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Black Rise
Welcome to Black Rise podcast, your gateway to inspiring conversations with the crème de la crème of Black talent, leaders of 7-figure and above businesses across a spectrum of industries. Your host is Flavilla Fongang, an award-winning serial entrepreneur and she will be your guide on this journey.
Black Rise isn't just a podcast; it's an extension of the first business platform dedicated to connecting the business world to talented, skilled and experienced Black talent. Our aim is to create connections, foster collaboration, and fuel growth by bringing together Black professionals, visionary entrepreneurs, and groundbreaking businesses. We're here to bridge the networking gap, facilitating collaborative growth not only within the Black community but also far-reaching into the broader world.
In each episode, we dive deep into the stories and experiences of our remarkable guests. They share their insights, challenges, and strategies that have propelled them to the pinnacle of success. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned professional, or simply hungry for knowledge and inspiration, Black Rise provides you with the tools and motivation you need to reach your own pinnacles of achievement.
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Black Rise
How To Drive Global Sustainability and Creative Marketing - With Nnenna Hemeson
How does a spirited girl from Nigeria rise to become a leading voice in global sustainability and marketing? Meet Nnenna Hemeson, the Global Director of Sustainability, Brand, and Marketing at NatPower, who shares a compelling narrative of resilience, creativity, and unwavering passion. Listen as Nnenna recounts her early days, navigating the expectations of a traditional African household while fostering a thirst for creativity and innovation. Her journey underscores the balance of standing up for one's beliefs and the profound impact of a dedicated mind on global industries.
Discover the powerful tension between creative passions and parental expectations as Nnenna details her path from excelling in pharmaceutical analysis to leading marketing campaigns for top-tier clients. Her story offers a masterclass in negotiation, the value of education, and the essence of understanding customer needs. From selling hats as a young entrepreneur to driving major marketing initiatives, Nnenna's experiences provide a blueprint for leveraging one's talents while navigating career obstacles.
Join us for an insightful exploration of sustainable marketing and the role it plays in climate action. Nnenna reveals the innovative projects she's spearheading in renewable energy and shares actionable advice on promoting sustainable behaviour. Through her platform, HHS, she empowers the younger generation to advocate for environmental responsibility. This episode is packed with personal anecdotes and professional wisdom, making it a must-listen for anyone passionate about sustainability, marketing, or simply seeking inspiration from a trailblazing leader.
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And you know, at the expense of what? Where are we going to live? What planet are we going to have?
Speaker 2:Yeah, what planet are we going to live for the future generation? You know, because, at the end of the day, we will be forced to do that, because when we've depleted all our resources, we will have no choice.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Black Rice Podcast, your gateway to inspiring conversation with la crème de la crème of black talent, who are leaders of seven figure and above businesses across a spectrum of industries. I'm your host, flavilla Fong-Gang, an award-winning serial entrepreneur, who will guide you on this journey. Black Rise isn't just a podcast. It's an extension of our business platform, allowing the business world to connect with skilled, talented and experienced Black talent. Our mission is to serve as a bridge, connecting businesses with vast opportunities that lie in working with Black professionals, entrepreneurs and enterprises. We strive to showcase the value, creativity and innovation that Black talent brings to the table, fostering partnerships that drive economic growth, diversity and mutual success. Visit theblackrisecom to find out more. Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode on the Black Rise podcast. And, of course, it's me the voice you hear every Sunday. Well, if you listen on Sunday, otherwise, if you are late, it's Flavilla, and things have been super excited. If you're listening to this in June 2024, it means that we are very close to the launch of BlackWise. If you're listening to it afterwards, I hope that you're enjoying the platform and that you're making some great connections and you're learning great things and opportunities are happening for you.
Speaker 1:Obviously, the BlackWise podcast is about shining the light on the black leaders who are doing some great things across a number of sectors. And this time I am very, very excited about this conversation because I love to speak to marketers. You know I'm the one who understands branding and marketing, so I would love to talk to other big voice and marketing gurus in that space to do great things so we can interact and change. But also, as we go through this conversation and the storytelling, we can discuss some of the marketing advice that will help you whether you run a business, whether you work for a company, because today we are very blessed to have Nena Emerson. She's the Global Director of Sustainability, brand and Marketing Incomes Boy. She's busy At NatPower and if you don't know what Nat Power is, where have you been? And beautiful, intelligent I don't know what else to describe you, nena.
Speaker 2:How are you, hi, hi Flavla, how are you doing? I'm good you.
Speaker 1:I'm good, thank you. It's such a great. You know, it's so funny because you speak to someone online and when you meet a person, it's like, oh, we like this person, sometimes you're like the this person, sometimes you're like question doesn't happen, and here we are now together having this conversation. So, nana, I feel like the best way to get started is really to think about people who don't know you, and maybe you're gonna hear your story understand in terms of where. Who was the nana that we know now? Is she the same when she was a girl? Tell us about her yes.
Speaker 2:So the nana that you know now is very similar to the girl I'm proud, proud to say. You know, as a child, as a girl, I've been anti-establishment type person, a bit rebellious, you know, always fighting for what she believes in, what she stands for. That has kind of always been me throughout the years, up until this point where I am, I have, you know, met forces and been in environments that have tried to take that out of me and tried to change that part of me. But I stand strong and still who that, who that person is. So, as a child, born second child and not long after my sister came forward, you know so we're like Irish twins, which I like to tease my mom about. That means she didn't give me enough breast milk before she got pregnant again, so to speak. You know so I've always been that kind of scrappy little kid, you know walked before I was one year old, you know fast, started cooking by climbing the stool to go up in the pot to cook because I loved it. I understood flavors, you know so I've been.
Speaker 2:As a child I was naturally artistic. I could draw myself facing in the mirror. I loved to paint, imagine a kid going to class and out of all the classes in school you'd come first in fine art. So already from the get-go my parents knew that I was artistic by naturally. And then also I was kind of that girl that I hated bullies, even as a little kid.
Speaker 2:In primary school I had about this person that bullied my elder sister, who's older than me, with about three years, and my friend and I accosted him after school. You know, like you can't do that to girls that kind of, you know, imagine me, little old me, that kind of easy an idea, the type of person that I am. I'm never, you know, not afraid of anyone, so speak like, why should I be afraid of you? We're both humans, you know. And then, growing up in a home of six girls and one boy, my brother joined us much later. By then I was preparing to go to university. My brother joined us much later. By then I was preparing to go to university, but in a traditional home where you know, african home, because I'm Nigerian, igbo, nigeria, and grew up in a middle class family middle class, middle to upper class, I would say, but grew up in a home where by the time you could drive, you could drive your own car, because we had that many cars at home.
Speaker 1:Wow, wait a minute. How many cars did you have at home?
Speaker 2:I think growing up my dad probably had seven.
Speaker 1:What In my life? Somebody said that my dad had seven cars. She's like my dad has a Peugeot 206 or whatsoever.
Speaker 2:No, my dad had seven cars. He had different colors of Mercedes, he had four by four Jeeps and then he had another car, which was a runaround car that we kind of used. Everyone used to learn how to drive, kind of like a right of passage If you didn't learn how to drive using that car you're not allowed to touch any of his Mercedescedes type thing.
