She is passionate about accelerating the success timelines of womxn and BIPOC entrepreneurs so that they can build sales engines for their businesses faster and catch up in a male-dominated startup scene.

Making an impact is important to her, and she is actively looking for opportunities to give back to the community whether it’s through speaking or collaborating on events and projects (so can reach out to her- her contacts below!).

She has been building startups since she was 19, an experience she likes to think has been informed by my immigrant entrepreneur parents. I have a diverse background in business, design thinking, and social impact that has helped me challenge norms and push boundaries.  She co-created my first company (a clothing company) when she was 19 and sold it before her 23rd birthday. The brand’s clothing was seen on Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, and Gym Class Heroes during the heyday of Warped Tour in the mid-2000s. Before her co-founder and her exit, our clothing was in 250 major retailers worldwide, including Hot Topic and Zumiez.

In 2011, she co-founded a non-profit that fixed and prevented broken water systems in Cameroon and India by building community ecosystems of water maintenance care (this is different than many other Water NGOs because Water Collective co-creates [(pulls versus push- a theory mentioned in the Book: The Prosperity Paradox by Professor Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, Karen Dillon) with locals from decision making to implementation]. She led an international team to secure clean water for over 80,000 people. The organization has been recognized by Forbes, DevEx, African Business Review, and ELLE Magazine.

Through her current work at Ascent Strategy, She has helped numerous women founders go from side-hustle to full-time business owners by helping them step into their sovereignty and accelerate their sales.

She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, a Fred Alger Finance Award winner, and named one of the world’s 100 most inspiring women by Salt Magazine and Diageo.

Sophia Sunwoo's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-sunwoo/

Ascent Strategy: https://www.ascent-strategy.com/

You can work with her by signing up here: https://www.ascent-strategy.com/workwithme4

Hard Lessons from 14 years of entrepreneurship: https://www.ascent-strategy.com/insights/2021/2/5/4-hard-lessons-from-14-years-of-entrepreneurship

Water Collective: http://www.thewatercollective.org/

She is passionate about accelerating the success timelines of womxn and BIPOC entrepreneurs so that they can build sales engines for their businesses faster and catch up in a male-dominated startup scene.

Making an impact is important to her, and she is actively looking for opportunities to give back to the community whether it’s through speaking or collaborating on events and projects (so can reach out to her- her contacts below!).

She has been building startups since she was 19, an experience she likes to think has been informed by my immigrant entrepreneur parents. I have a diverse background in business, design thinking, and social impact that has helped me challenge norms and push boundaries.  She co-created my first company (a clothing company) when she was 19 and sold it before her 23rd birthday. The brand’s clothing was seen on Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, and Gym Class Heroes during the heyday of Warped Tour in the mid-2000s. Before her co-founder and her exit, our clothing was in 250 major retailers worldwide, including Hot Topic and Zumiez.

In 2011, she co-founded a non-profit (Water Collective) that fixed and prevented broken water systems in Cameroon and India by building community ecosystems of water maintenance care (this is different than many other Water NGOs because Water Collective co-creates [(pulls versus push- a theory mentioned in the Book: The Prosperity Paradox by Professor Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, Karen Dillon) with locals from decision making to implementation]. She led an international team to secure clean water for over 80,000 people. The organization has been recognized by Forbes, DevEx, African Business Review, and ELLE Magazine.

Through her current work at Ascent Strategy, She has helped numerous women founders go from side-hustle to full-time business owners by helping them step into their sovereignty and accelerate their sales.

She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, a Fred Alger Finance Award winner, and named one of the world’s 100 most inspiring women by Salt Magazine and Diageo.

Sophia Sunwoo's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-sunwoo/

Ascent Strategy: https://www.ascent-strategy.com/

You can work with her by signing up here: https://www.ascent-strategy.com/workwithme4

Hard Lessons from 14 years of entrepreneurship: https://www.ascent-strategy.com/insights/2021/2/5/4-hard-lessons-from-14-years-of-entrepreneurship

Water Collective: http://www.thewatercollective.org/

Cicy (Shengnan) Zhang graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2018, wherein she focused on areas such as Education innovation and social entrepreneurship, and more. She is also the Chief Human Resource Officer (Chief "Heart" Resource Officer she will say) at BrainCo and a life Coach. She has studied at the Yangming Philosophy Academy, which she elaborates more on in this episode. 

