EP. 14 The Generation That Doesn't Wait: Nana Yaa Serwaa on Redefining "Ready"

Many from a previous generation might have waited until they felt "more 'ready'" to start something impactful. Nana Yaa Serwaa represents a generation that is moving differently. Co-founder of the "Dare 2 Dream Initiative" and host of "The Big Stepper Podcast", she joins us to discuss why young people today are rejecting traditional timelines. We explore the "portfolio" approach to a career and what "shaping the future" looks like on a practical, day-to-day level for the next wave of African talent.

Transcript

Speaker 0:00

Hello and welcome to the WeWin Podcast powered by Accelerate Her Africa. I'm your host, Lolita Ejiofor, and I'm so happy to be with you today. First of all, I'd like to say compliments of the season from all of us at the WeWin Podcast. I hope you will take this season to actually get some rest, spend time with your family, enjoy your friends, and just chill. I aim to have diverse perspectives from various women at various stages in their journey. So today, my guest, Nana Yasewa, is a brilliant young woman who has a bright career ahead of her. I think you'll find she embodies the perspectives of the next generation of female leaders. Through her NGO, Dare to Dream, and as a host of the Big Stepper podcasts, she mentors young Africans to pursue purpose-driven success with confidence. I'm so excited for you to meet her. Hey Nana. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the We Win podcast. It's so great to have you here with us today.

Speaker 1 1:19

Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here. I'm really gushed, honestly. Oh yeah. That's lovely.

Speaker 1:26

So let's start with a mindset I've observed with your generation. You co-founded the Dare to Dream Initiative and launched the Big Stepper podcast while still in the early stages of your career. Many from a previous generation might have waited until they felt more ready. So, from your perspective, has the definition of being ready to start something impactful changed for young people today?

Speaker 1 1:56

Yes, I think so. I believe it has because looking at where we started from, the people we saw when we were growing up, our mothers, our grandmas, and everything, we realized that they were very put together before they start something. So they think everything through. But my generation is like, let's keep going, we'll figure it out. We don't have to have everything figured out before we start. So for me, even with my friends and then my community, because I have a lot of people that are actually older than me, and I see how they wish they had that zeal to just start. But at that time, they just wanted to slow down and relax. But it's good because we now see them and then we can learn from them.

Speaker 2:40

Yes, I think your generation I would describe as fearless. You guys want to do something and you go for it, whereas we sort of like want to calculate and measure and make sure it's right and test and test again.

Speaker 1 2:52

Definitely. We have a lot of audacity.

Speaker 2:55

Yes, you do. Okay, so for the established leaders listening, I'd love to get your view from the ground. When you and your peers look at the current generation of women leaders, what are the qualities you find most inspiring and hope to emulate one day?

Speaker 1 3:12

Well, I would say the first thing that comes off is tenacity. They are strong, they've been able to go through a lot of stages in life. I have a lot of female mentors, I've worked under so many amazing women, and I think that's actually why I'm also able to say I can dream big because they have a lot of tenacity. Things have happened to them when you hear their stories, they're like, How are you still here? So that's one thing that I personally want to gather. I want to gather a lot of that. The tenacity because life will happen, things will go on, but when you see women leadership now, it's like we knew that things were going to happen. We didn't start on the best foot. We didn't even have people to look up to, but we still made it here. So it's one particular thing or quality that I admire so much. And I think most of my friends or most people in my generation also really admire that about women's leadership.

Speaker 4:04

Yeah, I appreciate what you've just said because I've never really looked at us that way. Um, we are fairly resilient and very calculating in risk, but for you to mention that as a younger generation is really appreciated. So, as a podcast host and someone with a digital marketing certificate, you're actively building a public voice. How important do you think it is for young professionals today to build a personal brand online separate from their employer? And what do you see as the biggest opportunity and perhaps the biggest pressure of that?

