I Am The Diaspora

Ijeoma joins me on The Iveoma Show to discuss why her boutique that she started in Enugu, Nigeria collapsed, how it took her life savings’ and the extremely useful business lessons she learned.   TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Why Ijeoma relocated to Enugu, Nigeria in 2013 (:56) How the Enugu State Government told her that they will demolish her shop 2 days after the grand opening (3:23) How she was let down by her connections/acquaintances in Nigeria (8:00) How leaving America to go to Nigeria made her appreciate her life in America so much more (12:41) Advice for diaspora who want to build a business in Nigeria  (14:28) The importance of understanding the Nigerian customer needs and income (16:49)

Chika Umeadi co-founder of TipHub joins me on I Am The Diaspora to talk about how entrepreneurs can find/develop their unfair advantage in business and gives advice to people who are moving to Africa to start businesses. Tiphub is an accelerator that focuses on African and African entrepreneurs that are building businesses in Africa. Tiphub also founded Diaspora Demo Summit, the largest gathering of African and African diaspora led businesses outside of Africa.  Find more: www.iveoma.com

So you’re thinking about building your own business or investing in Africa? Nako Mbelle, the founder of the Invest In Africa Virtual Summit & Fintech Recruiters, joins me on the I Am The Diaspora show to talk all about why NOW is the time for the African Diaspora to invest in Africa. Learn why she decided to create the very FIRST virtual summit focused on how the African Diaspora can invest in Africa, what industries she thinks the African Diaspora should invest in, and the strengths of each speaker. Enjoy listening and find out more at iveoma.com. 

The founder of Aso-Swap, chats with I Am The Diaspora about pursuing her creative passions. She broke out of the typical role expected of a Nigerian-American and pursued journalism, tv presenting, screenwriting and entrepreneurship. We talk about the importance of chasing your dreams, some of the challenges of following those dreams in light of family expectations, and why now is the best time to build your business. THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Iveoma – AKA ME LOL! Iveoma.com is a digital media company showcasing African business success stories and brands in order to empower the African Diaspora. My weekly talk show, I Am The Diaspora, takes a two-track approach to achieve that: It showcases business leaders who will talk about their journey to success in Africa in order to empower and motivate YOU! While at the same time, I seek to grow awareness and strengthen public relations for these African businesses and brands featured on my show, so they can introduce their products and services to a powerful African Diaspora market. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Elizabeth’s path to becoming an entrepreneur How Elizabeth gets inspired from the African Diaspora How to keep yourself from being “boxed in” and keep evolving How to blend or combine your interests and not feel overwhelmed Choosing when to experiment with your business idea

Today's episode is with Ismail Sabrie, the founder of Symian Electronics, chats with The Iveoma Show about what it takes to be an entrepreneur in Kenya, the tough reality that you must have some money in order to scale a business, and why he loves entrepreneurship. 

Chigozie Ezugwu, the founder of Raadaa, talks about how to make money online doing research. Raadaa gives researchers, publishers, and students, an avenue to monetize their own research like video creators can do on YouTube. He has created an educational startup that ensures quality content and research from developing countries is available to everyone around the world. 

Faideye Loum, the founder of KABIO, an engineer turned fashion designer sits down to chat with The Iveoma Show. I met Fadieye when she was a Mandela Washington Fellow a part of the Young African Leaders Initiative. There is a corresponding video as well available on iveoma.com and youtube (search for YALI Interview Series). 

Maria Makanjuola, the biochemist founder of Sweet Cake TV School, discusses how to build a Facebook community from scratch (she literally went from 0 to 25k+ members in one year).  Maria discusses how to create an online school from consumer feedback and how she empowers African women on the continent and in the diaspora by teaching them a profitable craft. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How I meet Maria Makanjuola in the Africa Business Academy (1:00) Maria's background (2:00) Why she started a Facebook group (3:00) How to build a community (5:19) How Maria built her website herself (9:00) How she became an entrepreneur (12:31) Teaching African women entrepreneurial skills (17:21) Why you should focus on 1 or 2 social media platforms (28:00)

