Interviews&profile Archives

In Interviews&profile May 21, 2018 By Women of Rubies

PROFILE| MEET PRINCESS FIFI EKANEM EJINDU, ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED ARCHITECTS IN NIGERIA

Fifi Ekanem Ejindu is a Nigerian Architect, businesswoman and philanthropist.

She is featured in the 2018 edition of the Famous African Women Architects published by People Maven.

Fifi, as she is popularly known, is one of the most celebrated Architects and businesswomen in Nigeria.

Educated at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA; Pratt Institute School of Architecture, New York, U.S.A; Queens College, Yaba, Lagos, Senior Staff Primary School, University of Ibadan, she is the Chairperson of StarCrest Group of Companies; CEO, Building Support Systems; Executive Director, Delmar Group of Companies, Principal Partner of StarCrest Associates, an Architectural Firm, 1995 till date.

Fifi worked at a private firm, Grant Associates in New York, USA. She is the first black African woman to graduate with a B. Arch from the prestigious Pratt Institute School of Architecture, New York. She holds the title of Her Highness Obonganwan King James. Recipient, African Achievers African Arts and Fashion Lifetime Achievement award, 2013.

Appearing on CNN’s African Voices in 2013, Princess Fifi has been ranked as one of the African female pioneers in the fields of Architecture and Business. She has been inducted into the Global Women Leaders Hall of Fame – African Charter, as one of Africa’s top 20 Women of Influence in 2013.

She has also received a commendation from the American state of Georgia House of Representatives for her achievements and has been awarded African Female Economic Champion 2013, She is also a winner of 2014 African Child Nobel Prize and has been named as one of the 2015 Top Twenty Inspirational Women by the African Diaspora Professional Women In Europe (ADIPWE) 2015.

Princess Fifi describes her style of architecture as Neo-traditional which she defines as “building a new project [with] new materials, but with traditional and old style details and features” and hence most of her projects, as she explains, bring back the Renaissance period.

In Interviews&profile May 19, 2018 By Women of Rubies

I AM INSPIRED BY PEOPLE WHO GENUINELY MAKE GREAT IMPACTS – TEMITOPE BALOGUN

Temitope Balogun is the founder of Temmy Balogun, an online media firm that renders content development, public relations and digital marketing services to individuals and businesses. The 24 years old graduate of mass communication from the Lagos State University was the youngest graduate in my set, currently a postgraduate student of the Herriot Watt University, UK where she is studying a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) degree

A native of Epe, Lagos state, She enjoys surfing the internet in search of Africans who are doing well in their chosen fields and also impacting the continent positively with their ideas, through her motivating Temmy Balogun Motivates 45 minutes interview, where insights, career tips and practical entrepreneurship knowledge are given by men and women of African descent who are leading lights in their fields. The initiative has in no little way helped a lot of young entrepreneurs online , especially LinkedIn users. Temmy has not only carved her niche for herself but she is gradually becoming an household name in the entrepreneurial world. In her words : “Believe, work hard, read, learn, and do not let the world or anyone define what you can and cannot do. Here is my inspiring interview with the young woman who is so confident that she will interview Oprah Winfrey one day.

My childhood didn’t prepare me for Media
Yes, it partly did. My childhood played a role in the creation of my motivational platform. I grew up listening to inspirational songs, which I still do and I find that they always seem to lift me up when I need that extra boost. Growing up, I felt I should, in my own way, help lift people, motivate them in the same manner that music and my family did and still do. I, at a point, wanted to do this through music too. I was very passionate about building my music career and started writing my own songs and got a studio in Bariga through a Facebook friend where I went to learn about songmaking after lectures. I was 17 years old at the time, I auditioned for MTN Project Fame but was scared off by Uncle Ben’s height and tough look.
As time passed, I got caught up with school work and my passion for a musical career waned though it’s still part of me. The passion to inspire still burnt bright, so I started writing and in 2015, I created the motivational platform that is now Temmy Balogun Motivates.
On the other hand, my childhood didn’t prepare me for the media career and entrepreneurship journey I embarked on. I didn’t grow up surrounded by entrepreneurs or media personnel. I owe my parents for my self-confidence though especially with my early enrollment into school which I believe helped me grow into this decisive and focused woman.

Meet Me!
My name is Temitope Balogun. I hail from and was born in Epe, Lagos Nigeria on the 17th of August 1993. I am a focused individual who believes there’s no unattainable dream as long as the dreamer is ready to make it a reality. I am a strong lover of Christ, and I try my best to live by the word of God daily. I appreciate creative, hardworking, humble, and impactful people.
In 2016, I founded Temmy Balogun, a media firm that renders content development, branding and digital marketing services to individuals and businesses. We also have a motivational platform called Temmy Balogun Motivates, where we share content geared towards driving youths and entrepreneurs in Africa to be innovative, not lose hope and become better versions of themselves.

