Emerging Africa Capacity Building: Empowering Leaders to Greater Success

Front Row L-R:  Mr. Sanni (Director, Emerging Africa Group); Mrs Funke Okoya (Mentor/Executive Director, Nova Merchant bank); Mrs.Toyin F. Sanni (Principal Mentor/Vice Chairman/Group Chief Executive Officer, Emerging Africa Group); Mrs. Osula Oghogho (Non-Executive Director, Emerging Africa Asset management Limited) and Dr. Mekiliuwa (Non-Executive Director, Emerging Africa Capital Limited)

Back Row L-R: Adebola Agunbiade; Olatunbosun Williams; Chukwuemeka Anazodo; Ayomidipupo Ashaolu; Adaku Ijara (Managing Director, Emerging Africa Asset Management Limited); Mahmoud Shuaib Kasandubu (Executive Director, Emerging Africa Capital Limited); Olufunmbi Akinluyi (Business Director, Emerging Africa Capacity Building); Abimbola Shopeju (CEO, Fundall/Group Director of Resources, Emerging Africa Group; Oluseyi Adewale (Board Director, Emerging Africa Capacity Building); Adenike Adeboye; Tosin Ajose; Taiwo Obasan and Olutoye Sanni.

Emerging Africa Capacity Building (EACB), the Human Capital Development arm of the Emerging Africa Group has trained over 20 professionals from various fields of endeavors to become successful leaders in their careers and personal lives under its Executive Mentorship Program (EMP).

EACB programs are carefully designed with current and future business leaders in mind. The intention is to chart a path for accelerated career and business progress of executives, business heads, corporate clients, and professionals across various career paths by equipping them with the tools, skills, as well as networks they need to reach new levels in their career and have a competitive advantage over their peers.

EACB recently held its second graduation ceremony for the 2nd Cohort from its Executive Mentorship Program and an induction ceremony for the inductees of the 3rd Cohort. This executive mentorship program was birthed following an assessment of a critical gap existing in the professional journey of most individuals.

Speaking at the ceremony which took place at the EACB Place in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of the Emerging Africa Group and Principal Mentor, Mrs. Toyin F. Sanni, said the program enables the mentees to draw from the knowledge, experience, understanding, expertise and leadership abilities of distinguished mentors who have achieved great and uncommon success in their respective professional fields, businesses, and personal lives, be it as founders, entrepreneurs, chief executive officers or top directors of companies, institutions and conglomerates.

In this case, she said that these experienced and accomplished mentors extend the benefits of their knowledge and the experience they have gathered over the years, to those who are coming behind (the mentees).

According to her, “We believe that the best way to develop leaders is to allow them to draw from the wealth of experience and depth of knowledge of those who have succeeded already as leaders in their personal lives and career”

“The program is about mentorship and leadership in demonstration. It’s a forum for the practical dissemination of information and knowledge based on actual experience. I invited accomplished leaders during each Cohort to join me as co-mentors and together we shared our knowledge and experience in our business journey with the mentees. We made them ask questions and we gave them clarity about their own goals, their own plans, and their own future”.

“We answer their questions by telling them the challenges we have faced in our own leadership journey and how they can overcome the same in their career journey. The intention, therefore, is to build leadership capacity. We felt that the biggest part of the problem in our continent is the leadership gap, and we aim to fill these leadership gaps in the public and private sectors.

“The leadership capacity gap is one major reason why not just youths, but women are also disproportionately represented in Governments, Organizations and Businesses. This lack of representation of women in the aforementioned spaces, highlights inclusion problems in terms of leadership opportunities, and capacity building, is, therefore, a very important part of fixing this problem. The capacity gap is one of the reasons why people refuse to take leadership positions. There are exclusion problems, inadequate policies to protect them against exclusion, inadequate economic power and conscious and unconscious bias are reasons why youths and certain segments are not adequately represented,” she said.

While speaking to the graduates and inductees, Mrs. Sanni said “I have no doubt that you will derive greater pleasure from your work because of the degree of clarity that this program has brought you,  after this program, you will become more successful in everything you do because now you know precisely how to work out your plans”

“To you the graduating class of Cohort 2, I would like to say congratulations! I’m positive that the time we have spent together has helped provide clear answers to the questions such as Who you are? and Why you are here?”

“The program has helped you to define what success means to you. It has helped you to acquire exceptional business skills that will take your personal and career life to the next level. As you graduate and begin to engage with the world on a different level, remember to examine your belief system. What you believe about yourself, in addition to the presence or absence, of conscious and unconscious biases, define your limit in life.”

She charged the graduands and the inductees to leverage the opportunity to their advantage.

