Innovate For Africa - GOLD or not

At the beginning of last year, I didn't expect much. I started last year not being so positive. It took surviving Covid19 and everything that came with it for me to finally appreciate that phase. Now back to why I decided to start this year with a very positive mindset.

On the fourth day of January two thousand and twenty-one, I began my fellowship with Innovate for Africa. I have never been this efficient in my life. I've practically been brushed up by the organizers of this fellowship. Let's say I was positive but this level of change is what I never expected.

We were drilled in different areas: Personal Branding, Design Thinking, Strategic Analysis, and Hard Skills Lab. I thought I was market-ready till I had to listen to lessons, carry out tasks and get feedback. Then it hit me, I was never ready prior to this. Now I feel sorry for all the companies I'd previously interviewed with and sent my resumes to.

In four weeks I had a better resume, was more prepared for interviews, learned how to work with diverse teams, and use different productivity tools. A lot happened within this time that I still think I slept on 4th January and woke up at the end of January. Did I mention I learned the proper ropes of product development? The whole design thinking process?

After these lots, I tell everyone: that better be a one-paged CV. This is just a tiny bit of information I've come out with from this learning phase. Do you know how you think you know and are ready? You need the right exposure to learn new ropes and how it's done internationally or if you ever intend on working with a diverse community. Personal branding like Resume and building portfolios are very vital to selling oneself, this cannot be overemphasized. All these can be achieved with hard work and grit.

I learned a new level of inclusivity and collaboration when I had to work with a team of four including myself to present a prototype within three weeks. At first, there was friction between members as everyone was imposing ideas on the other. After a couple of lessons and a couple more tasks later, we worked pretty well together. The product of this hackathon (product marathon in this case) was my most proud prized possession up till our pitch for the product presentation and feedback from Innovate for Africa's facilitators.

There also was the epic moment Medsaf Founder Vivian Nwakah was a guest speaker. For whatever reason, I was smitten by her story. We did have many other speakers who were founders or co-founders of startups. These stories told first hand are some of the blessings I got from being a fellow if Innovate for Africa. Hearing a lot of lessons learned from their experiences only fueled the innovative part of me. Like people lose money and time but still try again? Incredible! Some guest speakers so headstrong others are so logical about what to do.

Then of course the most important mentions should be the people that made this whole experience worth it. There's Viviana Rivera, always giving feedback and correcting me like a guardian angel. There's Margaret Wang and Mary Nagel always coordinating and ensuring fellows are really collaborating. Maria Camila Jaramillo Cardenas, Omozusi Guobadia, and Quadri Oguntade always coming through with presentations and activities during zoom meetings. Cynthia Obiora always a recipient of my first good morning messages and keeping us on track and within time. I'm so grateful for this opportunity guys, I can't even express myself enough.

Thank you IFA! This the real Gold.