Evolution, Through the Lenses of Paris

There are experiences that make even more sense in retrospect.

Looking back at my time in Paris for Spotlight Nigeria, I realise that I was experiencing much more than a speaking engagement. I was beginning to see my work, Africa and the possibilities between Africa and Europe through a much wider lens.

I was invited to speak at the Business and Investment Forum, where I joined the remarkable Digital Innovation and Technology panel as the CEO of Tradeflow Africa. At the time, I was deeply focused on international trade and building Tradeflow Africa as a platform that could make it easier for African SMEs to participate in cross-border trade.

Being on that stage mattered to me. I was passionate about Africa and about presenting the continent differently: not simply as a recipient of opportunities, but as a place of innovation, businesses, ideas and people with something valuable to contribute to the world.

The room brought together senior business leaders, government representatives, regulators and people working across trade and investment, from Nigeria and across Europe. The conversations were sometimes intimidating, but they were also enlightening. What stayed with me most was the sense of possibility. I saw again and again that people are willing to collaborate when they understand what you are trying to build.

I also met people who became great friends and family, while getting to catch up with one of my favourite people, Yeni Ogunnaike (aka my Yensco), who was then pursuing her MBA at HEC Paris. Those moments reminded me that international experiences are not only about the rooms you enter or the people you meet professionally. Sometimes, they are simply about the relationships you carry forward.

Paris also gave me another perspective on Nigeria. I saw a country that is incredibly diverse and innovative, and I became even more convinced that Nigerian businesses are capable of competing globally with the right capital, positioning, direction and access to relevant opportunities. I also saw the importance of visibility—not simply being known, but connecting the right African businesses and opportunities to the right international relationships.

The experience deepened my thinking about Africa-Europe relations and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). I began to understand more clearly that African integration cannot simply replicate the European model. Our histories, economies and cultures are different. There are lessons to learn from Europe, but Africa will have to find its own path.

I also became more conscious of the imbalance in market access. Africa has enormous resources and commodities, while Europe brings finished products, services and knowledge. Yet European businesses can often access African markets more easily than African businesses can access European ones. That gap represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

Today, my understanding of that work has evolved. Trade remains important to me, but I now see it as part of a much larger economic opportunity ecosystem. The work I am building through The Connected for Change Global Network (CforC) and the Economic Opportunity Lab (EOL) reflects that evolution: moving beyond identifying problems and producing recommendations towards identifying opportunities and helping move them towards implementation.

There were also quieter moments in Paris that I now see differently. From discovering that my Airbnb looked considerably better in pictures than it did in person (shocker!), to carrying my luggage up a huge staircase before eventually moving to a hotel, meeting strangers who helped me along the way, taking long walks through the city and sharing meals and conversations with new friends, the trip had its own little adventures, and I could see God's hands ordering my steps.

It brought to mind the words of Psalm 37:23: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way." There was something comforting about remembering that God is present even in the smallest details of our journeys.

And then, somehow, one opportunity led to another. Paris eventually opened the door to Sweden—a story for another day.

As always, I absolutely appreciate my advisor, Mr. Joba Oloba, who first told me about Spotlight Nigeria and helped connect me to an opportunity that would become an important part of my journey.

And of course, I am truly grateful to Friends of Nigeria (FON), Bridge and Value, and the team behind Spotlight Nigeria, particularly Mr. Abiodun Dominic Odunuga, for creating a platform that continues to bring Nigerian, African and European business leaders, investors and other stakeholders into the same room for great value exchange.

Now, as another edition of Spotlight Nigeria approaches, I find myself grateful not only for the experience, but for how much my perspective has changed since then.

I went to Paris thinking deeply about trade.

I came away thinking much more deeply about possibility.

And I am still building from there.