Inspiration behind Temmy Balogun motivates
Temmy Balogun is a brand focused on adding value and impacting lives and brands positively. It was established to provide media-related and bespoke solutions to Individuals, entrepreneurs and organisations within and outside Africa.
Temmy Balogun was established as a solution to the lack of a one-stop channel for quality content development and publicity services for Africans within the continent and in diaspora, especially Nigerian independent consultants and entrepreneurs. I made this discovery during my stint as a freelance content development provider.

The creation of Temmy Balogun Motivates was driven, among other things, by a desire to correct misconceptions most Africans have about the entrepreneurship journey. It’s also to fill the motivational gap as both problems play significant roles in the fall in numbers of promising entrepreneurs as a large number of those that decided to venture into businesses give up and return to job searching.
After speaking with a few Nigerian entrepreneurs who experienced this and strategically observing online African youth communities, I discovered two major reasons for this. Firstly, many don’t get have clear picture of the journey before venturing into it. So when they face many unplanned challenges, they get demoralised and give up. For instance to be self-employed in Nigeria, in addition to all known skills, one needs a thick skin to overcome the many unique unexpected challenges that will surface while running the business. But many young entrepreneurs don’t know this, as business books don’t extensively discuss these challenges.

Secondly, most African entrepreneurs surf the internet daily but they hardly find indigenous motivational content uniquely created to keep them going while in this tough time.
I believe the misconception and lack of motivational support for African entrepreneurs needs to be eradicated, so we don’t continue losing promising entrepreneurs. Africa seriously needs more employers of labour in order to grow at a geometric pace.

I decided to solve these problems by providing insights into the entrepreneurial journey in Africa, including Nigeria on my motivational platform, Temmy Balogun Motivates. The motivational contents will hopefully enlighten and inspire youth both aspiring and existing entrepreneurs to persevere till the journey becomes fruitful.
Our Interviews are targeted at Africans living within and outside the continent.

Being of the 43 semifinalists in Sterling Bank’s Meet The Executive Series in 2016
It was a memorable one for me. I felt so happy that an idea I coined based on the problem I was facing as a full-time worker could pass through the intense screening conducted by the Bank of Industry (BoI) and still get selected. When I got the selection mail, I was dumfounded. The experience actually boosted my confidence enough to get me started my entrepreneurial journey. The two-day training we received at Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) helped shed more light on the practical side of the entrepreneurship journey, and preparedme for the journey ahead.

Challenges
There were quite a number of challenges when I started my brand fully in 2016. Though they have reduced now, I will touch on few. The first issue I had was the paucity of funds. There wasn’t adequate funds to set up as a startup, and I had to rely heavily on my knowledge of operating a lean model. At the time, we had no physical address and had to wait till this year before getting an office space and studio in Ikeja, Lagos state. Output was adversely affected during this period but we beat the odds.
Then, as a media firm in the online space , we need to get our content out there more, but Nigerian banks wouldn’t allow us use our Naira card for promotions, except we open as dollar account which has vigorous process . So after going through the stress of production, we can not promote the content as much as we desire as we run on a lean budget.
But I count these challenges as part of a phase we have to pass through as a growing firm.

New project coming up
I have few ideas which are going to be in the tech space. One of them, which I hold dear to my heart, will be my next baby when I am done putting Temmy Balogun on its two feet. I also have bigger plans for Temmy Balogun Motivates, as I want to impact more lives and brand positively. So I and my team are working on innovative motivational concepts.

Greatest Reward
Positive feedbacks from clients I work for, people whose stories I tell and the audience who read our content are my greatest rewards so far. Youths and entrepreneurs following my platform frequently talk about how we inspire them to continue working on their dreams. All these are priceless to me because my brand is out to impact lives and brands positively.

My brand in the next five years
I am on a mission to build a globally-recognised brand that in five years would be known for the provision of bespoke content development, branding and digital marketing services as well as production and sharing of impactful content in Africa.

Giving up
Yes, there were times I felt like giving up but the thought of not posting in a day, not conducting interviews to inspire more people, and not rendering services that I have the skillsets for does not sit well with me.

Who and what inspire me
I am inspired by people who genuinely make great impacts in their field against all odds. I am inspired by the works of Chimamanda Adichie, Mo Abudu, Tunde Kelani, Kunle Afolayan, and Oprah Winfrey. Their works speak creativity, originality and add value.
I am also driven to do better on my platform because I understand that values placed on hard work and creativity in this part of world has deteriorated, but I still want to see youths who are interested in giving their best in Africa, so my platform has to grow to the extent that when they are celebrated on it, the world will become aware of them.

Being a woman of rubies
Have been faced with situations that should have driven me back to paid jobs which I get offers for frequently, but with my focused, determined and relentless spirit, I chose to stick to my entrepreneurship journey as it is where I believe I can make the most impact.
Final words of advice for women all over the world
If you truly believe in your ability that you can get something massive done, you will. Remain focused, be your number one cheerleader and let no one define what you can and cannot achieve.

