//podcastplus.net/feed/origins-africa-podcast~63c64e83 O'Seye explores the origin stories of today's Dream Achievers, asking the What, the When, the How, and the Why. Origins Africa Podcast celebrates the messes, challenges, and setbacks that ultimately lead to growth and self-actualization. Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:34:23 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/5ryaaf/OriginsAF_S2_-Kemi_Shonubi_-Part_2_1_a4zr3.mp3 As Kemi Shonubi continues her origin story on this episode, you will particularly hear how important it is to have a loving and supportive partner/people with you on your journey. People who, especially in your low moments, remind you of who you are and the achievements you have recorded. We will explore Kemi's defining moments in her first HR Executive role at Venture Garden Group - a tech company, her career mistakes and lessons, as well as her career progression up to her current role as the Director of People Culture Experience & Operations at TVC Communications . TVC Communications is a privately owned, multiplatform national and international full service media organization established in 2007 and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. Kemi is also the Founder of the HR Storyteller platform , and on this episode, you will get to hear how the HR Storyteller platform was birthed - a platform oriented towards transforming the HR practice and workplace cultures with the art and power of storytelli... Tue, 31 May 2022 16:54:30 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/5ryaaf/OriginsAF_S2_-Kemi_Shonubi_-Part_2_1_a4zr3.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/a68frp/OriginsAF_S2_-Kemi_Shonubi_-Part_1_1_aun1p.mp3 Today, Kemi Shonubi is the Director of People Culture Experience & Operations at TVC Communications , a privately owned, multiplatform national and international full service media organization established in 2007 and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. Under her leadership, the media company has been certified as a Great Place To Work Company in Nigeria for the last two years by the Great Place To Work Institute of the USA, and has gone on to win several awards including some from one of the foremost people management institutes in Africa, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM). All these are certainly no mean feat. And you might be tempted to think Human Resources (HR) is something that Kemi has always done, that she started her career in HR. But, you couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, Kemi's journey into HR could be termed coincidental or what many people might call destiny, a divine orchestration of some sort.   On this episode, Part 1, you will hear Kem... Tue, 17 May 2022 13:58:28 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/a68frp/OriginsAF_S2_-Kemi_Shonubi_-Part_1_1_aun1p.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ij6xci/OriginsAF_S2_-John_Obidi_-Part_161nul.mp3 "In 100 years, you, me, everybody listening to this episode of this podcast will be dead. Gone. In 100 years, we will all be gone. Nothing will matter. It puts into perspective some of the things that we take as very big problems or big challenges or big embarrassments. In 100 years, none of these will matter. None of the people concerned will matter. We will all be dead. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes." - John Obidi , Director of Growth, The ABiT Network, & Founder, Headstart Africa . Right from when John was a kid, he has always been drawn to computers. In fact, when he was 8/9 years old, he "accidentally" learned a programming language. From studying Computer Science at Benson Idahosa University, John has evolved and worn many hats, moving from programming into digital marketing, community building, and more recently, cryptocurrency. But what was the journey like for John? On this episode, the first of a two-part conversation, you will hear John talk about his journey into blockchain and how h... Tue, 08 Mar 2022 16:02:00 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ij6xci/OriginsAF_S2_-John_Obidi_-Part_161nul.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7v7258/OriginsAF-_Gbola_Debbie_Lawson-_Fastizers_Food-_Part_2bh85v.mp3 "...By December 2016, customers were paying one month ahead for our products. By March 2017, our revenue had dropped 90%, because we took a price increase in February and everybody stopped buying." - Gbola Lawson, Co-Director, Fastizers Food and Confectionery Limited . On this episode, the concluding part of our chat with Debby & Gbola Lawson, Co-Directors at Fastizers Food & Confectionery Limited , we talk about the challenges they faced as the business rapidly grew and how they were able to effectively navigate those challenges on their journey to building a successful company. This is our first partnership series on Origins Africa. Fastizers is a rapidly emerging food manufacturing company, which started from a kitchenette in 2010 with very basic equipment, and with N960 only. Ten years after, Fastizers runs a 2-acre automated production factory in Agbara, Ogun State, fitted with modern baking equipment. Their current distribution covers over 20 states with a production of over 600,000 ... Tue, 22 Dec 2020 12:25:04 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7v7258/OriginsAF-_Gbola_Debbie_Lawson-_Fastizers_Food-_Part_2bh85v.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/w5853z/Gbola_Debbie_Lawson-_Fastizers_Food-_Part_1_1_av3wc.mp3 "...He said, "Debby, you can sell these cookies." Ha, I looked at him, with my engineering? With these sleepless nights, you know, studying hard? In fact, I must confess, I rejected it. And, you know...then we had this, "when angels pass, when you say a negative word, and angels would pass, they'd just stamp it." So I always say I thank God that, that day, no angel passed because I rejected, in fact, I said Ha, no no no no..." - Debby Lawson, Co-Director, Fastizers Food and Confectionery Limited . Fastizers Food & Confectionery Limited , a rapidly emerging food manufacturing company, started from a kitchenette in 2010 with very basic equipment, and with N960 only. Ten years after, Fastizers runs a 2-acre automated production factory in Agbara, Ogun State, fitted with modern baking equipment. Their current distribution covers over 20 states with a production of over 600,000 Fastizers Fun Cookies daily. On this episode, the first part of our chat with Gbola & Debby Lawson, Co-Directors of Fa... Tue, 15 Dec 2020 10:49:46 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/w5853z/Gbola_Debbie_Lawson-_Fastizers_Food-_Part_1_1_av3wc.