Starting From Ground Zero, Overcoming Hurdles & More - Mo Abudu Covers Elle SA

 

One of ELLE Magazine South Africa's latest features for it’s specially dedicated #MakeItHappen segments which is dishing out inspiring interviews with women entrepreneurs, influencers, innovators and creatives who are making things happen in Africa, is with Nigeria’s Mo Abudu – CEO of EbonyLife TV - Africa’s First Global Black Entertainment and Lifestyle Network.

Dubbed Mo the ‘Oprah of Africa’ by CNN, she sits down with the magazine contributor & Genevieve Magazine Editor, Dimeji Alara to dish on what she wanted to be as a little girl, overcoming her biggest hurdles, people that inspire her, what #MakeItHappen means to her and more. Read excerpts below;

When Mo was a little girl she wanted to be:
I loved fashion as a little girl and at a stage I wanted to be a model. At age 19, I even got selected to be the brand ambassador for AVON COSMETICS for the African market. But I guess my most pervasive ambition was to work in the media and entertainment industry.

Her mantra for stress:
I’m a believer in possibilities. I pray, I believe, I strategize and I go for it. This attitude is encapsulated in my all-time credo, “If you can think it, you can do it”. This is the foundation upon which all my life’s achievements have been predicated.

What her biggest work-life hurdles have been + how she overcame them:
So you want to be Africa’s first Global Black Entertainment and Lifestyle network? Well, you will have to pay the price of being a trailblazer. You will find out you have no templates to adapt and no ‘how to’ manual to guide you. You will realize all you have is a blank canvas and the will to make a difference. You will have to start from ground zero, learning from no one else but yourself; you will have many sleepless nights and hoping everything turns out well. You will, however, find out that this is both a challenge and an opportunity at the same time. Then, you will have to confront the challenges of power: finance, broadband, the right manpower, among several other temporary impediments.

3 personalities that inspire her:
My mum, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama.

What #MakeItHappen means to her:
It means women empowerment; it is a call to action for female representation in the highest rungs of the economic, political and business order. It is a call for women to rise up and see the subject of female empowerment as a crucial developmental imperative and not merely as an economic necessity. The world is full of amazing possibilities, so beyond a social media activation for awareness, #MakeItHappen must be a springboard to inspire women to be progressive and be the positive change. Remember, if you can think it, you can do it.

To read more from her interview, visit Elle.co.za.