“Jumia Women Inspiring Change”
Today on the Jumia Women inspiring change series we are talking to another IT savvy. She is one of the youngest we have on the Jumia management team. This lady has been with Jumia from the very beginning and she has worked hard to get to her current role as the Head of Production.
Her team is in charge of getting all thousands of Products onto Jumia website. She manages a team of 20+ and today she will be telling us about her career journey. Also how she uses her roles to inspire change in the *Ecommerce and Tech space in Nigeria.
Bisola is a Fun and Hardworking Lady. Meet Bisola Asiru. Can You tell us about your background?
My name is Bisola Asiru, I have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Networking. After my first degree, I worked for a few months in the UK as a programmer which was a project between the University of Hertfordshire and another local company but I realized that I didn’t enjoy programming as I thought I would and that influenced my decision to further pursue my master’s in Business, this was sort of like a management degree. I later moved to Nigeria and worked for my mum for a little while and then eventually landed in Jumia Nigeria!
My Role in Jumia and A typical day at work?
I am currently the head of production at Jumia Nigeria and I am responsible for getting all products online from mobile phones, computers to fashion items, all the works. My team work very closely with the Buying & Marketing team as well as the General Merchandise team to ensure that the right contents for products and their respective pictures are displayed correctly on the website to enable a pleasurable customer experience. The team I manage is quite a large one as I have the Content team, Production team and the Re-touching team, I always have to keep track on what each team is working on and I have to give progress reports on all our achievements. I also handle other related projects as well.
Major Challenges I face working in a fast growing industry like Ecommerce?
Well, I wouldn’t say I have any major challenge in particular being a woman. The only challenge I come across, which I must say is a general one is the challenge of time constraint. It’s really busy here and managing your time in a fast growing company like this one can be a bit demanding especially because it’s not the traditional work hours, I have to sometimes work at home to keep the site running smoothly.
My motivation and How it helps me achieve my career goals..
My motivation is the fact that working in a company like Jumia Nigeria is such a privilege because I am proud to be a part of something new, something exciting, challenging others that there are no limits to what anyone can achieve! Being a part of a pioneer company is such an awesome experience, there is always so much to learn every day! I have learnt entrepreneurship skills equipping me as I hope to own a business of my own in the nearest future.
The typical Nigerian working class woman and my Advise to Nigerian women>
The typical Nigerian women, I think are mostly driven at the start of their career especially when they are unmarried but as soon as they have personal attachments in their lives, for instance, when they get married and have children, there seems to be a like a halt. I can attribute this to the fact that the Nigerian work environment is not very accommodating to family women as such and that affects their career growth making it very difficult to thrive in the work environs. Some women however have managed to stay afloat all of these against all odds and I will suggest that any work place should consider women, also to give more room for a more conducive environment for career growth.
Finally, my advice to the Nigerian woman is to work hard as there are no limits to what you can do with dedication and hard work and never give up on your dreams, always persevere!
Catch up with Bisola On Linkedin
Interview by Aisha Abruime and Afam Anyika
This Article was written by Olamide Amosu