“I’m a leader, entrepreneur by profession & go-getter at heart. I love speaking and learning about entrepreneurship but above this, I love empowering & developing other entrepreneurs.” 

WHAT FUELS ME?

“I grew up in a family setting that didn’t give room for relaxing and doing nothing, sure this was & still is an option, but in my archive of choices this simply was afar off, so determination has formed part of my character and faith through all the challenges became my center for pushing through the odds and fuelling my efforts. I think also since I was forced to drop out of the tertiary 2nd year because of financial constraints at home, I learnt the value of consistently evolving through learning a number of things that have the potential to land me in a better space as time progresses.”

MY GREATEST INFLUENCE:

 “There’s one I’ve had to discover. It started with a constant voice growing up that I’d never make it or amount to anything good. I first believed this lie, and then asked myself why were there so many efforts from darkness to persuade me into believing this? Why was I put in a position to sabotage myself to failure? If darkness looked to pull me & set me up for sabotaging my own destiny, then surely darkness had no power to accomplish this on its own, & surely there were hidden treasures I needed to discover in the light! I then realised when I started praying that in me is God & because of this, I am a god. I have the power to not only create and destroy but to form and dismantle. This knowledge of my identity has and continues to play the greatest & most profound role in my life.”

MY TOP THREE ROLE MODELS:
 “I’ve always found it quite difficult to pinpoint an individual as I look to an assortment of people for different motivational reasons, I also admire people’s stories & allow those to model the assortment of roles I play. One amazing example is (President of the USA) Barack Hussein Obama, what moves me is not him as an end product but the process in which he underwent to become the product he is today. In many ways, I relate to his life story, I watched a video of him when he was still a young attorney and hosting a book review of his autobiography “Dreams from my father – A story of race & inheritance”, the parts where he shared of the disconnected relationships with members of his family especially his father, searching for identity & belonging, dealing with bitterness & anger from rejection and yet with all that still had the desire within to help communities be better positioned for enriched livelihood. He was an unlikely candidate for the presidency, people pointed to his past as well as what they deemed imperfect for an American leader, some rejected him but destiny would have no part in it. All these experiences resonate with me & inspire the realisation that my story matters for my journey ahead.

IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS…..
 “I think I’ve reached a point where I understand the costs of not acting and so I usually appoint my own accountability partner as per project (giggles), many of them usually don’t have a choice in it all. However, I do have very few people I confide in. My goal for the next 5 years is to grow and solidly establish the businesses I’m a part of so as to create secure jobs for people, grow my not-for-profit foundation called ‘Digital Seed’, develop recognized programs to prepare entrepreneurs for future/new industries, and learn more especially on the economy & politics.”

THE AFRICAN WOMAN’S CHALLENGE:
 “Limited participation in political and public life; economic exclusion, lack of access to education and poor retention of girls in schools; gender-based violence; harmful cultural practices, and exclusion of women from peace tables, are just some of the major barriers African women face according to 8th African Gender Pre-Summit that took place earlier in the year in Addis Ababa, and these totally agree with & believe that every one of us can play a role no matter how small at addressing these challenges. I attend many continental gatherings aimed at the empowerment of women more so, those in the entrepreneurship space, recently I conducted a program through one of my companies, ‘The Business Development Agency’ training three groups of female entrepreneurs form three provinces round South Africa. I’m also part of a female-focused development entity called ‘Beyond What You See’ which has largely for the past five years run workshops to develop young women & girls. I do however look forward to opportunities for doing more.”

WHAT I DO TO RELAX:

 “I simply curl up in bed & rest my head, listen to music or grab a book & head to a coffee shop.”

MY   –   I.C.E. [INSPIRE|CELEBRATE|EMPOWER] VISION  

“Though I love Africa, I believe that women regardless of geographical location should be celebrated. Having been in the business/entrepreneurship space for a while, I’ve come across quite a few females (and I won’t lie I’ve been a victim too at a point) who assumed that their femininity is a weakness rather than a competitive advantage, and because of this, many have shied away from embracing their genetic makeup even in the business front & found themselves competing with men. So I think women should be celebrated for the strength demonstrated against all odds, but also empowered & inspired to embrace their makeup in every arena.”

MY AFRICAN UNION PLANS:

 “Well, perhaps what would bring me pleasure is to be part of the research & design team, heading development, training & skilling programs for women & girls.”

FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE:

 “Whatever your dreams, if you apply ABSOLUTE FAITH in your endeavours, ALL cultural, political, racial & economic mountains that stand before you shall move & be cast unto the sea. The human spirit holds many mysteries, one of which is that it knows NO IMPOSSIBILITY. Though the manifestation of the vision may tarry, it surely shall come to pass when faith is applied.”