Today I am talking to Toib Olarinde about how he built his multiple fashion businesses, doing what you believe in, having pride in being a Nigerian, and how to stand out in fashion.   TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Why Toib left his 9-5 to pursue his own business full time (1:00) Why he created Nigerian Is The New Cool, Da Bottom Clothing, and a marketing agency called The Agency (3:02) Starting a fashion company with just a $1,000 (4:58) Why some American-raised people just call themselves American vs Nigerian (7:47) Starting a clothing line without being a designer (10:00) How to stand out in fashion (14:15)  

Today's episode is for artists and creatives. Issouf Simpore, artist & interior designer from Burkina Faso joins me on The Iveoma Show. We dive into making money as an artist, how to sell art through art festivals and shows around the USA, and how his art is an expression of his world.

Emeka Ossai, the founder of the Nigerian Campus Enterprise Challenge, talks about his goal of training 1 million Nigerian entrepreneurs by 2020. He also discusses how the networks that he his building during his time as a Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders Initiative is helping him build his business.

Chipokosa Tepula, the co-founder of the Kaychi Aquaponics, talks building the first aquaponics farm in Zambia, how is is going to become a distributor to major retailers, and training farmers in his region. He also discusses how the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders Initiative is helping him build his business.

Nicholas Oghieakhe, singer, songwriter and finance guru, is on The Iveoma Show talking about how the Diaspora can invest in Nigerian real estate and Nollywood.     

Agnes Yahuma, a Mandela Washington Fellow for Young African Leaders Initiative  (YALI), joins me to discuss how her startup Onu Gas Limited is tackling the high unemployment rate of young people in Nairobi, Kenya. Agnes' startup Onu Gas Limited is a piping cooking gas into housing as real estate developers build apartments. This is done in an extremely safe manner and deals with the high rate of cooking gas fatalities that occur because of leaking gas pipes.  

Adjo Dede Asare, a Mandela Washington Fellow for Young African Leaders (YALI), joins me on The Iveoma Show to talk about how her family grew Alfie Designs, a fashion house in Ghana, to 8 Sub-Saharan African countries.

Toluse Dove Francis, the founder of The Eat Fit Academy, joined me on The Iveoma Show to talk about how to avoid gaining or even losing too much weight during times of stress. 

Derick Ofodirinwa, the founder of Strategic Sales Solution, joins me on The Iveoma Show to discuss why he decided to go into software sales and why sales is the art of building relationships with people.

Ayomide "Ayo" Shittu, a bankruptcy lawyer and super connector, describes networking as the process of planting seeds for the future. She refers to networking as making friends plus being intentional about the relationship. And today on The Iveoma Show, Ayo describes how to create intentional relationships and friendships, she teaches ways of creating networking opportunities in everyday situations and breaks down what it means to curate your professional and social life. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How I met Ayo (1:00) Meaningful networking  (5:00) The importance of knowing what people do (6:48) Relationship-building between Africans on the continent and Africans in the diaspora (9:46) How to stay in touch with people over a period of time (18:20) Why you should network when you do NOT need to (19:00) Why you must be intentional about connections (21:05) Why Ayo connects people she knows (22:40)

The founder of Aso-Swap, joined me on the Iveoma Show to discuss how she created the FIRST online African consignment store.  Elizabeth noticed that many of her Nigerian friends and family spent an average of $200 making fabulous outfits (material plus tailoring) and would only wear them to a wedding or ceremony once.  I think we can all agree that this is so true! So she saw that there was a need and decided to combine that need with charity work, 5% of the proceeds from every transaction on Aso-Swap goes to non-profits that benefit Nigerian women and children in underprivileged communities. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Why Elizabeth started Aso-Swap (0:53) Charitable side of Aso-Swap (2:18) Starting Aso-Swap in June 2016 (4:50) How Elizabeth created the website herself with no coding skills (7:23) Elizabeth's advice for entrepreneurs (18:48) Aso-swap developing an app & seeking funding (22:38)

