Ashinaga USA Tsudoi 2021: Entrepreneurship and Networking
Due to COVID-19, Ashinaga USA Tsudoi was held virtually for the second year, but we made the most of it and were joined by some outstanding guest speakers. With seventeen Scholars in attendance from December 19 to 21, the theme of Tsudoi 2021 was "Entrepreneurship and Networking."
On Day 1, we were thrilled to welcome back four of our Ashinaga USA Graduates: Alex, Juniour, Lerato (2020 Graduates), and Physiwell (2021 Graduate) who led our very first session. The Graduates presented on a variety of topics requested in advance by the Scholars, such as navigating academic challenges, maximizing resources and relationships, career choices including graduate school, and post-graduate life in general. Breakout rooms allowed for deeper conversations and opportunities for Scholars to ask questions to the Graduates. The next day, three current Scholars (Muhammed, Yabi, and Nathaniel) led podcast discussions within small breakout groups on each of the following topics: mental health, African studies, and academics. In both the Graduate and Scholar-led sessions, participants took ownership of learning from their intergenerational peers across a range of ages, hobbies, countries, majors, and career goals.
Our first external guest speaker was Pierre Thiam, a chef, restauranteur, author, and social entrepreneur from Senegal. Through storytelling, Chef Thiam described his professional development, from being a student in Dakar and starting out working in New York City restaurants, to opening and running his own restaurants in New York, Dakar, and Lagos. Chef Thiam recently founded Yolélé which distributes African food products around the world, including fonio, a climate-friendly and nutritious ancient grain from the Sahel region of West Africa, and recently opened his critically acclaimed restaurant Teranga with two locations in New York City. Our Scholars were particularly inspired by Chef Thiam's entrepreneurial spirit and resiliency; one Scholar noted, "I learnt from Pierre Thiam that however difficult a situation is, there's always a way forward"
Pierre Thiam is a chef, restauranteur, author, and entrepreneur from Senegal
Our final day of Tsudoi featured guest speaker Almaz Negash, the Executive Director and Founder of the African Diaspora Network (ADN). Leveraging more than 25 years of experience in international trade, business management, and social innovation, Almaz has been named as one of the '100 Outstanding Silicon Valley Women of Influence' for her work in social innovation. In 2010, Almaz founded African Diaspora Network (ADN) to engage Africans in the diaspora and facilitate direct collaboration with social entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders to invest and improve lives on the continent. Almaz presented on the topic "Investing in Education is Investing in Human Capital." The Scholars were particularly engaged in Almaz's advice on how to balance taking care of themselves while staying committed to the social causes and advocacy that motivates them, as well as how to leverage their personal interests and education to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors. Scholars wrote in a survey their takeaways from Almaz's talk, including that "African Education requires a holistic curricular change that embraces African backgrounds," and "that we should take things one step at a time, think micro not macro and accept progress from the grassroots and not worry about changing whole systems."
Almaz Negash, from Eritrea, is the Founder of the African Diaspora Network, based in Silicon Valley
We closed Tsudoi 2021 with a Secret Santa gift opening. Prior to Tsudoi, Scholars had been paired up and tasked to select a gift for one another. During this last session, Scholars opened their packages together, the 'Santas' were revealed, and very heartwarming notes from Santas to gift recipients were shared as well! This was a wonderful way for our Scholars to connect from a distance. We all hope Tsudoi 2022 will bring us together in person in New York!