The Story of LAMIDI Saheed Ademola
When did you realize you wanted to be a social entrepreneur? How did you define your purpose?
In 2019, I observed that the youth in our society are found blaming other people or the government for failures or weaknesses noticed in society. I saw in them a lack of zeal to take responsibility. So I, in collaboration with a friend, decided to float an NGO to raise more leaders who will be ready to take responsibility and end the blame game. Our purpose then was to provide structured youth mentorship and develop leadership abilities among the youth. We are presently accelerating by establishing the Social Innovation Institute with the purpose of bridging the gap in social development in Ila-Orangun and extending it to other parts of Nigeria in the future.
What was your first project? What were your lessons learnt?
Employability and Entrepreneurship Skill Development Training inc. mentorship and coaching are both critical missing trends in our society. We took up the cause of providing mentorship to people who are not aware of the need to have a mentor. It was a challenging route for a startup NGO that was looking for funding to accomplish its objectives. We had a series of trainings and workshops—virtual, physical, and sometimes hybrid. It was rough and tough from the beginning. As of today, we have provided various training and skills development programs for more than 500 youths; graduates and undergraduates.
Describe your journey? Smooth sailing or a roller coaster ride?
Financial or funding projects as a new community-based NGO were challenging and tough. We have been leveraging contributions from our BOT and management teams. Funding is a great challenge, but we were never discouraged. We put our vision in front of any financial threat. To the glory of God and the benefit of mankind, we have impacted lives even with our poor financial status. We have also enjoyed the support of elites in the community. One of the big projects (ILA BOOK BANK PROJECT 2021) was funded through a crowdfunding process targeted at members of society.
What are you building right now? What is your ambition?
We are currently building a Social Innovation Institute where youths/social changemakers will be trained and mentored for social development through the SDGs templates.
How can everyone support you?
The world would be safer if more people were aware of their responsibilities. We will be creating a better global community together when we show more commitment to the SDGs. SDGs are already a solution template for global challenges, so we leverage the templates to increase solution providers and end the blame game.
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