are not exclusive to any of us.

They are there to teach us and to make the most of them we must learn to identify the lessons that these challenges came to teach us and also document them so that others can learn from our mistakes or success.

The Journey So Far

My journey so far has been a learning curve. I am getting to know myself better as well as improving in the way that I show up. It’s not been an easy ride but its been a great one so far. I have had to explore the multiple phases of my skills, talents and strengths. Mostly through service to others and as a solo-prenuer.

I have also taken up a lot of courses to develop various aspect of my expressions. Majority of which took place between 2022 and now. Before then I had an OND in Sec Admin, I trained as an OAP, I took Conflict resolution masterclasses. I also took a couple of short courses in Public speaking both back home in Nigeria and abroad in Dubai UAE.

Challlenges

I’d say the major challenge for me was internal. I had a lot of limiting mindsets. And it’s taken a lot of work to get to where I am today. I am still a work in progress. This is why I take personal development very dear to my heart.

My Passion For Creating Audiobooks for African Authors

I believe that as Africans we haven’t done a great job in telling our stories or documenting our lives from the place of strength like one of my mentors Onye Ubanatu would say. At the time when I picked up this niche, I couldn’t even articulate it this much. I just knew that I wanted to help African Authors leave a digital footprint in the audiobook space.

I wanted a situation where our books will be in audio format and not stop there, but also in our local dialects to preserve our heritage.

One time I was researching the languages in Nigeria, and I discovered that some languages from the northern part of the country have gone extinct and more will go extinct in the next 20 to 30years. Leaning into audio content is one way that we can preserve our languages for generations to come. And the gift of the internet and cloud storage can be leveraged to make this happen.

Ejiro Osakede
Ejiro osakede receiving an award

I can’t say that I have succeeded in birthing this idea but I don’t cease to talk about it, because as much as I don’t feel I’ve done justice to it, I know that there are people out there who bare the same burden as me, and least I can do is keep talking about it so that they can also know that they are not alone in their thoughts. And perhaps some day we can have a couple of young Africans come together to do something about it and maybe build a solution collaboratively.

Other Projects and Activities

Since I couldn’t pull off the audiobook project to mainstream, I felt I had a chance to take it in bite size and start with podcasting. So, I’ve been an advocate for young Africans to use their voice for impact, influence and income. They can do this by following their convictions and sharing their messages using podcasts as a tool.

Hence I run a challenge where I train, guide and support newbie podcasters how to set up their podcast not just because it’s in vogue, but to plug it into what they feel convinced is their purpose and use this tool to grow their impact and influence while earning an income through it as well.

I have had about 50 people go through this program in the last one year and counting.

What I Enjoy Most About My Job

As an audio content producer; Podcasts, audiobooks, voice overs, I love editing, I love experiencing the minds of those that I get to work with. I also get to learn while I am working, that means for me, work is growth. And there is nothing as blessed as having to do what you love and getting paid for it.

Women Who Inspire Ejiro Osakede and Why

Edirin Edewor – She is my coach, turned friend and sister. If resilience was a person then it is Edirin Edewor. She’s intelligent, gentle and has a big heart for people. She’s like a gift that keeps giving. And her story gets me up my feet every time I think about what she has to go through with her health condition and still be able to make such significant impact. Honestly I respect her strength, commitment, resilience, and intelligence.

Debola Deji-Kurunmi – a.k.a DDK. DDK showed me the power of multi influential flows. The fact that as humans and especially as women, we have the capacity to flow in more than one direction and there is nothing wrong about it. We only need to embrace our potential and set up systems in place to manage our multiple flows. And she does it so seamlessly making me understand the power of a team, the power of people, the power of intentionality and maximizing the relationships in our lives.

top podcasters

What We Can Do  To Support Women With Different Skill Sets 

It is not uncommon to see women with various skill set, yet when it comes to the market place its a struggle for many of us. Naturally we are comfortable and familiar with the concept of wearing many hats as a woman. Mother, sister, friend, sister-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, Aunt and colleague.

