Rarebirds

Dr. Anita Davis–DeFoe, has over 20 years of experience motivating, coaching, inspiring and transforming individuals and organizations. A graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Antioch University, Dr. DeFoe holds a Ph.D. in Management with a focus in Organization and Human Development. She has crafted and implemented myriad organizational and human capital programs aimed at assisting people of all ages to discover boundless unique strengths; to unleash their inner greatness. She is the CEO of Upshift Global which is a consultancy organization and knowledge incubator that serves individuals and organizations globally. Dr. DeFoe also serves as the General Secretary for the YWCA of the Virgin Islands. Dr. DeFoe is the Founder of the Circle of 99, a global community of strategist, doers, innovators, conveners, and change champions.

A John C. Maxwell certified mastermind group facilitator, speaker and trainer; Dr. Davis-DeFoe has authored over $500 million in grants which funded a range of youth, workforce, housing, education, domestic violence, entrepreneurship, gender-focused, leadership and community economic development programs across the United States, Europe, Caribbean and Africa.

In 2012, in honor of her global human development and social entrepreneurship work, Dr. DeFoe was named the first Woman Chief by the ITAM CLAN in Abwu Ibom State Nigeria. Additionally, she received the African Leadership Award from Voice Magazine in Amsterdam in 2014, and a 2015 Social Entrepreneur Leadership Award from Naijaeutv in Spain for designing global social enterprises aimed at providing opportunities for individuals to create pathways out of poverty, with a mission to harness the talents of artisans and designers to create and market both cultural and couture fashion. In 2019, she was nominated as a Global Philanthropist by the Panache Global Entertainment (PGE) Awards in London.

She is the author of a rites of passage curriculum for girls entitled, Soulful One: For Girls on the Pathway to Greatness; and four books, A Woman’s Guide to Soulful Living: Seven Keys to Life and Work Success; Tropical Escapes, a novel; a children’s book, Kwabena and the Baobab Tree, and Follow Her Lead: Leadership Lessons For Women As They Journey From the Backroom to the Boardroom, cited as a must read by 2011 Echoing Green Social Entrepreneur Finalists. Dr. DeFoe is one of 40 contributing authors to “100 Words of Wisdom for Women,” a thirty-day workbook and journal for women. The Upshift Factor: 99 Strategies That Ignite Organizational Effectiveness is slated for release in 2020.

Anita speaks globally at conferences, retreats, seminars, and for special events spreading her inspirational messages, human development, social enterprise and personal life solutions designed to transform people, processes, programs and places.

Shirley Murphy is a Nigerian Journalist based in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital city. She is currently the Publisher of Labour Events Magazine, an online independent specialized publication. Prior to her present undertaking, she worked in different capacities with a number of media organizations in Nigeria which include, Labour Observer Magazine, The Monarch Magazine and The Compass Newspaper. She is also the brain behind two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Proud Parents International and Women Reach Out with God Initiative (WROWGI). Shirley holds both Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass Communication from the Lagos State Polytechnic and Bachelors of Art (BA) in mass communication from Lagos state university. She also has in her kitty, a Diploma Certificate in Desktop Publishing from Imperial Computer Academy, as well as another Diploma Certificate in Catering and Hotel Management from First Choice Catering and Fashion Academy. She hails from Itam in Uyo Local Government Area (LGA) of Akwa Ibom State.

Journey to Self-Discovery

After working for one year at Nigerian Compass Newspaper without a salary, she decided to go into publishing with a view to leveraging experience in the print media. She published the Xceptional Magazine and after the maiden edition, ventured into eatery business with focus on fast food and beverages. In 2014, it started publishing Labour Events Magazine (Monthly) and the publication has been running until it went fully online in the middle of the year, 2020. Shirley is a proficient writer, author and a media consultant that has worked with series of companies in Nigeria. She is the Managing Director and editor-in-chief of the magazine. She is the CEO, Dani’s Clothing and More, a women’s fashion and Fabrics House. In 2018, she established Proud Parents International, an initiative, established to help parents live up to expectation and become ideal role models for their children and wards. She is an executive member of Female Wave of Change Nigerian Chapter. She believes in collaborating and supporting the advancement of women across the world.

Driven by her passion for women and girls, in the same year, started giving out grants to women to help them start small scale businesses that could sustain them and their families. She did this under the aegis of Women Reach Out with God Initiative (WROWGI) an initiative that is set up for that purpose. WROWGI is aimed at counseling, inspiring, and mentoring women to discover and walk in purpose for their lives. Moreover, touching the lives of women through entrepreneurial training, skills acquisition and encouraging women to be more productive in order to achieve greatness.

