Accelerate Podcast

Competence, Creativity, and Innovation with Rita Njuguna

Retrenchment during COVID was a reality for many professionals. Rita reveals how she explored new entrepreneurial opportunities after being let go of a job, with over 20 years of experience in employment. By drawing on her innate skills, life experiences, and determination to keep going, she was able to explore a range of business opportunities, driving forward her success. Listen to this episode and learn more about her drive, intercultural businesses, and how to identify growth opportunities.

 

 

Rita has over 20 years of experience in Strategy, Partnerships, Programme, Innovation and Business Management fueling growth, competitive advantage & transformative change in the Technology and Energy sectors. She is a Board Member at the Event Managers Association of Kenya and a Co-Founder of Go Gaga Experiential Company Limited a leading Conferencing Events Company in East Africa. She is also a co-founder of Zuri Foundation which aims to champion women change-makers through Zuri Awards, Trade Linkages, Training and Mentorship, Fund Raising and Women Launch-Pad. She is extremely passionate about technology, youth and women empowerment on all fronts – economically, intellectually and even socially.

 

Career Sponsorship and Mentorship with Bukola Smith

Bukola Smith, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FSDH Merchant Bank, holds an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, U. K, and a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Lagos. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and an Associate Member, Certified Institute of Pensions (Nigeria).

She was Executive Director, Business Development at First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and held several other leadership positions since she joined FCMB in 2006. She was responsible for the banks over 200 branches across Nigeria and under her leadership, the bank’s SME-focused team moved from 5th position in the industry to 1st position in 2019 within three years. She established the FCMB Women in Business Desk (branded SheVentures) which supports female entrepreneurs and set up FCMB Trustees and FCMB Custody. 

She currently sits on the boards of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), and the Toyin Oni Foundation (NGO for cancer awareness). She serves as a mentor to several young women within and outside these networks and also mentors teenagers in Public Schools.

In this 🎙️ episode, you'll discover what influenced her decision to pursue a career in banking, as well as her experiences and lessons learned while transitioning to leadership and executive roles in the banking sector for nearly three decades. She also gives tips and advice to females who want to work in the banking industry.

The Year 2021 in Review with Nneka Nwobi

In this podcast, I share some questions that will help you reflect in detail on your 2021. The reason I ask myself these very questions is to determine what direction I should follow in 2022. I want to grow and improve in every area of my life, as well as remain aligned to my overall 25-year plan. Here is a glimpse of the questions you can ask yourself:

• What did I do that I shouldn’t have?
• What did I spend a lot of time on?
• Where did I let things happen to me?
• How can I take a good experience and make it better?

Listen to this week’s episode of the Accelerate Podcast and get some tips that will help you look back, and plan for a successful 2022 as well.

Empowering Women Through Social Entrepreneurship with Nataliey Bitature

Nataliey Bitature is the Chief of Staff at The Simba Group, and the founder of Musana Carts, a social enterprise building solar-powered street food vending carts and HER an online mentorship platform with over 3000 young African women.

 

She has been recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30, The World Bank, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and World Economic Forum as a business leader and innovator.

 

Passionate about learning, Nataliey has multiple executive education certifications from the Harvard Kennedy School, a Master's in Social Entrepreneurship with a specialization in Project Management from Hult University in San Francisco and received her undergraduate degree and Honorary Doctorate in Business and Innovation from Keele University, UK.

 

Nataliey recently joined the Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Global Impact for Businesswomen, Entrepreneurs and professionals as a council member (WICCI). She has been appointed as a board of directors of both Uganda Property Holdings Ltd (UPHL) and the Makerere Innovation and Incubation Centre. She is also a board member for the Quiin Abenakyo Foundation, Start-Up Hub, Capital Solutions Social Innovation Fund, Save the Children Africa Advisory Board and their Women’s Network.

 

In this 🎙️ episode, you will learn:

✨ What informed Nataliey’s decision to get into social entrepreneurship and her experience running Masana Carts and HER.
✨ How she balances between fulfilling her personal dreams and running her family business.
✨ Her experience and challenges faced as a 2nd generation entrepreneur and working with her parents, and advice to parents who would like their children to join them in their businesses.
✨ Her thoughts on female entrepreneurship & leadership in Uganda and East Africa.

 

Turning a Passion into an Empire with Yoadan Tilahun

When passion meets opportunity, a side hustle becomes a business empire. In this episode of Accelerate Podcast, Yoadan Tilahun discusses the foundation on which she built a successful business, as well as the key attributes that led to her company's tremendous growth in Ethiopia and throughout Africa.

Yoadan founded Flawless Events while working full time in the Washington, DC area. She re-located the company to Ethiopia in 2008 in recognition of the opportunities on the African continent.  Flawless Events organizes summits, corporate events and conferences throughout the African continent. The most rewarding part of her work is the satisfaction of seeing her clients’ vision for their event come to life. She is an enthusiastic advocate for professionalizing the MICE industry in East Africa.  In 2015, Flawless won the “Event Planner Africa” award at Meetings Magazine’s Women in MICE celebration.