Speaker 2:You know so he's. I remember his friends used to, you know, scold him that why would you allow your daughters drive this kind of car? That's you know they. They didn't think it was a good idea. But then my dad, being a womanizer that he he is, he was like he didn't want his kids you, his daughters to grow up feeling that they needed any man or anyone to fulfill their desires, type thing. So yeah, that was kind of how my dad grew up. You know we have this parable that we say in my language. So it means someone that does something they don't want someone else to do it to them, kind of thing. They don't want someone else to do it to them, kind of thing. So my dad being a womanizer, he didn't want that same thing to happen to his daughters. So you know so he raised us in a way where we didn't lack or needed for anything.
Speaker 1:So you don't fall for the trap. Yeah, you don't fall for the trap. I'm thinking of a few things about what you said. It's super interesting is that sometimes you know, if you don't know, what your kid you know is supposed to do as a career, look at the grades and look at what they really enjoy doing and let them pursue that. I think there's something very beautiful about it and I think one thing that people are listening to whether you're Black or not is that you know we don't necessarily. We always hear stories of Black people who come poor background, we had to suffer that and so on. Exactly 100% exist as well. So so important we don't realize that as well. It's not always trauma and this and this and that that happens right no, not always that.
Speaker 2:I grew up I was well, we were well cared for, even though we're that many children. My dad made sure we went to the best schools. We were quite rounded. I was introduced to the world of music, but my dad, all the round tables. So from um Everest, presley, michael Jackson, sammy Davis Jr um country music, the Beatles, the Bee Gees, the like, all kinds. So I was introduced to every facet of music, art, movies, you know. So we, yeah, I was quite cultured.
Speaker 2:You know, for my parents, growing up, we traveled as kids, as families. So, apart from you know that other traditional sense that we couldn't go out of in terms of the male, you know, the man being dominant in the home and the woman having to sacrifice her career for the husband and things. Apart from that dynamic within my dad and my mom, every other thing was provided to us, but my dad did it in such a way that he gave us the basic necessities. So, everyone, you go to the best school, best uni, as much as you can aspire to, but anything outside of that you have to fight for. So, for example, the first time I traveled by myself outside of the country, to the UK, you know I, my sister and I, so my Irish twin, my sister and I.
Speaker 2:We went into my dad's office because we work for him during the summer holidays, because he had it on. He has his own pharmaceutical company. We go in, fill out, book an appointment at the embassy, went fill out the form, got access to bank statements because the accountants will give us the details. My mom is a signatory, she will sign it everything. And we went out and got our own visa by ourselves. At what? 16, 17?, 16?.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then my dad was like, oh whoa, I'm impressed. If you guys can do that, then you definitely deserve to go. And he would just pay for our ticket. He would go rent an apartment for us to stay. You know, at first we were supposed to stay with a family friend who lived in London. But you know, because anytime they came to Nigeria they would stay at our place. We would throw them parties, host them. But then when it came to us coming to London, they weren't too eager to do that and my dad was really offended about it, you know. But instead he was like, never mind, I'd rent an apartment for you guys to stay for two weeks. If you want to stay anything outside of that, you would need to work and pay for that yourself.
Speaker 2:And we happily did, found a job braiding hair, you know and we're able to stay for an additional couple of weeks in london, stayed a whole month by ourselves, and after that, and then coming to london, open our eyes to one thing more. So we decided we're going to do our masters and stuff like that. My dad said, okay, if you want to do that, you know, you have to get top grades, you have to do all of this and stuff. So we did that. And the thing is, even though we're seven children, not all of us got to do our masters. Because he had this criteria. He said look, I've given you guys your basic necessity. I don't owe you anything else. So we had to strive to that.
Speaker 2:And then I got admitted into King's College, london. So even past scholarship as well, which my dad was really happy to support. He said okay, fine, you earned it, I'm willing to support you, that kind of thing. My other sisters did the same thing, but for him education was really important. So, even though I was naturally creative, imagine me being sitting up till 3am in the morning making all those fascinators and hats for weddings for my mom, and she would sell them and not pay me. That's how creative I am.
Speaker 2:But then when I said I wanted to study that, my parents didn't let me. They wanted me to study pharmacy like them, be in the sciences, like both of them. Because even though I'm naturally creative, I'm highly intelligent. So my parents thought I would be doing something that wouldn't challenge me because it came naturally to me. I honestly think if I was allowed to do that, probably be the editor of Vogue or something crazy by now, that kind of thing. But as far as I was concerned, I could study whatever I wanted. So I did it. Graduated school, went to King's College studied pharmaceutical analysis and quality control. As far as I was concerned, into King's College study pharmaceutical analysis and quality control. As far as I'm concerned, I wanted to be the head of NAPDAC or FDA or something you know. I wanted to change and save the world. I've always had that mentality that whatever I want to do has to have impact on people and planet. Like I've always had that complex.
Speaker 1:Give me because I want to break it down what some of the things that you've ever done. I think it's really important because sometimes, you know, even if we are successful, we can also create a counter effect for our parents. And I think one thing that your parents, your dad, did, because you mentioned you know your dad and also your relationship with your mother, but your dad said it's not because I'm with you that it is your wealth Exactly, you have to work for it Exactly, and it also doesn't mean that you have to suffer. I will help you as long as you know, as long as you can hold accountability, and I think that's very important that you know. We're not saying that you're proud. You know your kids have to go through the same amount of suffering and so on, but you can say, okay, let's negotiate this, because this can also be, you know, for parents listening to this like this can be a negotiation, because if you want this, these are my, these are my requirements, exactly. It's a bit like a sponsor. Technically right, I'm sponsoring you to go and do this thing, but this is what you achieve. Okay, this is what you achieve.
Speaker 1:So everything is a negotiation, right, even if you're a kid, yes, you know you negotiate, and I think one thing that you say as well which is I thought was really cool is that we sometimes limit our kids' possibility because of their age. Well, why? Why, if you are responsible, you have your head above your shoulders and you know what you're doing. You should trust that. And I think one thing that is important your dad, exactly the same way that my mom, said to me that education is very important. Not just education for the sake of education, because education broad, broaden your horizon. And education it doesn't necessarily mean just education of study at universities like what I'm a avid people know me. It's like I love to learn. I will spend money on training and learn new things all the time. This is a the best way to to always be happy and always that you're not left behind in any situation, and that's and I can see as well. We haven't talked about office, did you belong? Just your role.
Speaker 1:But you're able to, and I think a lot of people as well don't necessarily know how to monetize their creativity yeah, and I love if you can, maybe before you know, talk about university like how, from a very, you know, early age, you understood how to monetize your creativity well, at a very young age I understood, I knew that I was good with my hands, I knew I could be really creative.
Speaker 2:So my mom did. She actually did like a whole course on how to make hats. So those fascinators hats you see people wear to weddings or, you know, to the horse race event or whatever it was. My mom actually learned how to, when, to learn how to do those things. But I didn't do, I didn't go to learn it. When she brought it home I said she was going to do it to make money. I looked at it, I understood the science of it and I made it. I actually then started making it for her and she started making money out of it and sell so for bridesmaids. We'll make a whole set.
