A different perspective

I thought I knew Nigeria. I grew up here and have lived here for most of my life. But I saw Nigeria for the first time through the eyes of a group of my international classmates, and it was a transformative experience, in the most positive way.

While still at INSEAD, my classmate Yannik, my husband Tosin, and I decided to organise a trek for our fellow graduates to visit West Africa. Over 10 days, we visited Accra, Abuja, and Lagos. We immersed ourselves in the culture and went behind the scenes with a diverse range of organisations, from government agencies to agile startups and established corporations.

My biggest takeaway, however, was a feeling my classmates kept mentioning again and again: the palpable sense of optimism and a fierce passion for making the country better. Everyone we met was working on a real problem, having a tangible impact on the lives of a large number of people.

At the Nigeria Consumer Credit Corporation, we saw an agency building a new credit infrastructure from the ground up, with the goal of enabling millions of Nigerians to access financial tools that can enrich their lives. Everyone in the room with us, from the CEO to the young youth corper, was buzzing with the excitement of knowing their work was creating a real change.

At Paystack, we saw entrepreneurs having an influence that went far beyond their singular product. In Nigeria, companies often have to build not just the product, but the infrastructure for that product. Nothing is simple, yet they rise to the challenge.

At the Africa Finance Corporation, the HR director spoke about how easy it was hiring new people because everyone, from the directors to the janitors, knew they were working towards a meaningful goal.

And there were countless others on the list.

• Nev Electric building electric vehicles for the local market
• Solina Centre for International Development and Research working to drive healthcare reforms across the nation
• MTN, servicing over half the Nigerian market, while aiding the development of road infrastructure
• Google for Startups, supporting entrepreneurs like Preston at Stears
• Nile Media, reinventing the entertainment experience for the local market
• McKinsey, who spoke to us about the problems and opportunities Nigeria and the wider continent

Of course, Nigeria still faces a lot of problems. And it's easy for us, as Nigerians, to get caught up in the daily struggles when we're just speaking amongst ourselves. But this trip was a refreshing break from that narrative. A reminder that there are so many people working tirelessly to solve the many problems.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this trip a reality. To the companies that were so welcoming in hosting us. To my classmates for being so openminded and joining us on this journey - Tong, Elena, Asaf, Jack, Alex, Lorenz, Isiaka. And most of all, to my co-organisers Tosin and Yannik for initiating this unforgettable trip.

Besides the official company visits, we also took the group on a cultural tour of the country. I'll be sharing vlogs of the trip on my Instagram and TikTok, so check there if you'd like to follow along!