Adia Sowho was the Head of Digital Media and Director of Digital Business at Etisalat Nigeria.
She started her career as an engineer with United States Cellular, a CDMA operator in the US. She obtained her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.
After a stint at Deloitte Consulting, she returned home to Nigeria.
Adia’s story is one that resonates with Nigerians who have spent a long time abroad and have returned home.
It is hard. To re-integrate with the Nigerian culture and to feel accepted by the people. She also touches on her struggles to employment and gives a very uncommon but highly effective way of securing your dream job.
This conversation with Adia is an episode that will keep on giving.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why the Nigerian Telco market has already tried and tested somethings that are just showing up in developed markets
- Adia thinks digital infrastructure can and should replace physical infrastructure
- That building a product for apps and not for people is the wrong way to go. It almost never works. Why?
- Adia thinks Nigerians don’t really care about apps. Find out why
- “We have an ecosystem that is not aware of the revolution going on in the telco business” What did Adia mean by this statement?
- Returning home to Nigeria after being away for 14 years was a bit tough. How did she get through it? What are the lessons you can get from her journey?
- There is a huge opportunity for the tech ecosystem to ride on the Telco distribution network. Find out how.
- Bars are a great place to network and get jobs in Lagos. Don’t agree? Hear all about Adia’s red dress story and how she met top telco executives
- Smartphone penetration in Nigeria is 15% making scaling a bit difficult for digital businesses. Find out how and why SMS is still an option
Selected book from this episode:
Building The Future Podcast Season 2 is sponsored by the British Council.