However, when it comes to our skills, it feels so wrong and scattered sometimes when we are skilled in different areas. So I think we should talk more about it and have programs that will help us manage our skills better.

One Thing I wish To Change In My Sector

I will speak to this from an African perspective. If there is one thing I could change it will be the silo mentality. As a people we would do more, grow faster, make more impact if we learn to collaborate effectively. If we learn to bring our resources, skills and aligned visions together to form a bigger vision that will outlive us.

Being  a Woman of Rubies

I am consistently evolving. I am big on personal development and inspiring others with my life. I have the interest of the people I serve at heart. I am winning against the battle of comparison daily and embracing my uniqueness with confidence and charisma. This makes me a woman of Rubies.

Follow Ejiro on her socials;

IG – https://www.instagram.com/energeticej_/

FB – https://www.facebook.com/Ejisbebe

LI – https://www.linkedin.com/in/energeticej/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/EjiroOsakede

Tems part in Future’s hit single ‘Wait For U’ earned her the Grammy award for ‘Best Melodic Rap performance’ at the recent Grammy awards ceremony. Making her the first female artist from the Nigerian music industry to win a Grammy.

Tems

When Tems merged forces  with Wizkid for  ‘Essence,’ the anthem catapulted the sultry singer into an unexpected stardom.  However, with her global recognition, there are many interesting facts about her that people are yet to know about.

Here are six thing you didn’t know about the singer;

On her debut EP, Tems features the voice of her mother on ’Témìládè Interlude’. The track tells the story of an unshakeable maternal instinct that reassured her mother she’d bear a daughter, whose name was destined to be: Témìládè Openiyi.

Born to a Nigerian mother and British-Nigerian father, the family moved to England for the first three years of her life, before returning to her home country.

At 17, she started to venture forwards with music, putting aside her beliefs around her voice not being sufficiently ‘feminine’. At this time, she joined the choir and started learning how to play the piano.

Tems at grammys
Tems at JayZ and Beyonce Pre-Grammys Party

Up ’til her latest EP, she majorly produced her own beats.

She loves Ghana

Ghana is Tems’ favourite place to watch the sunset. In touch with nature and surroundings, the artwork for ‘If Orange Was A Place’ is meant to resemble the warm tones of a sunset.

Nigerian Singer Tems
Tems at the Grammys

Tems connection with British singer, Adele

It  was Adele who steered Drake’s attention towards the Nigerian vocalist, which then landed her a spot on the rap icon’s sixth studio album, ‘Certified Lover Boy’.

Congrats on her new feat! We celebrate you, Tems!

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How True Daley’s App Is Supporting Black Students Facing Racism and Bullying

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Reni Eddo-Lodge is an award winning journalist, author, and podcaster. She was the first black British author to take the overall No 1 spot in the UK’s official book charts few years ago.

Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Big Break

Eddo-Lodge’s “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” topped Nielsen BookScan’s UK top 50 in the week to 13 June, 2020, making her the first black British author to take the top slot since Nielsen began recording book sales in 2001.

The only black author to have taken the No 1 spot on the overall charts is the former US first lady Michelle Obama in 2018, with her memoir “Becoming“.

The book which was first published in 2017, became extremely popular in the wake of the recent Black Lives Matter protests. “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” details why the author would not be having conversations about race with most white people because they “refuse to accept the legitimacy of structural racism and its symptoms”.

Early Life

Eddo-Lodge was born and raised in London, England, by a Nigerian mother.She attended St Anne’s Catholic High School in Enfield.

She studied English literature at University of Central Lancashire, graduating in 2011. While at university, she became involved in feminist activism and the 2010 student protest movement. She was president of the University of Central Lancashire students’ union until 2012, and was an elected member of the National Executive Council of the National Union of Students from 2012 to 2013.

Career

As a freelance journalist, Eddo-Lodge has written for a number of publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Independent, and several others.