Yoadan serves as the president of the newly-established Ethiopian Events & Exhibition Organizers Association. The UNDP awarded her “Seasoned Entrepreneur of the Year 2018” award and MeetingsNet had Yoadan a 2017 Changemaker for her trailblazing role in Ethiopia’s events industry.  She has also been featured on Forbes Afrique and on How We Made It in Africa. She holds an MBA in International Business and is fluent in Amharic, English and French.  Along with her husband, they are raising their three growing boys!

 

How to 10x Your Business as You Plan for 2022

My initial exposure to 10X thinking was through Google. Google engineers are guided by seeking ways to improve something 10 times, rather than by 10%. They begin their thinking process with a blank sheet of paper and ask themselves questions that are out of this world.

Naturally, we think about how to double and consider our existing systems and processes. This is the easiest way we think, as our brains are wired to think this way. However, this leads to working harder and putting more effort into what we do. Instead, we need to start thinking exponentially.

10X is about a total rewrite of your existing rules. The results that you can get will be higher, with less effort. In this podcast, you will discover why it is crucial to adopt 10x thinking, starting right now.

Successfully Building a Globally Competitive & Profitable African Social Enterprise with Nora Bannerman

Nora Bannerman is an accomplished and internationally acclaimed fashion designer and entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience promoting indigenous businesses and successfully managing a number of companies.

Nora served on the Africa Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) National Implementation Committee to get Ghana the AGOA VISA that enables the export of over 6,000 Ghanaian products duty and quota free access to the USA market. She is credited with promoting Made-In-Ghana Textiles and Clothing in Europe and the US since the 1980s. Her company, Sleek Garments Export Ltd recently received the Made-In-Ghana Awards for the ‘Outstanding Textile and Garment Company of the Decade’ and has been manufacturing PPE for the Ghana Government to support the fight against COVID-19.

In 2019, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group named her as one of the Top 20 Global Female Business Leaders. Nora received the Woman of Excellence Award in March 2020 for her ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Social and Economic Development of Ghana’. She has been inducted into the Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame, 2021.

Accessing Capital through Angel Investors with Yemi Keri

Yemi Keri is the CEO of Heckerbella Limited, a Technology Business Transformation company, and a Partner at Holmen Consulting, an IT Business Consulting firm. With over 22 years of experience in the Information and Communications Technology sector at top management levels in both the public and private sectors, she was the Director and Regional Manager, West Africa for SAP Africa and the pioneer Managing Director/CEO of the Edo State Government ICT Agency.

Yemi serves as a mentor to various digital and technology-enabled start-ups, a Director of the Lagos Angel Network and Co-founder of Rising Tide Africa, a women’s movement initiated to increase women’s participation in angel investing, education and cross border investments.

In this 🎙️ episode, Yemi shares what prompted her to start Rising Tide Africa, who angel investors are and what it takes to become one. You will also learn what to look for in an investment and what female entrepreneurs must do when pitching their business ideas.

The Importance of Culture and a Functioning Board for Growing Businesses with Catherine Engmann

Catherine Engmann is the Partner and Head of Sirdar Ghana with over two decades of experience in corporate governance and company secretarial practice. She was the Managing Director and Founder of Platinum Corporate Solutions, an organization that focuses on supporting entities with the implementation of best practice corporate governance frameworks, cultural transformation, leadership development, organizational development and personal growth.

Catherine has a degree in Biotechnology, is a graduate of the ICSA (UK) and has several certifications in the human potential arena, including cultural transformational tools, leadership development, coaching and self-esteem. She is also a certified John Maxwell Coach, an Executive Director of the John Maxwell Team, a certified Jack Canfield Success Trainer.

 

In this 🎙️ episode, you will learn:

✨ The challenges she faced setting up a business in Ghana after relocating from the UK.

✨The mistakes to avoid and advice to repatriates looking to grow their business in Africa.

✨Her experience as a top corporate governance expert and the value of establishing boards in growing companies, especially those led by female founders and CEOs

✨ The value of having a coach or mentor, building and sustaining relationships as you rise in your career.

✨ And so much more!

Successfully Navigating the Corporate Landscape with Peju Adebajo

Peju is a seasoned C Level Executive who has led significant P&L’s ($500m in 2015) and is an experienced Non- Executive Director, Board Advisor and Chair. She has led in different ownership and governance structures including Publicly listed, Private Equity, Individual and Family-Owned businesses and has extensive international experience in Africa, Europe, the US and the UK.  She has worked across multiple sectors including Manufacturing and Distribution (Cement, Mattresses, Food), Energy (Renewables), Agriculture, Financial Services and Consulting.

Peju won the 2015 CNBC Africa Business Woman of the Year award and the 2013 Harvard Business School Nigeria Leadership award. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College, MBA from Harvard Business School and an AMP and AVIRA from INSEAD.

She supported the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning in the development of the 2017 – 2019 National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan in Nigeria.

In this 🎙️ episode, you will learn:

✨How Peju navigated her career path as MD and CEO in the private sector to become a high-performing Commissioner for the Ministry of Agriculture and successfully coming back in the corporate landscape.

✨The importance of networking beyond your comfort zone and advice to those aspiring to enter the public sector or become NEDs beyond their experience as MDs or CEOs in large corporate organisations.

✨The importance of writing down the future you want, being accountable and preparing yourself for it.

✨ And so much more!