Speaker 2:I started doing all of this since I was 13, 14 and I'll stay up all night, draw the different designs, dye the different colors, how to make the colors into the hats and soak. All of you know it was a whole big thing then in Nigerian Lagos. It was like the whole new fancy thing and I would even think of how I would design or wear this hat to school and so on. So it's kind of my thing and I was able to make money out of it in the summer, like on holidays or so on. And then the other thing is knowing that my dad was the kind of person that rewarded hard work. I would offer to work at the office during the summer holiday because I knew I'd be able to earn monies that I could take back to school, buy the latest phone or the clothes, whatever I needed. You know, because that was how and not all my sisters wanted to do that, because, you know, no one can stand my dad for that much, for much longer. But imagine you have to deal with him at home and deal with him in the office on holiday. Nobody wants to do that, but a of my, my sisters and I wanted to do that. So thinking in that way allowed me to know how to work for what I wanted and always made me not accept no as an answer to going after something that I want, except it's something I don't really want. Then I won't bother, you know.
Speaker 2:And then the other thing. So even though my parents, you know, asked me to pursue the sciences, I would still, because of how I'd build up that reputation in school, our head of food and arts in school she would be teaching kids something in the home economics class on how to create a menu for a pregnant woman who's iron deficient or something woman who's iron deficient or something and you know they wouldn't get the answer right and she would come and pull me out from the technical drawing class. She said, nana, I asked these guys these questions to answer and none of them could really answer. Please could you give them an answer what to do? And I would just think about it and then come up with the perfect menu. And you know so I would make them pay me to design menus for them to write their exams and things like that. You know, because for me that you know they came.
Speaker 1:It came naturally to me you are good at picking up. I think a lot of people are not so good at transforming a permit to an opportunity and I would say that you know. If you are able to see, are you accepting a status quo and say, ah, things are being done, or you say, well, actually, I think we can change this. Oh, you know, and it can be on a small to a larger scale, but ability to pick up opportunities is very important. Do you think that your family or your father and your mother's success influenced you in your vision of what you could achieve?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So my father's success influenced me in terms of the fact that he didn't hand out everything to us we had to work for. It influenced me. And then also seeing what my mom could have done if she didn't, you know, succumb to because that generation they most of the women had to, you know, suppress their intelligence and intention to allow their spouses rule, type thing. So as far as I was concerned, I didn't want to be that. So the fact that I didn't want to be that, so the fact that I didn't want to be that, also drove that in me as well. Because that mentality of why not? Is what has pursued my career till this very day where people say, oh no, this hasn't been done, and I go, why not? And then I challenge it. It has gotten me into trouble a lot.
Speaker 1:I must must say I hear it all the time like it hasn't been done, so I guess I should make it right. Or somebody's tried it before. It's like okay, or there's already somebody doing it. I'm like okay, I don't understand. Like, why are you trying to put us fighting against each other? You know it's so funny, right? People just want to emphasize that well, well, if somebody's doing it, you don't need to do another one. Say, well, what about tiktok, twitter and linkedin and whatever, it is youtube, so they can only be one of them. Doesn't make sense, right? So I like that thing that you know, don't take no for an answer. And I say all the time don't take no for an answer. And no now, no forever. Yeah, if you don't ask, you don't get, because close mouth don't get fed exactly.
Speaker 2:And one thing I keep telling everyone if there's any advice I give anyone, when someone says something, you go why not? You know to understand so, and then when you realize, when you ask them that question, you then see the answer most time is uh well, it's tried and failed, it's never been done before, it's done and dusted is this is that. You then start to see that actually the reason why they're telling you no is no real reason yeah, 100.
Speaker 1:So tell us in terms of now. You was he, how did you fall into marketing?
Speaker 2:so that's actually a very good question. So after my master's at king's college, my first job was with a marketing agency as a marketing exec. And then, but when my parents came for my graduation here in London I remember very well it was around, it was around the Wimbledon and they came for my graduation. I saw what I was doing and my dad was like this is not what we pay for you to come and study. Why are you doing this, you know? And then and I've been doing this job for about six months I went from quickly rose from a marketing exec to a team leader because I was really good at it.
Speaker 1:Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You have to break it down. How on earth? You have to tell us what do you mean being. What exactly does it mean being so good at it? What did you do to do that, to achieve that?
Speaker 2:So, basically, this marketing agency, their clients include Sky, talktalk and many others, but those were the two accounts we worked in this marketing includes. So we would be the ones you would see that would host a campaign, would have a stand there in the middle of the mall where we would talk to customers about the Sky packages or the TalkTalk packages. We would tell them you, you know, and, compared to other people that were constantly trying to sell people something, I would go and ask hi, so what do you do? And they go this, what kind of programs do you like watching? You know, like I would ask them about stuff. I say, okay, do you know that? You know that this guy actually does this exclusively. You could do this. You could tailor this package to you, because that was me.
Speaker 2:I wasn't interested in, you know, doing a marketing campaign about selling packages for sky. I was interested in knowing what these people did and letting them know that, look, with this you can actually find something you enjoy as opposed to paying something you pay for something you don't need, you know and stuff. So that was how I grew and within that I owned, I was able to grow the accounts. Be by how many people I won and before you knew it, they were like wow, you're really good at this, teach more people how to do this. And that's how I became a team leader and that was how I really and I made so. My commissions were massive and you know, at such a young age. I remember that because when my parents came for my graduation, I used my first paycheck to host them at this nice apartment on Wembley which was close to where the tennis tournaments were taking place, but still my dad was on site. So I was like this is not what we paid for you to study. You know that pharmacy, that you should be doing something around that. But luckily for me, not long after that, I got a job with a marketing intelligence company that focused in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector as my first job and then so as I got in there, I first, within a few months after the first orientation, they put me into brand management, so they acquired this new digital platform for marketing intelligence from the US and they needed a group of people to set the brand up here in the UK and so on, and that was it.
Speaker 2:I found myself back in marketing again as a brand manager, for it was called data monitor at the time here in the UK. So once again I'm back in, but, however, it's still within the pharmaceutical and biotech sector and within growing that brand. I was able to grow a portfolio of clients from Merck KGA, merck Sirono, the European Institute of Technology. So I started traveling. That opened up my career into traveling all over the world and with the type of clients and people I met, imagine me being able to speak to the directors within Merck KGM, merck Sirono, so much so that the company would pay for me to travel to Germany or to Milan and stay in five-star hotels and things like that.
Speaker 2:How shocking this job was. So my basic pay was what? 28k or about. Within my first year I made double that in terms of commissions because of the type of clients. I had that when I went to apply for my visa because you know you get a visa of like 18 months post-study work visa and after that you apply for a work permit based on having a minimum type of job. When I went to apply, I got denied my visa because I did not submit to my pay slip. I didn't submit it along with my bank statements that showed my pay slip. So I appealed the visa application.
Speaker 2:And when we're at the court like a small court somewhere I can't even remember even the judge was so shocked that when the home office they were defending, they said the gist of it was they couldn't believe I was making that much money what?
