Adeyemi Adelekan

Adeyemi is a Research Associate at the University of Manchester (UoM) and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). He carries out research on social enterprises, sustainable business models, circular economy and behaviour change in both the Global North and South.

Prior to his engagement at UoM, Adeyemi obtained a PhD from Middlesex University London, with research that explored social enterprise strategies for the circular economy in Lagos. He also has an MBA from the University of Salford, where his research won the Dean’s Award for Excellence in the Business Innovation Live Project category for the year 2015.

Adeyemi believes social enterprises have a critical role to play in Africa’s sustainable development. He co-convened the first ASEW in 2019 while carrying out a fieldwork in Lagos, where he witnessed first-hand the impact self-identified social enterprises are having in and beyond their communities, sometimes with little or no resources.

His interest lies in how they can organize better, strategically navigate the tensions to meet commercial, social and/or environmental objectives, while scaling their impact.

Adeyemi’s professional experience also spans across business management, administration, and IT consulting both in Nigeria and in the UK.

What participants are saying

What the workshop accomplished, in light of the current situation, was to provide a common ground for struggling social entrepreneurs to re-think and re-strategize their interventions for transformative impact in this this new era.

This two-day workshop which brought together practitioners and researchers was a unique opportunity to share the latest insights and knowledge useful in addressing current challenges in the social entrepreneurship field. This format promotes cross-fertilization, fruitful discussions and networking for social entrepreneurs eager to contribute to a better world".

It was such a privilege to be a group facilitator for this event. Together with the participants, we explored how social enterprises can develop strategies to ensure they continue to thrive within a changed and changing context, and how they can demonstrate what difference they make to their communities in an effective manner. I personally felt particularly inspired by Mrs Alero Ayida-Otobo’s talk and the concrete steps she set out for social enterprises to enable them to tackle the current challenges head-on. It was a real joy to work with the social entrepreneurs and it was very moving to hear about how the work they do change people’s lives.

Social enterprises, when properly positioned, will play a huge development role in Africa; there is a need and opportunity to implement innovative solutions to reach the transformation Africa needs.

Looking back, the two days impressively showed that the world is not on pause. By collaborating, sharing and developing new ideas amidst various crises, social entrepreneurs tirelessly work alongside accelerators, government and support organisations to make the world a bit better. With the tools and concepts provided in the workshop, they now are even better equipped to demonstrate that potential and put it into practice.

Convener

African Social Enterprise Workshop (ASEW)

Country:

What participants are saying

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