Our OD Young Person of the Month is Titilope Adedokun from Nigeria. Titilope Adedokun is a young leader, impact professional, social entrepreneur, and content creator. At Sisterly HQ, she is connecting over 40,000 Nigerian women with transformative opportunities, training, and inclusive stories through digital tech. She is also the Growth Manager at a nonprofit providing up to $20K seed grants to social entrepreneurs fighting global poverty. Her work has been recognized by LinkedIn News, Western Union Foundation, Women Deliver, Vital Voices, Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund, Fora Network for Change, and Common Purpose.
Read her amazing story below and be inspired.
TITILOPE ADEDOKUN
Titilope Adedokun works to connect talent – in particular, women, young people, and individuals from historically excluded communities including the Global Majority, who would otherwise not have access – to opportunity. This is the common thread of her journey, from studying law, to student-led organizing at university, working in international development research, starting a female-focused social enterprise, and now, connecting first-time social entrepreneurs to seed funding. She holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Lagos and a qualifying degree from the Nigerian Law School and is by a deep passion to use technology for social good.
On How She Started.
Titilope started Sisterly HQ because of the access, opportunity, and representation gaps Nigerian women face. These gaps, perpetuated for decades, have led to economic, social and political inequality for women. So, she thought: ‘What can I do about it?’. Titilope decided to use digital technology and community to bridge this gap. Today, Sisterly HQ is a safe space where Nigerian women have access to socio-economic opportunities like jobs, scholarships, training to land these opportunities, and inspiring stories of women who look like us, all for free.
On Her Successes
Titilope says that Sisterly HQ’s greatest success is the women they serve. The women who believe in themselves in spite of the odds. The women who have found life-long friends, gotten jobs, been inspired, won prizes and grants, felt seen in a story, among others. For her, it’s the greatest honor to serve her community. That said, they have done some wonderful things since they launched. Sisterly HQ’s community has grown to serve over 40,000 women across their social media platforms, and newsletter. They have shared over 4000 opportunities, held over 10 trainings and workshops, and amplified the stories of 51 Nigerian women. Last year, their digital content surpassed 1 Million views. In January, they held The MastHER Class, a career and personal development program for 70 women, funded by the Western Union Foundation and featuring speakers from LinkedIn Mexico, Selar, Inclusively Remote, and CareerBuddy. They have also partnered with Jobberman Nigeria, KAP Film and Television Academy, Well Living and Working, Shop NNO, ALX Africa, Hertitude by Zikoko, and Wetech.
On Her Challenges and Future Plans
Titilope plans to continue to serve Nigerian women, and bridge the socio-economic gaps that women face, one opportunity and story at a time. They are also quite excited for our future as a social enterprise. According to Titilope, when she started Sisterly HQ it was at the worst time – it was a few weeks before her final exams in university, and a few months before law school. However, she wouldn’t change a thing. It was daunting, but with her support circle’s help, she was able to make it work. As the work began, other challenges popped up, including balancing the then-digital publication with law school, bootstrapping and fundraising, working as a solo-entrepreneur, and pivoting to a digital community. In all, it has helped her to be resilient, surround herself with like-minded people (for Titilope, this has looked like intentional community with other women founders), finding new ways to learn and collaborate, staying true to her and Sisterly HQ’s values, and not be afraid to change her mind or make mistakes.
Her Words Advice For The Youth
As cliché as it sounds, knowing your Why will never go out of style. It’s so crucial to do things for the right reasons so that when it gets tough (and it will), you don’t stop for the wrong reasons. I mentioned this on a panel recently and would like to restate it here: As a social entrepreneur, you will get a lot of advice. Listen and learn, but apply each lesson with context, and understanding of the community you serve. Trust yourself, and be your biggest advocate. Sometimes, we changemakers are so hard on ourselves. It’s okay to rest, say No, set boundaries, not know all the answers, and take care of yourself. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
You can connect with on Instagram, LinkedIn and on her website. You can also check out her project Sisterly HQ on their website here, LinkedIn, TikTok on Instagram.
You can be the next Opportunity Desk Young Person of the Month! All you have to do is get a friend to recommend your work or fill out the nomination form here. We want to use the platform to recognize and celebrate the efforts of amazing young people around the world. Oh! And you must be an active Opportunity Desk member, either as a fan, reader, or subscriber! Share!