Chetnaa is an Applied Theater Practitioner, a Drama Based Learning facilitator, a TO (Theater of
Oppressed) practitioner, Playback Theater practitioner, and a Dance Movement Language
practitioner. She has a vision to take these forms of art based facilitation to workspaces, open learning
spaces, classes and training rooms, thereby creating a culture of expression, acceptance and love
between people.  Chetnaa Mehrotra’s decade-long work experience as a Corporate Trainer at GENPACT, IBM, HP, NIIT, Emirates, Air Hostess Academy, Ministry of External Affairs, and American Express has taught Chetna first-hand, how image, branding, customer service, training, and HR management impact the public
perception of a corporation, its employee performance, customer service confidence, and its goalsetting and result-oriented business strategies.

Chetnaa has evolved innovative approach towards in-classroom training at Corporations and
Educational Institutes. She has introduced Drama Based Learning facilitation, Narrative Storytelling
with Movement, Image & Forum Theater, Psychodrama, thereby making learning a “doing phase”,
rather just a lecture platform. Economics Times has covered her innovative approach to experiential learning for ET case studies suite:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oN2bnBzxuw,
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAPRvEcqn0M

A successful purpose-driven entrepreneur, running two companies in diverse industries. Founder of Femori, a travel enthusiast and a logical thinker with strong analytical mindset which enables her to help businesses and her team in breaking down problems, analyse, and optimise them.

Aruna is an MBA is Human Resources from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management and has 25 years of industry experience of which 10 years is corporate experience with like L&T ,UPL and Citigroup before the entrepreneurial bug bit her and she started Career Catalysts , a manpower search company which became very successful under her leadership.

As her passion was in helping women , she decided to start Femori. Its is a platform for women to come, share their dreams/goals, seek inspiration from other women in the community and accomplish them by connecting with the right Experts and availability of Resources.
It’s a extremely great platform to network with like-minded women.
It caters to also showcase women businesses and help them get access to a larger segment of the women audience.

Siya Shaikh is a civil engineer by profession and social entrepreneur by passion. 10 years of Marketing and networking experience has helped her to achieve her goal of ‘empowering women.  Currently running a firm called ‘Goa Metal Composites’ which deals with manufacturing of fibre doors and allied products.
She is best described as a passion-driven person whose mission to support start-up Goan women entrepreneurs has led to her create a powerful platform that will serve as a milestone for Women
Entrepreneurship in the State. Her mission to empower every Goan woman to achieve her dreams & be financially independent.  To ensure that a strong support system is available to Goan women entrepreneurs
To make Goa an example of powerful collaborative effort towards empowering women.

She started as an aspiring doctor. She landed up a seat in a pharmacy college. She went on to secure an MBA in marketing. Post that, she joined an FMCG company in a metro city, only to shift base to her hometown, with work in a construction firm’s office.  She went on & published a book titled ‘Me to Mommee’, just a year after her child’s birth.  But it was only some time ago that she found her true calling -

Storytelling.

That’s her venture, passion & profession, today : Tell Tales – Where stories come to life! Yup. The movie of ‘3 idiots’ should have had her as an opposite-to- Rancho-kind-of-character, who landed up in her current field after multiple hop-skip-jumps! That’s how fluffy her hat of myriad experiences in various sectors is. But she believes that no experience ever goes in vain, as the learnings come to use in the most unforeseen ways of life.  Combine that with the world’s most powerful muse, one’s imagination, and you get a person who can go on & on with words!  Aarti Khatwani Bhatia says ‘Hello, everyone!’ Oh, no, don’t run away because I just wrote over a 100 words quoting myself in third person!  Please wait, as it is just about to get even sillier!  Who gained anything by being serious, anyway?  No woman with an office bag in one hand, & a diaper in the other; that’s for sure!

Now, let’s talk stories.

What is the last story you remember having heard? (No, the ones on Instagram don’t count.)

What is the last story you remember having narrated? The answers to these questions are so close that your vision is blurring them out. Remember watching something on the television or on a streaming platform, last night? THAT is the last story you heard.  Easier still, remember talking to your friend, family member or colleague just a few minutes ago? THAT is the last story you narrated.  Remember reading the last few lines around reviving your story-memory?  THAT is yet another a story I just shared with you!

Storytelling is probably the simplest, yet the most amazing, form of art.  It is simply putting words out in an expressive, emotive manner.  Which is why my declaration in the form of Tell Tales (a storytelling platform for adults) applies to one & all – There is a storyteller in each one of us.  You just need to bring them out by making your stories visual through narrating videos.  There is much more to share, but I will save that for later. For now, I am Aarti Bhatia.  And this is my story. Well, so far, that is!

