Digital entrepreneurship seen as untapped goldmine for youths

Digital entrepreneurship is seen as an untapped opportunity for youths to leverage as an alternative source of income.

Iseunife Ajayi, also known as Shawnife, said youths can uplift the country’s economic stature with nothing but an internet-enabled smartphone.

“It’s not rocket science; it’s not magic either. It’s just a long-ignored conversation about an untapped goldmine that could potentially transform the lives of every Nigerian youth, just as it has done mine,” he said.

The creative communications and marketing strategist, who is also the founder of The Creative Ally, explained that creative marketing is an effective method of using the internet to transform small, medium and large scales, encouraging young students to delve into the industry.

Tracing his trajectory, Iseunife explained how he was able to convert Twitter banter into a springboard for success.

“I was still in my late teens when I became a founding member of the Digital Media Practitioners of Nigeria when it was formed, making me the youngest founding member,” he said.

“Before my full switch to the corporate side, I was actively involved in the music scene putting out constant content dissecting the space and industry in general. In 2015, I had the tweet with the most retweets by a Nigerian then (40,000 retweets). It propelled me to take on bigger projects,” he said.

“Today, I have led and been involved in hundreds of Digital Marketing campaigns and projects for multinational and global as well as local brands across different industries,” he added.

These have been for brands like Nescafe, Google, Bolt, Coca-Cola, Lloyd’s Insurance UK, Silverbird, Quickteller, Google, Access Bank, Premier Cool, Unilever, AMAA awards, KrispyKreme, Airtel, Silverbird, UBA, YouTube, Abuja Chamber Of Commerce And Industry Nigeria (ACCiNigeria), Sigma Pensions, Spotify, to mention a few.”

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On how to ensure conversion within digital-based entrepreneurship, Iseunife admonished individuals to ensure they always remain intentional about their growth.

He said, “You have to position yourself to be a leader in your field, whatever it might be. So, you have to learn about that industry, before you can influence it. Even as a business owner, you need to leverage information that most of your competitors do not have to promote yourself properly. Information is, fortunately, easier to access these days.”

The young maverick advised youths to also explore the event production business, as another alternative and lucrative income source.

“My passion for events and Experiential Marketing was brought to life in 2017 when I was vital in the success of the New Culture Festival. Since then, I’ve put together tens of events alongside others, with multiple influential personalities present.

“In May 2022, I launched the AfroTribe; A community of Africans/Afrocentrism lovers to become the first event themed for African Students across the United Kingdom. We had our first activation in Middlesbrough, UK which included music, a fashion showcase, games, a party and much more.

Through this activation, we resolved to give each of our 400+ attendees a different experience and feel which was done via the unique fashion showcase with models from 12 different countries. So, there is a lot one can achieve by jumping into this space. And, with just a blog, or a social media feed, you could make a big difference.”