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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Sesewa - Adekunbi Adeoye #inthespiritofenterprise

All these Obafemi Awolowo people sef..... hian! Lol. The way they say "from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University" you will just be wondering. *takes cover* hahaha

Beef aside, we can agree though that a lot of talent and good stuff has come out of this "prestigious" school. Let's meet yet another one of them as she shares her passion.

Enjoy.....

Tell us about yourself?

Adekunbi Adeoye is a smart, dynamic young lady, the Executive Director of SESEWA Support Services, a graduate of law from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University. I am best described by strengths and values; I am creative, enterprising, purpose-driven and committed to excellence and integrity.

Tell us about your business?

SESEWA is a social enterprise driven by the passion to give direction to youths; to ensure that they perform at their best. SESEWA is more than just an organization but a movement for excellence and professionalism in the workplace.

At SESEWA, we run with the vision of becoming the one stop centre for the best wave of talent across the globe.

How did you get into this line of business?

I love talking about how SESEWA started. As you know, a major part of what we do is providing internship opportunities to young minds that are ready to kick-start their careers. SESEWA was birthed after an awesome internship experience I had as an undergraduate in OAU. I interned with a law firm and it gave me a chance to really see my life start. That single internship experience inspired what is seen today as SESEWA.

What is the idea behind the name SESEWA?

The name SESEWA is a coinage from the Yoruba expression- se ise wa? translated as “is there a job?” This sums up the questions in the heart of youths. There is this unending quest for youths to be employed but the real problem has never been so much about the availability of the jobs; it has been the inability of youths to fit into the available jobs.

In simple terms, most Nigerian youths are unemployable not because they don’t have the certificates and school degrees but because they lack the skills needed in the 21st century corporate environment. SESEWA stands a wave of fresh air as we say, “we have the job for you!” The very type needed to help groom the needed skills for the workplace. Our internships are avenues to gain employability skills and increase in value to be more relevant in the society.

What are the challenges you faced and how you overcame them?

The price of success is not cheap. It comes with numerous hurdles which make people that are weak at heart to retreat. Starting up a business that is not common in the society can be challenging. The biggest challenges have been that corporate organisations do not define structures for internships and the undergraduate is still unaware of the importance on their career path. We use advocacy to enlighten both companies and undergraduates on the importance of internships and advantages for both parties.

How would you summarize your journey so far?

The journey towards fulfillment of purpose has been an incredible one. I have had obstacles to overcome, decisions to make, successes to celebrate, mistakes not to repeat, friends to treasure and the best part is, the dream is getting bigger by the day as the vision gets clearer.

Given the chance, would you do this again?

Oh yes! Yes! Yes! I would do SESEWA again and again; I would love to take the path of self-discovery, self- development and achieving success. It is known that many people have dreams but only a few have the courage to pursue their dreams until the dreams become their reality.

I have seen individuals walk into my office; some of them were certain about what the next line of their lives will be, some could only paint pictures, a lot others didn’t even know but the joy of fulfillment I get when interns complete their internships better and become confident about their chosen career path is something I can’t measure.

Website - http://www.sesewa.org/
Twitter - @seswa
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/SesewaNigeria

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