Janey Buzugbe

In Inspiration July 27, 2023 By Esther Ijewere

I Started Immiducation To Give Immigrant Professionals Access To Careers In Tech- Janey Buzugbe

When I saw Janey Buzugbe at the Elevate Festival in Toronto a few weeks ago, speaking passionately about Intersectionality and diversity, and how she’s been able to navigate the tech sector as a black woman in Canada, I knew I had to share her story to inspire other women.

Janey Buzugbe is an energetic entrepreneur and tech partnerships leader who believes in living life by giving; what she has to give is humanity at the intersection of business and technology, and she is doing so significantly. She heads the Black Innovation Programs and Partnerships at the DMZ – the #1 University based Incubator – providing leadership and support to 400+ Founders across 5 programs with resources and access to 30+ partners to support their Startup growth.

She is the founder of Immiducation, a community-first Startup that supports over 17000+ immigrant professionals with career-readiness skills, a career network, and access to careers in Tech. Over the past decade, her tech career has spanned the corporate, non-profit, and Startup worlds in digital marketing, program and product management, recruitment, and Tech partnerships.

The amazing entrepreneur holds an undergraduate degree in Information Technology, postgraduate certificates in Media and Account Management, and a Master’s in Management Innovation. She is also the host of JaneyofCanada; a YouTube channel providing career and settlement advice for immigrants.

Janey Buzugbe shares her inspiring journey with Esther Ijewere in this Interview.

Childhood Influence

I grew up the first daughter of a military father and a very ambitious and entrepreneurial mother. Growing up watching my mom working on several businesses in addition to a not-for-profit as well as growing her career in public service, I thought for sure I did not want to be her. Never thinking that this entrepreneurial spirit was already coded in my DNA.

Moreover, specifically, my career in Tech Partnerships and people-facing roles definitely is aligned with how I grew up, pretty much being the family organizer and manager; going to an all-girls’ high school where the foundation for the confidence I have was honed; playing sports to competitive levels; as well as being the youngest in my class, yet course leader for 5 years all through my Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology. So, I am no stranger to leadership and being in male-dominated spaces. So, yes, my upbringing prepared me for life as a social entrepreneur and a leader in Tech

Inspiration behind Immiducation

When I moved to Canada in 2015 as an international student, I found that as a Newcomer, even with some guidance from family, I was making some mistakes and missing out on real opportunities that translated to money or career growth in Canada. So, at first, I started a YouTube channel, JaneyofCanada (Janey Buz), to share my learnings. For Example, my video “Top 10 things everyone coming to Canada should know” now has over 150k+ views. As this channel and my career grew, I would get inquiries to speak on how I grew my career to leadership in such a short time and on the channel, I would get inquiries about certain professions and regions in Canada I could not speak to as those were not my firsthand experiences.

After coaching more than a few people, I realized the challenge of underemployment – not getting work in your field of training and/or earning way less than the average Canadian – was a pervasive problem. I heard it very clearly in 2021 to build a community of like-minded professionals to support each other and bring forward-thinking employers to the community to engage and hire from.

Truth is, you become what you see, so we created a space for high-achieving newcomer professionals to see what they could become and access support in becoming that.

How My Involvement In settlement Of Newcomers, Black Innovation Programs And Partnerships Impacted Me As A Black Woman

This is an interesting question. At first, I did not identify as a Black Woman. Coming from Nigeria, I believed the term ‘Black Person’ referred to melanin-blessed folks who were born and/or raised in North America. You see, I was just a Nigerian woman. The thing about labels and identity is, sometimes it doesn’t matter what you see yourself as if other people see you differently. I quickly realized that everyone saw me as Black and so I began to learn about my new identity.

As I learned, I experienced the diversity of different Black people, then I also realized my privilege of being a debt-free, well-educated, family-oriented African woman. I realized that these privileges and others are not available to every Black person but also, even with the privilege, the playing field is not leveled for us. Then, I made the decision to put my energy and passion into being a champion for the under-represented, whom I prefer to refer to as ‘Underestimated”. This has impacted the way I see myself and the world around me. That there is power and strength when the world does not see you coming!