Reni Eddo-Lodge has also appeared on BBC Radio 3’s Night Waves, discussing feminist issues. In April 2014, she was a judge in the BBC Woman’s Hour Power List 2014. In July 2020, Lodge partnered with Emma Watson and the WOW Foundation to spearhead a project reimagining the London Underground Map, renaming the 270 stops to spotlight women and non-binary people who have shaped the city’s history. 

 

True Daley is a journalist, community organizer, mental health and adoption advocate, founder of TRACIE App, and co-founder of the parent-led volunteer organization – Black Student Success Committee.

True Daley
True Daley | Image: Susan Armstrong

About TRACIE App

TRACIE (Tracking Racism and Collecting Information in Education) is an innovative tool to support Black students facing racist bullying.

TRACIE is the brainchild of advocate and media professional True Daley and the soft launch is part of the Black To The Future event being held in Toronto on February 14th, 21st and 26th, featuring influencers LaToya Jane and Michael Carlon. The TRACIE Team is a grassroots organization which has received funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation with support from charitable organization the Delta Family Resource Centre to develop the one-stop, user-friendly method for Black children, youth and their families.

Black to the future

True believes the app will curb racism, bullying and injustice in the education sector and states the official launch will be in the fall of 2024

True’s Career Path

True Daley’s creative career began in the late 80’s ( then known as Royal T) as one of  Montreal’s first female emcee which evolved to include spoken word, soul and folk music. The award-winning artist is also an actor, filmmaker and journalist.

  • Her contribution to the Canadian music scene has been captured in the  anthology We Still Here : Hip Hop North of the 49th Parallel by Charity Marsh and Mark V. Campbell published in 2020.

True’s work has been featured in ByBlacks.com and CBC Parents. She has worked with youth in conflict with the law in Rexdale and the Jane and Finch  neighborhoods for over a decade. She is an award-winning creative in film, music and technology.

True Daley | Image: Ahisu The Photographer

She is also a strong advocate for mental health awareness in the Black Community and a strong believer in holistic practices that are accessible and affordable for our most vulnerable communities.

Her Momentum

True became a household name in Toronto’s Urban Music scene in the 90s, recognized as the golden era of Hip-Hop.

She has appeared at Manifesto, NXNE, Toronto Urban Music Festival, Honey Jam, When Sisters Speak, The Urban Music Awards, MuchMusic, CBC, HBO and the Reelworld Film Festival.

The Honey Jam alumni’s first single “Comin In’ was featured on Universal Music Canada’s first all-female compilation “Honey Drops”. The single and video garnered UMAC (Urban Music Association of Canada) and VideoFact Awards among others. She then released an EP on her indie label Jahmecca Recordings entitled ‘Stranger Than Fiction” and her single” Pain and Confusion “was featured on the CHRY’s compilation “Message In A Bottle”.

True | Founder: Tracie App
True | Image: Susan Armstrong

She relocated to Taiwan, the Republic of China between 2004-2008 where she worked in music, media and theatre. She was featured in the Taipei Times and the China Post for her tribute to Miriam Makeba while performing for the President.

As a news anchor for the country’s only English radio station, she interviewed the late Bishop Desmond Tutu. As the frontwoman of hip-hop group Jahmecca Soundcrew she opened for Missy Elliott at the Taipei World Trade Centre.

She has also taken her talents of writing from the stage to the page and has been a senior writer for music and lifestyle publications for over 20 years including Peace!, Sway, The Toronto Star, ByBlacks.com, CBC Parents and more.

True Daley- Tracie App Founder
True Daley | Image: Kween Media

As an actor, True was able to hone her theatre skills with B Current under the creative direction of founder ahdri zhina mandiela and stage director Weyni Mengesha.

She is an ACTRA member who has appeared in independent films such as The Shift by Wandering Eye Productions and has also performed original spoken word on the first African-American drama series Soul Food.

True is also a community worker and arts educator. As the co-founder of the landmark D.I.V.A. (Diversity in Visual and Audio Arts) Program she provided media literacy and arts programing to BIPOC youth in high-needs communities between 2008-2011. The program was run in partnership with the City of Toronto’s Parks and Recreation Department.

