More Than A Handout ft. Vanessa Okoye, CEO of Smart Map Empire
More Than a Handout discusses the long-standing effects of having your career attributed to the men in your life. In a society that always puts women in the shadows — despite all their achievements — The Glory Network is dedicated to telling the stories of successful women regardless.
We have Vanessa Okoye, the CEO of Smart Map Empire her new record label and the daughter of Paul Okoye the CEO of One Africa Music Fest, an entertainment company that has held one of the biggest Afrobeats music festivals in Nigeria, London, New York and Dubai.
In your own words, what do you do & why do you love doing it?
I do a bit of everything — I’m a radio & TV presenter, I have a Youtube channel and I’m an artist manager and CEO of Smart Map Empire.
It all started because I love working with new ideas to create dope content. It’s something I have been doing for over 6 years now and with that evolution, artist management is something I became passionate about. “
To me, music is everything. I find myself listening to new things everyday — even if I’m not working. I love to identify new sounds, new rhythms and help support those new voices become everything that I believe they can be.
How did you get into it?
My family has been able to hold a legacy in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. Over this time, I have been able to meet wonderful people, and eventually, I started to fall In love with everything that entertainment comes with.
It’s something that’s been done for decades, but there’s still this refreshing feeling of countless opportunities — especially in Nigeria where it’s a constantly growing industry.
I actually studied to be a lawyer for 2 years and one day I found myself being a presenter for one of the biggest tv stations in Ghana at the time (4Syte). It all just kind of unravelled from there.
In which ways do you think being a woman has impacted your career?
With the career path I’ve taken, it’s hard. Especially in Nigeria, because most people look down on women here. But I’ve always believed that if you’re strong, you can overcome anything. I had to upgrade my werey! 😉
How do you navigate the assumption that the success of your career might be attributed to your background instead of your own personal accomplishments?
To be very honest, this is just something I’ve always had to live with. Having the credit shifted can be annoying at times but at the end of the day, he is my father and he taught me everything I know!
I’m proud of my dad and his accomplishments. Is it my fault that he is my dad? Honestly, I decided to follow in his footsteps so there isn’t anything I can really do about it other than doing what I do, and killing it. Outside of that, I just live with it. I have so many accomplishments — that I achieved alone — outside of the entertainment industry.
I’m proud of my family and the legacy that the name holds so I will continue to live the name! It’s a flex.
