Accelerate Podcast

Retrenchment during COVID was a reality for many professionals. Rita reveals how she explored new entrepreneurial opportunities after being let go of a job, with over 20 years of experience in employment. By drawing on her innate skills, life experiences, and determination to keep going, she was able to explore a range of business opportunities, driving forward her success. Listen to this episode and learn more about her drive, intercultural businesses, and how to identify growth opportunities.     Rita has over 20 years of experience in Strategy, Partnerships, Programme, Innovation and Business Management fueling growth, competitive advantage & transformative change in the Technology and Energy sectors. She is a Board Member at the Event Managers Association of Kenya and a Co-Founder of Go Gaga Experiential Company Limited a leading Conferencing Events Company in East Africa. She is also a co-founder of Zuri Foundation which aims to champion women change-makers through Zuri Awards, Trade Linkages, Training and Mentorship, Fund Raising and Women Launch-Pad. She is extremely passionate about technology, youth and women empowerment on all fronts – economically, intellectually and even socially.  

Bukola Smith, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FSDH Merchant Bank, holds an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, U. K, and a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Lagos. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and an Associate Member, Certified Institute of Pensions (Nigeria). She was Executive Director, Business Development at First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and held several other leadership positions since she joined FCMB in 2006. She was responsible for the banks over 200 branches across Nigeria and under her leadership, the bank’s SME-focused team moved from 5th position in the industry to 1st position in 2019 within three years. She established the FCMB Women in Business Desk (branded SheVentures) which supports female entrepreneurs and set up FCMB Trustees and FCMB Custody.  She currently sits on the boards of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), and the Toyin Oni Foundation (NGO for cancer awareness). She serves as a mentor to several young women within and outside these networks and also mentors teenagers in Public Schools. In this 🎙️ episode, you'll discover what influenced her decision to pursue a career in banking, as well as her experiences and lessons learned while transitioning to leadership and executive roles in the banking sector for nearly three decades. She also gives tips and advice to females who want to work in the banking industry.

In this podcast, I share some questions that will help you reflect in detail on your 2021. The reason I ask myself these very questions is to determine what direction I should follow in 2022. I want to grow and improve in every area of my life, as well as remain aligned to my overall 25-year plan. Here is a glimpse of the questions you can ask yourself: What did I do that I shouldn’t have? What did I spend a lot of time on? Where did I let things happen to me? How can I take a good experience and make it better? Listen to this week’s episode of the Accelerate Podcast and get some tips that will help you look back, and plan for a successful 2022 as well.

Nataliey Bitature is the Chief of Staff at The Simba Group, and the founder of Musana Carts, a social enterprise building solar-powered street food vending carts and HER an online mentorship platform with over 3000 young African women.   She has been recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30, The World Bank, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and World Economic Forum as a business leader and innovator.   Passionate about learning, Nataliey has multiple executive education certifications from the Harvard Kennedy School, a Master's in Social Entrepreneurship with a specialization in Project Management from Hult University in San Francisco and received her undergraduate degree and Honorary Doctorate in Business and Innovation from Keele University, UK.   Nataliey recently joined the Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Global Impact for Businesswomen, Entrepreneurs and professionals as a council member (WICCI). She has been appointed as a board of directors of both Uganda Property Holdings Ltd (UPHL) and the Makerere Innovation and Incubation Centre. She is also a board member for the Quiin Abenakyo Foundation, Start-Up Hub, Capital Solutions Social Innovation Fund, Save the Children Africa Advisory Board and their Women’s Network.   In this 🎙️ episode, you will learn: ✨ What informed Nataliey’s decision to get into social entrepreneurship and her experience running Masana Carts and HER.✨ How she balances between fulfilling her personal dreams and running her family business.✨ Her experience and challenges faced as a 2nd generation entrepreneur and working with her parents, and advice to parents who would like their children to join them in their businesses.✨ Her thoughts on female entrepreneurship & leadership in Uganda and East Africa.  

When passion meets opportunity, a side hustle becomes a business empire. In this episode of Accelerate Podcast, Yoadan Tilahun discusses the foundation on which she built a successful business, as well as the key attributes that led to her company's tremendous growth in Ethiopia and throughout Africa. Yoadan founded Flawless Events while working full time in the Washington, DC area. She re-located the company to Ethiopia in 2008 in recognition of the opportunities on the African continent.  Flawless Events organizes summits, corporate events and conferences throughout the African continent. The most rewarding part of her work is the satisfaction of seeing her clients’ vision for their event come to life. She is an enthusiastic advocate for professionalizing the MICE industry in East Africa.  In 2015, Flawless won the “Event Planner Africa” award at Meetings Magazine’s Women in MICE celebration. Yoadan serves as the president of the newly-established Ethiopian Events & Exhibition Organizers Association. The UNDP awarded her “Seasoned Entrepreneur of the Year 2018” award and MeetingsNet had Yoadan a 2017 Changemaker for her trailblazing role in Ethiopia’s events industry.  She has also been featured on Forbes Afrique and on How We Made It in Africa. She holds an MBA in International Business and is fluent in Amharic, English and French.  Along with her husband, they are raising their three growing boys!