Entrepreneurs

"Food security is probably the biggest problem our generations will have. Be able, be an actor, be a player."

"In my current phase, I am learning the definition of success to be more than just career goals and financial aspirations, I now define value creation more broadly that profitability and growth, and I am finding ways to create and scale businesses that solve life’s wicked problems – poverty and its impact on health and education of poor Africans; food security and climate change. I am a proud father of two and married to an awesome Medical Doctor."

"My first solo run as an entrepreneur was at age thirteen, and I had to consummate a $4,000 (at today’s value) transaction 30 kilometers away from home. It was my initiation to entrepreneurship, and I continue to find joy in building businesses, creating solutions and designing products and services till date."

"At age twenty-five, I was managing accounts for Procter and Gamble, Sumal Foods (largest confectionary in Sub Saharan Africa by volume), and several other corporate clients. I had closed large profitable deals and made losses on others, traded commodities across West Africa, seen several business divisions of the family business start-up, then fail or succeed, I had raised capital from and restructured credits in three of the top ten banks in Nigeria. I had sold great brands and built an outstanding distribution chain for consumer goods in southern Nigeria."

"I currently serve as the Country Manager for AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited (AFEX) and the Regional Director, Africa Exchange Holdings for West Africa. At AFEX, we are building systems that leverage technology, innovative finance, and inclusive agriculture to connect smallholder farmers to commodity and financial markets. I hold an MBA from Lagos Business School, a first degree in Mechanical Engineering and a diploma in Heavy Equipment Engineering from Penn Foster University, Scranton, US."

"We are building systems that leverage technology, innovative finance, and inclusive agriculture to connect smallholder farmers to commodity and financial markets"

"We intentionally are looking to address the access to the capital gap for women in Africa as consumers and entrepreneurs as well as to reduce unemployment in our markets by providing growth capital to underfunded and overlooked companies."

"I definitely found it challenging when I was first starting out to just figure out how do I motivate people that aren’t like me."

"Generating strong financial returns whilst delivering positive and long-term social impact alongside tangible and measurable women empowerment outcomes. Enabling job creation for underrepresented groups as well as access to capital for overlooked underfunded women in Africa. We are deliberately integrating gender analysis into our investment analysis and decision-making."

"It’s never too late to get into tech but I wish I got into it a lot earlier. I am currently 28 years old and I have been in tech for about five years but sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I was aware of startups, programming and the impact technology entrepreneurship can have on Africa at a much earlier age. Right now I’m really interested in raising the awareness level of technology and startups amongst students in Secondary School as I believe that’s one of the best times to get started."

"How do I create a structure where people are feeling encouraged to do the work? How do I manage people who aren’t performing and really push them to do better?"

"I would get out of the way and create the conditions for business to thrive by reducing all the policy/multiple taxation/infrastructure deficits burdening the business space."

"Listening to people has helped me identify problems as well as given me ideas on how to fix those problems – which has helped me professionally."

"We were looking for an easy way of like integrating and accepting payments on your website without going to other interfaces and all of that. The plan was to build it into something like Stripe but this was not possible for them at the time. Because I mean Softcom was a company that was doing a lot more things than just that product and I guess it was difficult to communicate the resources. I left for Jobberman afterward, but the thought remained. So, when Shola came to me with the Paystack idea, I jumped on it"

"What got me here is a formula that consists of Vision – who am I in the grand story of mankind that God is writing? Purpose – a clear idea of what I should be doing to make a difference at every stage of life; and finally passion – a strong emotional connection to the rest of society that I am a world changer."

"Unlike many entrepreneurs who, after reaching global platforms, lose touch with their origins, I have chosen a different path. Innovation should not be an exclusive privilege for urban elites but a tool that penetrates rural landscapes, empowers local entrepreneurs, and creates lasting social change"

"In every sense, I am a global entrepreneur with local roots—an innovator who proves that the future of Africa can be written by those who never forget where they came from."

"“I guess I’ve always been like this as far back as my secondary school time. I remember my dad actually made a comment and he was the first person that made me know the word – effeminate. I checked it in the dictionary, and I embraced it. And then, when I actively start looking into like fashion choices, dressing, and all of that, I saw more women, yeah but it was fine. But it meant I didn’t have a lot of guys I could draw inspiration from but well the women were there anyway, so why not. And usually when I like to walk, into like, a store like to like get clothes and all of that usually find myself in the main section for things like jackets or sweaters"

"My ventures consistently bridge the gap between global innovation and local realities, proving that true progress must be inclusive, sustainable, and culturally relevant."