Speaker 2:And you were like in your 20s, right, exactly, I mean, that was the gist of it. And even the judge had to ask to say if that was the only information missing, why didn't you just ask her to send over her bank statements? Why did you just refuse her? As he was like, the judge categorically stated that he couldn't believe that he's here wasting his time on this, that he's going to look into it further, that there has to be more as in. It was so upsetting for him that he was broke, that he spent that time on something that was so and this was just basically because they didn't believe I earned that much money, which was, by my second year I earned even more than that and by my third year I was like what? Almost 60 grand. It was. So like that's how good I was at my job in being marketing and building a portfolio and stuff.
Speaker 1:What do you believe made you so good? Because one thing that you said was very important that you were a listener. So you ask questions. A lot of people just go and try to sell you stuff or push things on you and they actually don't try to tailor the offer of a product they have in their hand to whatever the person in front of them values. And I think this is something that I try to explain to marketers that you can't just sell, sell, sell.
Speaker 2:A marketer will just no, you have to understand your audience, which is why, when someone asked me, I think one of the biggest things my parents could have done for me was letting me have a science background in order to go into marketing. You have to understand your audience. Imagine speaking to someone tech-like. You know, because I understand biotech and pharmaceutical industry and I know for big companies like Merkegy and so on, they acquire small compounds of drugs or whatnot and so on. So I have to understand what is your portfolio? What are you trying to do? How are you trying to get into the space you know? And then, once you understand what they're trying to do, you provide them a solution that's going to help them do that which will make them make even more money. That's going to help them do that which will make them make even more money. So, as far as they're concerned, what they're paying you is nothing compared to what you're going to help them achieve, and which was what I. So that was just my aim, like understand my audience and give them something that works for it, and I create the campaign or sales or marketing based off on that Not what everyone is telling me to sell, but based on what my audience needs and that's how I was able to do and that was what transformed. So after that stint I then got hired by Heineken, heineken International. They did this whole graduate program here in the UK and then they hired me to go back to Nigeria to work with Nigerian Brews, which is a Heineken owned company, back in Nigeria and they brought me in to manage this new brand. So it's like a non-alcoholic brand which is called. It's called Feruz. It looks like a beer, but it's not a beer. So it takes, it's nice, so it's like a soft drink, it's healthier and it's slightly more expensive than your average coca-cola, so on and so forth. So they brought me to manage that. That was why they hired me. And but then when I go back to Nigeria, oh my god, the kind of oppositions I met within the marketing team. It was so, you know, like, as far as they're concerned, who is this person? That's good, because when I came in, I had all these ideas in my head.
Speaker 2:I remember my first presentation to the marketing director my boss at the time. She was being transferred to Heineken in the UK. She was basically handing me over to someone, the person who was going to take over from her, and she already told me a brief that was supposed to put together my first idea for the brand and what and so on. So I remember the hours before my meeting with the marketing director, when I finally showed my presentation to my who would to be my new boss, he was like no, no, no, this. He was basically upset with what I showed with him because it wasn't something they normally did. And I was like but this was the brief I was giving out and this is my interpretation of the brief.
Speaker 2:He was so upset that he showed it to my current boss, who was leaving so she's a she and said let's see what she's done. And then she was like well, it is her idea. You can't get her to change it to what you want, because she has to defend it. And I remember when I finally presented that to the marketing director and he was like, oh wow, this is amazing, this is really good, this is. He was so impressed by it that my boss to be actually objected and voiced his oh that, why did you? But when we try to do something similar with this or that or whatever, you didn't say yes to it. And then the marketing director was like but that wouldn't have worked, that it doesn't work for that brand, but this worked perfectly for this, and that began my constant battle with my new boss. Oh my gosh, it was like the worst experience.
Speaker 1:How long did you survive with that person?
Speaker 2:oh my god, like he extended my probation for six months to a year.
Speaker 1:Oh, my God, I think this is what it is that sometimes your boss is not always the best person to support you. And what would be curious people who listen to this is that how did you navigate successfully and didn't let this deflate you?
Speaker 2:Oh, how did I navigate this successfully? The thing was, you know, at the end I had to prove to the people senior, to him and the people around me that it was just based on his opinion, because my brand was really successful. You know, my brand became one of the brands within the Heineken portfolio in Nigeria that acquired digital success. You know, because then, digital marketing was a new concept in Nigeria at the time. This is way back 2010. And my brand, compared to all the other brands, had the smallest budget. So what I did was we have this brand I've inherited this brand where we're doing campaign, but there's no brand identity. There's no brand portfolio or brand. What we call brand in a bottle that describes who you're talking to, why you're talking to them, what about the brand that relates to this core target audience and how you innovate and grow your brand to take a bit, to take advantage based on this.
Speaker 2:So I took my agency. I was like, okay, you know what. We're going to do a whole research. We're going to understand the people that drink in this brand. Why are they drinking it and why are they willing to pay a bit more for this brand versus a coca-cola or a Phantom?
Speaker 2:And based off on all of this, I designed a whole campaign, a new brand in a bottle, created it, where this brand became a brand for the becoming of age, youth, so that person who is in university trying to navigate who they are trying to stand out from the crowd where they have a brand that allows them be a chameleon.
Speaker 2:So where they can shine, stand out from the crowd where they have a brand that allows them to be a chameleon. So where they can shine, stand out from the crowd, or they can stay blending, where they don't have to give up their value. So, for example, you know the brand because it looks like a beer. If you're the type of person that doesn't want to be drinking a beer, you can still drink it and feel at home that I have in a beer. But if you're the type of person that likes to stand out, or you know when you're with your friends that are drinking a Coke or a Fanta, you're drinking something that has a nice white foam head, looks different, stands you out of the crowd. So you you know you become that person. No matter what our environment you are, you are true to who you are and that was how that brand became the first brand that worked for the fashion industry in Nigeria.
Speaker 1:As we continue this engaging conversation, remember that Black Rise is more than just a podcast. We're a dynamic platform where businesses can connect, collaborate and prosper with Black professionals, entrepreneurs and Black-owned companies. Our commitment to diversity, inclusion and empowerment reshapes industries and builds a future where black excellence thrives globally. So don't forget to subscribe and give us a five-star review on itune. You know what's interesting about what you said. It's been people who are maybe not marketer like that. We as that.
Speaker 1:It's so important to understand your audience. Not everybody buys your product. You always have a star client and really nail that. Understand's so important to understand your audience. Not everybody buys your product. You always have a star client and really nail that. Understand this so much and tolerate as much For the young marketers.
Speaker 1:What people want to see, it's the creative idea of it. What is the experience that you want to create and how can you amplify that to give a sense and a purpose or status attached to your product? And what you express is so, so important. It's so important. It's so important. It's so important because when you look at your brand, the touch points should be consistent. A number of times, everyone's like, oh my gosh. One side is this If you don't recognize a brand. You can take off the Coca-Cola on the logo. You will still know it's Coca-Cola. You will still be informed by what they use, the style of images. You receive a bit fun by what they use, the style of images. All of that is part of that brand. You know identity and the brand is not just a local but again, what you do beyond that as you express it, to understand. You need to understand and again, that's why the psychology of your consumer understanding is super important, right?
Speaker 2:it's super important, so that campaign went out to win awards. You know, I remember shooting that campaign in Cape Town. It was the first time I was doing it all by myself. How you know, compared to, you know, normally beer brands when you do a campaign, you see those annoying billboards where the visuals or the models, their images, don't look as good as the crispiness of the bottle and whatnot.