Speaker 1 4:42

So I think the question is in like three parts. First, I think that building your brand is actually building your purpose. Work or your 95 is not necessarily the entirety of your calling or your purpose. So if you are going to only rely on the brand of your employer, you probably will not be represented fully as who you inspire to be or you actually want to be. But building your personal brand gives you a voice, it actually helps you to even make decisions when it comes to taking up jobs because then you know what actually aligns to your personal values and everything else. So if I am going to apply for any job now, I know that it has to be in line with what I'm already doing or what I already seek to become. So personal branding is very important. I think that even in this generation where the noise is a lot, because there is a lot to consume, there's a lot to do, you need to find yourself. And the only way to find yourself and put yourself out there for people to know who exactly you are is actually your personal brand, not necessarily your manager or your employer's brand. It helps because then you are gathering information, you are gathering some qualities from the work. I always say that when you take up a job, you're actually taking up a quality because at the end of let's say two years, three years, there should be something you picked from that workplace. There should be something that you know is because I worked with this lady or this gentleman, I've been able to discover this about myself. So personal brand is important. I don't know if I missed the last part of the question.

Speaker 6:12

Uh yeah, so that that was the question was what do you see as the biggest opportunity and perhaps the biggest pressure of that?

Speaker 1 6:20

Okay, so with opportunity, I would say that it gives you a voice, it gives you some sort of standing and standard. So, for instance, I am a podcaster, I also have my NGO. I even make money of certain things that does not come from my job. I also make impact that does not necessarily come from my job. So that would be my advantage to that. The disadvantages sometimes it's a lot. It's a lot of pressure because you knew this is what you wanted, but in the middle of everything, for instance, I'm managing my accounts, I'm managing my NGO, I'm managing my podcast. So it's a lot, you have a lot on your plate. So if you don't take care, you may actually end up being overwhelmed and you will not know what the next steps are. So I think that is the disadvantage, but the advantages always outweigh the disadvantage. So it's fine.

Speaker 7:17

Yeah, I can see how optimistic you are as well. And despite the plate spinning of careers and personal brands, you've managed to find a balance. And for the sake of having a voice and uh values which are shared with even employers that you decide you want to work with, they understand who you are and what you stand for. You also mentioned that your personal brand building is beyond your nine to five. You don't want to be swallowed up by the brand of your organization as opposed to your personal brand. So that's a very point that you've made there. Okay, so you have a professional career, but you're also an NGO, co-founder, and a podcast host. So this portfolio approach to a career is becoming more common. How do you see these different roles fitting together? Are they all part of one integrated professional identity for you?

Speaker 1 8:14

Yeah, definitely it is. I mean, I see myself as a social entrepreneur, first of all. So every single thing that I'm going to do, my podcast literally is there to inspire people. My NGO is there to make education better for people in the rural community. At the end of the day, it's to inspire. My job as a team lead is also to make sure that my team is good enough for this tax and we are actually killing it. So at the end of the day, I see everything that's bits and pieces of the bigger picture. The picture that probably any other person will not be able to see it fully because they will be seeing a bit of it. Because some people would know you as just a team lead, some people will know you as just a host for a podcast, some people will know you as a co-founder for an NGO. But you sitting where you sit, you know that okay, the entirety of my purpose or the entirety of who I am is divided across these sectors. And it's amazing when when I sit down to actually recon what I want to do every single year, it's actually cast across everything. So to me, it's it's actually a whole picture. It's it's it's all one purpose.

Speaker 9:24

It sounds so multifaceted and fulfilling for you to have these avenues to make impact as a social entrepreneur. So I want to talk about your people focused initiative, the Dare to Dream NGO. Can you walk us through the journey of that project? Not the polished summary, but the real story. What was the spark that started it? And what has been the hardest lesson you've learned in turning a passion into a real functioning organization?