I have the pleasure of introducing Abiola Wabara, professional artist and owner of Art By Abiola, on The Iveoma Show. Abiola was born and raised in Italy, moved to Texas to play basketball for Baylor University, traveled around Europe playing professional basketball, and now is based in Houston Texas about to start law school while running her galleria Art By Abiola. This intriguing journey & (fabulous accent) was the reason that I was so excited to interview her. She is clearly multi-talented and gifted so I can not wait to see her fanbase grow. Thank you Abiola! TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Born and raised in Italy to playing professional basketball at Baylor University in Texas (:45 secs) When Abiola started painting (1:52) How I met Abiola at Afrifest in Houston Texas (2:57) How art became a business (5:50) How artist price their work, deal with a commission, etc (7:00) Abiola's dreams for her galleria, Art by Abiola (8:28) Painting live for The Truth Project  (10:20) Abiola going to law school and doing art part time (14:00) Not labeling art (16:00) Abiola expanding her business to include prints, t-shirts, backpacks (18:45)

I am excited to welcome Myoa Sobamowo, singer and songwriter, onto the Iveoma Show. I was curious about the business side of music and Myoa indulged me and told me the secrets of how musicians and singers make money.  She also talked about how she balanced her demanding 9 to 5 career in finance/accounting with a growing music career.  I am so excited to see what she does in 2017 now that she is doing music full-time. She is a star (in every sense of the word), a talented singer/songwriter and just an awesome person. P.S Now, I am a huge fan! TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: How startup singers/musicians make money in music (1:05) Promoting her debut single "Can A Stranger Lead Me Home?" in Nigeria  (4:12) Myoa's plans to take Nigeria and Africa by storm as an international artist (6:20) Myoa's unique sound... soul, pop, jazz (6:49) How Myoa put together her band (8:00) Myoa's finance background and music career (10:27) How to grow a fan base (14:26) How to balance music with a finance career (16:00) Myoa's journey to being a full-time musician/singer (17:04) Myoa on songwriting (21:11) Myoa's words of inspiration for finding your life purpose (23:40)

Ifeoma Malo, the founder of the Clean Technology Hub & Country Director of Power For All, joined me on The Iveoma Show to talk about the opportunities in renewable energy for Nigerians, especially women. Ifeoma discusses that 60% of Nigerians are living without access to electricity and this energy poverty mostly affects women and girls. Ifeoma reminded me that because women and girls bear the primary responsibility for cooking, washing, fetching firewood and other chores in Africa, lack of electricity significantly impedes their economic advancement and even affects their health and personal security. So join us as we explore the opportunities in renewable energy for Nigerians and African women everywhere.   TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: The difference between a hub, accelerator & incubator (3:30) Why Ifeoma started the Clean Technology Hub (7:03) Why the lack of electricity paid a major role in the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls (8:33) Percentage of Nigerians who do not have access electricity (12:44) How the Clean Technology Hub is increasing the focus on renewable energy in Nigeria (13:35) Why women and girls are impacted the most by energy poverty (16:34) How the Clean Technology Hub & Power For All are changing the male-dominated energy section by empowering women (18:32) How Ifeoma leveraged her connections and family/friend funding to start the Clean Technology Hub (25:46) Why Ifeoma carves out personal time for her family and herself (29:00) Ifeoma's dream for Nigeria & Africa (33:20)

Moses Mutabaruka, founder & CEO, of The African Perspective Magazine (TAP Magazine), is joining me on The Iveoma Show to talk about why it is important to care about the negative perception of Africa in global media and how TAP Magazine is fighting that perception. Moses talks about the business side of media, how he turned a blog into a beautiful magazine, why he cares about producing top-notch quality for African readers and creating strategic partnerships. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Moses' background growing up as a Rwandan refugee (1:50) When Moses saw how the world viewed Africans ( 7:10) Why Moses started blogging in 2012 and how it turned into TAP Magazine (13:12) How to make money in media (19:21) Why it's important to create beautiful quality products for Africans (23:15) TAP Magazine's deal with Uber (30:40) Why TAP Magazine contains many different African perspectives ( 39:32)

I had the pleasure of interviewing Somto Ajuluchukwu, the founder/CEO of Vortex Inc, an animation and comic company. He is a content creator and exports African culture through animation and comics. It's time to change the persistent negative perception of Africa in the media and it was a pleasure speaking to someone who is actively doing something about it. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE Why Vortex Inc started ( 2:00) Exporting African stories globally (4:50) How animation & comics  is socially relevant (6:00) Why content creation is important for the positive perception of Africa (13:42) How Somto choose his team (15:00) The expanding content creation industry in Africa (21:14) Growing with audience and making money (30:12) Inspiring and training youth to go into an animation and comics ( 34:37)

