"...He said, "Debby, you can sell these cookies." Ha, I looked at him, with my engineering? With these sleepless nights, you know, studying hard? In fact, I must confess, I rejected it. And, you know...then we had this, "when angels pass, when you say a negative word, and angels would pass, they'd just stamp it." So I always say I thank God that, that day, no angel passed because I rejected, in fact, I said Ha, no no no no..." - Debby Lawson, Co-Director, Fastizers Food and Confectionery Limited.

Fastizers Food & Confectionery Limited, a rapidly emerging food manufacturing company, started from a kitchenette in 2010 with very basic equipment, and with N960 only. Ten years after, Fastizers runs a 2-acre automated production factory in Agbara, Ogun State, fitted with modern baking equipment. Their current distribution covers over 20 states with a production of over 600,000 Fastizers Fun Cookies daily.

On this episode, the first part of our chat with Gbola & Debby Lawson, Co-Directors of Fastizers Food & Confectionery Limited, we explore the birth and growth of Fastizers, the 10-year journey and lessons learned, impact of Covid-19 on the business and how they've adapted, as well as how they have been able to build a successful company together as partners. This is our First Partnership Series on Origins Africa.

 

Episode Preview

02:15 - Introduction

05:47 - Covid-19; its impact and how Fastizers adapted 

12:16 - Fastizers' 10-year anniversary and lessons learned

19:40 - Partnership; how Gbola & Debby complement each other

33:51 - Birth & Growth of Fastizers

***

Season 1: Origins Africa Podcast Feedback

As we wrap up Season 1, we decided to make this survey to check how you feel about our current content as well as our future direction. The survey should only take a few minutes to fill out: bit.ly/originsafricapodcastfeedback. Thank you!

 

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"By the end of 2009, I was told to leave that same organization because of my political naiveté. So, that moment when I got the news, it was a moment of confusion, a moment of alone in this world, a moment of what's going on, how could this have happened to me?" - Yemi Faseun

On this episode, the concluding part of our chat with Yemi Faseun, "YF" as he's fondly called, we talk about how YF's political naiveté cost him his job and what helped him through that period. We also explore his general life lessons and advice for a successful HR career.

YF is a senior Human Resources Executive, with over 20 years' experience across the banking, telecommunication, and management consulting sectors. He is currently the Head of HR at Globacom Nigeria, a telecommunications firm.

 

***

Season 1: Origins Africa Podcast Feedback

As we wrap up Season 1, we decided to make this survey to check how you feel about our current content as well as our future direction. The survey should only take a few minutes to fill out: bit.ly/originsafricapodcastfeedback. Thank you!

 

Follow Origins Africa:

Twitter: twitter.com/originsaf

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"I left Ilorin with a single, minded focus; I dey go Lagos, honestly... I remember that it was late, it was raining; I symbolically actually said, hey guys, I'll see you later. Almost like just saying, guys, hey, I'm going for my dreams. That's how I came to Lagos on my own. The only things I came with were my credentials and my dreams." - Yemi Faseun

Yemi Faseun, "YF" as he's fondly called, is a Senior Human Resources (HR) Executive with over 20 years' experience across the banking, telecommunication, and management consulting sectors. He is currently the Head of HR at Globacom Nigeria, a telecommunications firm, and has actually led a nomadic career life, being on his 11th job.

On this episode, we explore YF's early years, his desire to be successful which was driven by a great fear of failure, his journey to Lagos in pursuit of his dreams, as well as his political naiveté lesson.

 

Episode Preview

02:10 - Introduction

04:33 - YF's desire to be successful, driven by a great fear of failure 

11:02 - Parental influence and YF's early years

15:30 - YF's first encounter with failure

43:35 - YF's journey to Lagos, early career years, and political naiveté lesson.

***

Season 1: Origins Africa Podcast Feedback

As we wrap up Season 1, we decided to make this survey to check how you feel about our current content as well as our future direction. The survey should only take a few minutes to fill out: bit.ly/originsafricapodcastfeedback. Thank you!