“I encourage you today to leverage on the relationships and networks formed during this program with not just your mentors but your fellow mentees, who like you are already on their way to success”

“While making new relationships as you go on in life, remember this, you cannot do everything by yourself, surround yourself with people who will help you achieve your dreams and vice versa. True leadership lies in guiding others to success. Always welcome free feedback from colleagues, mentors, and your followers. The opportunities that lie before you are incredibly rich and diverse. It is my desire that with your newly acquired practical leadership and business success skill set, your personal life and career will advance at an unprecedented rate.

Finally, just as you have been mentored, please go out there and mentor others.

She thanked the other mentors and the founding CEO of EACB, Mrs. Abimbola Shopeju, whom she said is now a Non-Executive Director for their support.

on the graduation of Cohort 2 and induction of Cohort 3, the Business Director who is also the Principal, Emerging Africa Capacity Building, Mr. Funmbi Akinluyi, said “This auspicious occasion for which we are all gathered here today, is the graduation ceremony of Cohort two and induction of cohort three of the executive mentorship program organized and run by Emerging Africa Capacity Building.

“The executive mentorship program develops not only leaders but it is also targeted at those occupying the C – Suite, of national and multinational companies and those aspiring to these positions, as well as entrepreneurs. What this mentorship program provides, are mentors who have made great strides, and indelible marks, in their chosen fields of endeavor and during their mentoring sessions, they shared their respective life experiences including secrets to their successes and examples of failures experienced during their careers, with the mentees, as a means of guiding them to greater and sustainable success.

He said between 2021 and 2022, the institution had trained 20 professionals who are expected to become exceptional leaders in their chosen careers and profession, adding that 13 new students are being inducted for Cohort 3 of the intensive Executive Mentorship Program.

Earlier in her charge to the inductees, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Emerging Africa Asset Management Limited, Ms. Adaku Ijara, charged the inductees to make the best use of the mentorship opportunity.

was the high point of my 2021. I was able to form friendships with a lot of my fellow inductees and it was just an all-round great experience. What I want to charge you with this morning is to try and make the best of this experience and how can you do this? First, you need to know that self-awareness is something that this program will help you to develop in a greater sense of it. It is not about coming to sit and listen to the mentors and go back. It is about discovering yourself and knowing who you are.

“Think deeply about the ten-year visualization. Don’t let it just be an exercise. Think deeply about it. It will make you appreciate what you need to do to get to where you want to be.

Earlier in her remarks at the occasion, Executive Director, Investment Banking, NOVA Merchant Bank, Mrs. Funke Okoya, charged both the graduands and inductees not to take the opportunity for granted.

“I charge you guys not to take this opportunity for granted because I was once like you and today having passed through mentorship, I’m now a better person both in my personal and career life.

“There is absolutely nothing you cannot achieve in life. What it takes is you having that mindset, believing in yourself, and remaining focused on that thing which you want to achieve. Also, let it be known to you that as you go along in this journey, you will have challenges and issues, but you need to remember that it is important for you to also look out for people that you can also talk to, people that can inspire you.

“I want us to begin to encourage ourselves to say that after this program, people will begin to see a better me. People will begin to see someone that has learned something from this experience. I charge you to remember that this is just the beginning; you are going to go much higher than you ever imagined.

Sharing her experience during the program in an interview with our correspondent, one of the graduands, a Commercial Lawyer, Founding Partner and Lead Advisor at Deal HQ Partners expressed excitement at passing through the program.

According to her, “The program was very enriching, detailed and thorough. It was eye-opening to see that even Chief Executives must be mentored to ascend to the next level, in their personal and career lives. It was really a very good experience for us; sitting down there in those classes when we had our mentors talk to us about practical life issues and sharing their experience, telling us those things we might come across as we move from one level of growth to another in our career and how to handle them.

For me, the most interesting aspect was that they really gave us their all – they shared their own experiences when trying to navigate their personal and career lives. These were really fulfilling for me. It was very thorough because we had to introspect and set goals and an agenda for ourselves – how we want to follow through to get to our peak. I think those sessions were life-transforming for me and I believe it was the same for others.

I have learnt a lot and I obviously recommend the program for anybody that is looking to continue to grow personally and professionally and improve themselves because we learn to unlearn, and we learn to relearn.

Though the 3 months may have been challenging, the benefits and experience gained are unprecedented and immeasurable.

On behalf of all of us in cohort two, we thank all our mentors and all the team members of Emerging Africa Capacity Building.

Emerging Africa Capacity Building (EACB), offers learning and development services in areas guaranteed to support personal and professional growth, not limited to career development, mentorship opportunities, employability solutions, entrepreneurship skills, investment banking, finance and accounting, risk management amongst other value-adding services.

Contact @ Emerging Africa Capacity-building via Email – eacb@emergingafricagroup.com today to register for any of their training programs