Discover why Gideon Odijie, organizer of TEDx Ajegunle, thinks that collaboration in business is the way that Nigerians can connect and spread information. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Gideon's background (1:27) How growing up in Ajegunle shaped his future (6:21) How he started Africa Radio Live with collaboration (10:30) Importance of building a team (16:43) How his networking strategy got him in front of the African Union (18:37) Desire to create documentary films in Africa (20:35) How he is creating a volunteer management system (23:40) How he organized the first TEDxAjegunle and how he is building a skills development school in Ajegunle Collaborations with local Nigerian government and private sector (31:37) Why people are the most important element in business (34:55) Why networking is important (36:14)

Looking for the purpose of life in the midst of depression.

Today I got the chance to talk with a friend of mine, Derick Ofodirinwa founder of Strategic Sales Solutions. We’re talking about sticking with a business for five years, love vs infatuation for a business, no-one believes in your dreams as much as you do, haters vs misunderstanders, our parent’s achievements, and more…

Today I am excited to welcome Osayi Emokpae Lasisi on iveoma.com. I reached out to Osayi because she is a returnee, she was an attorney in the United States, moved to Nigeria in 2012, then subsequently started several businesses.   Osayi is the founder of  Happy People Happy Profit & The MoneyMaking Mommies Academy. She is the author of  “Invest in People, Invest in Profits” and “The Billionaire Mindset (For MoneyMaking Mommies): How to Make your billions and build your legacy”. Osayi Emokpae Lasisi shares what it takes to inspire and empower employees to tap into their creativity. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Osayi’s background (1:39) Why treating people well is profitable (2:57) How to appreciate employees (6:02) How to improve communication (8:38) Clients vs supporters (21:07) The importance of mentorship (31:23) Money Making Mommies Academy (40:36)

Victor Ekpo and I talked about 2 of his most popular subscription-based businesses, Power Ideas, and The Highly Paid Experts Network. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: -Victor’s entrepreneurial journey (3:32) -Steps that Victor took after he ran his butcher business into the ground (7:00) -Selling a personal story/brand vs selling a just product (9:01) -Why a subscription or membership based business model is the future (11:30) -The importance of building an authentic personal brand and fan base (13:09) -Victor's time management tips (28:00) -How Victor is working towards his personal goal of 200 rest days a year (30:52) -Victor’s dream for Nigerian students from impoverished backgrounds (50:00)  

Adefunke Lola Fowora is the content creator behind Editor in Kinks. She is also a published author of 2 books Healthy Hair Is Good Hair – a quick guide to developing a healthy natural hair care regimen & You Wanna Have An American Baby?: a step by step guide on the process of having a baby in America (for those living outside the US). TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: - Adefunke Lola Fowora’s entrepreneurial journey (2:20) -The niches that Lola decided to focus on and why (4:40) -Lola's step by step book publishing process (8:08) -How Lola is positioning and branding herself in the beauty industry with networking (12:03) -Collaborating with Nigerian bloggers who are in the natural beauty & women empowerment space (18:55) -The most satisfying moment in her business (24:26) -Finding clients on social media (41:44)

I had an interview with Adekunbi Adeoye, the founder of Sesewa, the FIRST internship placement company in Nigeria. She is known as the First Lady of Internships because she created the internship placement industry in Nigeria.   TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Adekunbi’s story of how she got to where she is today How an internship in a law firm changed her career Her first paying customer Becoming the solution to a serious problem in Nigeria Why internships are important in Nigeria Why networking offline is incredibly important in Nigeria Starting from where you are Importance of mentorship Lessons learned during The Mandela Washington Fellowship in 2015 (YALI)   * Heads up, during small parts of the interview our voices overlap, it was a bug in the Ringr Mobile software. :( *

I am going to interview Nigerians from the Diaspora who have moved to the continent in order to create businesses. Also, I will document how I am building my business/brand.