Reaching me
You can get through to me by sending a message to baloguntemitope60@gmail for your content writing, branding and digital marketing services. You can also reach out to me if you want to be on our interview series on Temmy Balogun Motivates.
To keep up with my motivational contents, visit www.temmybalogun.com daily and follow me on:
IG: @temmytadabalogun; @temmybalogunmotivates
Twitter: @temmytadabalo
Facebook: Temmy Balogun’s Platform
LinkedIn: Temmy BalogunMBA (HRM)

In Interviews&profile May 18, 2018 By Women of Rubies

#PROFILE: MEET PRINCESS ADEYINKA TEKENAH, FOUNDER OF “HAPPY COFFEE”

Adeyinka Tekenah is the founder of one of Nigeria’s premier indigenous coffee franchises: Happy Coffee, and a recipient of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs Foundation award.

Adeyinka is a Bachelor of Arts graduate with high honors from the prestigious Harold Washington University, Chicago. She also went ahead to acquire a Business Management degree from the University of Phoenix.

Her career has traversed government, charity and business development. A life member of the Phi Theta Kappa honours roll call and Dean list, she serves as an advisory member of “Apple of All Nations Nigeria and UK” (a charity for the needy and fatherless).

She is currently the Business Designer for Ochaoptasia Limited and Lead Consultant for Reywal Ventures. Adeyinka previously served as a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on CSR, PPP and MDG to the Amuwo Odofin LG Chairman.

She’s passionate about business designs and advancement leading to sustainable growth and development for African women.

In Interviews&profile May 17, 2018 By Women of Rubies

MEET THE 9-YEAR-OLD WHO WAS BORN WITHOUT HANDS, DOESN’T USE PROSTHETIC HANDS, AND YET WINS NATIONAL HANDWRITING CONTEST

9-year-old Anaya Ellick was born without hands and doesn’t use prosthetic hands but has been honoured with a prestigious award for her skillful handwriting.

A third-grader in Chesapeake area of Virginia, United States, she won the 2018 Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest, under the Nicholas Maxim category, an award that rewards outstanding manuscript and cursive skills among students.

In 2016, Anaya won an award for her print writing.

Growing up, her mother helped her form letters, but she soon learnt how to hold a pencil between her two arms to write and draw.

Although quiet and shy, Anaya always tried out things and believed she could do it.

“She’s really independent – from tying shoes, putting clothes, getting baths. It was always like ‘I can do it’. So, that just carried on over the years,” her father told News 3

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

PROFILE: MEET JULIET EHIMUAN, GOOGLE’S COUNTRY MANAGER FOR NIGERIA

Juliet Ehimuan is a Nigerian technology expert and entrepreneur who currently serves as Google’s Country Manager in Nigeria. In August 2011, she was listed in Forbes’ “20 Youngest Power Women In Africa”.

Juliet was born in Nigeria. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife with a first-class honours. She proceeded to obtain a postgraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom before she went on to complete her MBA programme from London Business School.

In 1995, Ehimuan began career as Performance Monitoring and Quality Assurance Supervisor at the Shell Petroleum Development Company until 1997 when she left the firm. She then joined Microsoft UK as a Program Manager who oversaw projects for MSN subsidiaries in Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and then Business Process Manager for MSN International.

Upon leaving Microsoft in 2005, she started a firm called Strategic Insight Consulting Ltd. and then later became the General Manager of Chams Plc’s Strategic Business Units. In April 2011, she was appointed Google’s Country Manager for Nigeria.

Ehimuan has won several awards and recognitions. She is a recipient of the London Business School Global Women’s Scholarship, and while at the University of Cambridge, she received two scholarly awards – Selwyn College Scholar and Malaysian Commonwealth Scholar. In 2012, she won the “IT Personality of the Year” at the 2012 National Information Technology Merit Award.

In Interviews&profile May 12, 2018 By Women of Rubies

“DON’T WAT TILL YOU HAVE A MENTAL BREAKDOWN BEFORE YOU SEEK HELP” – HAUWA OJEIFO

Hauwa Ojeifo is a certified Life, Mind and Mental health coach, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming practitioner – helping individuals, groups and organisations maximise their potential and performance by cultivating the right thoughts, values, beliefs, emotions and behaviour. She is the Founder and current Executive Director at She Writes Woman – an award winning movement of love, hope and support for women living with mental disorders in Nigeria. She is giving mental illness a voice; taking back the existing misinformed narrative and normalising the mental health conversation in Nigeria.
Hauwa holds an MSc in Investment Banking & Islamic Finance from Henley Business School, University of Reading, England and has a career that spans 6 industries including health, finance, fashion, event planning, retail services and digital marketing.
She is the only Nigerian female recipient of the Queen’s Young Leaders award 2018 by the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and voted as of the most influential young Nigerians in 2017. The beautiful mental health coach bares it all in this inspiring interview.

