“Arami began through frustration. It was just the frustration of not having the products I needed at my fingertips...” – Ore Runsewe (Founder & CEO, Arami Essentials)

That was the challenge Ore faced as she moved to Nigeria and couldn’t find her preferred skincare products locally. She started making hers, just for herself, unconsciously birthing the seeds of Arami Essentials.

On this episode, you'll hear Ore share her journey on building Arami Essentials, with a vision to pioneer the rebirth of natural ingredients from Africa as finished products into the global cosmetics space.

Today, Arami Essentials is a profitable company, and is one of the leading indigenous skincare products in Nigeria.

 

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Olaoluwa Awojoodu's (@OlaoluAwo) origin story speaks of resilience, persistence, and unstinting commitment to a dream that took a decade to bear fruits. 10 years of being alone on the journey and no one believing in his dream; even his parents had given up on him. 10 years of staying true to the course, pushing and fighting one day at a time, with nothing but a deep conviction that he had to succeed, before finally breaking through in 2016.

On this episode, you'll hear Olaoluwa talk about his early years and dream to be the richest man in the world, his failed businesses and lessons from them, as well as the 10 year journey and evolution from Cash Envoy to PayPad and now PayCenter.

Today, Olaoluwa Awojoodu is the Co-Founder and CEO of E-Settlement Limited, one of the topmost agent banking platforms in the country, processing about 3 billion naira transactions daily. 

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Not often do you see Nigerians in diaspora wanting to return to start a life. But, on that unremarkable day in 2015, Tosin Durotoye (@Tosin Durotoye) decided to leave it all; the great and impactful work she was doing, the great salary and perks she had, and her home for over 20 years - the United States. She decided to leave all and return to Nigeria.

 

Today, Tosin is the Dream Executor, Consultant Strategist, Founder of The Bloom Africa and CEO of Conselia Advisory. She also served as the Director of Greenhouse Lab, where she established the first female focused tech accelerator program in Nigeria as well as the only then powered by Google accelerator program in Africa.

 

On this episode (recorded in December 2019), we explore Tosin's origin story on feeling the fear and doing it anyway to live your best life. She talks about growing up on Obafemi Awolowo University campus, how she dealt with being bullied in her teenage years, how she took the plunge and returned to Nigeria in 2015, as well as the art of visioning. 

 

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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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What do you do when your life crashes right in front of you in the middle of your career? Everything had been going so well and suddenly, all comes crashing down? How do you pick up and build back the pieces of your life after a hard fall that leads you to an existential crisis?

 

 

That was the card life dealt Abiodun "Bizzle" Osikoya (@bizzleosikoya). Bizzle is the co-founder of The Plug Entertainment, a Talent Management, Music Distribution, Music Licensing and Event Company that has managed some of Africa's great talents like Davido, Peruzzi, and DJ Obi.

 

 

On this episode, Bizzle talks about his work experience with Obi Asika, lessons he learned from Don Jazzy and D'banj, why he had to leave Mavin Records, his mistakes and struggles, how the darkest moment of his life gave birth to The Plug NG, as well as what he lives for today.

 

 

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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 convince hard-to-get guests, and takes less than 60 seconds to complete.

 

 

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Teni Sagoe opens up about the origin story of CLAN, as well as the challenges faced in creating and scaling the business.

Established in 2011, and starting as a simple holiday venture, CLAN is a Nigerian dynamic brand that designs and retails premium ready-to-wear fashion to women. Its showcase at the Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week in 2014 elevated the brand to global status. The brand is recognized for its occasion-wear, which ranges from staple pieces that every woman should have in her wardrobe to trendy work-wear and luxurious evening wear. 

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Ashanti Branch shares the origin story of the Ever Forward Club, and how the Club gives today's young men a chance to get real and move ever forward. He talks about his struggles with how society defined masculinity as a young boy, having grown up without his father, and how men of today have been raised to mask their true selves. Through the bold and innovative Taking Off The Mask Workshop, Ashanti helps boys and girls, leaders and team members, around the world to identify and remove their masks.

More particularly, on this episode, Ashanti talks about his early days, the turning point in his life, his fears and doubts, failures, as well as his most alone and most inspiring moments. 

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Links

The Mask You Live In: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaIna_k8Ne0

100K Mask Challenge: www.100kmasks.com

Temie Giwa-Tubosun bares it all out on this episode; from how she stopped being a child at age 10 and became a mom, to how she had to attend therapy, and how an encounter she had with Aisha in Kano in 2008 birthed LifeBank Nigeria. She talks about her embarrassing first efforts, her mistakes, her struggles, her fears, her life lessons, and her inspiring moments. 

Don't forget to subscribe, give us a rating, and follow us @OriginsAF.

 

Episode Preview

Early years, journey through enforced poverty, and becoming a mom at age 10 (2:20)

Different career switches (23:52)

Starting LifeBank Nigeria (1:10:48)

Life lessons, Mistakes, Inspiring & Most Alone Moments (1:42:10)

In 2012, Abolore Salami was working at Del-York International and earning a decent amount. But the key thing there was that he still couldn't picture going from that to being rich. So, he was asking himself, "how do people then get rich earning a salary?"

 

On this episode, Salami shares his origin story, and mission to help people create a financially secure future through Riby, a fintech company. He talks about his early business failures while in school, his mistakes, and how the book, "The Richest Man in Babylon", inspired the birth of Riby. He also shares the need for the world to return to the apprenticeship model, as well as the importance of being prepared for one's time and chance.

On May 12, Origins Africa Podcast launches; a show focused on exploring the origin stories of people who made and are making their dreams come true, asking the What, the When, the How, and the Why.