My Passion For Issues Centered Around Intersectionality, Diversity And Inclusion

My passion for the cause stemmed from my experiences as an underrepresented, (underestimated) Newcomer, African Woman. I want people to stop and think when they say things like “Your English is so good” or assuming because I am Black, I can rap, twerk or I do not have a dad in the picture.

This way, they are assuming something (often negative) of a person because of how they look. Instead, they could be curious without demeaning a person. That initial statement could sound somewhat like this “Is English the main language where you are from”? This turns an assumptive statement into an open curious conversation and makes the person on the receiving end feel included.

Challenges

To shed some more light, in Canada, as I have now grown to Leadership, I have experienced what is colloquially known as “performative or optical allyship” where people want to come of as forward-thinking, so they want to have a Black women leader as part of their organization or project; to nail the diversity picture but they often miss the mark on Inclusion and belonging; where your ideas, thoughts and culture are not welcomed or celebrated.

The Audience Reception And Lessons From My Panel Session At The Elevate festival

I learned that the sky is the stepping stone for us women. I learned that we often, especially as women, buy into some negative assumptions that keep us stagnant. For me, being in the innovation space and even part of a selection committee for a Venture Capital firm, I believed being a solo founder is a deterrent in getting funding from external investors but here I was sitting next to a solo founder who had raised some good money from Investors.

So now with every deterring thought, I try to counter it by asking myself, “ Janey, who told you that this is true?” and “is it absolutely true for everyone?” . I also learnt that my story is important – to continue to share with boldness and humility. People need to see what they can become or at least validate that they are not alone.

Thoughts On The Profiling Of Black Women, And How They Can Be Supported

Yes, Black women are underrepresented, and we face the double-bias of being Black and Woman. However, we are still a force to be reckoned with – we are just underestimated. To Black women, find yourself a support community that will build you, you can learn from and help you on the days you feel low.

This is very important! Not sure where to start, check out Immiducation. And to allies, try to move from being passive to active, reach out of your comfort zone to communities you don’t usually find yourself. You support one Black woman, you support a whole generation – this is more than being an Ally, this is being a Champion.

How I Am Using My Organization To Create Room For Black Women In The Tech Sector

For me, it is important to create opportunities that I wish I had and I want to see for myself. So firstly, 90% of my team at Immiducation are exceptional Black women whom I am eternally grateful for. When we have our monthly coffee chat with industry experts, I aim to have Black Women or other people of colour because I believe you become what you see. We plan on launching a mentorship group in the near future solo for Black women

Why I Started My Youtube Channel; Janeyof Canada

I had my YouTube Channel in my head for many years before I created it – a lot of people had told me my energy was very good for the media. However, it took me a while to start because I needed to figure out what type of content would truly be helpful for my audience while not being something I would get bored of. So after a few tries, I landed on content to support other career-minded newcomers.

This was how Janey Buz (JaneyofCanada) was born in 2016. So as I progressed in my journey through 3 Study Permit applications, 1 Work Permit application, 1 permanent Resident application and 1 Citizenship application; all of which I did myself, I wanted to share with others my immigration and career journey. Now, the channel community has grown to over 18,000 with about 1 million views.

Most impactful, is the 100s of emails from grateful people who share that through my videos, they have landed in Canada in either their dream school or as a permanent resident and didn’t have to spend money using agents or consultants. I am on a mission to democratize immigrant success for my generation and beyond.

3 Women Who Inspire Me And Why

My mother – Janey Buzugbe (Snr); She taught me many things I know about being a strong, Christ-loving, entrepreneurial and career-oriented woman with a personality that lights up a room while putting the people in her life, her family as priority

Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson – My mentor; she taught me that I matter, her energy is through the proverbial roof; something I thought I needed to shrink about myself. She’s taught me that this energy is exactly what the world needs!

