Stories That Shape Us

Join us on this fun and insightful conversation with Bayile Adeoti, a social entrepreneur and founder of Dechomai, an organization that helps individuals and communities overcome barriers to entrepreneurial success. In this episode, Bayile shares her personal journey to social entrepreneurship, the challenges she faced, and the lessons she learned along the way.

🔗 Connect with Bayile

⁠⁠ ⁠🐦 Twitter ⁠| ⁠📸 Instagram⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠

Rapid-fire questions

🧰 Resources mentioned

1. The Story of Joseph

2. Seeing Beautiful Again

3. https://hatchenterprise.org

4. https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/insights/the-top-barriers-faced-by-black-entrepreneurs.html

Rough estimates put Yoruba (a popular language in Western Nigeria) at having roughly 50 million speakers and our guest today is one of those pathfinding teaching Artificial Intelligence concepts in this language (her mother tongue). She transitioned from being a full-time Pharmacist into becoming an expert Data Scientist. On this enlightening conversation with Technical Instructor at LinkedIn Learning, Data Scientist, Pharmacist, AI educator Wuraola Oyewusi, we explore the following:

Bio

Wuraola is a Data Scientist, Technical Instructor and Pharmacist, a passionate professional committed to advancing Artificial Intelligence practice. She has held roles in AI Research as a Researcher(Data Science and Data Curation) at the Imperial College London and previously Led Research and Innovation at Data Science Nigeria.

Her research interest is in Natural Language Processing and she has also been in the forefront of the unstructured data application and open source access, especially in the area of health and language. She is the Author and Instructor of the ⁠Hand-on Natural Language Processing⁠, ⁠Advanced AI: NLP techniques for Clinical Datasets⁠ and⁠ Hands-On Data Science and AI for Healthcare⁠ courses on LinkedIn Learning, contributed to the Springer ⁠AI in Medicine⁠ Textbook and teaches Tech in Yoruba on ⁠YouTube⁠. You can follow her research⁠ publications⁠ and ⁠medium blog⁠"

🔗 Connect with Wuraola

⁠🐦 Twitter ⁠| ⁠📸 Instagram⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠

Rapid-fire questions

🧰 Resources mentioned

Favorite book: ‘Buy the future’ by Mensah Otabil

Ebuka Mordi is a creative fashion and commercial photographer based in Nigeria. His work has featured in Vogue Italia and he currently advises Adobe on their Lightroom suite. Ebuka's remarkable journey started several years ago when he picked up his iPod and started to shoot photos with it.

Ebuka's journey into photography, as you would discover in this episode is not just about capturing beautiful images; it's a journey of self-discovery. Throughout the episode, he shares personal stories that offer a glimpse into his stories of growth. Listen in as he recounts the moment his talent was recognized, the initial struggles of turning a hobby into a successful business, and how he overcame the obstacles on his path.

As we venture into Ebuka's creative world, he provides insights on how he continues to drive progress in his craft, including his ventures into teaching Skillshare classes, running a YouTube page, and even selling NFTs. What stands out to me in Ebuka's story is the importance of authenticity, consistency and staying true to your creative vision. Join us on this fascinating journey and be inspired by Ebuka's story.

🔗 Connect with Ebuka

⁠📸 Instagram⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠🐦 Twitter | LinkedIn⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠🌐 Behance

🧰 Resources/links mentioned

Sir Geoff Palmer is Scotland’s first Black Professor and is Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University. He was knighted by the Queen in 2014. His groundbreaking work, the barley abrasion process has revolutionised the world of brewing and has earned him the ⁠American Society of Brewing Chemists⁠ Award of Distinction, considered the "⁠Nobel prize⁠ of brewing".

Sir Geoff was also recently honoured by King Charles with his portrait which is on public display at Edinburgh’s royal palace as part of celebrating the Windrush Generation. The special display commemorates the positive contributions these pioneering men and women have made to the United Kingdom. In this reflective and historically-rich conversation, we discussed Sir Geoff's journey, upbringing, pivotal moments in his life, the famous “Barley Abrasion” process, and what advice he would give to younger people looking to get involved in activism and science.