One of the amazing things about the Yangming Philosophy Academy is a 10-year plan that guides its participants to develop a vision of their lives in the next 10 years. Cicy provides a very clear and insightful description of that in this episode as well.  

Cicy grew up in China and later on attended the Beijing International Studies University. After some work experience,  she applied twice and then got admitted in her second attempt into the Harvard Graduate School of Education (She has a really interesting story here on her second attempt and such a key life lesson to pay attention to).

Cicy is also the co-founder of YouthPower. YouthPower was founded in 2012 by three college students who aspired to transform China’s traditional test-oriented education system by embedding leadership and social innovation into school curriculums. Through experiential extracurricular activities, implementation of yearlong social projects, and intercultural exchanges, YouthPower’s mission is to nurture responsible citizens who can bring positive change to China’s society as future leaders of tomorrow. 

Initially started in Beijing, YouthPower has expanded to 27 cities all over China and currently works with more than 700 high schools, impacting over 30,000 high school beneficiaries.

Cicy's life journey and commitment to a cause is an example of a "Doer in an Emerging Market" and someone whose mission is to help others fulfill their life purpose through education and practicing philosophies such as the Yangming Philosophy of Academy. 

Cicy also mentioned some really important life lessons in this episode especially to those that feel "lost" or don't feel like having a purpose. Please watch to the end.

As of her birthday this past month, she currently made the call to offer 100 hours of free-trial coaching in order the lives of 100 souls through a professional life coaching experience. You can sign up for her free coaching session hours here: https://calendly.com/shengnan-zhang/30mins-coaching-session-with-cicy?month=2021-03

In this episode, Cicy also provides some institutions that helped her along with her entrepreneurial journey, which can be a resource to you as well: 

The DO School: https://thedoschool.com/

Watson Institute: https://watson.is/

I hope you enjoy the episode and some of the important lessons shared by Cicy. Thanks, Cicy for coming as a guest, and many thanks to all our listeners. Without you, this podcast won't mean anything. So, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!

So far, I am in Chapter 10 of this book. This the quickest read that I have done so far. I think the main reason is that it is very relatable personally, and I think it is very engaging as well. 

This book encompasses the "risk and return" of completely throwing yourself into a future that is not that obvious (with some risk) per the alternative. In this case, it was him staying in his current role at Bain and more "not being his "true self"-expressing his "Nigerian-ness" as he stipulated in the book. 

Please take a listen, and I hope you enjoy it. 

The book: https://www.amazon.com/Risk-Return-journey-entrepreneurship-self-discovery-ebook/dp/B07KK7TSKT

Information to join Reading Community on Zoom

Zoom ID: 819 6693 7962

Passcode: q3BRQZ

I read the introduction of the book Risk and Return: A Journey of Entrepreneurship and Self-Discovery in Africa by Yomi Jemibewon, and why it perhaps helpful to every entrepreneur who is fearful and anxious about taking on that entrepreneurial journey. More so, it also speaks a story of doing business in Africa, which I hope to dive into it this month with a reading community (information to join below). 

Risk and Return: A Journey of Entrepreneurship and Self-Discovery in Africa by Yomi Jemibewon: https://www.amazon.com/Risk-Return-journey-entrepreneurship-self-discovery-ebook/dp/B07KK7TSKT

Information to join Reading Community on Zoom

Zoom ID: 819 6693 7962

Passcode: q3BRQZ

Hibla Community Inc. is a small business founded by Jezreel John (JJ) Punzalan and his best friend, Dionela Bigcas pursuing the social enterprise model to provide decent, effective, and ethical working conditions for people of local communities around the Philippines. Currently, Hibla Co is doing business as Magiting Coffee Manila as they sell single-origin specialty coffee sourced from the province of Lipa, Batangas in the Philippines.  

JJ recently won funding from the United States' Mission to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) wherein he will be working with the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), the US Embassy, and the US Department of State for 10 months. 

Dionela is also from the development sector with more experience than JJ and currently completing a Masters in Political Economics in International Relations and Development). Dionela and JJ both trust each other as well as perfectly complement each other especially with Dionela's expertise in Finance.  