Beyoncé – Just because! Her creativity and business sense is one to be reckoned with. #WeRunTheWorld

To The Woman Who Has Lost Hope Due To Marginalization And Lack Of Support

Please do not give up. Go where you are celebrated and not tolerated. Quit fast, quit often if the environment is deteriorating your mental health and self worth. Join a community and share/confide with people who can lift you up. You are the CEO of You Inc., so do what any CEO would do. To help your confidence, keep a list of things you have achieved, compliments and positive feedback you have gotten over the years – I call this your “Brag book”. This is your weapon to combat imposter syndrome or feeling inadequate. Trust me, your brain does not hold as much as you’d like to think. Write it down.

Janeyof Canada

My Work-Life Balance Routine

I never miss out on my sleep and catching up with my loved ones. I also try to take walks and dance in between meetings. I am learning now that “NO” is a full sentence and trying to practice that. It took me landing in the hospital to start to prioritize my health and I promise you; it is not worth it. Work will always be there and so would be others to do the work. But my life – my time on earth, I have only got one.

Being A Woman Of Rubies

My God-given strength and ability to bounce back and push myself, surrounded by incredible support, to be a better version of Janey than I was yesterday because I truly believe that this is how I can live out God’s purpose for me.

You can see more of Janey Buzugbe work here: https://www.immiducation.com/

Click Here Watch Short Video of Janey Buzugbe speaking at the Elevate Festival

In Career Gems March 27, 2023 By Esther Ijewere

16 Inspiring Nigerian Women Making A difference In Canada

Nigerian Women In Canada are breaking boundaries, and making the motherland proud. Being a women’s advocate and new Immigrant In Canada, the first thing I did was to check out women whose work and life would inspire me to dare to be different, and stay focused. I have celebrated some of these women for their work and global achievements on my platform as “Women of Rubies”, and I followed their work closely.

These women have been able to break the barrier that prevents black women from reaching the top of their careers. They have been celebrated for their accomplishments, and recognized for changing narratives and making room for other women to thrive through their various endeavors.

In no particular order, here is our “Part 1” Women of Rubies list of 16 Nigerian women In Canada who are making us proud.

Dr. Adeola Olubamiji

Adeola Deborah Olubamiji is a Nigerian-Canadian technologist specializing in 3D printing (3D printing (also known as metal and plastic additive manufacturing). She became the first Black person to obtain a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 2017 from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. She is the chief consultant at D-Tech Centrix, an education and career consulting company, located in Ontario Canada, and Indiana USA.

Dr. Addy is also the Founder of STEMHub Foundation, a Canadian non-profit that empowers and teaches science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to students and early career professionals. In addition, she seats on the board of Health Science & Innovation Inc. Indianapolis, Indiana as the Secretary of the board.

She was recently recognized as one of the 100 Accomplished Black Women In Canada. She is a multi-award winner and mentor to several young people.

2. Dr. Rita Orji

Rita Orji is a Nigerian-Canadian Computer Science Professor, a Canada Research Chair in Persuasive Technology, and the Director of the Persuasive Computing Lab at Dalhousie University in Canada.

Rita has contributed some amazing things to Canada, including founding and directing the Persuasive Computing Lab at Dalhousie, and conducting research on designing interactive technologies that empower people, improve lives and contribute to solving many societal problems. “As a professor, she conducts research, teaches, supervises, and mentor students, write grants, and gets involved in many community services.

Due to her passion for mentoring the next generation of youth and female tech leaders, promoting research excellence, equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM, Professor Rita founded the Education for Women and the Less Privileged Foundation, NGO, and she recently launched a YouTube channel, “Time with Prof. Rita.” She was recently recognized as one of the 100 Accomplished Black Women In Canada.

3. Brenda Okorogba

Brenda Okorogba is an award-winning service and learning experience designer. She has a gift for creating targeted public services and learning solutions that address relevant classroom, workplace, community, career, and business needs in advancing opportunities for equity-deserving groups in particular.

Her client-centered approach and dignity-informed methodologies have resulted in over $40 million in grants for nonprofits, small business owners, and startup entrepreneurs. Students have successfully secured more than $80.4M in college funding, transitioned into dynamic career paths, learned specialized skills, built positive personal identities, increased their social and emotional learning skills, and improved their leadership abilities.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of social-impact-driven Canadian Charitable organizations where she contributes her time and ideas on issues focused on gender equity and social inclusion, youth education and employment, workforce development, immigrant women, affordable healthcare, and housing.