Speaker 2:I said no, we're not doing that. I hired actual model fashion photographers on set, so I didn't just take shots from the production. So outside of the scene, they will take the models and recreate the shot with the right lighting, with the right. So if you drove past and saw the billboards with the, it was so Like the campaign won awards. And I then set the standard within our business where anytime you did a campaign, you had to create an additional set of photography so that the shot the bottles will be shot different, the models will be shot different in scene, not just pulling out shots from the video or the production of it, you know. So that was how I set the standard.
Speaker 2:I remember even the radio, the radio ad. I remember being in the car and the radio presenter. After the ad played and the radio presenter was like, oh my God, what brand is that? I've never heard an ad that sounded like that. So just being in the car, I was so proud of myself. You know I was like, oh yeah, that's me.
Speaker 2:So then imagine, out of all of that, when we did our first platform. So it's a competition where we brought in models, designers, photographers, makeup artists come together to create their own first collection and present it. So it was a competition from all over the country and the winners would get to showcase their collection at the Lagos Fashion Week. Even the first winner from that platform got pulled in by the British Fashion Council to present to compete something in the UK. So that's how in-depth the brand influenced people's lives. So when we did our first event, celebrities from all over the country came in and attended for free. That's how popular the brand is, and within the first week of doing that we went from having just 800 followers to like 10,000. By the end of the month. I began one of the few people that established what is called a lifestyle brand.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love what you say. The lifestyle brand. It's exactly what you did. It's a lifestyle and again, when you have a great lifestyle brand, people want to associate themselves with it.
Speaker 2:Exactly. I will never forget my boss then at the time he would go and ask the agency that how much did we pay these people to attend this event? And they would tell him we didn't pay them. Like the brand doesn't have that much of a budget that they truly wanted to attend. You know, because I did the invite, I'll do such a way that there will be a nice mixology package in the invite or something personalized or so on. You know, as far as they were concerned, they were like, ok, I would like to go and see what this brand is about. And I was one of the first few. You can ask anybody. I beat my chest.
Speaker 2:I was one of the first people who saw Burner Boy before he became who he is now. He is now and wanted him to perform at my event. What? The first time I heard him sing I was like this guy is talented and I want him to perform at my brand event. Wow, ask anybody If you probably ask him, he'll remember. I remember when I met him later on in life and we took a picture, get together and everything.
Speaker 1:Wow, this is amazing. I love the story. One thing I want to say like you didn't tell us about how you navigate all of this with your boss, who was on your back, so what I did?
Speaker 2:so, like I mentioned earlier, what I did was the fact that I believe so much in what I was doing that I always delivered results, results that even at the end of it. So when he would try to push me back within the business, his boss or the director at the time were asking but why? She delivered this, she did this, she exceeded on her targets, and so on and so forth. So he basically had no reason to suppress me any longer because I was delivering on the results. Yes, so just at the end, he had to navigate the path where it was a sense of whether showing everyone that it was personal dislike or jealousy or envy, or whatever it was, as opposed to letting me do what I was good at.
Speaker 1:Did you manage to change his mind or it was still the same?
Speaker 2:No, I was never able to change his mind. Eventually I moved on to another brand and another. So he moved on to somewhere else and I continued to fly and, you know, get promoted and manage more brands. I remember the brand was so successful that all the parts of the world where Hanneken had this brand they came to me to learn how to do what I did with the brand.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 1:I think there's a few things that people can pick up from what you just said, that when you have a boss who's trying to stop you and you know your vision, one thing that you probably didn't mention or did that unconsciously is making sure that other leaders know what you are capable of.
Speaker 1:Yes, your results will always speak for you and you know this is impossible for you to win that battle and this is why you were able to push, to push through. And the second thing as you say, you have to deliver, because you're not good at what you do. Nobody's going to be behind you and supporting you, and this is why I keep saying to people building relationship inside the business, outside your department, with other leaders yes, gives you such a so much possibility to be the advocate, you know what? Actually? Your things are not valid and they can't do anything because it's like it's his word against 25 other leaders. They say well, I can see what she's doing, she's doing some great work, so why don't you let her do what she's supposed to do? So important, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was so important. I won't lie and say that it was easy. It was really difficult. You know, when you don't have your boss backing up things that you're doing especially when the thing is novel, is new, is not the way things have done before that means it's almost as if you're pushing against the tide. I actually suffered a miscarriage before my first major event, you know, and I remember, you know, like he was constantly looking for loopholes, that I went from the hospital straight to the event, you know, because he would be calling like where is she? Is she there? Is this happening? Is this this? You know what? And so on and so forth. Like it was tough, but I pushed through. My result delivered.
Speaker 2:Imagine, then being the first brand that I don't know. If you ever heard, when Kim Kardashian came to Nigeria, it was my brand that sponsored, that was one of the sponsors to that event. Yes, because. So this person, dara. Anyway, she has this event. She's now the biggest agency in Nigeria, probably in Africa as well.
Speaker 2:So I remember when she because we share similar ideas and thoughts she had an idea of doing what is called Love Like a Movie where we would create a scene. It's going to happen every Valentine bring international artists, use music to demonstrate art, and this is kind of what the Favours brand was all about. And then we asked, like, fine, okay, I will sponsor your event with this amount of money. And all of a sudden, people didn't think it would happen. But when they found out that Kim Kardashian was coming, people were paying loads of money because you had the event.
Speaker 2:And then you had an exclusive dinner the night before the event for people to actually sit and interact with Kim Kardashian. And what was so funny was that Kim Kardashian was pregnant at that time, but she hadn't yet revealed it to the rest of the world that she was. So she loved the Favus brand because she could drink it. It looked like a beer and people couldn't tell that it was non-alcoholic. So, you know, you had pictures of her with my brand and everything. And then it was all over the news and the media that it was me who had paid Kim Kardashian's bill of $250,000 to come to Nigeria. But that wasn't the case.
Speaker 1:That wasn't the case. Yes, I mean. Whether you like it or not, this woman definitely knows how to generate money. She's an entrepreneur, she's a big businessman. We have to respect the grind.
Speaker 2:Exactly. You have to respect that grind. And each year it was so big that even the MD and that was the first thing, the M, that was the first time the MD became in my orbit and they all wanted to be part of it. I had moved past my boss level to start interacting with the MD, so beyond then, anytime there was exclusive events with C-suites, politicians so on and so forth, my MD wanted Feru's cocktails bar, everything to be there. So then I'd move beyond. So my boss could no longer say I wasn't good at my job or whatever. So his personal feelings were no longer were pointless. I had sacrificed a lot to get to that point, but by the time I got there that even at the end, after six years or so, when I decided to leave eventually, when people came back, they wanted me to come back to the brand because it now showed that what I had done was what was standing the test of time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and six years is a long time, you know. But do you think there's anything that you would have done differently? But do you?
Speaker 2:think there's anything that you would have done differently. Well, what I would have done differently, to be honest? Because I wanted to fight that fight. My visa within the UK expired because my probation got extended by a year and because I was so adamant and hellbound in proving myself, I decided to give that up because my plan was, you know, after I'd gotten my probation, I would travel back to the UK back and forth, back and forth, and find a way to maintain my visa, because I wanted to get to a point where I had an indefinite leave to remain. But all that happened took that away from me. So I lost that opportunity, which was really that's the only thing that I really I regretted not being able to do, because coming back to the UK had to start all over again.
