July 2013
Hello everyone! I am super excited to share my experiences with you with my blog!
Amandla's last weekend in Lagos
I am taking the Lagos baton from
Amandla, who is leaving to attend graduate school, and I will miss her sorely. I wish she didn’t have to leave Lagos, but it’s for a good cause and I am certain that Amandla and I will have many more adventures in Africa together in the nearest future!
The year of the North, and a new language
I started this year with an adventurous healthcare project in northern Nigeria, and then in March, I set off on another adventure to work for a client in Tunisia. This was a new experience for me as I had never visited (much less worked in) this part of Africa before. My team was also very diverse, and we were nicknamed “the United Nations” team, and rightly so. We had a Moroccan from our Dubai office, a French-Algerian from our Casablanca office, a French woman from our Paris office, (and this excludes the leadership team).
With friends in Tunis
The engagement was our first for the client, and so we spent a lot of time building relationships, which I found this extremely rewarding. In addition to the opportunity to work with so many brilliant minds at the client and having some significant impact, I also got the chance to learn a new language: French!
Due to the travel logistics within Africa, I spent lots of weekends in Tunis and some neighboring cities. In one word, Tunis is beautiful!
BCSS: Connectivity, inspiration and more
In May, I embarked on the longest journey of my life, from Tunis to Johannesburg (they are on opposite sides of Africa) to attend McKinsey’s BCSS (Black Client Service Staff) conference. It felt like a reunion, it was definitely great to connect with colleagues from other parts of the world and to catch up on what had been happening in our various lives since the last time we were all together in Atlanta in 2011 (the conference is held every 18 months).
With the BCSS crew
Beyond the connectivity, I was also deeply inspired on various levels: from the tenure-based professional development sessions where I learned about what it really means to be a stand-out associate and how to attain that level of “awesomeness,” to the next generation African leaders panel—where Fred Swaniker, Ory Okolloh and Mandla Sibeko shared their personal journeys and aspirations, to the key note address by Hakeem Belo-Osagie on entrepreneurship and leadership in Africa, to the highly engaging women’s breakfast!
It wasn’t all talk, though—we also enjoyed some epic nights out and had the chance to visit the Africa Leadership Academy, where the eloquence, depth and leadership achievements of the teenagers there just blew me away!
Two final notes
I am starting my business school applications for September 2014. The support from McKinsey has been absolutely amazing. I’m going to take some time off after my current engagement (thanks to the “Take Time” program) to study for my GMAT and complete other parts of the applications. I will keep you posted on how it all goes!
I am also working with a group of people to organize and execute a 10-day summer leadership camp for high school students in Lagos. I am extremely excited about this and will tell you all about it next time.
A bientot! (see you soon),
Kemi