🔗 Connect with Sir Geoff Palmer

⁠⁠⁠⁠🐦 Twitter ⁠

Rapid-fire questions

1. What is your favourite book? ⁠⁠⁠The Bible 

2. Who are the top three leaders who have inspired you? Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah

3. If you could have only three apps on your phone, what apps would those be - Twitter and Facebook

4. Who are some people that have made the impression on your life’s story - 1. The headmaster of Shelbourne Road Secondary Modern who took me into school (An headmaster in 1955 rejected Sir Geoff Palmer from a school calling him 'educationally subnormally')

2. Professor Anna Macleod at Heriot Watt College who accepted Sir Geoff into his PhD program. 

🧰 Resources mentioned

The Bible

Sir Geoff Palmer is Scotland’s first Black Professor and is Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University. He was knighted by the Queen in 2014. His groundbreaking work, the barley abrasion process has revolutionised the world of brewing and has earned him the ⁠American Society of Brewing Chemists⁠ Award of Distinction, considered the "⁠Nobel prize⁠ of brewing".

Sir Geoff was also recently honoured by King Charles with his portrait which is on public display at Edinburgh’s royal palace as part of celebrating the Windrush Generation. The special display commemorates the positive contributions these pioneering men and women have made to the United Kingdom. In this reflective and historically-rich conversation, we discussed Sir Geoff's journey, upbringing, pivotal moments in his life, the famous “Barley Abrasion” process, and what advice he would give to younger people looking to get involved in activism and science.

🔗 Connect with Sir Geoff Palmer

⁠⁠⁠⁠🐦 Twitter ⁠

Rapid-fire questions

1. What is your favourite book? ⁠⁠⁠The Bible 

2. Who are the top three leaders who have inspired you? Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah

3. If you could have only three apps on your phone, what apps would those be - Twitter and Facebook

4. Who are some people that have made the impression on your life’s story - 1. The headmaster of Shelbourne Road Secondary Modern who took me into school (An headmaster in 1955 rejected Sir Geoff Palmer from a school calling him 'educationally subnormally')

2. Professor Anna Macleod at Heriot Watt College who accepted Sir Geoff into his PhD program. 

🧰 Resources mentioned

The Bible

Sir Geoff Palmer is Scotland’s first Black Professor and is Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University. He was knighted by the Queen in 2014. His groundbreaking work, the barley abrasion process has revolutionised the world of brewing and has earned him the American Society of Brewing Chemists Award of Distinction, considered the "Nobel prize of brewing".

Sir Geoff was also recently honoured by King Charles with his portrait which is on public display at Edinburgh’s royal palace as part of celebrating the Windrush Generation. The special display commemorates the positive contributions these pioneering men and women have made to the United Kingdom. In this reflective and historically-rich conversation, we discussed Sir Geoff's journey, upbringing, pivotal moments in his life, the famous “Barley Abrasion” process, and what advice he would give to younger people looking to get involved in activism and science.

🔗 Connect with Sir Geoff Palmer

⁠⁠⁠🐦 Twitter

Rapid-fire questions

1. What is your favourite book? ⁠The Bible 

2. Who are the top three leaders who have inspired you? Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah

3. If you could have only three apps on your phone, what apps would those be - Twitter and Facebook

4. Who are some people that have made the impression on your life’s story - 1. The headmaster of Shelbourne Road Secondary Modern who took me into school (An headmaster in 1955 rejected Sir Geoff Palmer from a school calling him 'educationally subnormally')

2. Professor Anna Macleod at Heriot Watt College who accepted Sir Geoff into his PhD program. 

🧰 Resources mentioned

The Bible

Henry is an educator and storyteller committed to making quality education accessible to all, especially children and young people in low-income communities.
His career journey started in Nigeria's media start-up scene, where he worked on press relations and created content to shape conversations across Africa. Simultaneously, he volunteered weekly at a local secondary school, leading leadership skills development sessions for teachers and students. This experience ignited his passion for education and led him to Teach For Nigeria, where he worked for 2 years to improve education in under-served communities.
After his time in the classroom, he founded Sharing Life Africa to tackle his community's toughest challenges. They focus on empowering women, educating girls, and providing digital skills to young people. Their work touches around 700 lives each month, mainly women and girls in low-income areas.
With a unique skill-set across media, education, and non-profit sectors, Henry has used technology, data-driven strategies, and the power of stories to create impactful programs and platforms. He has worked with diverse teams to deliver valuable learning experiences for communities large and small, in Nigeria, Kenya, & Scotland. Now, at Teach For All, he heads Strategic Communications, sharing the inspiring stories, insights, and impacts of their network.