Childhood Influence
I believe my childhood was very instrumental to what I have become. From a very young age, I was taught to value excellence. Resilience was also big for me whilst growing up. It’s no wonder that though I was very unaware of what those teachings would do for me, they have been key to who I’ve become and what I do

Meet Me!
I am the last of four children. I’m from Ewu-Ishan, Edo state and I’m a Muslim. I graduated top of my class with a BSc (Hons.) Business Administration (specifics in International Business) from Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun state. I went on to obtain a Masters degree in Investment Banking and Islamic Finance from the prestigious ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK and INCEIF Malaysia. I have worked across 6 industries – fashion, finance, health, event planning, digital marketing and retail services – and own and co-owned 4 businesses in the last 10 years.

Venture into the mental health industry
I got diagnosed with bipolar II and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in December of 2015 and it completely changed my life. From delusions to suicidal thoughts, to feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness to paranoia ad mild psychosis, I experienced a great deal of the spectrum of mental illness including issues with medications and therapy. What was most profound to me in my journey to recovery was the fact that complete healing didn’t lie in any 1 thing. It had to be a holistic approach. I didn’t set out to become a mental health coach, it happened to me.
When I started She Writes Woman in April 2016, it was purely to serve as an outlet for me and to somehow see if there was anyone who could relate to what I was saying. Today, She Writes Woman has impacted over 7000 Nigerian women directly and over 15,000 women globally indirectly. We run a mental health helpline, monthly support groups, quarterly outreach to psychiatric patients, social media live streams, a creative gift and souvenir store as well as the mind and mental health coaching practice. We have presence in 6 states and counting.
I now talk about my mental illness – diagnoses that are theoretically speaking, incurable – in the past tense because I haven’t had any of my symptoms in over a year. People often ask me how I did it and why their recovery is much more lengthy and cumbersome than mine seemingly was, the answer for me is in how holistic the approach is.
I learnt and got certified in coaching and therapy. I also consult and train individuals and organisations in mental wellness. This is largely because this offers me the opportunity to proffer an integrative and holistic approach to mental wellness. Many people are in an extended state of mental, emotional and behavioural dysfunction because they don’t have a 3D approach to mental wellness. As a mind and mental health coach, I can give you that.

The journey so far
It has been fantastic. People have been overwhelmingly receptive towards the work we do. I often say that considering how quiet the mental health space was prior to when we came in compared to now, I believe lots of Nigerian women were waiting for someone to speak up and echo their silent whispers. When I began to drop bits and pieces of my story, I got a lot of “me too”s in DMs and emails. People make anonymous donations and seek partnerships with us. It was beyond having a medical practitioner talk about mental health, people need to see faces behind the stats and someone to take the lead, and that’s what we did and continue to do.

Being the only Nigerian female recipient of the Queen’s young leaders award
It’s very humbling to be selected as the only Nigerian female recipient of the Queen’s Young Leaders Award 2018 by the Royal Commonwealth Society, Comic Relief and The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. I feel validated for the work I do in the mental health space in Nigeria and to think that Her Majesty has seen that is such an honour. Mental health is so important and this exposure and visibility gives me even more credibility and a much bigger platform to keep doing the good work. I can’t wait to meet the other QYLs across the commonwealth and collectively learn, network and get mentored to create even more impact.

Greatest reward
Hmmm…this one’s tricky. I’ve gotten quite a number of prestigious awards and recognition over time which I’m truly grateful for. These are fantastic. What I’ll say are the greatest rewards are the testimonials of people across Nigeria who send in mails and text messages telling me that I saved them from taking their lives or that my story inspired them to speak up and seek help. This is my greatest reward; being the instrument of another person giving life another shot, and not only overcoming their present state but living out their fullest purpose and potential. It reinforces to me that there is truly purpose in pain and as the Qur’an says,’…with every hardship there is ease’. It further tells me that really and truly when a woman decides to unapologetically speak her truth, she gives other women the permission to do same. What’s even most profound is that IF I didn’t step into who I was meant and destined to be, the lives of the people who were tied to that single decision could’ve been lost.

Never giving up
There was never such a time I felt like giving up. That’s not an indication there weren’t challenges, but it just never occurred to me or crossed my mind that giving up was an option to consider. I take what I do very seriously. It’s my God-given purpose.

Who and what inspire me to be better
People often say that I’m “deep”. LOL. I guess that’s largely because I draw inspiration from big and seemingly mundane things and experiences. I must say also, that I’m highly self-motivated even though I understand the impact many spiritual teachers, thought leaders and social entrepreneurs across the world have had on me. I find the life and times of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and his companions very profound and highly inspiring. Allah says in the Qur’an (3:110) that “You are the best of nations to be created (as an example) for all of mankind…” I take that very seriously. Excellence is my DNA.

