Grace Osula is the CEO of HIVE Africa, a global community of leaders who are committed to solving humanity’s greatest challenges. In this encounter with YOUTHVILLE, she spoke on how HIVE is helping solve challenges faced by young entrepreneurs.
What does one need to know about HIVE?
HIVE is a community of people who are committed to solving issues affecting the world, people who are collaborating to see that we create a world where everyone can live in gratitude, where everyone can live a happy and joyful life. Our mission is to create a community of leaders who are creating a better world and our vision is to have a healthy happy environment for everyone.
What we do is that we host a HIVE global leaders programme, it is a three or four days training where we bring in leaders from different parts of the world, different sectors to see how we all can work together and collaborate to create solutions affecting us as a whole.
How many members do you have in Nigeria?
In Nigeria we are about 560 members, in Africa we are 2250 and globally we are 5000 in 125 countries. HIVE is just four years old in the world but in Nigeria we are about 16 months. This community has people who are supporting everyone no matter where you are coming from, colour of your skin, your religion because we believe that in HIVE, we are one and the issues affecting the world affects everyone so the community helps in solving these issues generally.
What challenges have you been able to solve at HIVE?
One of the things we do, because so many people have ideas and one of the major challenges they face is funding. So through the HIVE network we have people who work in organizations where people can easily get grants, sometimes even if it’s not funds we can get partners who can help you in assisting you on ideas, your mission and vision is achieved.
Also we are trying to help people expand. For example if I am based in Nigeria and you are based in another country and you are trying to expand my business, because we are part of the community and we trust each other we can help support each other and expand our ideas.
What are your success stories?
We have been able to start up HIVE in Nigeria and Africa and most times when people come to our events one of the challenges we have observed is that some people don’t know their purpose in. Some people do things. Some people do things and they think it is what they love doing.
One of the things HIVE does is help members discover their purpose and do what they want to do and earn from it and achieve their goals. So at the end of our programs, through one of the programmes we call “designing your life workshop”, some people say they have been able to know their purpose and how to achieve it.
How are you addressing issues of unemployment?
I think for me what I will say is that more collaboration with international organizations because apart from HIVE I know there are many organizations who do these kind of things. So if we have more organizations who have jobs opportunities and funding opportunities and its very accessible not just for people in their country but globally, it will go a long way.
Also in a very few years to come government jobs will be out-dated, we will have more of technological gurus but issue is, how do they fund them. If government cannot help fund these jobs I think more collaboration will help and also emphasis must be for the youths to have access to all these funds.
What final note do you have for youths?
Focus on what you think is right and don’t allow lack of finds to minimise or make you not achieve great things. Most times as youths we concentrate on how to find the money without making the impact but you must always know that when you are doing something right, it might take time before the help you need comes so be patient and diligent.