Bio - Henry's LinkedIn

🔗 Connect with Henry

⁠🌐 Website | 🐦 Twitter | 📸 Instagram | LinkedIn⁠

Join us on this deep, enlightening and emotional conversation with Henry on his life's stories, what excellence means to him, lessons from working to improve education in under-served communities and dealing with grief.

Rapid-fire questions

1. What is your favourite book - “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky

2. If you could have only three apps on your phone, what would they be - LinkedIn, Bible app, Outlook

3. What is your favourite compliment - when people give good reviews on my writings

🧰 Resources/Links mentioned

1. Sharing Life Africa's website

2. A short film on the impact of Henry Anumudu as a Teacher and Founder of SharingLife

Adora Nwodo is a multi-award-winning Software Engineer. She currently works at Microsoft where she builds Mixed Reality on the Cloud. She is passionate about the Cloud and Emerging Technologies. She is also the Vice President of the Nigerian chapter for VRAR Association. Her work there involves creating more awareness for Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies.

Apart from building and advocating for mixed reality technologies, Adora is a Digital Creator and the Founder of NexaScale, a social enterprise aimed at fostering the growth and development of technology enthusiasts by providing resources and opportunities for project building and work experience - helping them start and scale their careers. She has courses online that teaches people about Infrastructure automation, she has also published multiple articles on Software Engineering, Productivity & Career Growth on her blog, AdoraHack. She also has a YouTube channel for AdoraHack where she posts tech content that could be useful to Software Developers. Currently, Adora is a student of LEAD in the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Adora's books include "Cloud Engineering for Beginners" and “Beginning Azure DevOps, ” a book published by Wiley.

Adora spends a lot of her time on Twitter and LinkedIn sharing about her experience as a woman in tech. She is extremely passionate about the developer community and is trying to drive inclusion for women in technology. She co-organizes community events for unStack Africa, contributes to Open Source, and speaks at technology conferences worldwide.

🔗 Connect with Adora

⁠🌐 Website | 🐦 Twitter | 📸 Instagram | LinkedIn⁠

Join us on this fun conversation with Adora, software engineer at Microsoft, founder of NexaScale and author of the newly released book “Beginning Azure Devops”. We talked about her upbringing, and her family's impact on her life. She talked about dealing with the pressures of people looking up to her, how she structures her time to be more effective and some of the lessons she has learnt in her life.

Rapid-fire questions

1. What is your favourite book - “Hit refresh” by Satya Nadella

2. Favourite holiday destination - Santorini, Greece

3. Three most influential people in your life - Chimamanda Adichie, Family, primary 5 math teacher - late Uncle Sunday

🧰 Resources mentioned

Adora's book: Beginning Azure DevOps: Planning, Building, Testing, and Releasing Software Applications on Azure

With a background in International Education Development and Economics, Odinaka Chukwu is an experienced professional with a passion for leveraging education as a tool for social and economic development. She brings a dynamic set of experiences in international education, non-profit leadership, and social change and transformation, including co-founding Sharing Life Africa, a nonprofit creating access to quality education for children in underserved communities in Africa through women's economic empowerment and education support programs. Odinaka has built a reputation as a transformation catalyst. She is passionate about helping others nurture their potential to birth outstanding results and finds multifaceted ways to express this through teaching, mentoring, writing, coaching, and leading social change innovation projects.

🔗 Connect with Odinaka

⁠⁠🌐 LinkedIn⁠

Join us on this inspiring episode as we sit down with Odinaka, a learning and development professional and transformation catalyst. Listen in as Odinaka shares her work-related experiences, her mission of personal transformation, and her founding of the Graduate Journey Podcast. We cover a wide range of topics and learn about Odinaka's story in this engaging conversation.