4. Tracy Folorunsho-Barry

Tracy Folorunsho-Barry is a multi-award-winning career strategist, recruiter, Founder, and CEO of GROW Women Leaders and GROW Foundation. During her migration to Canada from Nigeria, Barry faced struggles with integrating into the country. She lacked the proper guidance and support she needed as an immigrant. Barry also found that her struggles were common for other immigrant women in Canada and decided to take action after freeing herself from a limited lifestyle.

She took the initiative to start helping other women, especially immigrants, reach their full potential and access new opportunities regarding their careers. Since then, she has dedicated her career to helping thousands of women, especially immigrants, get hired and advance their careers.

In 2017, under GROW Foundation, Barry launched Project150: Accomplished Immigrant Women in Canada and the Speak Out Women series where she began gathering stories from more than 200 immigrant women across Canada who have overcome adversity to achieve success in their careers and lives.

Later in 2018, Barry founded GROW Women Leaders (GROW), a career leadership development and advancement platform designed to help women get hired and advance their careers. In 2021, she opened The GROW Space, a socially conscious 7000sq ft facility that houses Nurture café, lounge, co-working space, and more. Proceeds from the facility go directly towards supporting women, especially immigrants, to get hired and advance their careers – the public is encouraged to use the facility to work and study in.

For her contributions and community involvement, she has been honored with various awards and recognitions such as; Top 100 Black Women to Watch In Canada, Top 6 Immigrant Women of Inspiration, and a notable recognition by Mayor Don Iveson and the City of Edmonton in 2020.

Tracy Folorunsho-Barry- Grow Women leaders — Tracy Folorunsho – Barry

5. Patricia Bebia Mawa

After launching a successful career as a TV personality in Nigeria as the host of the show Lunch Date, Patricia Bebia Mawa relocated to Canada and essentially started her media career from scratch. She’s now the executive vice president of the Afroglobal TV channel as well as host and producer of the long-running TV show, Planet Africa, which is broadcasted across Canada on OMNI TV and syndicated to Europe and Africa.

She is also the executive vice president and editorial director of Afroglobal parent Silvertrust Media, which she co-founded with her husband, Moses. Their media empire includes magazines, TV shows, awards, and an expanding online presence.

Listed in the Who’s Who in Black Canada, she is a recipient of the Toronto Police Community Service Award, the International Women Achievers Award, the Martin Luther King DreamKeeper Award, and a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

6. Ehi Ade-Mabo

For over 10 years, Ehi has inspired and empowered men and women of all ages and walks of life to rise above their challenges and be the best they can be. Whether you struggle with finding your sweet spot in your purpose, relationships, finances, brand, and self esteem, or you just know life should be more exciting than it is now, you are not alone. Ehi Ade Mabo has continued to encourage and coach people of all ages to find the zeal, power, and Passion to rise above their current struggles, and live the life of their dreams.

Ehi Ade Mabo Is a life Coach, blogger, writer, speaker, and author. She has impacted thousands all over the world with her teaching and mentorship.

Ehi Ade-Mabo- Nigerian Women In Canada — Ehi Ade-Mabo

7. Adebola Adefioye

Adebola is a Child Development Practitioner. She holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Child Development from Seneca College, a Master’s in Child and Youth Care, from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), and a Certificate in Advancing Women’s Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding for Community Development from Coady Institute, Canada. She is a final semester student in a Graduate Certificate program in Mental Health Intervention (MHI). Adebola has worked with children, women, and families in different settings (child care, school, shelter, crisis line, and community). Adebola is passionate about building authentic relationships with racialized, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Person of Colour) children, families, and communities and collaborating with them to reduce inequities, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and improve mental health and wellness.

Adebola works for a provincial non-profit agency on a project that focuses on understanding the impact of COVID-19 on racialized mothers and educators in Ontario. The project will inform recommendations for feminist, child care, and family program policies in Ontario, Canada.

