Fiftyfaces Focus Nigerian Voices Podcast

Chidiebere Ibe is a medical student and Forbes-Featured medical illustrator whose illustration of a black fetus in utero went viral in December 2021.  Many commentators said that this was the first time that they had seen a depiction of a dark-skinned fetus or pregnant woman and provoked a discussion about the lack of representation of such images in textbooks and journals. Chidiebere has a bachelors degree in chemistry from the University of Uyo in Nigeria, and is the Chief Medical Illustrator at the Journal of Global Neurosurgery.  He holds numerous roles on various committees relating to medical education. Our conversation starts with Chidiebere's upbringing in Nigeria and some of the difficulties he encountered in getting even basic services - such as internet access.  He describes how he used to travel one hour each way to his church to get access to an internet connection. He then discusses his first attempt at medical illustrations and how he was essentially self-taught in this domain.  We move then to talk about "that" iconic image of a black fetus in utero that caused such a profound reaction across medical circles, medical schools and the media at large.  We talked about how empowering representation of diversity can be and how important it is to demonstrate belonging, a right to be counted and to be recognized and how it can enable better access to healthcare and better equity.  We finish with Chidiebere's personal reflections as he embarks upon another quest to attend medical school.  About the importance for him of understanding where he has come from, where he is now and where he is going.  See these links for more information on Chidiebere's work: www.chidiebereibe.com www.championingchange.africa This podcast is being released both as a bonus in advance of inclusion in our Fiftyfaces Focus Medicine and Science Series of 2022 as well as in our ongoing Nigerian Voices Series. 

Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes is the founder of Aruwa Capital Management, a growth equity impact fund investing in untapped opportunities across Nigeria and West Africa.  Founded when she was only 29, Aruwa Capital Management aims to change the narrative for women as capital allocators and entrepreneurs by investing in businesses that make an impact on addressing the gender gap. She previously was Partner and Managing Director at Syntaxis Africa and prior to that JP Morgan, and also holds a number of director roles as well as volunteer roles in groups such as Gaia Africa, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and Rising Tide Africa. In this fascinating discussion we discuss Adesuwa's early years in finance and what prompted her to start her own fund.  We analyze what it means to invest with a "gender lens" and learn how it is not just about creating more seats at the table, but creating more tables.Adesuwa is a visionary and empowering role model on the African financial scene and the vision for gender equity established by Aruwa Capital sets the standard for women-led equity everywhere. There is more information on Aruwa Capital Management here: https://www.aruwacapital.com

Adam Demuyakor is the founder and managing partner at Wilshire Lane Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm that focuses on PropTech solutions based in Los Angeles California.  Born in the US to a family originally from Ghana, Adam started out on Wall Street in investment banking and held a number of private equity and venture capital roles before found in Wilshire Lane.  He also holds a number of Board roles and is a Board of Trustee of the education nonprofit 9 Dots.Our conversation starts with his family roots, and the expectations that accompanied his schooling and career choices. We hear how he came to be interested in real estate and how he gained experience in both the private and public side of the business, and ultimately the vision with which he launched his own firm.  This is an opportunity for our discussion to dive into PropTech and discuss what the technology that is transforming real estate looks like, and how these theses are playing out.  Among some of the concepts discussed are Ghost Kitchens and the new look Self Storage outfits, and we discuss some of the business models that are exciting him most at this juncture.As an early stage venture capital firm, Wilshire Lane Capital, is highly focused on the entrepreneurs and their vision that they support, and many of them are diverse founders themselves.  In fact in an industry in which female and black and brown founders are poorly represented, Wilshire Lane is breaking the mould - 36% of their companies are led by women outright, 29% of their companies have a black founder on them, and 79% of their companies have an underrepresented minority or a female in the C suite. Wilshire Lane Capital recently entered into a strategic partnership with Nile Capital which sponsored our original diverse founders and VCs series, and we speak about how these ideas came together. We speak about 9 Dots (see: https://www.9dots.org) , a nonprofit, based in Los Angeles, that focuses on providing subsidized computer science courses for the poorest students in the city.  Adam shares why this is one of the most fulfilling of all of his roles.  Finally, we discuss some highs and lows of his career so far, what Adam looks for in a founder and what it means to pass the "Shower Test". This podcast series is brought to you with the kind support of:Romco Metals, producers of truly green aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous metals from the African continent, dedicated to decarbonising supply chains across the globe by recycling our way to a sustainable future. Romco: Invest, Reduce, & Grow.