Speaker 2:But I left Heineken eventually for a bigger opportunity within the spirit world, moved from Heineken to Distel, although Distel is not owned by Heineken. So if you see my job profile, it shows that I did stay with Heineken for eight years, even though I left them in 16. But I moved on to another spirit company that eventually got bought by them, but by the time I left, I joined Penorica and similar thing to what I did with Heineken, I did with Penorica, where I was among the people that was able to influence the Martel brand, which is the oldest cognac brand in the world, where you can imagine Jean Martel, that own Martel. He died at a young age and his business was actually managed by his wife for about, I think, 11 or 14 years I'm not sure now before her sons took over, you know, and that was around the time 2008, 2019, around the me too movement, or women, and so on.
Speaker 2:I remember meeting the global brand director in france saying how can we haven't put women at the forefront of this brand? We have the heritage, we have the story to back it up. And they were like, oh, you know how the French can be. And they were like they would never stand for it. You know it's a bad word. They were like they would never agree to that. But eventually now you know so, when they were re-ramping the brand identity and so on, I was one of the people that they picked from because it's a global brand to be involved in that. And now, which is why you see the likes of janelle monae and so on and so forth, who are brand ambassadors for the brand imagine lbgq plus and so on, but for nigeria, where, you know, same sex is still uh, still illegal, how were we able to bring that brand truth to such a such an area? Well, in that area, you know, alcohol as a business was a brand men still dominated, so what I did instead was bringing strong female personalities into that brand. You know, which was what I was able to do? Sponsored the fashion world.
Speaker 2:So, like Arise Fashion Week, where Naomi Campbell was part of, then, you have Jules. Jules. Who is this? Jules is someone that I like to call an influencer's influencer, and she was someone that refused to work with any brand, but every lifestyle and fashion influencer followed her. She doesn't work with any brand and I remember working with Ronke.
Speaker 2:Ronke is one of the people that you know that influenced my way of thinking when it comes to my PR, especially. So we're like. She said she would like to meet with me and if she met me and she liked me and she understood my vision for the brand, that she would happily work for the brand you know. So we met, met at the dinner, took her to a five-star restaurant. Everything we spoke talked about vision and by the time we were through, she was like fine that she would do it.
Speaker 2:All we have to do is pay for her accommodation at the hotel where we'll stay, because that was a rise fashion week that um nami camber was going to be at and she would, you know, promote the brand. She had like over 80 000 followers, and so on and so forth. So you can imagine all the other influencers we wanted to work with. They were asking for ridiculous amounts of money but then, because we worked with her at the event, they all wanted to sit with her, they all wanted to be with her, they all wanted to be in her space, everything. So we got pictures, everything, videos. We got all those influencers that they wanted to pay us.
Speaker 1:We got them for free because of her wow, and this is why it's so important, these few things that pick up from what you just said and some people can learn from it is that sometimes, when you want to create a great campaign, disturb the status quo.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:People have a certain image.
Speaker 2:Why not?
Speaker 1:Exactly Disturb it in a way that is also authentic. It's super important. Yeah, it's also important to understand what you did there as well as well, which was very great and strategic was who influence who. When you understand who influence who, you also go out there and use that. It's what I say. People say, oh, blackrise, what I'm building first is the leaders at the top, people like you, because I know that you then have your own influence in all your different aspects of what you all operate right. It's so much more powerful to do that rather than just going from the bottom and then going, and I would say all the time if you want a big change, start from the leadership. It's also the leadership. Then you go down.
Speaker 2:As in who is influencing these people, that you're trying to turn their minds. And this is the same kind of thinking that I took in when I did my latest master's in fashion fashion lifestyle marketing I sustainability in fashion, lifestyle marketing. I then did a course at Cambridge as well, in terms of sustainable businesses and circular economy. I also did my first marketing course at Harvard Business School in strategic consumer marketing. So name it. I've gone to some of the top schools in the world Harvard, cambridge, king's College. You know all because, for me, my parents taught me that that knowledge is power and understanding that. So you know, having all this marketing experience, I then came to a point where I want to use my power of being able to convince consumers to drive sustainable behavior change, because, as much as we want to create sustainable clothes or brands or businesses or items or consumer goods or so on and so forth, the key turning point is changing the behavioural mindset of the consumers.
Speaker 1:So key. And I think it's even harder because in fashion we know fast fashion and everything else, and also where we are in Western world, we're driven by consumerism. Somebody told me there was a Netflix series that showed how advertising created consumerism. So how can we use our powers?
Speaker 2:of advertising to change it for good. Because, as much as you know, one of the things that upsets me that the fashion industry keeps saying is that these younger generation, gen Z, say they want, they are after sustainability, that they, you know, vouch for it, but they're the ones that buy sheen and fast fashion and so on and so forth and like that is where you guys are supposed to come in. You tell, you know this is their desire, but you create a situation where they're always looking for the latest new thing yes, you know, challenge a little bit as well.
Speaker 1:I'm going to change a little bit because when I speak to them said, I agree with you, but we don't have a massive budget. But I think also they don't think about they don't necessarily think about vintage as a way to also, you know, vintage or exchange platform whatsoever, because they're like, yeah, well, look at the cost of living. We're in this dirty cycle, right, where people don't get paid, maybe enough, you know, kids are trying to find a job. They still want to be, don't get paid. Maybe enough. Young kids are trying to find a job. They still want to be.
Speaker 2:Everybody want to be relevant, right everybody don't don't want to look like they everybody is, let me. Let me give you an answer to that. Yes, very simple. I've had this conversation with someone and they're like but this I say here, you, you, you subscribe to zara and h&m and all of us right, and every week they send you a newsletter of the latest thing they've brought out, or the newest trend, or this or that, or so on and so forth. Have you ever received in this newsletter where they tell you oh, we do have a take-back scheme in store. You can bring your old clothes in in order to get a new one? Have they ever sent you that?
Speaker 1:No, h&m does it. So H&M say bring your old coat. If you buy your coat and you bring your old one, we'll give you a discount. Yeah, we do that. Yeah, but I haven't seen Zara. Zara doesn't do that.
Speaker 2:No. So the thing is as much as they send you a newsletter telling you about their latest collection or so on and so forth. The other part, about trying to drive sustainable behavior they don't send that one to you. Often they they don't send you reminders. They don't send you because they have the algorithm they know the last time you bought something from them they can actually send you an email and say, oh, this stuff you brought you could actually bring it back to be recycled, and because they know that once you bring it back to the store you get tempted to buy something new, but then it will cost you less. But obviously so it's forcing the consumer to look back at their wardrobe what it is they bought that they're not using, that they could actually give back, as opposed to the newsletters you send them every week that encourage them to buy something new that they don't need. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's those little changes in the way we're using advertising and marketing that can start to change the status quo.
Speaker 1:I think it's the idea of using convenience but also aligning it with environmental needs. Exactly so you're not just like well, if you get this, you know it's a win-win for everybody, right?