Jamila Bannister is Personal Branding Strategist and Coach as well as the Managing Director of JBannister Branding Ltd. With just over 13 years’ experience, she has worked in Marketing Communications and Branding since 2007. Her stints included communications for government agencies like the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service and private sector companies like the Beacon Insurance Company Limited. 

Jamila began growing her online brand in 2016 by utilizing content as a way to stand out to recruiters. This eventually turned into her being invited to speak about personal branding at workshops and other events

After a yearlong consulting opportunity, working with a local fitness brand; and another year of retooling by diving more deeply into digital marketing, in 2019 she launched her personal branding agency and coaching business, JBannister Branding Ltd. Her agency has allowed her to combine her experience in branding and PR with digital marketing. She now works with experts who would like to leave the 9-5 grind and grow a business around their expertise or passion as well as existing entrepreneurs who need to improve their online business by leveraging content marketing and social media.

Her book, which is called “The Brandprint”, was launched in March 2020 and is a step by step guide that helps entrepreneurs and professionals who want to grow their brand by providing simple and actionable steps they can easily implement to improve their brand authority, visibility and sales. 

Jamila holds a M.Sc. Management with Project Management from BPP University, London, an I.M.B.A with International Marketing Management from the University of the West Indies’ Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business and an undergraduate degree in Communication Studies with a minor in Psychology also from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. She also holds certifications in Google my Business and Google Adwords, is a AWeber Certified Expert certified by email marketing company, AWeber and is a chartered manager certified by the CMI institute in London. 

A Melbourne-based Indonesian that spent her formative years in CA and NY, Ally is a creative marketer working to contribute more to for-purpose organizations. As an immigrant, she experienced the hardships of job hunting and started We Are Your Friends Consulting, a consulting firm that hires international students and temporary visa holders to give them meaningful work experience. She is passionate about equality; in all shapes and forms, especially through design and art. She's always been interested in space and learnt the mneumonic My Very Evil Mother Just Gave Us Nothing to memorize the order of the planets. Ally continues to aspire to bring change in her practices, whether through entrepreneurship or teaching.

My name is Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago (Sofía is my middle name, and Curbelo-Santiago are my parent´s last names). I was born and raised on the tropical island of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. I currently live on the Island.

Since I was a kid, I was always interested in flowers and plants. I used to have my own garden lot in my parent´s backyard. I remembered going around the neighborhood collecting flowers to bring back home. I noticed how the vase with flowers changed the room’s mood and everybody around it. That was my early horticultural therapy experience. I´m interested in helping people, especially women, to adapt and use Nature/Gardening as a tool for their wellbeing.

I´m a professional communicator with a long experience in radio, television, and newspapers. I majored in Psychology, from the University of Puerto Rico, and hold a master´s degree, in Public Relations, from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. I´m Certified in Horticulture Therapy (2019) from the Chicago Botanic Garden.  I´m a natural connector, educator, and speaker for corporate and general audiences. I´m an active member of Garden Communicators International (since 2017). Also a member of the American Horticultural Therapy Association.

I had worked/collaborated with well-known companies and brands like Ford Motor Company, Walmart, FirstBank, Garnier, and Corona Tools, to name a few.  Besides Spanish and English, I speak fluent Italian. Love botanic gardens, The Secret Garden theme, reading, Netflix, baking, the Fall season, and going for a power walk. If you´re interested to know more about our work in Agrochic, the Latino market or want to create a special collaboration, send me an email to perlasofia@agrochic.com

Professionally, I am a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Mapping Specialist and Geo-Business Advocate who has the passion for Technology, Location Intelligence, Mixed Reality and all-round geography and technology. 🌍

I have had the zeal to further my studies in geography since Junior High through to High School and I currently hold my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography and Resource Development with Psychology.

My former work as a GIS Mapping Specialist involved making Product Distribution maps , Customer location Heat maps and other business data related static maps. These are for spatio-temporal analysis of physical and business spatial data.

My curiosity and thoughts about business has allowed me to examine the business application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to the success and profitability of sales and marketing in companies.  In respect to my enthusiastic side, my interest in Technology led me to also learn Front-End Software Development with Developers In Vogue.

I am currently the Co-Founder of African Women in GIS and a STEM advocate.

Awosika Israel Ayodeji is the project designer and coordinator of Web3Bridge, a blockchain education platform created to onboard developers in Africa into the blockchain ecosystem and in turn creating a blockchain economy in Africa.

He is a passionate blockchain evangelist who knows that no single approach is the absolute template for every individual and environment and has remained committed to creating content and learning programs not only  aimed at driving adoption of blockchain technology in Africa but also solving native problems and adding value to the environment.

