What can I say? Two weeks of classes have gone by and I’ve been wondering what really hit me. I’m actually typing this blog while working on a company valuation case with my group members(they actually think I am brainstorming) after about 3 hours Finance and Accounting lectures – on a Saturday! After this, I need to go complete my 1,000 words organizational behavior essay, prepare my paper for the accounting case to be submitted on Tuesday, catch up with the prices and markets class, of which I have no clue what’s happening, and go for a dinner with a lovely couple this evening! Now, that’s what I call a formula 1, adrenaline pumping, jet age schedule.
At this point, I must confess that I am a bit overwhelmed by the pace of the program – and it’s just 2 weeks! When the program started, my strategy was to make sure I’m one step ahead of the class especially with the pre-readings, then last weekend, the strategy changed to me keeping up with the class. Now, that strategy has changed again – I will no longer do all pre-readings except for 2 courses and I will try to make sure that I am not more than 2 classes behind in my studies. What a life! Now I have to go cut my Afro because I no longer have the time to maintain it properly. Earlier this week with uncombed hair all day, I was looking like a cast in a horror movie(let me know if you want to see the picture).
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining in the slightest sense of it but I think I must have underestimated the meaning of a 2 year program done in one year. I enjoy my feeling of chaos right now, as most of you would expect but nonetheless, I need some order in my life. If you don’t hear another word from me in 2 weeks, please understand my predicament; if it gets to 3 weeks, say a word of prayer for me; if it gets to 4 weeks, please pick up your phone and call me but if it’s more than 4 weeks, please catch the next flight to Singapore to bring me back home:-)
I am the author of Scaling for Success: Empowering African SMEs. I am a Partner at Sahel Capital, a food and agriculture-focused private investment firm in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sahel Capital manages the Fund for Agriculture Financing in Nigeria (FAFIN) and the Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA).
I co-lead SEFAA, an impact-first fund investing in agribusinesses that provide direct or indirect benefits to smallholder farmers across 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. I also lead investments and portfolio management for SEFAA and manage FAFIN portfolios, two of which were recently exited. I am a director on the board of one of the portfolio companies and serve in advisory roles for several startups and SMEs.