My other projects
At She Writes Woman, we initiated the first-ever privately held 24/7 mental health helpline in Nigeria. It’s a first point of call for mental health first aid, information, finding mental health care around you, caring for a loved one living with mental health challenges, information about healing and recovery, referrals to mental health professionals etc. With the helpline, we have also successfully managed crisis situations like suicide in over 26 women till date.

Our monthly mental health support group – Safe Place – is a confidential and anonymous group that meets to release, be vulnerable and have honest conversations. It’s a healthy mix of professionals, enthusiasts, advocates, victims, survivors and carers.

Hope Visits is our initiative that seeks to reach and empower the most vulnerable people within the mental health ecosystem in Nigeria. By visiting neuro-psychiatric hospitals across Nigeria, we carry the message of Hope for a life beyond the mental health facility. We provide clothing, toiletries, provisions and render skill acquisition programs to empower them socially, financially and economically.

Is the Government doing enough in mental health advocacy and are Nigerians well informed?
The short answer is NO and NO. The longer answer is that though the tides are shifting, majority of Nigerians are either uninformed about mental health or ill-informed about mental health. In the area of advocacy, we’ve honestly barely scratched the surface. Our work is very much cut out for us and collectively, we must amplify our voices so as to cause ripple effects and echoes across the country.

The government can do so much more in supporting, promoting and providing mental health solutions.But here’s the thing, we can’t honestly say that Nigerians generally are ill-informed and somehow expect that our lawmakers are better informed. Stigma and prejudice is no respecters of social class, religious or cultural orientation, gender or position held in society. The very people who occupy positions in government are also a product of generations of misinformed narratives about mental health. Mental health problems – be it structural or social – are a Nigerian problem, not a government problem. The more we advocate and educate about mental health and the true narrative, the more we cause Nigerians (be it government or otherwise) to unlearn the prejudice and biases they hold toward the space. This in turn will lead to better informed decisions (politically as well) and urgency in mental health care in Nigeria.

Being a woman of Rubies
Rubies are exceptionally durable, they command the highest prices for any coloured gemstone and break records at auctions. Yet they have imperfections in them including colour impurities and inclusions of needles. These qualities of rubies are exactly what I see in myself.

People using bitterness and toxic behavior to cover up depression on social media
Hurting people hurt people. And there’s a difference between giving help and receiving help. If help is given to someone who doesn’t want help, they won’t receive the help even though they go ahead to see a therapist or even start taking medications. Let’s also not forget that there’s flat out bad behaviour and there’s mental illness. If we are seeing a spike of bitterness and toxic behaviour on social media, it just means that we too need to amplify our voices of love, hope and support on social media. All they need to know is that there’s a Safe Place. Love is the answer.

Women dealing with mental health issues but in denial
Don’t wait till you have a mental breakdown before you seek help. If you’re wondering whether or not you should seek help for something, that’s exactly the right time to seek help. If you’re worried about being judged by family or friends, come to She Writes Woman Safe Place support group (www.shewriteswoman.org/safeplace). If you’ll like to make sense of what’s in your mind, please call or whatsapp our helpline on 0817 491 3329. The same way that seeking help when you have malaria seems like a no-brainier, is exactly how it is with mental health. There’s help all around you. You just have to want it. There’s help, there’s hope and you’re definitely not alone. Our social media pages @SheWritesWoman are very good companions too.

In Interviews&profile April 28, 2018 By Women of Rubies

“NO HUMAN VENTURE EXISTS WITHOUT CHALLENGES” – UTIBE AKWA

Utibe Akwa is a young graduate who took a different path from the bandwagon syndrome of Labour Market Dependency (LMD) and has proven that it pays off to sometimes be your own boss, the native of Ibiono Ibom LGA and a Post Graduate Student of Economics in the University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom state began her journey into the entrepreneurial world few years ago as an undergraduate, with the production of widely-used house care products, body care products, hair care product and insecticide.
Like a butterfly stuck in a chrysalis, waiting for the perfect moment, she was waiting for the day she could burst forth and fly away and perch on the basement of fame, that moment came when her story went viral on Facebook few weeks ago when she officially launched her “Unique Milky Custard” brand, the first of its kind in the history of Akwa Ibom State.
The young entrepreneur and business woman who is into production of over 30 cosmetology products shares her inspiring story with me in this interview.

Growing up
My childhood prepared me for this. The orientation I received while growing up culminated to making and shaping me into who I am today. In this respect, I may say education plays a very minimal role. This is so because education never made me this self-reliant, but the orientation I had gotten.
As far back as my primary school, I had always wanted to be an entrepreneurial mogul. I had flare for innovations and had envied some entrepreneurial kingpins like Dangote. It was here I nurtured my thought for self-dependency.