True Daley as a Multi-talented Creative

This multi-disciplinary artist has recently delved into storytelling behind the camera as an emerging director and screenwriter. Her first short, Love Underground was selected for the 2016 Toronto Urban Film Festival, which screened on subway platforms throughout the city reaching over 1 million daily commuters.

2020 proved to be a breakout year for True. She was one of 8 emerging screenwriters chosen by BIPOC TV & Film to participate in a TV Comedy Writing workshop with creator, actor and playwright Ins Choi of the ground-breaking CBC sitcom – Kim’s Convenience. Later that year BIPOC TV & Film also selected True for their Kids TV Bootcamp.

 Tracie App Founder
True Daley | Image: Susan Armstrong

She was also shortlisted for the CBC Creative Relief Fund as a first-time documentary filmmaker. Her treatment for BOSSLADYSK8 stood out amongst 9000 submissions.

Her hybrid feature-length film BOSSLADYSK8  co-directed  and co-produced with Suzan Armstrong is set to premiere in 2024. A scene from the highly anticipated film was shot at  Netflix Studios in Toronto in partnership with Higher Hire & Black Women Film! Canada as part of a training opportunity for Black filmmakers, with funding from the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts and Charles Street Video.

BOSSLADYSK8’s Canadian premiere will be in 2024

Mary Oyohosuho Phillip Is  a sickle cell warrior, a sickle cell advocate, a Confidence Coach and Skin Care Consultant. Mary is  the first Sickle Cell Warrior in her family, out of 3  in total 5 kids. Mary  suffered severe complications of sickle cell, and was bedridden for 3 years, this resulted in deformity.
She has  managed to further her  higher institution learning  walking with two sticks.  Mary’s lived experience as a sickle cell survivor is a tool she continuously used to inspire, motivate and encourage people. She goes to schools, churches to share her survivor story.
In this interview with Esther Ijewere, the founder of Jesus Girls Club, Int’l shares her inspiring story.
 Mary Oyohosuho Phillip- Sickle Cell Warrior

Childhood Influence

 I can truly say that my childhood prepared me for what I am doing today. While growing up, I watched my parents give their all to serving humanity and affecting the life of people positively. I have admired and wished  to affect the lives of people just the way my parents were doing, and that has given me that push in life  and has brought me to where I am and what I am doing  today.

What Inspired Me To Be A Sickle Cell Advocate 

 What basically inspired me to be a sickle cell advocate   is first, me being a sickle cell warrior, having two other siblings being warriors too in total making   three warriors in the family. Secondly, losing my younger brother to sickle cell. Thirdly how sicklecell got me deformed, all the excruciating pain, discomfort, and all that comes with it. Going through all this I became dedicated in creating sickle cell awareness for people to prevent birthing children with the sickle cell disease.

Jesus Girls Club

Going by all the social vices that we hear daily in our society  which affect the girl child, I always get heartbroken  and think of  a way to change the narrative.  Social vices like early pregnancy, rape, molestation, sexual abuse etc. when I hear and watch young ladies  in other part of the world  doing  amazing  thing in their different  field  endeavors , this  challenges and motivate me to want to groom and teach teenage girls starting from my community , to my  country   and to the world at large on having  good morals, building a healthy self esteem self discovery and purpose driven life.

Another major thing that motivated me to start Jesus girls club was when I heard that in this age and time teenage girls  still make use of cloth pieces, that is, rags to care for themselves when on their menstrual flow which is unhygienic  to  their health. This broke my heart completely.

The Journey So Far 

 The journey since I started my organization has been full of ups and downs. At the beginning it was going smoothly but along the way many obstacles and challenges came up. At one point I gave up completely, but my passion for  this vision brought  me back on track.

