Why is there a rise of social entrepreneurs from Nigeria?
We are the generation that grew up being overly optimistic.
I mean why wouldn't we be? we have seen a world without the internet and technology and at the same time got to grow up with technology and the internet.
I've told my story a million times but it can never be told enough. I never thought I was going to be an entrepreneur while growing up. I was a rather introverted kid who watched way too many cartoons and discovery channel with a dream of being a computer engineer/game developer someday.
You see for most of my life I felt alone, I always felt there where few people I could relate with which caused me to spend most of my time indoors in my room, but I've always had a wild imagination waiting to lash out…
The Internet
Being a misfit and a creative in a cultural and traditional country can be very difficult. Everyone expects you to behave in a certain way and your dreams are constantly being crushed by skeptical parents who tell you that you are not in America. They are right after all we are not. This is precisely why we have all the advantages. The internet showed us something truly magical from a very young age which is.
We are not alone, there any many more who think just like us all over the world and thanks to the internet we all have the same resources and are more connected than ever.
We formed truer relationships through the internet than through our immediate surroundings. We formed connections with creative minds from all over the world which also expanded our imagination. We watch the phone go from a box in the street to fit on our wrist (apple watch) and the internet isn't even matured yet. How can we not be overly optimistic? but optimism isn't action…
A consumer country
Nigeria has always been a spoilt rich baby, constantly wanting to be fed by other countries and lashing cash around like it comes out of the ground. ( it does ). The amount of creation being done by the youth was still very minimal mainly because of pressure from society for follow a fixed path and also comfort of what I would call the “good times” when 1 dollar = 150 naira. But all that changed in 2016 when we saw the price of a dollar double and ultimately leading to a recession. All the jobs dried up soo fast and ALL of youths ( 7.9 million Nigerian graduates youth) lay unemployed. SO who is going to create the jobs? the government? haha!
Creating the Future
Like me, a lot of Nigerian youths that had the privilege of getting to interact with different cultures have decided to take the problems of our country on our shoulders. We can't build rockets to mar without first solving our infrastructure and social problems first. So taking a lot of inspiration from the rest of the world and having access to the same tools we are able to create solutions that focus a lot more on impact and progress of our country and communities, this in turn is inspiring a new generation of social entrepreneurs on a mission to change our narrative and be of positive impact the the world.
SENPAI
I never taught I would become an entrepreneur but here we are. Passionate about empowering others like me who experienced the same things I did, with a company that is going to change the world. And yes I am overly optimistic but I'm also hungry and putting in the work.
I am building a company that would empower creative people like me who have decided to create the future with the tools and support they need to create companies, products, and experiences that help tackle social problems and help create a better future for all humanity.
This is my third year growing and training the community and I can say that the growth has been exponential, in 2018 the number of designers in Nigeria must have increased by over 150x. We were able to train over 400 designers last year with plans to train 1000+ this year.