"Globally, my leadership has been recognized and celebrated."

"Easy Taxi is a Smartphone application that connects drivers and passengers in a smooth, easy and safe way. The value proposition is straight-forward: Simply download the Easy taxi app on Google Play Store or the App store. Open the Easy Taxi app, which is available for iOS, Android and the new BlackBerry devices. Confirm your pickup point and then order your cab at the click of a button. In seconds you’ll receive confirmation of the name, photo, phone number and car model/license plate number of your driver, and you will be able to follow the vehicle’s location in real-time as it approaches you."

"We plan to expand to Abuja and Port Harcourt in the next 3 to 4 months. With the same model we have implemented in Lagos, we plan to make the business successful in other cities. It’s a lot of work, there have been ups and downs but people are catching on more now."

"That your mother was great, she did this for our country. She really made a difference — an impact. She's a heroine.That's what's intriguing to me now, to hear different stories from different people. [They say] "she treated my grandfather, she treated my mother, she treated me, she treated my children. She treated four generations of our family". And you hear that from so many different people. That all helps."

"But we make sure we do background checking on them. However, we are confident that what all of our drivers present to us so far have been real. We haven’t had any issue because they all belong to one taxi associations."

"Our programmes are easy to use and free to download. Our duty is to connect passengers to drivers in a very simple way. We use GPS to connect our clients to the closest driver."

"So, when we were packaging this idea, we decided, in our little way, to use technology to bring safety to bear. When we sign up any driver on our platform, we take all his information, take them through a screening process, check his background, driver license, car registration, license, plate number and insurance documents."

"And it would really be tough for any of them to attempt such. We rely more on the original government documents and license they provide. We don’t do testing for them. We leave that for the government to do. We also don’t have a link with the government yet."

"Whether you're in a relationship or not should not dictate whether or not you have the ability to have children,Wojcicki told Forbes. I'm very stubborn. When there's something I want to do, I get it done"

"After about twelve years out of Nigeria, what I wanted to do was move back home and start a business to contribute my quota to the economic growth of my fatherland."

"That was when I grasped a little feelings of how things were happening here and I saw the opportunity to fill a gap."

"It was devastating news when she was diagnosed in 2022 and it's still a shock to believe my vibrant, passionate, loving sister is gone"

"Technology these days make life a lot more easier. People that patronise our services all have the smart phone application on either their Androids, iPhones, PC or laptops."

"I loved genetics and the idea that you have a code inside of you that interacts in your environment and determines how your body works"

"We were like ‘Let's go for a million,’” she said, “and then at a million, we said, ‘Wow we can really do some crazy things at 10 million. And now, we have so many people that you have disease representation in pretty much all of the phenotypes that you want to be studying"

"The future,Wojcicki said, is dripping with possibilities"

"I found that few aspects of healthcare actually were in my best interest,” Wojcicki said. I would like to just stay healthy and to never use healthcare, but I found that almost no aspects of what I was investing in were focused on ‘How do I stay out of the system"

"Balance the workforce: Hire one man for every woman, and balance it across positions of management. The only way to really drive change is to have diversity represented"

"My third employee was a professor, who had a huge background in ethics, Wojcicki said. We've always focused on how are we going to consent people appropriately"

"I started to realize that if you really wanted to understand the human genome and to have a different type of healthcare system, you had to have it driven by the people and for the people"

"I have all the pieces in place"

"My mom is utterly the believer. Like, she can get anything done"

"She had a real fighter mentality growing up, and I feel that was how we were raised…My mom’s like, ‘Listen, a lot of really bad stuff happened in my life. You either let that control you, or you make the rest of your life great"

"There is no doubt that the challenges faced by 23andMe through an evolving business model have been real, but my belief in the company and its future is unwavering"

"You’re only a viable fetus once you have your PhD"

"We were raised to not shy away from conflict. That quality has helped me focus on what I believe is the right thing to do and manage the conflict and criticism that has come our way"

"While I am disappointed that we have come to this conclusion and my bid was rejected, I am supportive of the company and I intend to be a bidder, she wrote. I have resigned as CEO of the company so I can be in the best position to pursue the company as an independent bidder"

"If I am fortunate enough to secure the company’s assets through the restructuring process, I remain committed to our long-term vision of being a global leader in genetics and establishing genetics as a fundamental part of healthcare ecosystems worldwide"

"We have had many successes but I equally take accountability for the challenges we have today"

"Susan has been my inspiration and mentor since I was born"

"I am very grateful to have the opportunity to come to this country with Mauricio representing Argentina. It is an honor and a great responsibility that I take with great enthusiasm"