Speaker 2:It is. It is you know, and then there's that thing. So if you see what's this called, I can't remember this business that went to administration. They do. They recycled old fabric as they recycled old fabric, as in old garments, to create new fabric for the fashion industry, but they went into administration. Why would they go into administration when it is something that the fashion industry desperately needs? But they went into administration because the fashion industry is still hell-bent on pillaging natural resources as opposed to learning how to use its waste. That's fine. If you want to create people to keep buying something new every month. How about creating new items from your waste material?
Speaker 1:I think it's one of the problems that nobody is held accountable Exactly Either you bring those companies together where United Nations operate and so forth, and they look at it as a global problem because if you think about Western way of thinking is very different from China, you know, condition of working right. Exactly this is why the Xin, the Timu and the Dada are so popular, because then the brands you know, even the Ozara and they also have, you know, have a bad rep. They're driven by cost margin because the culture doesn't respect employees right as much as they probably do.
Speaker 2:No, they don't, but here. But here is the thing for flabella. Imagine if legislation happened in such a way that there's a minimum wage of items, of ways of things to be done. So if the chinese government or whatever, they don't want to implement that, but they implement it. So the EU say you're not allowed to bring in any government or anything into our country that does not abide by these standards. Good, yes, that would be great. And once all of that is done, it's such a minimum amount of value for a clothing item. So imagine if consumers now knew that they had to pay a bit more for a certain item.
Speaker 1:Tell me, they won't treat it better, they'll definitely buy less. That's one thing for sure. People will be much more conscious.
Speaker 2:And that is the thing I keep telling everyone All these things are connected. We can't keep treating them in isolation, because, you know, if we do it because they're like, oh, consumers will keep buying. No, but if you implement this rule where this person gets paid better and therefore it impacts your margin, where you're forced to increase your prices, consumers will buy less.
Speaker 1:But they don't want you to buy less. That's the problem, isn't it?
Speaker 2:This is what consumers which then brings us back down to consumers. So at the end of the day, they're screaming oh no, it's consumers, consumers. No, it is your bottom line that you're after you, because if you have real interest, we could actually do something about.
Speaker 1:yes, so true so that leads us to where you are right now yes, that leads me where to I am right now.
Speaker 2:So I, because I said I have this understanding for consumers and audience and so on why don't I do it? Use it in a way that can actually drive real change in this fight against climate change? Which is where I am, you know, after doing that course a sustainable fashion and lifestyle marketing at the British School of Fashion, which was in the pandemic, that was when I gave up my career in the FMCG sector because I was. I really wanted to focus on this and with the lockdown stuck here in the UK with my kids and my family and my work and my study, I couldn't do everything at the same time. So I give up my job to focus on my studies. I graduated at the top of my class with a distinction, which I'm very proud of congratulations.
Speaker 1:You know, I can tell that you are definitely top class.
Speaker 2:It's an hour's top class too, so I recognize another one yes, we recognize each other, you know, and that's the thing about us we always want to achieve the best in anything. It is that we do and I remember and because of that it amended me the opportunity to get mentors who advised me on how to navigate my career from marketing into sustainability, you know so, and they advised me to go into, you know, agency, because, working with an agency, I would be able to use my marketing and advertising and innovation and brand development capabilities, with my knowledge, with sustainability, in order to drive change within businesses. And that was what I did At Ogilvy. I worked with Nestle, with Netflix, with fashion brands, with FNCG, coca-cola, unilever, dove, I. I worked with renewable energy technology company. I worked with finance, I worked across sectors and then it then opened my eyes to see that, no matter what sector, they all have this thing where they need to translate, influence, sustainable consumer behavior change, where they need to translate all the work they're doing towards fighting climate change into their marketing and brand development. So every business needs that, no matter what industry sector you're doing, whether it's B2B, b2c, how do you set that precedence? You know, and which was how? What drove me, and initially I got invited to an exclusive fashion industry type thing, a platform where they try to drive more diversity within the fashion industry sector.
Speaker 2:And I actually got asked to leave. To leave, can you imagine? Do you know why? Yes, I will tell you why.
Speaker 2:So, within this room, I met the likes of Chanel, carla, otto, farfetch, bof, like all the fashion industry top people, and in this thing, I kept asking them and anytime they presented what they were doing and blah, blah, blah. I asked them, asked all of them around their plans on sustainability. I asked them detailed questions. I asked them around all the things I'm telling you sustainability. So I guess they didn't like it so much. And also they, they said it was because I had gotten the job offer for the job I'm doing. Now that you know that they didn't want me to take space for anyone else that might you know that that was their reason for why they asked me to stop the program. Oh, my god, you know, you know. Imagine a question where? So I can't tell you exactly who, but imagine one of the biggest digital fashion platform brands say that they had just launched something that will enable consumers take their digital fashion experience in store with them. So imagine shopping on Garbage or Net-A-Porter to me but-.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's one of them, but let's leave it like that. So imagine that's it, where you're able to do that and by the time you go into the store like that amazon store type thing where you go in the store can tell you know, would bring up to you the things you have liked online, and then you can actually walk out from the store without paying because it's integrated, all of that you know, in in the app stop, and then you come in. All the stuff is hanged. You know so they did, and I said okay.
Speaker 2:And then at the time, a recent research showed that fashion, or consumers, are targeting the younger generation or less diverse consumers and are leaving billions of pounds on the table. So, because all the so above the above 50, and disabled consumers as well, I then ask them this question that this sounds like a real novelle and amazing idea to bring to market, but don't you think that this isolates diverse consumers, in the sense of those that are disabled, or the above 50s who are not so tech savvy, you know, and researchers that you believe in? So how are you ensuring that this kind of innovation would not neglect those kind of consumers as in, who are in the room when this decision is being made for this kind of technology to be designed? Do you have diverse consumers over 50s, disabled people that would represent you know. So these are the kind of questions I was asking.
Speaker 1:Very genuine, nothing like provocative, exactly, you know. So these were the kind of questions I was asking Very genuine, nothing like provocative.
Speaker 2:Exactly, you know. And then I would ask about, you know, carla Otto, who is the biggest PR business in the world. And so when I say that, the way that they've shaped the fashion industry, how are they trying to shape fashion consumers as well, in terms of driving sustainable behavior change and so on and so forth, and all these questions, apparently they weren't liking it so much, you know. So I guess that's why I was asking.
Speaker 1:You didn't pick up your phone like, let me go live, I'm getting kicked off, I'm joking. It's definitely not the way to process. Sometimes you know it's a situation like that, but I think the reality is that I feel like we're still in this position where they haven't aligned profitability and sustainability. Yes, and nobody is actually invested in doing so. Yeah, because the idea of sustainability means that we are not making as much profit, and you know, at the expense of what? Where are we going to live? What planet are we going to have?
Speaker 2:Yeah, what planet are we going to live for the future generation? You know, because, at the end of the day, we will be forced to do that, because when we've depleted all our resources, we will have no choice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, 100%. Do you remember, like when people got crazy, the idea of removing plastic free, plastic bag in sand spurs? It hurts a little bit, you know you forget, but you get used to it.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And I think this you know, this is something for me that if we don't guide people to change their behavior, they will still do exactly the same thing exactly because it is not the earth that is polluting itself, it is humans, it is us but you know, nina is like you and I are curious. We can see in terms of where all this is dumped, all this wastage is done oh I.