Meet Me!
Utibe Akwa is a persistent, committed, goal-oriented fellow who executes and impacts knowledge with passion. She has HND in Business Administration and Management from Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic with an award as the best graduating student in Nov 2015. She is currently undertaking her Post Graduate(PGD) studies in Economics with The University of Uyo, Uyo. She is a Certified NIM, CPM,and undergoing ICAN program. Utibe is the youngest street Entrepreneur, a CEO of Utytrends Nig, who is into production of over 35 cosmetology products and the newly launched product “Unique milky Custard”. She teaches and offers training across the 31 LGA in Akwa Ibom state, with over 200 participants in each LGA. She is an educator, a street Entrepreneur and an Innovator.

Starting my entrepreneurial journey as a student
The yardstick is simple, and that has to do with my take-off age. It’s on record that my entrepreneurial strides began at an age as green as 13, with bead making, way back in my village, Ibiono Ibom LGA.
I had long ago started as a teenager and, and this was the yardstick for the tag “Youngest entrepreneur” and I took the giant stride into the university as well.

Being the young manufacturer of a custard brand
Unique milky Custard is my newly launched product, a Custard powder that is rich in formula (milk+sugar+salt) rich in vitamin, rich in protein. I launched this product on the 30th of March2018.
I was inspired to do this when I discovered the Gap in Custard consumption. I felt a need to address the issues and stress of buying milk and sugar after making Custard. I had to create something new, by adding these ingredients to my custard production to make it different from ordinary custard in the market. The drive behind this was to fill in the Gap.

Challenges
No human venture exists without challenges. Mine is not exceptional.
One of such challenges I have faced overtime in the course of this business is finance. As the demand for this product is getting high everyday and so many super markets and shops have been demanding for my products, I am limited as I am yet to be certified with NAFDAC and SON and other relevant agencies. Another challenge is lack of machinery, getting machines for my productions as to produce in larger quantity as well as ameliorating the stress of producing it manually.

Other Projects and Activities
Aside production of unique milky custard, am also into other prospects including trainings, organizing Entrepreneurial seminars, and production of cosmetology products

Greatest Reward
The greatest reward Is that I have been able to touch lives, reaching the apex of my passion, able to affect the society in a very special way, be an inspiration to Nigeria youths and feel so fulfilled by motivating and encouraging the youths to right against dependency syndrome after graduation. My Reward also lies when I turn back to see that I have been able to trained and raised manufacturers in over 35 cosmetics products.

Giving up
Yes, I nearly gave up November 2017 when I first introduced my products to the market. At this time, all colleagues of mine and friends turned to ridicule me that as the best Graduating students, I should be working in a financial institution and/or any of the multinationals, rather than producing liquid soap.
But giving up isn’t and has never been an option for me. So I poached on with the faith that my desire flies to enviable heights. Today I am there! I don’t allow myself to be worked up nor discourage, but press towards the mark .

Where I see my brand in the next next 5 years
Five years is even too much. In the next few years I see my brand to be among the best 3 producing firms in Nigeria and beyond with good equipments and qualified staff, with branches across different states in Nigeria. My Brand will be known at national and international Level.

Who and what Inspire me
My source and all strength come from the Lord our creator, the comments, encouragements and reactions of people inspire me most. My mum serves as an inspiration to me. Mostly, my unborn children and my would-be husband are my inspiration – l would always want them proud of me.

Being a Woman of Rubies
I am a woman of Rubies because I act and serve as an inspiration to many. I add value to my family, my community, my state, my nation as a whole.I kick against the syndrome of depending on government, parents and guidance for job, but I have risen to the faith of my greatness knowing very well that once the passion is right everything is possible.

Final word for young female entrepreneur

1.Determination (2) consistency and (3) Persistence. It is one thing to embark on a prospect, it’s another to remain on top gear of the prospect. That said, one would realise that the business environment in our contemporary society is thorny, unfriendly, competitive and challenging; thus, it takes only resilience, persistence and passion to sustain and thrive up to one’s aspirational levels.

Message for women all over the world
Believe and unlock the strength of a woman that lurks inside of them. Women are great creatures laced with mystifying but unfathomable strength. When tapped, this strength can change their fates and fortunes for good and dazzles the world. They should, by all means, be self-dependent and self-reliant, by creating their desired world with the strength of their God-given potential. They should do well to inculcate good virtues on their kids, which would further affect the succeeding generation.

In Interviews&profile April 27, 2018 By Women of Rubies

MEET THE 27-YEAR-OLD WOMAN FIGHTING AGAINST FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION IN KENYA

When Nice Nailantei Leng’ete was eight years old, she and her sister ran away from home at 4 AM and hid in a tree to escape ritualised female genital mutilation. She and her sister received lots of punishment and beatings for trying to avoid the ritual. Eventually, her sister gave up and got the cut – for Nice to escape it. The next day she went to her grandfather, a Maasai elder, and convinced him that the cut was not a necessity. He listened, and allowed Nice to continue going to school.