She is also actively involved in Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) work. She offers training, workshops, and public education programs to various organizations. She is the founder of the Afro Women and Youth Foundation, a non-profit organization providing leadership, empowerment and mentorship programs to Black immigrant women and youth in Toronto and Sudbury, Ontario.

Adebola has won many awards.

Adebola Adefioye- Nigerian Women In Canada — Adebola Adefioye – Seneca

8. Ariyike Akinbobola

Ariyike Akinbobola is a Nigerian Author and Amazon Canada Best Selling Author, content creator, foreign trained Lawyer currently working as a Senior Business Immigration Analyst in Toronto. Her work experience spans over a decade in the Media, Entertainment, Consulting, Immigration and Not-for.Profit Industries. Through her entertainment Platform, Ariland Entertainment, she hosts Moving Abroad: Immigrant Success Stories, an immigrant talk show where she interviews Immigrants succeeding globally. She also showcases African culture, fashion, lifestyle and Immigrant experiences through storytelling.

Ariyike started creating content on her Youtube channel (Ariyike Akinbobola channel) in 2012 and she was among the first set of Youtubers recognized by Youtube at the Youtube stars event where 5 Youtubers were recognized in Lagos, Nigeria. She is a Professional MC and has successfully hosted events globally and she has also moderated sessions on Diversity and Inclusion, Kindness, Digital Media, Entertainment Law, Communications and TV Presenting.

Ariyike has a Certificate in Child Protection: Children’s Rights in Theory and Practice from Harvard X and she also coaches Immigrant families relocating abroad on expectations and how to navigate their new reality and she consults for aspiring authors who want to learn how to self publish their books on Amazon. Through her Ariyike Arise Initiative Africa, she has helped to fund the education of Children in disadvantaged communities in Africa. In 2020, they donated 1000 facemasks to People in disadvantaged communities in Ajegunle, Lagos, Nigeria. She believes the world would be a better place if everyone did more for others.

In 2021, Ariyike became the first winner of the Immigrant Leader award at the Universal Women’s Network Women of Inspiration Award. As an advocate for Female Genital Mutilation abandonment in Nigeria, she volunteered as a digital advocate for UNFPA / UNICEF and was recognized as the UNFPA / UNICEF Frown Award – Female Genital Mutilation Abandonment Advocate of the year amongst other recognitions.

Ariyike also volunteers as a Literacy Ambassador for Project 99A in Canada and a Mentor with the Canadian Multicultural Group. Her books, Beautifully Coloured and The Cost of our Lives, both Amazon Best selling books are available on Amazon. She enjoys spending time with her family, writing, dancing, meeting new people and creating content on her YouTube channel. Ariyike is married with Children.

Ariyike Akinbobola- Nigerian Women In Canada — Ariyike Akinbobola

9. Ejibola Adetokunbo Taiwo

Ejibola Adetokunbo-Taiwo is an entrepreneur, an entrepreneurship consultant, a business coach, and an advocate for women entrepreneurs who is passionate about encouraging, empowering, and supporting women to use entrepreneurship as a tool for leadership and economic advancement.

She’s the CEO of Simply Ejibola Inc., the Founder and Principal Consultant at de Sedulous Women Leaders, and has also been the lead creator of several entrepreneurship initiatives like femImmiGRANTS, a grant specifically for BIPOC female entrepreneurs in Canada, the iiNTEGRATE NEXT program for newcomers in Canada, the iLaunchHERproduct, a program aimed at connecting women-owned businesses with big box retail stores in Canada, and the Rise Up Pitch Competition, a national grant program for Black Canadian women entrepreneurs.

Ejibola has been recognized for her work by several organizations like the Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Immigrant Magazine, Diversity Magazine Canada, 2022’s 100 Accomplished Black Women, and she is also one of our 2021 Top 25 Women of Influence Awards recipients.

Ejibola Adetokunbo Taiwo- Nigerian Women In Canada — Ejibola Adetokunbo Taiwo

10. Deborah Ojo

Deborah Ojo is the founder and CEO Deborahomes, A multi million dollar real estate investor and an award winning real estate broker devoted to serving the needs of real estate buyers and sellers throughout the Greater Toronto Market . When she is not investing into real estate, she is helping her client start or continue to achieve their financial freedom through Real estate.