Speaker 1 9:58

Thank you so much. I think this question is very interesting. Um, so how did I start Dead to Dream? Well, you don't want a polished version, so let's go, right by Let's go. So I I was born in a very rural community. It's a mining community in Ghana. It's called Akitiya, it's a very small town. But um, because I grew up in such a community, I saw how education was not a priority. Not necessarily because um we as children were not smart, but because we didn't have people to look up to. And I always say this to my friends that anytime I was going to school, I didn't actually see beyond the picture of me being in primary school. I didn't think people could become CEOs. I didn't think like the C suit was not something that ever rang in my ears. I think the biggest deal I saw were nurses, teachers, and policemen because that was what we had in our community. And I didn't have interest in any of that. Also, I had a learning disability, if I should put it that way, or let me say I hate to say disability, I would say I I just love to learn in a different way. Later, I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and so it was difficult for me to study. So, to most people, even my parents, recently my mom admitted to the fact that she didn't think I could really do much when it comes to education and building a brand for myself because she saw how difficult it was for me to study. So realizing that even though it was hard for me, at the end of the day, when I figured it out myself, it was easier. It took some time, definitely. But I realized that if I could go back to these people, to the little girl that walks down the street every morning, not really realizing what she could become. She has no ability to dream big, she has no ability to even see what's beyond what's in her town. Because after primary school, most people go into mine and people start teenage pregnancy is very rampant and all of that. Why not build a system that actually helps them to be more than just what they see, you know? So to me, that was how I came about the name Dare to Dream. Like just there, you don't know where you would end. Because I see this, I didn't even think I would ever be here, and to think that I'm even now starting my journey is amazing to me. So that is the whole story, or that is the unfiltered version. The hard part of it is um when you are building something out of passion and you don't have enough resources, it can get very frustrating because the thing is when I go out there, even beyond our criteria, because Ghana in itself has a lot of rural communities. So I do my outreaches across a lot of regions, not just where I come from, and you see the need of people, like you really know that these people need a lot, but probably you don't have enough resources at that time, and it gets really sad for me sometimes. I think sometimes I'm a bit hard on myself and I end up doing too much. I had to learn to actually position myself in a way that I can give and also survive. Because if you don't take care, you might actually give everything you have and you will lose yourself. Because, for instance, there was a time I had to take a course and I was also doing an outreach around the same time. So if I was going to give every money to the outreach, there was no way I was going to pay for the course. But I needed that course to be able to build on my professional career as well. Then I had to decide, okay, I'm going to do this outreach. Maybe not as big as I want it to be, but it's still going to happen. So I think that has been one of my challenges. But God has been good. We are actually building more of a system because everything when you start, you don't have it all put together. So as you build, you're able to correct certain things and then you come together as a stronger team.

Speaker 14:15

So yeah, that has been my journey. Yeah, it's so profound. Um, I just love how you, even as a young person in your generation, able to think laterally, and you're not just thinking about yourself. So you recognize there was lack, and you also recognize the importance of giving back to the to the detriment of your own well-being. Um, but to then strike a balance and continue to build in steps is very commendable. Okay, so through the Big Stepper Podcast, you're creating a platform to share your own perspective. I find it interesting that you chose a monologue format where you speak directly to your audience. What made you choose that format over having a conversation like we are? And what do you hope a listener feels or thinks about after spending time with your views?

Speaker 1 15:11

I think for one, I've always been someone that likes to talk to myself. Let's start with it. It sounds funny, but I just love to talk to myself because I feel like real conversations are the ones that you can pause and consider. You know, like really understand what is happening. And so dialogues are amazing. I love dialogues. I like to talk a lot though. But I wanted to build a platform where people could listen to me, my perspective, wherever they find themselves, maybe on their way to work, maybe after work, everything that they are doing, they will just pause and answer those questions or even think through as I am doing with them. So the Big Step Up podcast is basically to inspire people. I I started this just because my friends just said, you always give the best advice, you always like to talk. Maybe you should just jump for the big step, do something. So it's like, okay, the name just came to me, Big Step Up, do big things, step big. And it's also in line with the there to dream. So I'm always like an audacious person, I guess. And so that was the idea that when you listen to the Big Step Up podcast, know that it's okay to be big, it's okay to be ambitious, it's okay to take some time to occupy space because if you don't do that, who will do it? Like if I'm not occupying the space, who else will do it as best as I think I can do it? So basically, that is why, but just to say this um season two of the Big Stepper Podcast will actually be a dialogue. So I'll be having people that will have real-time conversations as you're doing with me. I think I wanted to start from where I understood how to communicate. So now people know who I am, and so it's it's time to have a bigger um platform and participation.

Speaker 17:16

I think you need to have the gift of the gap to be able to hold a monologue and have people inspired by what you're saying. So, you know, if it's working for you, that's great. And I think also your audacity comes through because you're not afraid to say what's on your mind and have these conversations without necessarily having a guest in front of you. So great stuff. Let's talk about mentorship, which is such a vital link between generations. For the leaders in our audience who genuinely want to support young talent, it can be helpful to hear your perspective. Often, well-intentioned advice from senior leaders can be a bit disconnected from the reality your generation is facing. So, from your experience, what's the difference between guidance that is truly helpful and guidance that perhaps doesn't quite hit the mark?