Challenges 

There are so many challenges :first lack funds . Since after my NYSC  my inability to get a job was a  big challenge in carrying out my vision but the little business I was doing and the passion kept the vision running. Then the second challenge was reaching out to these teenage girls in remote rural communities where roads are accessible, and I don’t sit so well on a bike. So in general, funds and mobility are my major challenges.
How My Work Inspire Sickle Cell Advocates 
 wow! Am certain that my work has inspired other sickle cell advocate because so many Warriors always reach out to me in my inbox, telling me how I inspire and motivate them to do better in their advocacy.

Other Projects And Activities

There are so many other projects and activities lined up for my organization. First, getting my foundation registered with the corporate affairs position (CAC) ready so I can operate officially. Presently there is a project at hand called: “BACK TO SCHOOL CAMPAIGN”. My organization will be providing writing materials such as Notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers etc for children in public schools whose parents can’t afford those materials for them. There are many other projects coming up and this is a call for people to sponsor and partner with me in achieving this.

What I Enjoy Most About My Job

What I enjoy most about my job is seeing smiles on the faces of people we reach out to. My prayers to God when I was growing up, was that God should use me as a channel to bring joy into the life of people so, for God to help me in this little capacity, gives me great joy and I want God to bless me more to do greater Exploits and reaching out to more & more people within Nigeria, Africa & the world at large. That will be my greatest joy.

3 Women Who Inspire Me And Why

Since I began this Journey, there are three (3) powerful women I have seen & they inspire me greatly they are:
1. Esther Ijewere [Founder, WOMEN OF RUBIES]
2.  Dr. Adesoye Tosin (Founder Sickle Celebs)
3. My Mother Mrs. Blessing O. Phillip
1. Esther Ijewere is one woman I love so much, she inspires me. Since I came across her on Facebook, I always rush to her page everyday to read what she has posted. I admire her strength,I admire her supporting women and generally I classify her as Beauty & Brains.
2, The Second woman that inspires me so much is Dr. Adesoye Tosin, the founder of Sickle celebs. When I began the journey of advocacy for sickle cell. The first woman I came across with the same issue as mine is Dr Tosin. I thought to myself,  if a young lady  with sickle cell can go study a course as tedious as medicine and still do well in it then, she is worth emulating and this got me inspired.
3.. The third woman that motivates me is my biological mother Mrs. Blessing O.philip. a woman who is my first teacher, doctor, prayer warrior and caregiver.  A woman that never stopped loving and caring for myself and my siblings after the demise of my beloved daddespite our many health challenges. My super hero, my strong support system, my disciplinarian but correct in love I admire her strength, perseverance, doggedness.

On The Stigmatization Of Sickle Cell Warriors

 one thing I will say to people who stigmatize sickle cell warriors is that “STIGMATIZATION IS VERY BAD”. No one choose to be born with sickle cell or any other health challenge. Stop stigmatization, show love, empathy to sickle cell warriors. Do not discriminate, we deserve to love and to be loved in return.

 What Government Should Do To Support Sickle Cell Warriors

The government should make the health facilities & health insurance available and accessible to sickle cell patients in our hospitals.  Routine drugs and medical checkup should be provided or made cheap for sickle cell   warriors / caregivers to afford.

Being A Woman of Rubies 

I  am an extraordinary lady who lives an exemplary life for the younger generation to emulate. A go-getter, a warrior who never gives up. A fearless woman, courageous, tenacious. A lady who works towards leaving an impactful footprint on the sands of time

What I Would Say To A Young Person On The Verge Of Giving Up 

“GIVING UP SHOULD NOT BE AN OPTION”. Embrace life to the fullest. Believe in God, and yourself and Hope for a better tomorrow. Put in your own efforts, because “THERE IS A PRICE FOR EVERY PRIZE”. Thank you

There is a popular saying that the easiest way to a man’s heart is through food; a well prepared meal could make an African man give you a blank cheque some say.

While cooking shouldn’t define the worth of a woman, It is always an addition when a woman knows her way in the kitchen, Abimbola Oki is helping many women , not only navigate cooking tasty meals, but educating them on how to turn their passion to business.