Aurra is a  multi-potentialite with a very broad portfolio. She is currently the Headmistress ofSt. Anne's Primary School (est. 1947), Executive Director & Co-Founder of Africa Is Digital and Chairman of Aurra Nicole Group. She is the  2019 Africa Science Week (Next Einstein Forum & Purple Futures Trust) - Appreciation Award recipient.  She received this recognition for her outstanding work and with sincere appreciation for her tireless efforts in using science and technology for the betterment of society. In  2018 she was the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Women in Commerce Award Winner in the Social Enterprise category for Little Entrepreneurs.

Business and social change is a family affair for YaAdam Fye. Alongside her mother Lucy and two sisters—Anna and Jainaba—the activist created The Fye Network, the premier producer and provider of African-inspired literature for Gambian children of all ages.

The Fye family began writing a series of children’s books that aim to give Gambian youth hopeful, empowering images of themselves and encourage literacy among young readers. In “Princess Halima and the Kingdom of Affia,” readers follow the adventures of a princess in an ancient African kingdom to learn more about the continent. “When my niece Halima was born, I knew I wanted a better world for her,” Jainaba tells OkayAfrica. “She inspired us to write the Princess Halima children's book. At the time, there were no mainstream Black princess books.” But getting this material to children has its roadblocks. As YaAdam detailed in this Quartz interview, the recent transition in government after the exile of President Yahya Jammeh has left a struggle between those who are coming back to rebuild and locals who remain steadfast in Jammeh’s rule. “There is that power play between the diaspora coming back and the locals who have been there,” she said.

Still, the group of literacy advocates believe that youth will be the wave of change their country needs. And that’s why they are investing in young people. “They are shaping the future,” Jainaba tells OkayAfrica. “They define the culture and push us to do more and go further, especially in the work of diversity and inclusion.

For their unwavering commitments, Fye Network has received notable honors  and nods; YaAdam was named a fellow by the Obama Foundation for her activism in literacy and education and the Network is listed in the Quartz Africa Innovators series. Despite the “lack of responsiveness and engagement from our government,” YaAdam hopes imagination and persistence will begin the process of reform “and the desired changes start to become reality.

With a commerce background through and through, meet this chance graphic designer who has been building her niche in the field for the past 3 years with her brand GraphicsQue.  She received her schooling from MHS, college JDBI, Masters from Lancaster University, UK.  She is an active participant of the Modern High School for Girls Alumni and has worked with over 100 clients with popular clients such as Haldirams, Rotary, Goodwyn Tea, Whooppee and BNI.  She is actively engaged in fulfilling her responsibility towards the society by participating in events such as Agapi (Curated by Paint our World, Director- Dr Priya Virmani), Colours of Innocence (Curated by Sonali’s Cubo, Founder- Vayjayanti Pugalia).  

Evou Lawrence Mendy is a Software Engineer by profession and young Gambian Entrepreneur. He is the Founder and Lead Software Engineer of Kameko - a start-up that provides customized software solutions (web and mobile apps) for businesses in Gambia and beyond. In October 2018, Evou Lawrence introduced Ryde Africa Technologies - a platform that allows you to request for the nearest taxi by using Ryde Africa Taxi App or by calling one of our dispatcher lines.

Evou Lawrence pitched Ryde Africa at the maiden edition of the Seedstar World Banjul Pitching Competition in November 2018 and was the 1st Runner-up. He was the 2nd Runner-up of TAF Start-ups Competition in December 2018. He was part the 1000 Entrepreneurs selected for the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme 2019. He's also documented by AfricaX (africax.org) as one of the 100 most inspiring stories in Africa for 2019.  He is part of EU Africa Start-ups - a network of 100 Digital Entrepreneurs in EU Member countries and Africa.

Evou Lawrence Mendy is a YALI RLC Ghana alumnus (Cohort 8) where he studied Leadership in Business and Entrepreneurship. He's also the founding secretary of GAM-MINDS Foundation - non-profit organization that Motivates, Inspires, Nurtures, Develops and Support the next generation through Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
He is currently the Hub Lead for Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme Alumni, Gambia Chapter.

Before he started his business in 2017, he had work with InSIST Global Gambia Limited as a software engineer and Team Lead for ERP. He also worked as an offshore software developer for alaTest.com based in Sweden and Xanda.net based in London. He also graduated from the University of The Gambia with a BSc in Computer Science in 2013.

WEBSITE: http://www.kamekogambia.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/lawrencevou.mendy
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebou-lawrence-mendy-b4162610a
TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/mendy1188