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/6jvr4d/OriginsAF-Yemi_Faseun-_Senior_HR_Exec-_Part_273hcy.mp3 "By the end of 2009, I was told to leave that same organization because of my political naiveté. So, that moment when I got the news, it was a moment of confusion, a moment of alone in this world, a moment of what's going on, how could this have happened to me?" -  Yemi Faseun On this episode, the concluding part of our chat with Yemi Faseun, "YF" as he's fondly called, we talk about how YF's political naiveté cost him his job and what helped him through that period. We also explore his general life lessons and advice for a successful HR career. YF is a senior Human Resources Executive, with over 20 years' experience across the banking, telecommunication, and management consulting sectors. He is currently the Head of HR at  Globacom Nigeria , a telecommunications firm.   *** Season 1: Origins Africa Podcast Feedback As we wrap up Season 1, we decided to make this survey to check how you feel about our current content as well as our future direction. The survey should only take a few mi... Tue, 08 Dec 2020 09:11:26 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/6jvr4d/OriginsAF-Yemi_Faseun-_Senior_HR_Exec-_Part_273hcy.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/4pazh3/OriginsAF-Yemi_Faseun6hdna.mp3 "I left Ilorin with a single, minded focus; I dey go Lagos, honestly... I remember that it was late, it was raining; I symbolically actually said, hey guys, I'll see you later. Almost like just saying, guys, hey, I'm going for my dreams. That's how I came to Lagos on my own. The only things I came with were my credentials and my dreams." - Yemi Faseun Yemi Faseun, "YF" as he's fondly called, is a Senior Human Resources (HR) Executive with over 20 years' experience across the banking, telecommunication, and management consulting sectors. He is currently the Head of HR at Globacom Nigeria , a telecommunications firm, and has actually led a nomadic career life, being on his 11th job. On this episode, we explore YF's early years, his desire to be successful which was driven by a great fear of failure, his journey to Lagos in pursuit of his dreams, as well as his political naiveté lesson.   Episode Preview 02:10 - Introduction 04:33 - YF's desire to be successful, driven by a great fear of fai... Thu, 03 Dec 2020 10:00:55 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/4pazh3/OriginsAF-Yemi_Faseun6hdna.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7uep75/OriginsAF-_Kola_Aina-_Ventures_Platform_1_61kr1.mp3 "I was about 26 when this happened, you know, and I was fortunate that that happened really early 'cause it ended up being one of the lowest points of my life. I became really broke, we became homeless, traded down 3 cars, you know... my back was against the wall, I was reading a lot, and that really was the moment of discovery and understanding for me..." - Kola Aina   On this episode, we explore Kola Aina's origin story. Kola is the Founding Partner of Ventures Platform , an early-stage fund that provides smart capital and growth support for bold entrepreneurs who are leveraging innovation to solve problems in Africa and around the world. Through Ventures Platform, Kola has invested in over 30 startups including CrowdForce, PayStack, Kudi, and PiggyVest. But, there were hurdles Kola had to cross before getting to where he is today...  *** If you enjoy the podcast, could you kindly  leave a short review on Apple Podcasts /iTunes? Your reviews go a long way in helping us do better and convi... Tue, 24 Nov 2020 09:55:57 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7uep75/OriginsAF-_Kola_Aina-_Ventures_Platform_1_61kr1.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/awhc74/OriginsAF-_Emmanuel_Tarfa_-Enzo_Krypton_Part_2_1_6j3hv.mp3 "...Mehn, I wish I had a mentor. I mean, I'll tell you for free; someone who mentored me on financial management. All the monies I was making and the hiring I was doing, he would have properly guided me. You know, that would have been important; I would have been richer for it now, I would have probably managed relationships..."  -  Emmanuel Tarfa  (Partner & Co-Founder,  Enzo, Krypton & Company ). On this episode, the concluding part of our chat with Emmanuel Tarfa, we explore Emmanuel's rise from the ashes following the death of his first life in business, Emmanuel's partnership with Deji Kurunmi, as well as the birth and growth of Enzo, Krypton & Company. We also talk about Emmanuel's mission to replicate himself into 1 million youths to solve the human capital crisis crippling the Nigerian market, as well as his general life lessons, unproud moments, and habits.     Episode Preview 01:29 - Recap & Intro 03:08 - Emmanuel meets Deji Kurunmi, his Partner & Co-Foun... Tue, 03 Nov 2020 10:04:50 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/awhc74/OriginsAF-_Emmanuel_Tarfa_-Enzo_Krypton_Part_2_1_6j3hv.mp3 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ffjv6i/OriginsAF-_Emmanuel_Tarfa_-Enzo_Krypton_Part_1_1_689h2.mp3 "I eventually crashed that first life when I became overleveraged. So, you know, you borrow money to pay salaries, and you don't understand the dynamics; you're not paying attention to your numbers... I struggled. I literally came to a halt."  - Emmanuel Tarfa (Partner & Co-Founder, Enzo, Krypton & Company ). On this episode, we explore Emmanuel's first life in business, which covers him having his first "pop" at the age of 12, studying Economics at the University of Abuja, and starting Conceptual Initiatives & Youth Development. We also talk about the serendipitous meet Emmanuel had with Chukwuka Monye which became the biggest blessing of his life, as well as the entrepreneurship mistake he made twice which led to a dark period and ended his first life in business. In Emmanuel's words, he literally came to a halt. Today, Emmanuel is a Partner & Co-Founder at Enzo, Krypton & Company, and he's on a mission to replicate himself into 1 million youths towards solving the human capit... Tue, 27 Oct 2020 09:14:06 +0000 https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ffjv6i/OriginsAF-_Emmanuel_Tarfa_-Enzo_Krypton_Part_1_1_689h2.mp3