Andara Kamara works at the tax policy unit in Ghana’s Ministry of Finance.  In this podcast, in which she is interviewed by Justina Etteh, she describes her path into the role, and how she first studied Development, expecting to use her skills in an international institution. The opportunity arose to work at the Ministry for Finance, and Andara describes how she overcame her uncertainty around presenting her work, phrasing her reports and generally adjusting to life in the Ministry. What follows is an open discussion about the challenges in work getting recognized, and how preparation wins every time - and is the path to victory. It is an essential guide for young people entering the daunting world of a massive civil service, and a set of relatable steps for how to stay focused on the task in hand, how to prepare and how to screen out noise. This podcast series is brought to you with the kind support of:Romco Metals, producers of truly green aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous metals from the African continent, dedicated to decarbonising supply chains across the globe by recycling our way to a sustainable future. Romco: Invest, Reduce, & Grow.

Justina Etteh is a transaction banking associate at a large global investment bank, based in London. She hails from Ghana and participated in a graduate training program sponsored by that bank that recruited her directly from Ghana. She spends a lot of her time mentoring young black students and colleagues in the world of finance and sharing her experiences in the workplace.Our conversation traces her journey into a role in banking, and her early introduction to financial literacy. She describes how she is committed to passing on what she has learned while she is still young, and to "lifting" as she climbs. I hope you find her as inspiring as I did.This podcast series is brought to you with the kind support of:Romco Metals, producers of truly green aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous metals from the African continent, dedicated to decarbonising supply chains across the globe by recycling our way to a sustainable future. Romco: Invest, Reduce, & Grow. 

Our first Ghanaian voice in this series is a legend on the London-based investment management scene. Dawid Konotey-Ahulu is an entrepreneur in financial services, technology and elderly care and the co-founder of Redington, the London-based independent pensions and insurance advisory group with $500 bn in assets under advisement, as well as mallowstreet.com, a social media platform connecting the pensions and insurance industry. He has had a long career in financial services and is a high-profile advocate for diversity within the financial services community and one of the leaders behind the recent initiative #100blackinterns.He is also the founder of Partnership for Change, which is driving a social movement to help improve the lives of older people, and Spellbound!, which helps young people develop their public speaking skills so that they can be passionate, compelling and inspiring.Our conversation traces Dawid’s journey into investment, his experience as a founder, his passion for the financial services industry and his wide range of public interest projects.This podcast series is brought to you with the kind support of:Romco Metals, producers of truly green aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous metals from the African continent, dedicated to decarbonising supply chains across the globe by recycling our way to a sustainable future. Romco: Invest, Reduce, & Grow.

In celebration of Ghana’s 2022 Independence Day, celebrated on March 6, 2022, we are delighted to bring you a bonus series featuring a collection of inspiring Ghanaian voices at home and away. We hear from Dawid Konotey Ahulu, who grew up in Ghana and pursued a successful career in finance in the UK – he has now committed to placing 10000 black interns into careers in finance through the 10000 Black Interns program, Justina Etteh who grew up and studied in Ghana and has brought her philosophy to lift as she climbs to London finance circles, Andara Kamara a guest interviewed by Justina, who describes her career path in Ghana’s Ministry of Finance and why victory loves preparation, and Adam Demuyakor born to Ghanaian parents in the US, and now at the helm of a venture capital firm in Los Angeles that makes a particular effort to fund diverse founders.One episode will launch every Wednesday during the month of March 2022.  See more on https://www.fiftyfaceshub.com/category/nigerian-voices/