 

Follow Origins Africa:

Twitter: twitter.com/originsaf

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"I was about 26 when this happened, you know, and I was fortunate that that happened really early 'cause it ended up being one of the lowest points of my life. I became really broke, we became homeless, traded down 3 cars, you know... my back was against the wall, I was reading a lot, and that really was the moment of discovery and understanding for me..." - Kola Aina

 

On this episode, we explore Kola Aina's origin story. Kola is the Founding Partner of Ventures Platform, an early-stage fund that provides smart capital and growth support for bold entrepreneurs who are leveraging innovation to solve problems in Africa and around the world. Through Ventures Platform, Kola has invested in over 30 startups including CrowdForce, PayStack, Kudi, and PiggyVest.

 

But, there were hurdles Kola had to cross before getting to where he is today...

 

***

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"...Mehn, I wish I had a mentor. I mean, I'll tell you for free; someone who mentored me on financial management. All the monies I was making and the hiring I was doing, he would have properly guided me. You know, that would have been important; I would have been richer for it now, I would have probably managed relationships..."  - Emmanuel Tarfa (Partner & Co-Founder, Enzo, Krypton & Company).

On this episode, the concluding part of our chat with Emmanuel Tarfa, we explore Emmanuel's rise from the ashes following the death of his first life in business, Emmanuel's partnership with Deji Kurunmi, as well as the birth and growth of Enzo, Krypton & Company. We also talk about Emmanuel's mission to replicate himself into 1 million youths to solve the human capital crisis crippling the Nigerian market, as well as his general life lessons, unproud moments, and habits.  

 

Episode Preview

01:29 - Recap & Intro

03:08 - Emmanuel meets Deji Kurunmi, his Partner & Co-Founder

08:06 - The birth and growth of Enzo, Krypton & Company, and the human capital crisis crippling the Nigerian market  

27:41 - Key skills every young person should have towards solving the human capital crisis, and Emmanuel's plan to democratize

33:35 - Emmanuel's general life lessons, unproud moments, and habits

***

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"I eventually crashed that first life when I became overleveraged. So, you know, you borrow money to pay salaries, and you don't understand the dynamics; you're not paying attention to your numbers... I struggled. I literally came to a halt."  - Emmanuel Tarfa (Partner & Co-Founder, Enzo, Krypton & Company).

On this episode, we explore Emmanuel's first life in business, which covers him having his first "pop" at the age of 12, studying Economics at the University of Abuja, and starting Conceptual Initiatives & Youth Development. We also talk about the serendipitous meet Emmanuel had with Chukwuka Monye which became the biggest blessing of his life, as well as the entrepreneurship mistake he made twice which led to a dark period and ended his first life in business. In Emmanuel's words, he literally came to a halt.

Today, Emmanuel is a Partner & Co-Founder at Enzo, Krypton & Company, and he's on a mission to replicate himself into 1 million youths towards solving the human capital development crisis he believes is crippling the Nigerian market.

 

Episode Preview

02:37 - Emmanuel's early & secondary school years, and first "pop" at the age of 12

14:28 - Emmanuel's university years, and first business; Conceptual Initiatives & Youth Development

19:53 - Emmanuel's serendipitous meet with Chukwuka Monye, which became the biggest blessing of his life

34:38 - Emmanuel's first business life, mistakes, and eventual crash.

***

If you enjoy the podcast, could you kindly leave a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? Your reviews go a long way in helping us do better and convincing hard-to-get guests; it takes less than 60 seconds to complete.

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On the last episode, Debola Deji-Kurunmi's "DDK" origin story, Part 1, we explored DDK's growing up years and how intentional her parents were in programming her to expect to succeed in life. We also explored the problems she wanted to solve as a kid, her weaknesses and insecurities, as well as the birth and evolution of the Deborah Women Initiative, coupled with mistakes made along the way.

However, DDK is also a Learning & Development Professional, a Coach, as well as a Social Development Expert.

