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.

• 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!

• 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)

• 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.

• 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' 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.

• 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)