Shalom Lloyd had a career of over 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry and then went on to found two businesses. She is the founder of Naturally Tribal skincare, a beauty line based on traditional remedies including shea butter, which she developed initially to cure her son’s eczema. She is also the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of eMQT, described as “the Bridge between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Africa” which facilitates clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies in Africa. She has been a keynote speaker on the topic of innovation and was a fellow of the Start-Up Leadership Program in London until 2020.Our conversation starts with Shalom's upbringing in Nigeria and her taste for adventure which saw her leave for Russia to study pharmacy at the age of 16. Returning from there she found her passion in the pharmaceutical industry and her realization of the gap in use of pharmaceutical trials in Africa was the spark for her business venture eMQT.Just as necessity is the mother of invention, Naturally Tribal was borne out of kitchen experimentation, and then sourcing the Shea Butter for that saw Shalom embark upon a journey back to her roots in Nigeria, and in particular to the Kingdom of Essan in Nigeria where Shea Butter is sourced. Shalom's mission is to make an impact on the women in this area, ensuring economic empowerment and a sustainable future. Naturally Tribal was launched in Harrods in Milton Keynes at the end of April 2021. I can't think of a better definition of impact than that.See this inspiring video for more information about Naturally Tribal and Shalom Lloyd's journey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq8mWKNwJg0. There is more information about Naturally Tribal at https://naturallytribalskincare.com/ and about eMQT at https://emqt.org.uk/This podcast series is brought to you with the kind support of:Romco Metals, producers of truly green aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous metals from the African continent, dedicated to decarbonising supply chains across the globe by recycling our way to a sustainable future. Romco: Invest, Reduce, & Grow; andMbuyu Capital Partners, an investment company focusing exclusively on Africa, managing portfolios of funds and direct investments for institutional clients and impact investors.

At the time of recording, Andrew Osayemi was a specialist diversity recruiter at Rare Recruitment and the creator of the Netflix TV show Meet the Adebanjos. He started his career as a city trader and then took the plunge into starting a TV production company, MTA productions – although, as he claims he did not “know anything about TV”. He is the author of the book “How my Disastrous Teenage Love Life Will Get You Your Dream Job”. Our fascinating discussion starts with his upbringing in South London, how he found himself a job in the City and the cultural adjustments that the trading floor entailed. As his career took off and took him to the US, he found himself faced with a challenging choice. His career then took a creative turn as he started to pitch his TV ideas and ultimately started a TV production company. We hear about the series of "Nos" that forced him to focus on "earning a Yes" and what happened when he did, finally, break through the competitive world of TV.The discussion would not have been complete without analyzing how his teenage love life could get me - or anyone - a dream job, and we look at how relationships and commitment to them can be the key to nurturing a career. We then talk about authenticity, gratitude, finding one's voice, speaking up and showing up at meetings and in careers. Andrew is now sharing his advice with the next generation and if you will follow him on LinkedIN you will see that he has an ambitious goal of speaking to 1 million young people this year to talk about his career, his choices and what is possible.This podcast series is brought to you with the kind support of:Romco Metals, producers of truly green aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous metals from the African continent, dedicated to decarbonising supply chains across the globe by recycling our way to a sustainable future. Romco: Invest, Reduce, & Grow; andMbuyu Capital Partners, an investment company focusing exclusively on Africa, managing portfolios of funds and direct investments for institutional clients and impact investors.

Uche Orji is CEO of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, based in Abuja, Nigeria. A native of Nigeria, he has had over 20 years experience in various financial roles including semiconductor analyst in Europe and the US, before returning to Nigeria just over 8 years ago. He also holds a number of Board roles.Our conversation starts with Uche's early career in investment banking and particularly semiconductor research. We hear about his swift rise to prominence in this area, and his global vantage point in this dynamic industry. We then move to what motivated his move home to Nigeria when he answered the call to take on a role at the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. This was a huge move - both in terms of responsibility and life direction but it was something he felt had immense sense of purpose and he committed to giving it all of his energy.We discuss what is at the forefront of his mind in his current role - from portfolio diversification to investing locally in the emerging technology sector across all of Africa. We discuss some misperceptions that abound about investor interest in Africa and why these misperceptions persist.Finally we reflect on people and organizations that have been influential and inspirational for Uche over his career so far. It is an enlightening conversation.This podcast series is brought to you with the kind support of:Romco Metals, producers of truly green aluminium, copper, and other non-ferrous metals from the African continent, dedicated to decarbonising supply chains across the globe by recycling our way to a sustainable future. Romco: Invest, Reduce, & Grow; andMbuyu Capital Partners, an investment company focusing exclusively on Africa, managing portfolios of funds and direct investments for institutional clients and impact investors.