On this episode, Part 2, you'll hear Debola Deji-Kurunmi "DDK" talk about her experience at Phillips Consulting, how Immerse Coaching Company started as an experiment, as well as the birth of Ideation Hub Africa. We'll also explore DDK's general life lessons, mistakes and challenges, as well as how she's been able to juggle all her responsibilities, and yet live a highly productive life.

Debola Deji-Kurunmi is the President & Founder of the Deborah Initiative for Women, Founder & CEO of Immerse Coaching Company, and Executive Director at Ideation Hub Africa. 

***

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"...So I had situations where I felt ill-equipped and unqualified to attend to. People calling you and saying my daughter is sick; they are panicking, they want you to pray, they are hoping God is going to speak through you...and I'd feel like No... Please, this is not what I signed up for... So I started to become really hesitant." - Debola Deji-Kurunmi

 

Debola Deji-Kurunmi, "DDK" as she's fondly called, is the President & Founder of the Deborah Initiative for Women, a non-denominational Christian ministry in 5 countries equipping women to live for Christ. She's the Founder & Executive Director at Ideation Hub Africa, an accelerator for Africa’s social innovators, change makers and development entrepreneurs, which hosts Development Dialogue, Nigeria’s leading conference for NGOs leaders, Social Entrepreneurs and Changemakers. DDK is also the Founder & CEO of Immerse Coaching Company, an online personal transformation institute helping women launch a higher version of themselves. Immerse has an alumni of over 10, 000 women across 9 countries from its suite of programs since 2014.

 

Growing up, for DDK, is the most unforgettable part of her journey. On this episode, Part 1, DDK talks about how she was programmed by her parents to expect to succeed in life. She talks about her faith and philosophy, the problems she wanted to solve as a kid, as well as her insecurities and weaknesses. Finally, we explore the birth and evolution of the Deborah Initiative for Women, challenges faced, mistakes made, and lessons learned along the way. 

 

***

If you enjoy the podcast, could you kindly leave a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? Your reviews go a long way in helping us do better and convincing hard-to-get guests; it takes less than 60 seconds to complete.

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In 2010, Dr. Tayo Oyedeji had received several job offers from organizations across Europe and North America following completion of his MBA program at Oxford University. However, he chose to return to Nigeria.

On this episode, the concluding part of our chat with Dr. Tayo, we explore why he returned to Nigeria, his first CEO experience and leadership mistakes, his retirement at the age of 40, the challenges he faced launching Overwood, as well as his general life lessons. Dr. Tayo is the Founder & CEO of Overwood, an investment firm.

***

If you enjoy the podcast, could you kindly leave a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? Your reviews go a long way in helping us do better and convincing hard-to-get guests; it takes less than 60 seconds to complete.

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"I would finish those classes and people would say, "Hey, so now I understand that I should save and invest, but where?" The "but where" question was always there. And then, one day, I was like "Guys, what if I start a firm to help people invest their funds?"" - Dr. Tayo Oyedeji (Founder & CEO, Overwood).

 

In May 2016, Dr. Tayo Oyedeji decided to resign from his role as the Head of Publicis Media’s Africa business, where he was responsible for 756 employees in 34 countries. He resigned, retired at the age of 40, and returned to Nigeria. During his retirement, Dr. Tayo taught personal finance classes across the world, and it was while delivering those classes he uncovered something which led him to start Overwood, an investment firm. 

 

On this episode, Dr. Tayo talks about how Overwood was birthed and its mission to ensure that Africans are able to save, invest, and never lose their money. He also talks about growing up relatively poor in the small town of Ogbomoso in Oyo State of Nigeria, losing his father when he was about 18 years old, leaving his passion for music to pursue a career in finance and investments, as well as how following one's passion could turn out to be irresponsible sometimes.

 

***

If you enjoy the podcast, could you kindly leave a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? Your reviews go a long way in helping us do better and convincing hard-to-get guests; it takes less than 60 seconds to complete.

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