The founder of  D’Potters Catering Services  which started in 2014, is one of the most sought after caterers in Nigeria at the moment, catering for several top events, and using social media to also showcase the beauty of cooking.

Abimbola Oki

Abimbola Oki decided to turn her passion into a corporate business  by aiming to provide healthy and delicious meals for busy people, thus satisfy their cravings at affordable prices with poise for prompt delivery . Her mission is to provide amazing food experience for everyone irrespective of their status, tribe, pocket and taste

The caterer whose passion started from supporting family members during festivities, share her Inspiring journey with Esther Ijewere in this exclusive interview.

Childhood Influence

 My mum used to sell bread even though I wasn’t involved as per last born child. My sister had a restaurant back then too and I helped to run it. I never thought of running a food business then, but I was able to learn one or two things from that experience.

Abimbola Oki

Inspiration Behind D’potters Catering

I love hosting people in my house especially during festive seasons. I noticed my guests enjoyed my cooking a lot so much that they give me money. I was still job hunting as at 2013. My husband and I had a discussion about starting a food business and that was how I started fully in 2014.

Abimbola Oki

The Journey So Far

Oh it’s been bitter and sweet with so many challenges but absolutely worth it. God’s grace has brought us this far and everything is going just as I wanted it.

 D’potters Catering Academy And It’s Impact

Alot of people know how to cook but they don’t know about the food business. I started D’potters Catering School to educate women not just about learning how to cook but also learning about the business aspect. It has been an amazing journey so far. The first set of students graduated last month and some of them already started their businesses and doing well.

Abimbola Oki

Educational Background, And My Aspiration As  A Woman

I attended Lagos Anglican Girls Secondary School and graduated from University of Lagos with a BSc in Estate management. My aspiration as a woman is to see my fellow women doing well for themselves.

Challenges Of Being A Vendor

Trust-Getting customers to trust me, because we usually do payment before delivery. We have been able to build their trust.

  • Delivery- Getting a trusted delivery company to deliver food on time. There are many cases of food getting sour by the time clients gets it. We have been able get our personal bikes.
  • Staffing

Nuggets On How To Be A Sought- After Food Vendor

 We have been consistent with our principles which is to give customers value for their money

We treat our customers fairly and we don’t hesitate to apologize when things go wrong

We try to exceed their expectations ,this makes them happy to refer us to their friends and families

Why I Helped  Families In Need During The Pandemic With Food

I always love to put smiles on people’s faces whether I know them or not. I have been through the very hard times too so I understand their situation, this is my inspiration.

Do you think the food industry is favourable enough to entrepreneurs

Yes the food industry is favorable to entrepreneurs because many Nigerians are now looking for different ways to ease their stress. Nobody wants to get home from work by 8pm after a bad traffic and start cooking. They prefer to buy food.

 Other services I offer In My company

Apart from cooking bespoke food for people, we do trainings how to cook different dishes and we also teach them the business aspect. We also rent out our cooking studio to content creators, food bloggers, food brands etc Our outdoor cooking area is also available for rent to caterers who need a convenient cooking space for their large cooking

Relocating  To A New Space

I have always dreamt of moving to a bigger space but I was scared of the unknown. We were given a quit notice at the former space because they did not want us to use the space for cooking again. We had no choice but to get a new space and we got exactly what we wanted. It was not easy getting space for cooking, or took us a year to get this new place. We did some renovations and it came out perfect. All Glory to God!

How My  Work Inspire Other Women

I get a lot of messages from women that I inspired them. I have been able to prove to women that being consistent and dedicated to one’s business will pay off and they can make it in any business they decide to venture into.

 3 women who inspire me and why

  • Racheal Ray did not have a formal culinary education just like me but she is now one of the most famous female chefs in the world.
  • Siba Mtongana has been able to combine her life as a family-oriented woman and work as a celebrity chef and presenter with the support of her husband.
  • Ngozi  Okonjo Iweala  has given us a representation of global and national power. She reminds me that I can achieve anything I want to.

Abimbola Oki

Being a Woman of Rubies

I have been able to teach other women how to start their businesses (not necessarily food) and also sell on social media platforms.