(Photo: TedxAmsterdamWomen/YouTube)

Nice Nailantei Leng’ete then decided that it was not enough to just save herself, she had to fight for others too. She fought to get an education so that she could help change the socio-cultural structures that continue to effectively oppress women and female well-being.

At 27, she started working to negotiate with elders in villages and rural communities across Kenya to convince them that alternative coming-of-age ceremonies will be healthier for girls and better for communities, and her work as a project officer with Amref Health Africa has saved an estimated 15,000 girls in Kenya and Tanzania from the cut, as well as from child marriage.

She is on 2018 TIME 100 list of the World’s Most Influential People

Nice is the only Kenyan to be named in the list.

Culled from konbini.com

In Interviews&profile April 23, 2018 By Women of Rubies

MEET STACEY NARIS, THE FIRST FEMALE TO BE NOMINATED FOR FIFPRO AFRICA’S BOARD

Stacey Naris has been nominated for a position on the board of the International Federation of Professional Footballers(FIFPro) Africa Division – and she is the first woman to be nominated for that position.

Naris is the captain of Namibia’s national women’s team. In addition to playing in the field, she’s a staff member of the Namibian Football Players Union (NAFPU) where she’s been working to promote the welfare of female footballers since 2015. With this nomination, she’ll also be joining FIFPro’s Women’s Football Task Force.

Responding to her appointment, the 27-year-old is quoted by Namibia Daily News as saying:

“Part of the goals I would like to achieve while at the FIFPro Africa Division Board is to see Namibian women’s football start a professional women’s league which will really help improve our senior national women’s football team.”

Her nomination is yet to be approved by FIFPro Africa’s general assembly which will meet in Zimbabwe on May 30 and 31. According to Stephane Burchkalter, Secretary General of FIFPro Africa, there’s “no doubt the appointment will be approved”.

(Photo: The Namibian)

Source: konbini.com

In Interviews&profile April 21, 2018 By Women of Rubies

“BE PROUD OF YOUR LEGITIMATE HUSTLE” – OMOBOLANLE ADENLE

Omobolanle Adenle is rising from the ashes of adversity and inspiring others to do so through her story. Her dream is to become a fashion mogul and one of the biggest online retail fashion stores. At a point in her life, completing her education became a huge task as she had to hawk and also learn hair-making and bead making at age 10. The beautiful graduate of Linguistics and African Languages from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife Osun state Nigeria wear several caps as a fashionpreneur, business consultant, writer, author, digital marketer and an on air personality. While talking about online retail fashion business , Bola had this to say “Don’t deceive anybody with what you don’t have, sell exactly what you display.She shares the story of her rise from the ashes to glory in this interview .

Growing up
I grew up in the family of five, the last born of 3 children. I spent my childhood days in my parent’s salon, laundry, and video club, my mum has always been a serial entrepreneur, she forced us all to learn one trade or the other while growing up. I have always loved working with my hands as a kid. I remember stitching clothes together with needle and thread for baby dolls as a kid. I started making hair in my mum’s salon at age 10. I also learnt bead making and how to tie gele. I remember hosting a free fashion parade show as a 7 – 8year old primary school student after school daily, I’ll catwalk for an awaiting crowd in Mama Ede’s shop opposite our school gate after which I’ll be rewarded with lots of “baba dudu” sweet. Fashion has always been my passion.

Inspiration behind Bola Fashion Empire
Bola Fashion Empire emerged from my observation across Africa, I noticed certification in hand work has not been able to match up with certification in Formal Education like law, medicine, accounting etc. Many kids that are gifted in handwork like shoe making, bag making, hair stylist e.t.c seek to find expression with their God given talent but they are restricted to study fancy formal education to be relevant in the society. The funniest part is that most of us end up wasting 4years in University to be certified formally before pursuing our main vision because of the world standard of relevance. Bola Fashion Empire aims to create a fashion school with international certification that is of equal relevance with BSC in Medicine or any formal course. I hope to have a fashion university where secondary school graduates are enrolled in different departments such as Tailoring Department, Shoe Making Department, Beaders Department, Hairstyling Department, e.t.c, the best hands in different field from all nations in the world will be employed to teach them and they will graduate after 4 years and be internationally certified to work anywhere in the world. I hope to create a fashion empire where goods and services will be produced and sold at the cheapest factory rate and new fashionpreneur can emerge with little and big start up capital and make much more from their sales.

How hawking at different point shaped my life
It sharpened me to be fearless in life and be my own motivation.Nothing in life seems to move me much because of the capacity I have built in my entrepreneurial journey so far. My hate for lack and poverty is so strong and I dream big beyond my present circumstances per time with strong confidence to scale through any situation any circumstances that comes my way per time. My dreams become bigger as I scale through different phases and I’m just stepping up my game at the moment, because there’s so much ahead to do but I believe that with God all things are possible for me.

