The Afropreneur – Idris Ayodeji Bello

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

It’s my 2nd day in St. Louis, a tiny fisherman island on the northern shores of Senegal, built and patterned after New Orleans, back when it used to be the capital of Francophone West Africa before Senegal’s independence.

I am here on an innovation working tour to work with local tech hubs and entrepreneurs creating local solutions to local problems. Continue reading →

Ok. So while my American friends are enjoying their turkeys in freezing weather ( just had to rub that in from tropical weather zone here) I got invited by a Senegalese colleague to join his family for a meal yesterday. I gladly accepted what I assumed would be a pop in- pop out simple meal. It however turned out to be a very interesting meal-making experience which I have tried to capture in pictures below. Continue reading →

Are you an Afropreneur?

Are you one of those bright, independent and tech savvy entrepreneurs using creative thinking and the power of innovation to take over Africa’s economic destiny?

Do you identify with the new wave of optimism about the continent? Then get one of these tees by sharing below how you are making an impact on the world!

I had an amazing time July 5 in Atlanta speaking along with some amazing speakers to over 100 young professionals at the 2013 Young Adults Summer Retreat. My talk (see synopsis below) is taken from “On Your Marks, Get Set, Goals!” my 3-part personal development and goals setting workshop.

Synopsis
Your telephone voicemail is is programmed to ask two simple questions: Who are you and what do you want? Most people live their entire lives without ever answering either one! Continue reading →

I am a big believer in finishing what I start, and so June 22, 2013, so having matriculated in Oxford back in October 2011,  I headed back to the city of dreaming spires to partake in the 800-year tradition of an Oxford graduation.

Below is my feeble attempt to capture the amazing event in a few words and pictures.

Wearing this attire -the advanced student gown-in Oxford could mean any of several things: from matriculation, to taking an exam, to attending a formal dinner, to going for a ball, to preparing for graduation. Continue reading →

Last year,  as part of activities in honor of Rice University‘s centennial celebration, I was honored to be featured in the film ;Young, Gifted and Black; Reflections from Black Alumni at Rice.

The 80-minute film explores the lives of 15 distinguished black alumni before they came to Rice, during their stay at Rice and their careers after Rice. You can enjoy the excerpt below, and you can order the full DVD here

http://youtu.be/0Xi-3DTph_Q

Its been a while since I blogged last. Since I left Oxford about 9 months ago, I have been busy. So busy I keep putting off updating this blog. I have gotten several emails from folks out there asking what I have been up to.

Hence I plan to blog more frequently. However, I am going to trying keeping my posts short, and most times it will be some quick reflections on article/books I have recently read, or new ideas I have recently come across. Comments are welcome as always.

For the most part these days, my time is divided between Houston (with family and working on a software project for the energy industry) , Nigeria (where I still oversee the work at Wennovation Hub of creating more afropreneurs) and airports (where I relax in between flights ).

Later

Not had time to blog for some time, and I hope to make up for that soon. But I could not help putting this post up to support an initiative by my youth corper (NYSC) medical doctor baby sister to bring attention to the issue of breast cancer in Nigeria. Below is verbatim from her….

Breast cancer is a major killer of women worldwide. It is the commonest cancer affecting women and the fifth commonest cause of cancer death worldwide. Here in Nigeria, it is the commonest malignancy and is estimated to kill 25,000 women annually, making it the commonest cause of cancer death in them.
A diagnosis of breast cancer puts overwhelming stress on the patient, family members and close friends. It disrupts family relationships causing considerable physical, psychological and occupational vulnerability, which persists even long after treatment. However, these consequences can be significantly lessened when it is diagnosed and treated in its early stages. Continue reading →

Watch this

http://www.sap-tv.com/video/#/8331/fighting-youth-unemployment