As JJ states, "We are very different people but we have the same goals." 

For every aspiring entrepreneur out there be inspired by JJ's story and inspiring words as you listen to this episode.  

How can you purchase Magiting Coffee Manila?  

You can put in an order via Magiting Coffee Manila Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/magitingcoffee  

Or on their Instagram's account: https://www.instagram.com/magitingcoffee/?hl=en  

Reach out to them at [email protected]

Hibla Community Inc. is a small business founded by JJ and his best friend, Dionela Bigcas pursuing the social enterprise model to provide decent, effective, and ethical working conditions for people of local communities around the Philippines.  Currently, Hibla Co is doing business as Magiting Coffee Manila as they sell single-origin specialty coffee sourced from the province of Lipa, Batangas in the Philippines. 

JJ recently won funding from the United States' Mission to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) wherein he will be working with the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), the US Embassy, and the US Department of State for 10 months. For every aspiring entrepreneur out there be inspired by JJ's story and inspiring words as you listen to this episode. 

Dionela is also from the development sector with more experience than JJ and currently completing a Masters in Political Economics in International Relations and Development). Dionela and JJ both trust each other as well as perfectly complement each other especially with Dionela's expertise in Finance. As JJ states, "We are very different people but we have the same goals." 

How can you purchase Magiting Coffee Manila?  

You can put in an order via Magiting Coffee Manila Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/magitingcoffee

Or on their Instagram's account: https://www.instagram.com/magitingcoffee/?hl=en 

Reach out to them at [email protected]

Mr. Kenneth Legesi is an engineer by training and Entrepreneur/Angel/Venture Capitalist in practice is based in London with most of his companies listed below headquartered in Kampala, Uganda. 

He is the co-founder of 97Fund, an Africa focussed early-stage fund & Kampala Angel Investment Network (KAIN), which gathers innovators, entrepreneurs, and Angels under the mutual objective is bringing IDEAs to life. He is also the CEO of Ortus Africa Capital, a platform guides and advises on investment decisions across different asset classes with a focus on Africa  In addition, he co-founded Digest Africa, Africa's leading startup investors use our proprietary data and insights sourced through algorithmic and white-gloved processes to make their day to day investment decisions.

His co-founder for 97Fund and Kampala Angel Investment Network (Kain) is CK Japheth. CK is the founder of Innovation Village Kampala, Uganda's fastest growing engine, wherein they do most of their deal-sourcing. 

At KAIN, Kenneth is always open to welcoming both local and global angels and venture capitalists on his several investment platforms. You can reach out to him directly at [email protected], info@ortusafrica.com for Ortus Capital-related investments, and KAIN-related inquiries. 

My Final Take on the Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty Book by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, and Karen Dillon

Some themes in my Review:   

1. Market Creating Innovations  

2. Non-Consumption  

3. Pull vs. Pull   

Thank you so much for stopping by on this channel. 

I hope you enjoyed this video. 

Links to some exciting projects:  

 Link to my podcast: https://anchor.fm/jamani-stories 

Link to the Pre-Entrepreneurship School: https://thepeschool.com/ 

More of my projects can be found here: https://linktr.ee/Jfohtung1

It took me a long time to accept that it is tough to uncover unknown facts or details that were not necessarily available to an African in Diaspora like me on what it takes to start and run a successful business in the African continent.

I began to reflect on the necessary information and experiences that I needed to have to be able to fully understand what it means to start a business in Africa. Who were the people within my network whom I could talk to in order to provide me with some “insights” into what it takes to run a successful business on the continent? What was I really good at?

I do not think I am alone in this struggle. In my inner circle of those in the diaspora, reality perceptions are often clouded with misinformation from siloed groups that amplify opportunities and business activities' downfalls. It is often highly polarizing and misconstrued.

Doing business in Africa perhaps requires a combination of local experience of unique insights into how the system works and understands its nature. And last but not least, understanding where the opportunities are or, as the authors I admire, Efosa Ojomo will say, the non-consumption market in a book he co-authored called the Prosperity Paradox.

Perhaps this book will provide some lessons to Africans in the Diaspora and non-residents of the continent of what it takes to build a successful company in Africa.

Information about this book please go here.