The Story of ProfDoc Rasheedat Adetoun Oke-Olaniyan
ProfDoc Rasheedat Adetoun Oke-Olaniyan is the founder of Dastia Academy, an educational center with the mission of helping children learn academics and integrate a holistic approach to life. The students are prepared to be multilingual and have a strong vision that learning is a lifelong process that needs grooming at an early stage. ProfDoc Rasheedat Adetoun Oke-Olaniyan has also received her certification as a marriage and family counselor because she believes supporting kids involves building and sustaining happy homes for all.
When did you realize you wanted to be a social entrepreneur? How did you define your purpose?
I never heard of the word “social entrepreneur” until later years when I joined a higher education institution. I just knew I loved to sell and to give helping hands to society.
I am a graduate of mass communication. I wanted to have a studio where kids and parents could come record and have their programs. The family bond was paramount to me. I can remember that while I was young, I loved to help my mom, who was a single mother who worked as a civil servant but also a businesswoman, in her leisure time. As I grew older, I saw myself giving my mom tips on business and how things could improve financially for us. I would say I was a self-made person.
Fast forward: I ventured into many businesses, from setting up a boutique and a bakery to event planning and management. Each of these businesses didn’t survive. I guess because I was doing all of it out of passion and therefore couldn’t differentiate between passion and business. I had to answer questions from curious people about why I ventured into each business as a graduate of mass communication and kept replying that I was communicating in different ways to society and my audience. I never for once left my origin as a communicator. It has always been my primary motive for venturing into any activity or venture.
What was your first project?
My first serious project was running a boutique, which I ran for 15 years. My major lesson was not having a structure; there was no team to work with. Even when I had ideas, I couldn’t interpret them properly.
Describe your journey. Smooth sailing or a roller coaster ride?
The entrepreneurship journey wasn’t smooth. I had lots of ups and downs. As I said earlier, I took my earlier ventures as a passion; therefore, there was no structural planning. Dastia Academy, as a new school, found it difficult to convince new clients to enroll their kids. We have different categories to accommodate prospective clients, such as different levels of scholarship. Even at that, it was not easy. With time, we had family friends who bought into the idea and have been referring lots of people to the school. We are grateful.
What are you building right now? What is your ambition?
Our ambition is to foster productive personalities in children from Lagos, Nigeria, through our character-building sessions with the use of our curriculum. We catch them young from the cradle.
How can everyone support you?
We will appreciate sponsorship from prospects because we still have lots of kids out there who do not have clarity on their personalities and purpose in life. Such sponsors would be named after some school completions and buildings. We are open to further discussion and clarification.
If you would like to learn more about Dastia Academy please visit our website and social media pages
