Interested in starting your own journey in education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Damilola Okonkwo, Founder of KEY academy, located in Lagos, Nigeria.
What's your organization, and who are your members?
KEY (Keep Educating Yourself) is a not-for-profit focused on redefining education in Africa. Through our forward-looking model school, KEY academy, and our other initiatives in the training, policy, and edtech space, KEY is revolutionizing the approach to education on the continent, equipping the next generation of Africans with the 21st-century skills they need to change the world. In that sense, you could say that we serve children, parents, policymakers, and society at large.
Tell us about yourself
For most of my life, I have been a professional conformer but was never fulfilled as I never discovered what I was truly passionate about. When I decided to start a family, it forced me to reflect on my own childhood and life choices, and it became clear to me that I wanted something different for my children.
After years of searching, I was unable to find any schools in Nigeria that offered transformative (play and project-based) forms of education beyond the early years, and following a huge amount of deliberation with myself, family and friends, I finally launched KEY (Keep Educating Yourself) academy in September 2019.
Building anything from scratch is extremely hard, and there are daily challenges, but what motivates me is the fact that KEY is not only helping my own children, but through our broader initiatives, we have the opportunity to help millions of children across the continent.
What's your biggest accomplishment as an organization?
Despite how hard COVID hit us (and all educational institutions globally), we actually came out of it stronger, as it accelerated the development of new parts of our curricula and a framework for our digital platform, which we intend to launch as part of our wider mandate.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being an organization?
One of the biggest challenges for me is being “always on” - whether it is to help resolve an issue for a member of my team, something to do with the business, and/or anything in between, it can be very difficult to switch off, and that is hard. That said, I also know that this is because we are still in the early days, and it will get easier as we grow and the team expands.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow an organization today?
I don’t really have any “tips” per se, given every business (and industry) is different, but I would definitely say that one of the most useful superpowers is being persistent. I think no matter what industry you are in, there will be challenges that you could have never predicted, but persistence is that intangible thing that will help you get across the line.
Where can people find you and your group?
Website: https://www.keyacademyng.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KEYacademyNG
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KEYacademyNG/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KEYacademyNG
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/key-academy-nigeria/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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