Deborah is known for her honesty, highest level of client service and 100 % determination to help you achieve your goals no matter what. Deborah has built an incredible network of fellow agents that makes Deborahomes a natural repertoire of dynamic qualities that set her apart and enable her to successfully procure the goals of the buyers and sellers she represents.

With over 10 years experience In the Real Estate sector, she has taught over 63 seminars and counting to minority communities on how to Own their own piece of real estate free of charge as a way to give back to those communities, and helping women who have passion for the business find their path and earn a living.

11. Dr. Onye Nnorom

Onyenyechukwu (Onye) Nnorom, family physician, specialist in public health and preventive medicine (born 27 February 1981 in Montreal, Quebec). Nnorom is the associate director of the residency program in public health and preventive medicine at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She also leads the Black health curriculum at the university’s medical school. Her work addresses the health inequities that racialized and immigrant communities face.

Onye Nnorom’s work focuses on health equity and the impact of racism on health. In particular, she studies anti-Black racism as a driver of health inequities in Canada.

Since 2016, Nnorom has led the University of Toronto’s efforts to build education on these issues into its medical school curriculum. In February 2020, Nnorom was appointed the first ever equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lead of the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. She advises the department’s executive on policies that impact EDI for faculty, residents, students and staff.

Nnorom is the creator and host of the Race, Health & Happiness podcast. She launched the show in 2020 to help racialized people stay well, thrive and find joy. Its first season coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affected Black and other racialized peoples. She was recently recognized as on the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian.

Dr. Onye Nnorom

12. Jenny Okonkwo

Game changing community builder, founder of award winning Black Female Accountants Network An experienced business and finance leader, Jenny is passionate about helping women uncover their full potential in order to become their best professional selves and achieve their career goals. In 2016, a workplace representation gap led her to create Black Female Accountants Network (BFAN).

BFAN is an award winning volunteer non profit group that has helped newcomers to Canada reconnect with their professional careers, inspires and encourages future generations of female business leaders, creates professional and personal growth opportunities for local members.

In 2019 as a result of her work, Jenny was nominated and became a “Top 75” Finalist, Canadian Immigrant Awards, was recognized as one of the “Top 100” Black Women to Watch in Canada and received the “Be the Change” Award from Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

Jenny also received formal recognition in 2019 from MP Omar Alghabra, in his previous capacity as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade Diversification. Jenny is a member of the AICPA (Association of International Certified Professional Accountants) National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion.

Jenny Okonkwo- Nigerian Women In Canada — Jenny Okonkwo

13. Nnenna Uboma

Nnenna Uboma is the Chief Strategic Officer (CSO) of Beyond Math. Nnenna is an Analytics Senior leader and has over 20 years of experience leading high performing analytical teams to develop industry edge solutions. Nnenna is known for her “Can do” attitude and ability to think out-of-the-box. Nnenna has grown passion for tutoring and coaching analytical professional over the past decade. She has mentored many successful professionals in Analytics Nnenna spends her spare time nurturing High School kids in Leadership and Entrepreneurship skills. She was recently recognized for her work at the 100 ABC

Nnenna Uboma- Nigerian Women In Canada — Nnenna Uboma

14. Janey Buzugbe

Janey is an energetic entrepreneur and tech partnerships leader who believes in living life by giving; and what she has to give is humanity at the intersection of business and technology. As of recently, she headed the Black Innovation Programs & Partnerships at the DMZ, providing leadership and support to Founders across 5 programs with resources and access to 30+ partners to help grow their ventures – but that is not all. She is the host of JaneyofCanada; a YouTube channel providing career & settlement advice for immigrants and also the Founder of Immiducation, a community-first Startup that supports over 17000+ immigrant professionals with career-readiness skills, a career network and access to careers in Tech.

Over the past decade, her tech career has span over the corporate, non-profit and startup worlds in digital marketing, program & product management, recruitment, and Tech Partnerships.
Janey holds an undergraduate degree in Information Technology, postgraduate certificates in Media and Account Management and a Master’s in Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.

