{"id":24361,"date":"2020-10-14T12:13:27","date_gmt":"2020-10-14T11:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/?p=24361"},"modified":"2026-04-29T12:36:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:36:06","slug":"black-history-month-mariam-shodeinde-emba-alum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hult.edu\/blog\/black-history-month-mariam-shodeinde-emba-alum\/","title":{"rendered":"Black History Month: Mariam Shodeinde, EMBA Alum"},"content":{"rendered":"

To mark UK Black History Month, we\u2019ve asked our faculty, students, and alumni to tell us about someone from the Black community\u2014past or present\u2014who has been a big influence in their lives and deserves recognition. In this second post, we catch up with Mariam Shodeinde, Hult Executive MBA<\/a> alum and Chief Growth Officer at Claned Group, to find out what Black history means to her and who inspires her.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

What does Black history mean to you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I grew up in Nigeria and I\u2019ve been living in Europe (Helsinki, Finland) for only 12 years. Before that, Black history meant nothing to me. Where I lived, everyone looked like me; even the word \u201cBlack\u201d didn\u2019t necessarily mean that much to me. But now, for me, Black history is just truth. Truth that needs to be told and retold.<\/p>\n

Very often, the power and the impact of Black people are forgotten. So that\u2019s what Black history means to me\u2014bringing those truths to the surface, of the power of Black people and our place in the world.<\/p>\n

Black history is just truth. Truth that needs to be told and retold.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Who have you chosen to recognize for Black History Month? <\/strong><\/h4>\n

There\u2019s not just one person\u2014there are so many, I have a list! These are people I know whose work, in Africa primarily, and impact on the continent I\u2019ve been following for some time. Black people doing great things with very little. Three that I would like to call out are Bosun Tijani<\/a>, co-founder of CcHUB in Nigeria;\u00a0Jessica Francisca Cola\u00e7o<\/a>, co-founder of iHub in Kenya; and Sangu Delle<\/a>, an investor in early-stage startups across Africa. In the beginning, they had to get funds to lay fiber optic cables under the sea around Lagos so that they could have the internet! That\u2019s where they had to start from.<\/p>\n

These are the people that inspire me, people that focus on building long-term sustainable solutions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, we\u2019re seeing stories from all around Africa about these innovative startups that are changing the world. It\u2019s because of the work that these people have done; and no one knows their names. Because they\u2019re bricks in the foundation and no one sees those, you only see the shiny finished product.<\/p>\n

These are the people that inspire me, people that focus on building long-term sustainable solutions. They\u2019ve been doing this for years, and some of the results are just starting to be visible but it\u2019s going to take maybe another ten years for the impact of what they\u2019re doing to be felt\u2014and maybe no one will ever know their name. Those are the kind of people that really inspire me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why do you think it\u2019s important that they\u2019re recognized?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At the beginning of this year, I started to create a list of inspirational people because I\u2019m working on a project that aims to share some of their stories and career paths, so that other young Africans, or anyone, can see what they\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n

The main reason I\u2019m doing it is not to celebrate them, it\u2019s to show the how. Because representation is great and young people can say: \u201cOk, I see someone like me who\u2019s in this position and I now have this belief that I can do it too.\u201d But then what?<\/p>\n

They need to know how they got there and what they need to do. So that any young person in, say, Burundi, can see these stories and say, \u201cOk, I have a path to follow. My studies in school matter because there\u2019s this opportunity that I can attach it to. My parents have a farm and we\u2019re this rural, agricultural family, but here\u2019s this agricultural entrepreneur who\u2019s doing these great things and using technology in this way. So maybe I need to take a technology degree program so that I can combine all these elements and create something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

We need these young people. Especially Black young people, there\u2019s so few already in the game.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So these stories are vital to inspire and guide the next generation?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Absolutely. I work with youth groups of teenagers here in Helsinki and there\u2019s one thing they know I hate: YouTubers and Instagram influencers with no substance. The thing I\u2019ve seen is that it\u2019s caused young people to stop dreaming, to say: \u201cMy dream now is to be an influencer.\u201d Well, that\u2019s fine, but who\u2019s going to change the world? Who\u2019s going to go into policy? Who\u2019s going develop the next cure or fix climate change or develop sustainable agriculture processes?<\/p>\n

We need these young people. Especially Black young people, there\u2019s so few already in the game, so I say to them\u2014come on! You really need to aim for more than that! Can you apply yourself a little bit more? Can you dream a little bigger?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How have they influenced you personally?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

What I carry with me day to day is their \u201cno excuse\u201d attitude. Because many things will try to grind you down on almost a daily basis. That\u2019s something that I take from them: every day is a day to go further toward the goal. No excuse. The government sucks, that\u2019s no excuse. They\u2019re doing it so I have to keep doing it. I don\u2019t have enough resources, well, they\u2019ve done it. It\u2019s resilience. Resilience is what I take from them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Read the first post<\/a> in the UK Black History Month series featuring Hult entrepreneurship professor, Daniel Rukare.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To mark UK Black History Month, we\u2019ve asked our faculty, students, and alumni to tell us about someone from the Black community\u2014past or present\u2014who has been a big influence in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":212,"featured_media":24366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[153,151],"tags":[168],"yoast_head":"\nBlack History Month: Mariam Shodeinde, EMBA Alum | Hult International Business School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this second post, we catch up with Mariam Shodeinde, Hult Executive MBA alum, to find out what Black history means to her and who inspires her.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black History Month: Mariam Shodeinde, 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