Who inspires me
My mum inspires me a lot, she taught me how to derive my first Inspiration from God’s word then other people can come to play. John Obidi also inspires me a lot to unleash the greatness in me, Strive Masiyiwa is one of the people I derive Inspiration from as an entrepreneur and in the fashion world I’m inspired by the likes of Tara Durotoye, mizwenneka the hair boss, C.E.O lumineeiofficial the award winning fashion designer inspires me with her creative works, Laura Ikeji of The Gang and Toyin Lawani of Tianahs empire inspire me a great deal.

Greatest Reward
The greatest reward so far is the privilege to be live on air on the fifth episode of Olajumoke Sauce vlog with olajumoke the bread seller turned star to share my story and inspire my world with my story so far. It’s a privilege to share my journey thus far and give hope to the little girl and boy with big dreams but are ready to give up based on challenges of life. It’s a privilege to be able to tell my fellow women how to survive through hard work without having to trade our body for cash to men and it’s a privilege to be opportuned to tell the world about what I do without having to pay for it.
I believe greater rewards are coming as I remain diligent with the works of my hands. I’m still looking up to God for the kind of reward I really desire and I believe it will come soonest by his grace.

Challenges
I have challenges with raising funds to run and sustain my business but all the same, I started with what I have and I’m still working really hard to build my dream. I have to keep re-strategizing on increasing my profit base per time which entails incorporating several works all together and juggling all together.
Another challenge I face as an entrepreneur with an online store is having to convince people to buy from my store without considering my store as a fraud based on previous experiences which is why I’m working on having my standard offline store soonest.

Perception of women in your industry
Women in fashion and in the business world generally rarely support each other if cash is not involved. They all want to leverage on celebrity and no one really want to support a startup entrepreneur except theirs a ransom to gain in view. Every woman in fashion business has a dream to increase in influence than her other counterpart which is the sole reason why support in such industry is very rare to find. But if you can manage to raise yourself to stardom, support will come from all angles when you are a star already and you are good at what you do. Few women in the industry are still supportive and empowering upcoming ones in their little way.

Other project and activities
As a fresh graduate of Linguistics and African languages, I’m presently a linguist, a writer and I write articles, stories and create contents for blogs, magazine and I do many copyright works at the moment. With my good communication skill in Yoruba and English language, I’m hoping to collaborate with people as an on air personality soonest. I just created a blog on Instagram @street2stardom, a blog that is set up to enhance our everyday men and women share their legitimate hustle and inspire our world to greatness, successful men and women who have survived in their entrepreneurial journey from the street to stardom will be featured to inspire those on their way to stardom by sharing their success tip with the world.

Giving up
As an entrepreneur with no help from anyone and singlehandedly handling many projects all together, I really feel like giving up many times when I was restricted by cash to pursue many of my projects and the thought of taking the easy route by collecting money from men to sustain crept up in my mind at the early stage of my entrepreneurial journey but God has indeed being faithful all the way which has kept me going to depend exclusively on him all the way and my mum never stop praying and encouraging me. Giving up is totally out of my view now but crushing obstacles and breaking all barrier is all that I have in view at the moment. I have this assurance that with God all things are indeed possible.

Being a Woman of Rubies
I believe my determination, doggedness and focus to be my own motivation and get things done and survive in harsh circumstances through my godly legitimate hustle makes me a woman of rubies. Not taking the easy route to success through dubious ungodly act makes me a woman of rubies
My diligence with the work my hands find doing per time makes me a woman of rubies.
For choosing to be self dependent instead of blaming Nigerian government, family, friends etc for not supporting me and working with my hands instead makes me a woman of rubies. My passion to make a difference and inspire my world to greatness and also empower my fellow human makes me a woman of rubies.

Final word for women who are thinking of going into online fashion business, especially with the high rate of people complaining of being duped by online retailers?
Be versatile and open to information to grow your business per time and leverage more on every opportunity to showcase what you sell. Be proud of your legitimate, your helper might just be behind you. Technology has really advanced, you don’t need a physical shop to start selling anything for a start, of course there will be need for a physical shop on the long run but for a start get your goods readily available first and start selling in your house, room, hostel etc, take good pictures of what you have for sale and post it online, build awareness online and you will be surprised you will go global fast if you engage the power of ecommerce and social media. Most importantly, don’t deceive anybody with what you don’t have, sell exactly what you display. You can only stand the test of time online if you are credible with little dealings then people can entrust you with big deals from home and abroad.
For those that desire to go into online fashion business I’ll strongly advice that you have at least one offline visibility means for your product and services.
It is very true that people have been duped several times online and it takes greater grace to sell a pin online therefore I’ll advice anyone that want to start his/her online fashion store to prepare for that and have at least one visibility medium. With persistence and good service you will build a customer base that will expand as time goes on through referrals and good digital marketing strategy.

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