Speaker 1 18:16

This question is very interesting. First of all, I think there is nothing like wrong mentorship, it's it's how you perceive people. You know, the issue with my generation, I would say, is we already have an idea of the people we want to have as mentors, which most of the time might be wrong. Because um what we see on social media or at work is just a fraction of who they are. And for mentorship, mentorship is literally someone pouring into you their qualities and the things that they've been able to build to a certain level. So if you seek to be mentored, understand that you have your things, your reasons, or why you seek to have a mentor, but also have like a conversation. So, this to answer your question, that if there could be some level of communication before mentorship actually starts, because for all you know, I would be like, Oh, I want Lolita as my mentor. But after a deep conversation, you realize that you know what, so these are the areas you need help with, and I don't think I may be the best person for you, but I can suggest someone for you. With that, the person has been able to put you on the right path, not necessarily because they mentored you directly, but they aligned you to the best person to mentor you. So I would say that when people of uh of your generation, when they want to have mentees or they seek to, which is which is amazing. I love it when I I have a meeting with my mentor, like yay, you know, because it's time to hear something new, it's time to be jared up. But even before it starts and it's official, because I believe that some mentorships are not official, it's just because you you just know them or you work with them, but official mentorship, there should be some sort of communication. Let's align on what exactly you want, what do you seek to do? And what what that would do is the the mentor and the mentee would be aligned, so everything that they are doing, every assignment or every task given is in line with that, and you can even do a good monitoring and evaluation. Is it actually working? Because mentorship is not motherhood, it's not fatherhood, it's it's you adapted someone into your vision to build that person to also keep going in their vision. So I think it should be more realistic, it shouldn't be okay. I'm the CEO of this place, and so I think I have all the knowledge to mentor people. What exactly does this mentee need? Maybe I am an excellent host, but she doesn't need that yet. Maybe she needs career coaching. I'm not in her field. Maybe I can get someone for her. So these are the things that I wish that our big mamas and our big papers would really help us with to speak to us. Let us be able to tell you our needs. Yes, please.

Speaker 21:27

Yes. So the big mamas and the big papas out there, if you're listening, we need to understand their needs.

unknown 21:34

Okay.

Speaker 21:36

So, from your perspective as a young person actively building your career and community in Accra, what does shaping the future actually look like on a practical day-to-day level? And where do you see the biggest opportunity for your generation to make a tangible impact right now in Africa?

Speaker 1 22:00

Interesting. This question. Your questions. Okay. So um building a community to say, even putting Africa on the map, I think that it's a daily thing. It's a lifestyle. It's not it's not something you set out to do every Wednesday of the week. You know, it's something that should be your lifestyle. And I always say that when you carry out your life as though this is the last chance you would get at it, you take things quite differently. You take things deeper. And Africa needs the youth because even statistics will prove to you that um the near future, Africa is like the home for the youth and all of that. We hear those statistics and we are excited. But when you look at it, where do you stand in the statistics? Where is your feet? Because at the end of the day, we will just hear the statistics and it will happen. And then what would you do? So for me, I think that what we need to do or what we have to do every single day is to remind ourselves of who we are as the youth and also the next voice of the future. If I'm being very honest, I think that's where the opportunities are is actually in our society. So still back to social impact because we say we are getting ready for this, but the truth is there are a lot of things that Africa needs right now. That I don't think that impact is only the responsibility of organizations, but also the responsibility of individuals who seek to do something to make the lives of others better. So even as the youth, because we we have like beautiful beaches, for instance, but you go and it's littered, it's horrible. We have a lot of tech presence in Africa right now, like people are doing a lot of tech stuff. But how many of these people actually linking it to society to make the social impact real? Because you can have other amazing things to your name as Africa, but the world will always see us not just as you as an individual because you're an extension of Africa wherever you step. So if you are going to step somewhere, just make sure you are carrying the impact that you are making back home. You know, if everybody is able to change a situation, or even 10 people, five people, even one situation, it's going to make Africa better. And as I said, it is not the responsibility of just our uh politicians or the institutions, but as individuals, because I believe that the youth, one, we have a lot of zeal, two, we are very audacious, three, we have time. We have a lot of time because now people don't even want to do nine to five, they want to do remote work, so you have a lot of time anyway. So we can do little things or beautiful things in our little corners, which will end up like lighting the whole continent. Aside, just being live and shouting that we are taking over the world, let's make real impact.

