Lyn-Nur: Entrepreneur Spotlight : Ifeoma Adibe- Chukwuka; Social Entrepreneur

Please note : The purpose of this interview is to promote and encourage entrepreneurship among youths and we hope to spotlight more entrepreneurs both at home and in diaspora.

1a. Brief about your organization

AYECI Africa is a non-profit social development organization that is passionate about driving deep and sustainable engagement that would improve the prospects of people in underserved communities

Part of our work includes interventions that expands access to education, provides skill building & employment opportunities and advocates for gender equality

1b. What motivated you to become a social entrepreneur

For as long as I can remember I have always nursed the ambition of serving those in need, it is more of a high calling for me, been a social entrepreneur is one career path I saw myself thriving in and finding fulfillment. Also my faith has continually drawn me towards opportunities to serve people in need both in my community and around the world. Issues of poverty, illiteracy, hunger, marginalization has always shaped my world view and I so much wanted to be part of the process of bringing hope to people.

However, the starting point for me was during my undergraduate study year in Lagos State Polytechnic, I had the opportunity to pioneer a student-initiative that worked with over 300 students to use the power of education to improve the lives of poor women and children.

2a. At what point did you decide to establish your own organization?

3years into my work with students, I realized we needed a proper structure that would help position our initiative for the future. So in 2009, the organization was formally incorporated. However, the commence full-time operation as an NGO in September 2012 after my service year

2b. Greatest Achievement

People’s measurement of achievement differs. For me, I consider the number of “LIVES IMPACTED” by my work one of my greatest achievement. There’s nothing as fulfilling as having to witness the resultant effect of time and effort invested producing in the lives of people,their families and communities.
Achievements for me is ongoing and I'm excited to see how my work will continue to transform the lives of the people in need.

3. Mention a few of our program

It’s hard to pick just one or two as our organization has had so many incredible programs and worked with several amazing organizations. But I am especially encouraged by one of our first funded projects: THE EDUCATE-A-COMMUNITY PROGRAM, is a community learning project that is designed to provide literacy training for educationally disadvantaged women and youth. The program currently serves over 80 learners in three (3) communities. We recently graduated 27 learners who completed 9months of literacy classes from our Ikorodu learning center.

We also have the 1MILLION GIFT OF LITERACY CAMAPIGN- our goal through this campaign is to increase the reading habits and literacy skills of 1,000,000 women and children by 2019. We are currently using football to leverage support from corporate organizations to help us meet our fundraising goal for the campaign. Some of the organizations driving this campaign include: Microsoft, HP, Nokia, LIRS, LASAA, and LAWMA

4. Most satisfying moments

Every time, I hear of a beneficiary’s testimonial or change story is a satisfying moment for me. One of such moments came recently during the graduation ceremony of our adult learners from our Ikorodu learning center. The heartfelt gratitude, joy and pride I saw in the eyes of the women and their families is a moment I’ll not forget in a long time

5. Advice

We all know money doesn’t grow on trees, if it did then starting a non-profit would be as easy as planting a money tree. In a country like Nigeria where money doesn’t come quite easily, starting a non-profit with no financial backing can be quite challenging.

However, with a clearly defined mission statement, passion, the right skill sets and dedication you would always find the right people to support your work.

Also, except you have a million dollar stashed somewhere; do not make the mistake of running your organization like a philanthropist. To be sustainable you need to think and structure your non-profit as another version of business, the only difference is that your organization is not designed to make profit, but revenues raised are put to the cause of serving people in need and addressing the social issues clearly spelt out in your mission statement.