Speaker 2:I recently did a podcast, or, would you say, did an article, about how the, the greed of the global north is being paid for by the global south, because they're dumping it in ghana, in chile, in all these places, and it's affecting their environment, their water system, their soil, all of those things I don't, yeah, I don't.
Speaker 1:So I wanted to ask you what the future looks like for you. Going from the world looks like for you Going from the world of fashion, where you love and being creative, and now activism has become. It's like, as is, you know, the awakening of what is industry, that is something that was so dear to you, has also, you know, changed you in a way that was so also relevant. Right, because I know for me, creativity and food so many different aspects is key, but I'm curious in terms of where you're going, what does the future look like for you?
Speaker 2:For me, the future looks like. I intend to remain a thought leader when it comes to sustainability and an advocate for driving sustainable behavior change, but first and foremost, I want to make lasting impact on this fight against climate change, which is why I now work for one of the biggest pipeline energy transition renewable energy technology company, because that's what I want to do and I also want to turn. You know, and the reason why my CEO hired me is because he knows I'm going to turn things in his head in the way I engage with our audience on how we bring the brand forward and change things, and I'm already doing that gradually, because you know the way people are noticing the brand and going. You know, like oh my God, this is real, this is important. And now our latest venture of cleaning up the marine sector by creating renewable energy charging opportunities at birth and even at sea. You know how we create bus stops all over the world, which will encourage vessels to move from depending on coal or oil and gas to actually creating electric vessels, because they now have the opportunity to charge any parts of the sea anywhere in the world that they are, which is currently my work or vision, but I'm still.
Speaker 2:I launched a platform called HHA, which is a platform that allows the younger generation voice their desires and changes, or what they see industry leaders doing when it comes to sustainability. And the thing about sustainability people keep forgetting is that it's not just about environmental, it's also about social. So all the social aspect, the diversity, the representation aspect of it, the economic power that needs to be given to everyone, because if there continues to be economic disparity around people in the world, people will not be equipped to fight the impact brought on by climate change 100%.
Speaker 1:You know what you say. It's so key when you talk about sustainability and also how technology can be great but also very dangerous because, as you say, a lot of the technology is not designed to really tell her for everyone. You say people who are a certain age, maybe you have a disability, just the issue.
Speaker 1:I remember I was here in London. My mom was just trying to renew her passport. It was such a struggle because I was trying to guide her but she didn't understand anything. I had to say let me call my brother, because there's no way I can do this on the phone, but for 30 minutes. Just for her to put a web website on a laptop took us 30 minutes.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, if I'm struggling just to get her to put web on the desktop, how am I going to help her with a password application? Because she didn't say that you have to pre-register to be able to then go in, because she kept on going in person and said, no, you have to register online. Yeah, I'm trying and like this is something that where you know that will create even more isolation that people are not exactly. It's so, so dangerous. I want you to repeat the website that you mentioned so people can hear it, because one thing I also want to ask you is people who are listening to this podcast, they have learned a lot, but what? What do you want them to do after listening to this podcast to be part of the change that we need to see?
Speaker 2:I want. So the platform I mentioned is called hhs. Hhs is actually hhs, in ebook means reflection. It's a platform that I created after I completed my course in order to create a space for the younger generation to voice their opinions when it comes to sustainability and how our leaders in the world are dealing with it. So they're, you know. So if you go, you see an amazing articles written by different young people from all over the world on certain key topics that are very relevant today.
Speaker 2:And you know, and if there's anything I want anyone to take out from this podcast is in the life, your, your everyday life, everything you're doing, no matter what job you do, ask yourself the question why not, as in into moving into that next phase, next step, making that next decision? Ask yourself, or ask the next person, or ask whoever you're speaking to why not? What is stopping you? Why shouldn't you do it? And then take that step and find that thing, whatever it is, that's going to help you make a sustainable behavior in terms of even if it's, to invest a little bit more to buy quality that will last longer so you don't have to throw it away. How are you managing your food waste? How are you. You know so. It's because it will save you money. If you can eliminate things like waste food clothes. Know so, it's because it will save you money. If you can eliminate things like waste food clothes, anything it is by using it longer, more, whatever it is, would not only save you money, but it will save the planet.
Speaker 2:So look for something around you that will enable you to do that, whatever it is. There's anything I'm anyway I want anyone to take from this podcast is to ask yourself why not, whatever thing you're facing, whatever thing you're doing, and then find something that is going to help you make a sustainable behavior that will be good for your pocket as well as good for the planet.
Speaker 1:Love it. I have literally nothing else to add. And to my listeners, you have no excuse. You've been given literally the blueprint to be part of the channel for me to see.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we started with fashion.
Speaker 1:We started with a young woman who didn't take her life and a privilege for granted, was brave enough the sister to take her life into a new adventure, was able to become and set some new opportunities and were able to, you know, to thrive within, with the boss and put, you know, buttons between the wheels, and still managed to change the space and were able to see the talent and the artists that were now really well known, to then realize that I can be part of the change or I can sit on the sideline, and I'm so glad you chose to be part of the change and I know that you accomplished so much more, so I feel very grateful that APAF put us together and that we're able to have this conversation.
Speaker 1:This is why I love and so happy that I'm doing Black Lives, that these voices, our Black voices, are being heard and really showcasing, that we are making impact across so many sectors. The impact that we're making drives innovation, but also drives a positive economy, a positive space sustainability, not just economy. We always think about money as the only success metric, but I think we have to think about the legacy of the world, the impact that we want to make and how we want to be remembered.
Speaker 2:I'm very honoured I am very honoured, very honored, flavia, that we had this conversation and keep doing what you're doing. Because here's something I don't know if you know, youngest population in the world is not coming from the global north yeah, no it's coming from africa, india and so on. So if we are able to create an environment where it shows voices like ours, we will take over the world we will take over the world.
Speaker 1:We'll take over the world. Easy, easy, I'm not out.
Speaker 2:I just need to buy my house in Africa.
Speaker 1:So I'm so tired, let me get my house, because this is not for dying here.
Speaker 2:I beg you, exactly, exactly. We will do that and I will keep showing my voice to let people coming after me know go for it. Anything they tell you you can't do, go for it go for it.
Speaker 1:Go for it for all my listeners. You know, I hope that you enjoy this episode with nana and she's easily reachable via linkedin, but don't abuse of it. But again, this is one of the episodes that you normally just want to listen twice. But also share it with your company, share it with your colleagues, share it with people in your network so you can really just hear all the power I mean. You know, I was often said that this is not for one of us to save the entire world. This is for all of us to come together. We are much stronger as a unity, and part of the unity is to also be less selfish. Very important and, trust me, there's so much power in giving first and receiving all the time. I hope that you enjoy and I will see you again next sunday. Bye, everybody.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us on this episode of black rise. We hope that you found this conversation as inspiring as we did. Share your takeaways on social media and tag us as we wrap up. Remember that you can always stay connected with us. Join us, us on this journey of elevation, motivation and empowerment. Let's rise together, break barriers and create lasting change. Subscribe now to stay updated with our latest episodes and visit theblackrisecom to find out more. This is Black Rise, where excellence and impact converge to redefine the future. Until next time, keep rising.