Joyce Agbanobi  and her team are trying fix the gender gap problem in the tech industry  through their Black Woman Paving Ways Initiative.

Joyce is an enthusiastic Tech leader who is passionate and committed to closing the gender gap for women of color in technology. She is a Technical Program Manager Lead at Microsoft with over 7 years + of experience in ecommerce sectors.

She is also the Co-Founder of the Black Woman Paving Ways, a platform that aims at closing the digital divide and increasing the percentage of women in STEM, through building initiatives to help women upskill for the future and Matching newbies to their dream Mentors across different Fortune 500 companies.

She founded BWPW with her grad school friend Lola Quadri  who is also in the tech sector.

Black Woman Paving Ways was created in November 2020 and since then, they have helped 4,000+ women find their unique paths in technology, gain skills for the future, get matched to technical experts and gotten their dream jobs.

Watch:  How To Save And Invest Wisely In 2023

With the major layoffs in the tech space., the goal of her company for this year is not only to bring women into technology but also to make sure they are uniquely skilled and indispensable on their roles.

To ensure that, and commemorate the Black history month, BWPW will be holding a free 2-weeks Data Analytics hands on training for women transitioning into tech, those in non-tech roles and those who own their business but not exactly sure how to make sense of their data. The training is open to both male and female.

In this interview with Esther Ijewere, Joyce shares her inspiring story and how her company is determined to support women transition into different parts of the tech industry.

Childhood Influence

I remember growing up being the only girl in a family of 6 (including my parents). With my dad been a mechanical engineer working in oil and gas, all he knew and wanted, was for all his kids to be either Engineers, Medical Doctor, or a huge disappointment.

I did not grow up having the opportunity to choose what I really wanted, my dad and Late Grand Pa (who was also an Engineering Professor) choose for me to become a Psychiatric Doctor hence I have a BSc in Psychology.

I remember my dad, saying when he was in school, in an Engineering class of 50 students, they only had about 10 girls and by final year they were left with only 2 girls with the others dropping out to less technical courses. As a result, he constantly coached my brothers and I exactly same way, to be always bold, never be afraid of been the only one and never to stop pushing even when its hard. My Parents never saw my Gender as a blocker to success, so I never saw it as a problem.

I have come this far in my career and rapidly growing, is because of some great traits (Grit, Confidence and Curiosity for Knowledge) I got from my Parents and Brothers. Who would have known that I will continuously be the only Girl or Black Girl in the room?

Inspiration Behind Black Woman Paving Way

Women are one of the most innovative creatures ever but been the only Woman of color constantly in the room was confusing to me, so I decided to really understand why and how that can change, instead of constantly complaining?

Based on my research, I realized there is a huge gender gap because of some key issues: Lack of Technical skill for the future, awareness, representation, and support on all levels. So, in 2020 during Covid, I started sharing knowledge on LinkedIn, IG, Clubhouse and had some technology series on a friends YouTube Channel- “how to break into the technology” with some technical trainings.

I also mentored women for free but got overwhelming after a while and knew I couldn’t scale doing this alone so I partnered with my Grad school friends who were also passionate about increasing the percentage of women in the space. That’s how BWPW was born!

The Journey So Far

I must say it’s been nothing short of amazing but also very tasking, time and personal funds consuming but refreshing, because we have been able to train, mentor, and help over 4,000+ women transition into different paths of technology across the globe. But we are still barely scratching the surface with over 3 billion women in the world, we have a lot more to do and planned for 2023, watch the space.

My Role As A Technical Program Manager Lead At Microsoft And How My Work Experiences In Jumia And Amazon Prepared Me For This Role

As a TPM, I Lead the analytics and process automation initiative for Hyperscale Network Connectivity in Azure, my strong analytical skills and PM experience across the 2 eCommerce giants has uniquely set me apart for my current role in Cloud Networking.