Odinaka discusses her role as a transformation catalyst and how she uses various mediums, such as writing and speaking to young adults, to inspire and empower others in their personal journey. We also talk about her co-founding of Sharing Life Africa, an organization that aims to provide access to quality education for children. One of her favourite initiatives at the organization focuses on the Cash Transfer Program, which provides cash and training to women in the community, allowing them to start businesses, support their families, and send their children to school.

Throughout the episode, we touch on Odinaka's passion for education and her commitment to making a lasting impact in the sector. She shares her experience teaching in a rural community in Nigeria and how she was inspired to co-found an amazing company in the education space. We also explore her transition to the University of Pennsylvania for her Masters, her struggles adjusting to a new environment, and her experience starting a podcast to share her journey. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to hear Odinaka's story and learn from her wisdom and experiences.

Rapid-fire questions

Favourite book: ⁠Becoming by Michelle Obama⁠

Favourite food: Anything with chicken in it

Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles

🧰 Resources mentioned

Books: ⁠Becoming by Michelle Obama

Growing up with hardworking parents who instilled the value of diligence, our remarkable guest - Sofiat has dedicated her life to making a difference in the world. This has shown in her founding ⁠Computer Science Academy Africa (CSAAfrica)⁠ - an initiative aiming to provide young Africans in STEM with access to quality computer science education and her numerous speaking/mentoring involvements. She also founded the Nigerian Student Society at the University of Glasgow. Sofiat's passion for helping others (particularly through CSAAfrica) has led to her being awarded the Future World Changer Award by the University of Glasgow. In this episode, we explore her upbringing, pivotal moments and why she believes in giving back to others. Her dedication to teaching, community outreach, and creating positive change is truly inspiring.

Sofiat takes us behind the scenes of running an organisation such as CSAAfrica and one highlight was her candid explanation that the journey wasn't always easy. She feels grateful that she kept on going.

Finally, we discuss the importance of self-care and balance while striving to help others. Our guest shares their insights on setting boundaries, prioritizing wellbeing, and recognising one's strengths and resources when setting goals. Don't miss this inspiring episode as we uncover the power of kindness, determination, and the pursuit of making a positive impact in the world.

🔗 Connect with Sofiat

⁠⁠⁠⁠🌐 LinkedIn ⁠ | ⁠🐦 Twitter⁠ ⁠⁠

Rapid-fire questions

Favourite book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Deep work by Cal Newport⁠

Favourite food: Plantain and Beans

Favourite inspirational leader: Barack Obama

Favourite holiday destination: Marrakech, Morocco

What is one subject you would want to know more about: Machine Learning

Favourite compliment you've received: Anytime people tell me I've made an impact in their lives particularly when I could have given up

What would you want your legacy to be: I would want to be remembered as a person who gave knowledge to others to help them grow and also an outstanding researcher who made an impact in my field

🧰 Resources mentioned

Books:⁠ Deep work by Cal Newport⁠⁠

Bio

Dr Sofiat Olaosebikan is a Lecturer in the School of Computing Science, University of Glasgow. In 2018, Sofiat started the Computer Science Academy Africa (CSA Africa) initiative to empower young Africans with computing skills. So far, Sofiat and her team have received funding of up to £120,000, which has enabled them train over 500 participants via their Python programming workshops in Nigeria (2018 and 2022), Rwanda (2019), and online (2021). In recognition of the transformational change engineered by this initiative, Sofiat was named as a Future World Changer by the University of Glasgow in 2018. In addition, she was recently selected as one of the Highly Commended Finalists, Top 50 Women in Engineering 2022: Inventors and Innovators - awarded by the Womens' Engineering Society. She received her PhD from the University of Glasgow in 2020, an MSc from the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), Ghana in 2015, and a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 2012. Sofiat’s research interests broadly spans algorithm design using graph theory, computational complexity, optimisation, as well as software engineering. Her ongoing work focusses on the design of efficient algorithms for problems in matching theory as well as in engineering. She has published her research findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and she has presented her work at several international conferences.