Janey Buzugbe- Nigerian Women In Canada — Janey Buzugbe

15. Maryam Muritala

Maryam is a Foreign trained lawyer with areas of specialization in Business , Technology , Copyright and Trademark Law, and Contract Management. She is also an experienced Business Development Consultant.

She has helped entrepreneurs across five continents launch successful and thriving businesses through Canada Vendors, a Business Development and Advertising Company using digital marketing tools to give structured visibility to businesses across Canada and the diaspora.

At Canada Vendors, they offer Business Development Consultations and Solutions, Advertise brands using digital technology, connect service providers with prospective clients, and host Business Networking Events. Between 2020 and 2022 during the lockdown, we interviewed 255 Small businesses across various communities in Canada offering supports successfully hosted BRAND EXPO in 2021 and 2022

Canada Vendors launched a mini-series on youtube in 2021 titled “THE ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY” spotlighting business owners across communities in Canada, so far we have interviewed entrepreneurs from Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Alberta. The series is ongoing and they hope to spotlight more entrepreneurs across Canada.

Maryam Muritala- Nigerian Women in Canada — Maryam Muritala

16. Nifemi Fagbohun

Oluwanifemi Showole-Fagbohun is An Internationally trained Chemical and Polymer Engineer whose experience spans wide from Project Research Engineering, Project Management, Beauty Consultancy, Event planning, Business Coaching, Author, Customer Resolution Specialist , Health and Beauty Safety Advocate, Independent Executive Sales Consultant, and a lot more under her belt.

Nifemi fondly called ‘Niffy’ wears many hats as a Global Beauty Mogul, Beauty expert/consultant @niffysignature . Founder and Business Coach @montrealvendors , Wardrobe Stylist @accessoriesbyniffy, An Independent Executive Sales Consultant, Wife and Mum to 3 Adorables.

Her love for health and safe beauty practices infused with her passion for women empowerment has led her to create a Makeup Brand called ‘Niffy Signature’ with her own line of Vegan and Cruelty-free Makeup Products.

She has a great penchant for paying attention to details and this earned her awards over the years : ‘Award of Excellence’ from the Nigerian Hair Show where she meticulously doubled as the official Makeup Artist for the Models and as one of the Judges. ‘Award of Recognition’ in Montreal where she was the official Makeup Artist for the ‘Walk of Hope for Mental Health’ event in 2018, ‘Community Personality Award’ from Canada vendors in 2020. ‘Award of Recognition’ in April, 2022 from the City of Saint Laurent Councillors, Montreal Community for her tremendous impact in championing and building the small business community in Montreal, (Quebec) along a slew of other notable mentions.

Oluwanifemi’s love for community building, adding value to lives and the need to ensure all small businesses feel recognized, loved and celebrated birthed the Montreal Vendors platform in Quebec.

She created the Montreal Vendors platform 10th April, 2020 with the desire to add value to her small business community at the onset of Covid when it was really tough for businesses. Her major focus is on Promoting all Small Businesses in diverse fields as we promote diversity in Montreal and all around the province of Quebec at large.

Nifemi being a Canadian Licenced Business Coach and also a Canadian Certified Executive Sales Consultant, both under the tutelage of St.Pius Career Centre under the English Montreal School Board, is using her knowledge to impact her small business community to the fullest of her capacity.

She’s presently a Nominee for the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards 2022.

Nifemi Fagbohun- Nigerian women in Canada — Nifemi Fagbohun

….It doesn’t end here.

The “Part 2″ of this list will be released soon. Do you know Nigerian women who should make our list of Inspiring Women In Canada? Kindly send their names, social media handles and link of their work to admin@womenofrubies.com with the subject: ” Nigerian Women in Canada “.

About the Writer

Esther ijewere Is a multi-award winning Social Activist, Journalist, Writer, Best-selling Author, Host of the Youtube syndicated show; #GettalkingwithEsther and a certified PR expert with over 10 years of experience. Esther has spotlighted over 1000 women across the globe, Interviewed First ladies, A-list celebrities and giants of different industries. She is the Editor-In-Chief of Women of Rubies, and other development initiatives recognized globally. Follow her on Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.