Today being one of those days that I get to share one of the stories of my life as a journey, reminded me the two most important things that I have learned from my Father and my Mother. “Flying and Staying Grounded”.

Being raised in a family of three girls and one boy (who came very late in our lives, that we grew thinking it was just the girls club ) and never experiencing any level of gender discrimination is something I still upload my parents for. I never knew this gender thing, until I got old enough and until my family became nuclear (started living with other relatives).

I have a father who raised us to believe in our dreams, he has invested in our lives so heavily that his dreams have been kept on hold just for his girls to be somewhere, not because they are girls, but because he believes in their abilities, their visions and above all, he lets them build their own empires.

My Father has taught us to Fly, he gave me my first ever capital to start a business.

I have a mother that has taught me to know my worth, to remember who I am and whose I am, to have standards, to go for what I want without deminishing someone else, she has taught me it’s okay going with others in your journey and it’s okay to go alone too.

My Mother has taught us to Stay Grounded, she celebrates each of our achievements and still loudly reminds us to be responsible human beings.

My Family were my first customers, from when I was selling t-shirts to when I started a travelling business, this gave me a foot at the door and a chance to move from zero to somewhere.

Having started the journey of entrepreneurship, being in the leadership spheres and being privileged enough to have visions, dreams ability and support to try them out, is on one side Grace and another side the results of the seeds planted in me. That is why my passion to be part of the journey of any young girl, any woman in reminding them to Fly and Staying Grounded is my way of serving the time given to me here on earth.

I have met amazing ladies, who have what it takes in terms of visions and even in responsibilities, but sometimes this is not enough. Having skills, willingness, platform, resources and right mindset is what it takes to change the story.

I have always been honored to being part of this, from when I was serving as a leader in schools (girls secondary & high schools ) and college, to when I stood to preach on a pulpit to young ladies, to when I spoke to your entrepreneurs, to when I worked with Buni Divaz (community of women innovators) , Help to Help (helping young women in college learn IT) and to this point of SheFound.

Being at Sahara Sparks as a team lead and seeing how many startups registered that they have Female Co-founders but seeing few almost to none pitch or represent their teams in such platforms never set right with me and the team. It was clear that something needs to be done.

Seeing SheFound moving from being a dream, to being something concrete with a great team, great support and the freedom to really share my journey, my visions, my abilities and my blessings with other women aspiring to start their entrepreneurial journeys and those who are on the road as I am is humbling and honoring.

I met one man, as part of my journey of supporting women (this was during the IT Bootcamp ran by Help to Help) and he said something that stuck with me when I was sharing with him my dreams and the challenges I’m facing.

“Vanessa, people like you and me are mutants, it will take long for the world to accommodate us, but we are the ones making this world accommodating” and this changed everything.

To know more about SheFound, kindly contact our team lead jocelyne@shefound.africa

So much Appreciations to:

- My Family
- My Sahara Ventures Family
- Stephen Ozoigbo