To celebrate our 7th Anniversary, we held a tweet meet themed “Impacts @ 7” with Bekeme Masade-Olowola. She shared with our twitter audience the journey so far for CSR-in-Action.
Here are the excerpts:
- May we meet you @BekemeMasade?
I am a normal human like every other. I believe I am a visionary leader, entrepreneur, social change advocate and a lover of Christ.
I have 16years work experience spanning new business development, #CSR, business ethics and #Sustainability, strategic planning & management, non-profit and rural development, project design and implementation, public-private partnerships & enterprise development.
- The early days of CSR-in-Action. Talk about what it was like when you started the company.
It was a humble beginning, I started very small and CSR-in-Action has grown over the years with hard-work and consistency and most importantly, with good human capital.
The journey hasn’t been completely smooth, we’ve won bids/lost bids, worked hard/worn out. There were times when I wasn’t earning to keep the business afloat but today, we are at a sustainable position.
- With the buzz around sustainable development, why has CSR-in-Action decided to focus on sustainability?
Sustainability to me means to flourish, I wanted to see this in society. Motivated by my belief in the necessity of sustainability to ensure positive growth, I chose to identify the massive potential for growth in the corporate world and the gaps therein.
- What’s the best piece of advice you were given when you started CSR-in-Action?
My mentor and the Chairman of CSR-in-Action told me to vision with integrity. I have held on to this over the years.
- Can you share with us some of the toughest times you faced during the early start of CSR-in-Action?
The toughest time I faced was when I wasn’t earning any income. The money we were getting at the time was barely enough to pay staff, so I decided to prioritise them over myself.
- What makes CSR-in-Action different from every other business?
CSR-in-Action stands out as an organisation of firsts. We introduced Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to the nation in 2011, and became a Certified Partner of both the GRI and AccountAbility AA1000AS, both are world recognised, best practice tools for transparency & accountability.
- As you think about where you started from, is there any advice you would give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Simple piece of advice, “take a quantum leap”
- Have you ever thought of throwing the towel or selling your company at any point in time?
Yes, severally, but I always remember why I started, how far I’ve come and the people that share my vision and depend on my business for survival. So, throwing the towel isn’t an option.
- Understanding that entrepreneurship is a process involving a lot of risks, what would you say is the riskiest decision you have had to make?
This would be organising a sustainability conference #SITEI for players in the extractive sector, knowing fully well the fragile nature of the sector to sustainability issues.
- What do you feel will be the major transformation over the next 10 years for CSR-in-Action?
The major transformation will be the expansion of service delivery to clients and other stakeholders.
- What is your advice to start-ups and medium-scale organisations today on impacting the world around them?
Keep at it.
Keep at hard-work
Keep at consistent quality
Keep at creating something disruptive.
You will get there!