Challenges In My Line Of Work

I think my challenges are similar to a lot of other women in this space, but I can say the major challenge for me as a young woman of color and an Immigrant with an accent leading technical Projects in a room filled with white male mostly twice my age, I constantly have to prove myself, which I personally do not have a problem with as I am now used to it, but it’s a challenge.

Our BWPW Free 2-Week Introduction To Data Analytics Intensive Training For Women

With the current climate of heavy layoff in the tech space and as artificial Intelligence continues to take preeminence, we want to make sure our women are constantly upskilling to become the disruptor and not the disrupted. Low skill jobs will be the easiest to automate hence they need to stay up to date on latest technology and continuously learn new skills to stay relevant.

Whether you are a business owner, a Product Manager or wanting to get into the AI Space, an in-depth data analytics knowledge is very key.

Black woman paving way

Hence BWPW is partnering with some Snr. Data Engineers at Amazon, Google, and Samsung to hold a 2- weeks Hands on free Master Class to train women in Advanced Excel, SQL, Python and Tableau. With an opportunity to solve a real-life business problem through hands on project.

Click here to register; https://mailchi.mp/0fa2c3cea99b/data-science-masterclass?fbclid=PAAaZ7Ws_MqB3fNYMsK0BlYlnnDaWuUNgBB7Z9xgPNJkwI8OUQkkRYRjPPDHs

Other Projects And Activities

We have several products in works but our most recent is:

A platform to help democratize mentorship for women of color across the globe with a launch in 5 countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Canada, and US), so we are excited for that one.

What I Enjoy Most About My Job

Critical thinking and Ability to solve problems. Every Problem to me, is an opportunity to shine and learn something new.

3 Women Who Inspire Me And Why

  • Bozoma Saint John – CMO, Netflix
  • Shelley Zalis – Founder, Female Quotient
  • Annie Jean-Baptiste – Director, Product Inclusion & Equity @ Google

These women inspire me to do more every single day. They decided not to conform to the norm, but push themselves to constantly create solid tables, instead of waiting to be invited to one, in their respective space. Their continuous way paving for women in the cooperate space is highly admirable and with them I am hopeful for a brighter future with more women in it. I believe together we can all make this change!

What We Can Do Better As A Society To Support Women Who Aspire To Go Into The Tech Industry

Support: As of today, women make up to 47% of all employed adults in the US, yet according to Computerscience.org only 18% of women earn a computer science degree. This simply means just women alone are not able to do this, we need more male support to close the gender gap.

Hire Women: Diversity breeds innovation and according to ongoing research conducted by McKinsey, it’s been discovered that diverse teams financially outperform non-diverse teams as much as 25% based on gender diversity alone. Partner with platforms like BWPW for fill those roles.

Mentor and Promote Women: Again, it’s worth going out of your way to connect with women, support your female teammates and help them climb the ladder. It’s difficult to find your footing when your peers don’t look like you or can’t relate to your challenges. Be sure to extend the same benefit of doubt you extend to men.

Encourage Women to pursue STEM: the STEM Field can appear intimidating as its heavily male dominated, so it’s important we become the bridge for young women and encourage them to pursue these field.

Support Families: about 70% of adult women will become mothers so its important for companies to provide good employee benefits to include parental-focused incentives, as having a child is a huge life changing experience.

One Thing I Wish To Change In The Tech Sector

The Technology space is constantly changing, and companies should provide room for everyone to learn and grow whether you are an intern out of school or a leader. We need to support people, so they feel empowered by technology and not frightened by it.

Being A Woman Of Rubies

Honestly been exceptional to me means caring less about perfectionism and validation from everyone but deciding to be exceptional on my own terms. Embracing my uniqueness, acknowledging my struggles, following my path, believing in myself, and ensuring I don’t lose my identity is what makes me an exceptional woman

How We Are Reflecting International Women’s Day #Embraceequity 2023 Theme In BWPW

-Leading the Black Minority Student Program (BMSD) at Microsoft: creating technical workshops to educate, close the digital divide and expose high school students to technology

– Hiring Women

– Providing Mentorship for women within the company