PEARLDIVA…YASMIN BELO OSAGIE (CO-FOUNDER SHE LEADS AFRICA)

When I see or hear young girls making global impact, I keep asking myself what I have been doing. I can’t count how many times I have googled my name and only Facebook and Twitter has something about me. And there are young ladies or let me call them girls (so that it will pain me well) that you will search for their names on the web and a full list with so many pages about them comes out. Many young ladies in their 20s are still trying to find their path and some don’t still know what to do with themselves. The next thing you will hear them talk about is that they want to get married. Our Pearldiva will shock you out of your dormancy state. Like our bosses always tell us during our performance review session, that there are nothing like dormant accounts but dormant account officers. It means we are the reason the accounts go dormant. As painful as it used to make us feel, it is the truth.

‘’Turn every moment into an opportunity and get out there and hustle. No one will fight for your success if you don’t…’’ says Yasmin Belo Osagie.

Yasmin Belo Osagie, 26 year old, is the co-founder of She Leads Africa (SLA). She Leads Africa is a Nigerian based social enterprise that equips female entrepreneurs in Africa with the knowledge, network and financing needed to build and scale strong businesses. Yasmin saw a gap to create space for young women to make an impact in Africa. She grabbed the opportunity to create her own start-up. Instead of gossiping and idling away her time with friends, the graduate of Princeton University with degree in history and Finance collaborated with her Ghanaian friend Afua Osei, a 28 year old graduate of the University of Chicago with Masters in Business Administration and Policy and both of them worked on the idea of She Leads Africa… after realizing the need for leading women in Nigeria and the rest of the continent. They saw She Leads Africa as a symbol of strength for women who are not scared to break through social, cultural and financial constraints. No wonder they say small minds discuss people while great minds discuss ideas.

 ‘’Investing in women reaps significant dividends for families and societies. Women tend to be investment multipliers; investing the majority of their income back into their families and communities. These results in better educated, healthier children who go onto be more productive, more prosperous citizens’’…Yasmin Belo Osagie.

Founded in 2014, SLA is a platform to gear up female entrepreneur from SMEs to Pan-Africa industry leaders, gives support for their ideas and access to professionals who can assist with advice and funding to turn start-ups into major business enterprises. SLA has signed up thousands of women into their network. In One year, SLA has made remarkable impact. First, they launched an All-Female Pan-African pitch contest that drew 500 applicants from almost 30 countries. The winner of the competition, Cherae Robinson-creator of Rare Customs (the world’s only mobile app dedicated to booking and buying experiences in Africa by tourists) , was awarded $10,000 while the second and third winners were awarded $5,000 and $1,000 respectively; secondly, SLA sponsored entrepreneurs attending the Investors Demo Day in Washington D.C.; it has established partnership with Intel to conduct workshops for Tech-entrepreneurs; They have also negotiated with one of Nigerian largest bank to create a low-interest lending program for female entrepreneurs; and lastly an Online platform that features African case studies taught by business experts.

Like the saying goes ‘’when God gives a vision, He makes the provision’’. Aliko Dangote has set aside $1million in low-cost for start-ups under the She Leads Africa umbrella. Yasmin and Afua are named Forbes 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa.

I learnt two major lessons from Yasmin-One, to make use of every opportunity and two, to carefully pick my friend (a friend that will help make my ideas a reality).

Note: The essence of Pearldiva is to stir up your potentials. You too can make global impacts if you looked inward.