Speaker 25:12

Yes, yeah. I think the youths need to work as a collective to really make a difference so we older generation can appreciate the work that they're doing. They're vibrant, they're young, they have age on their side, and they're full of energy. So they need to think socially and not just for themselves. Okay, so on the flip side, what's the biggest obstacle you feel is standing in your generation's way?

Speaker 1 25:40

Obstacles to our generation, I would say, is ourselves. Sounds a bit weird, but yeah. I would say ourselves because one, I think this generation likes to think they have it all figured out, you know, and so they are hard on themselves when things go bad. It's like we build this this castle in our heads that we are all of that, but the truth is you really cannot beat someone just with two years' experience, and the person has been doing it for 10 years. I say learn to respect people, but also learn to know that you're on your different path. So the truth is our biggest obstacle is ourselves. And I am very much part of this. We think that we are we are there, we've arrived. You know, that mentality that we have it all figured out. It's wrong. And it's wrong in the sense that there is something they say in Qi or in the Akan language, the Ghanaian language, that what your your elders will see sitting down, when you stand, you can't even see it. You think that A and B is automatically a C. And that is mostly the mindset of many people in this generation. I think I know, or they are old school, or they don't get it. But maybe they get it, only maybe you have a different approach to it. So if you're able to come together and actually say, let's learn from the generation ahead of us, instead of thinking that we know much more than them, or we are going to go for a competition with them, we will do much more. The generation's obstacle, if you ask me, is ourselves. It's because we have more than enough opportunities compared to generations ahead of us. We have voices, we are given opportunities. I mean, yes, we still need a lot of room for that. We still, but now we have at least we have something to start with. People ahead of us didn't have that. So what we have now, let's make the best out of it, let's collaborate instead of fights, and also learn to give respect to people ahead of us. Yeah, that's what I would say.

Speaker 28:05

I think I can also see there's a gap between the generations which need to be bridged. So we have your audaciousness, your fearlessness versus our risk averse, our cautiousness coming together. And I think it's not just the youths and your generation thinking they've got it all. I think we, as the older generation, should be able to bring you under our wing, to mentor you, to give you the benefit of our experience and the legacy we're leaving behind for you to continue and build yours. There needs to be a communication between the two generations. Okay, finally, as we close this conversation, I want to reverse the roles for a moment. If you could give one piece of advice to a senior female leader listening now, how to best support and empower the next generation of talent, what would that be?

Speaker 1 29:04

Well, oh, that's a very nice question to end with. I would say they should help us. And help is is a very broad word, but I would say that most of us we don't really know what we are doing like that, you know, but they know, and I feel like they always sit from a place of I see myself in you. Maybe I made some mistakes on the way. So it comes back to mentoring and coaching. I I would say if you give someone money, it's amazing, but the money will get finished. But if you pump a mindset into the person, the person will run with it forever. So most people, also because my generation sometimes feels like they know everything. Most people in your generation in leadership, they don't really like to mentor, they don't really, they will just say, you know what, it's fine. This person is fine. So if they could please understand that we still need their help and mentoring us or helping pour such mindset, because I believe that, as I mentioned, that it takes tenacity to get to where they are. If they're able to pour into us together with what we all we've also carried or the qualities we carry as a generation, it's going to be an amazing future, it's going to be lovely, really lovely. So that that would be the little plea I have for the senior women of our time.

Speaker 30:34

Yes, senior indeed. Um, we don't know it all, but it's good that we communicate and understand what the youths are looking for, and we can say, hey, this is from our experience, add this to your audaciousness and your feistiness, and and move the world forward. So, Nana, thank you so much for taking the time to teach us about things that your generation are up to, and it's so great to see brilliance coming from your generation as well. I'd like to formally say thank you for joining us on the WeWin podcast today. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Speaker 1 31:10

Thank you so much. It's been lovely. I'll write this in my journal.

Speaker 31:19

So that was Nana Sewa giving us her perspective of impact. I think it's always good to change script and see what are the younger people saying, what is their perspective on life? And I think Nana has has given us a lot of information about how the youth see the world and where we can support them to build the next legacy. It is important that you give a little bit of time to mentor a young person. It is so important to pour into others so that others will then take that forward and it becomes generational, and we continue to impact them as they create their own impact. So, thank you again for joining us today on the WeWin podcast. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day. Bye bye.