An entrepreneur, Adebayo Adedeji also known as Bayo Lion, is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a tech company, Wakanow. He has a broad and diverse mix of business experiences across continents. With a masters degree in Business Administration and a bachelors degree in Demography and Statistics from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), he has worked as a Senior Finance Manager at Amazon.com where he managed all products related to Inbound and Inventory for Fulfillment by Amazon Worldwide Business with over $80 billion in Sales.
Following Wakanow’s downturn moment, he was brought in to deploy his expertise to get the struggling business back on its feet. Prior to the time he came on board of the company, Wakanow was generally a struggling and non-profitable venture. In fact, according to Bayo, it was not paying salaries. By the end of last quarter of 2019, shortly before the COVID-19, the company hit its first monthly profitability. When COVID-19 happened, there was nothing as far as profits and the managers of the company spent the period rebuilding the entire business and changing structures.
From Amazon to Wakanow to help build Africa.
Bayo used to be a finance executive of Amazon. He used to lead the over $80 billion Amazon business in America. His job was to innovate ongoing solutions that will bring about cost savings and optimization for growth, among others. In other words, he has always had an amazing life. When he was asked to join Wakanow, he jumped at the opportunity. Of course, there were inquisitions: why would someone with a stable job who is doing well abroad come back to work on a struggling business. His answer was that he believed that it is only Africans who can build Africa.
He had some of his colleagues who were social media commentators, would write comments on social media on how Nigeria was bad, but he would reply to them that it is only they (people like him) who can transform Africa with all the experiences they had gathered by working abroad. He believes it is the time to bring those things back and use them to develop the nation. That was why he jumped at the opportunity to join Wakanow.
The CEO said that greatness comes from fighting a seemingly losing battle.
Mr. Adedeji said, “There is no greatness in fighting a battle everybody thinks you are going to win. Greatness comes from fighting battles that everybody thinks you are going to lose.” He said that this greatness comes from trying to attain a class higher than one, which is what usually pays off. He said that was what he did and it paid off. He said that he assessed the company’s file and understood the complexities that things were not working out fine and that he needed to work hard to turn them around.
When asked about whether he visited the company before accepting the offer, Adedeji said he visited the company way back in 2019 before he accepted the offer. When he visited, he saw people sitting all over the place. There were paper cabinets everywhere. It was a true mess, but he said that he fell in love with it. “Everybody said I was mad. It was madness really,” he said. But to him, he saw a business that has been built by the founders who have good vision as well as what they lacked.
Bayo Lion came home to make a change for his countrymen.
In one of his comments, he said that he could be a little fish in the pond that is the United States, or he could come home to make a change for his countrymen, where alongside others, he can create employment and expand businesses across the whole of Africa. Wakanow is a travel tech company. They are involved in travel financing. Their core focus is travel and they have democratized travel. Before Wakanow, if you wanted to travel, you go and sit before an agent and say you want to go to Dubai. The agent determined the price and other conditions. Presently, Wakanow has solved the issue and has made travelling easy for the common people.
Related Link
Wakanow: Website
Only Africans can build Africa—Wakanow boss – Bayo Lion shares his experiences as he deployed his expertise in the business. – Express your point of view.
There is no lie here at all. We are the ones that can build Africa ourselves. We must ensure Africa become a great continent. We can do it.
No doubts, we need to come together as Africans and build an empire if excellence. We can only do it ourselves
When COVID-19 occurred, there were no earnings, and the corporate managers used this time to completely reorganize the company and make structural changes. and that has help them attain excellence
He was responsible for managing all goods associated with Inbound and Inventory for the Fulfillment by Amazon Worldwide Business, which had sales of over $80 billion.
Obafemi Awolowo University awarded the graduate with a master’s degree in Business Administration as well as a bachelor’s degree in demography and statistics.
Only Africans can build Africa—Wakanow boss. Yes we can do it and get it right, first we need to vote right this time. Because government need to create enabling environment for Nigerians. For African to get it right we need a better government
After Wakanow’s unfortunate turn of events, he was recruited to lend his experience and knowledge to the effort of bringing the floundering company back up to its feet.
This is a proven fact. Africa can be built by us on our own. We need concerted effort to transform the continent into a superior continent.
The agent was responsible for determining the price as well as the other terms, and at the present time, Wakanow has resolved the problem and simplified traveling for the general public.
I agree with Wakanow. Our people here with the capabilities transforming Africa should work in hand with those abroad; to work all the experiences they had gathered working abroad. it is time to bring those things back home and use them to develop the Africa.
Surely, we Africans must unite to create a world-beating empire. We must take matters into our own hands.
There were no earnings, and the company’s management spent that time period reorganizing and restructuring the entire organization. During this time, there were no profits.
When COVID-19 occurred, there were no profits, and the managers of the company spent the time period reconstructing the entire business and modifying the structures of the organization.
We should have examined the company’s records and seen the nuances that things were not going well and that he needed to exert significant effort to turn things around.
When Wakanow’s luck ran out, the struggling business needed someone with his expertise to help it get back on its feet.
We are capable of establishing Africa on our own. In order to make our continent into a more formidable one, we will need to make deliberate efforts.
Such a sound thought from a young man,the only way can grow to its full capacity is by Africa indigenes develop the continent on their own to meet up with the global economy.No outsiders can do it for us except ourselves.
Is true only African can build Africa we are the people living there and we are the one to change and improve it to make things good
Truly, it is Only Africans can build Africa because it is our continent.A perfect example is Bayo that left his good job and came to Africa to develop wakanow
The truth is that no one can develop Africa except the Africans. You can’t someone from another continent to develop your continent without demanding for something in return. So it is Only Africans that can build can build Africa. A typical example is Bayo who resigned from a well paid job and join wakanow that was already collapsing and making fully functional again.