Hello Africa,
Welcome to yet another edition of the #KAInterviews Series.
Today, we have on our hot-seat an amiable and visionary lady named Yetti Tabai. She is the Founder of the G.O.A Talent Network, a Global Network of Christian Professionals. In this interview, she shares about how she started, her major achievements since she started out, the challenges she has faced and so much more.
Without much ado, read on and enjoy the interview.
You are welcome to the #KAInterviews Series. Tell us about Yetti Tabai – family, ethnicity, education…
I am Yetti Tabai, a British Nigerian who is a graduate of Law and International Relations from London Metropolitan University.
You are the Founder of G.O.A. Talent Network. Tell us about the vision behind this laudable project and how it started out.
G.O.A Talent Network started out after a time in prayer and reading the book of Nehemiah in the bible which spoke about rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. At that point, I got inspired to rebuild the broken walls of the church which translates to aiding the Christian community to value what they have, rather than looking over the fence.
So I got started on creating a directory for Christian professionals worldwide, especially in Africa. If you needed access to someone with a skill, the first thing you do is call/text someone on your phone, G.O.A cuts short the process of searching by being the one-stop shop for all skills within the Christian community.
Can you give us a peep into what your typical G.O.A. day looks like?
In no particular order
a. Coffee
b. Meetings
c. Emails
d. Conference calls
e. Social Media (We are a content heavy firm, social media plays a huge part of our engagement with our audience and what we do)
f. Video shoots – Documentaries, interviews, UNmasking stories that mainstream media typically wont cover etc
g. Christian Talent Hunts and Recruitment (Job Matching & Vacancy sourcing)
What stellar achievements would you say you have recorded thus far?
a. Partnership with Hotnigerianjobs.com
b. Launch of our Nigeria and UK branch
c. Our pilot solar project to the village of Agbopa, Ogun stat
What are some of the major challenges you have encountered in running with this vision?
The division and politics involved in the church.
Before you are allowed to introduce the vision to any church, you typically need to be a member, or know someone who knows someone or be affiliated with a widely accepted church name. This is why GOA has decided not to affiliate the brand with any church, and that way we focus on rebuilding the church, and not focusing on denominations.
Another major challenge is the financial challenge with being a faith-based company. There are so many humanitarian projects which we run, which are more focused on equipping humanity rather than taking from them. The outcome of this is with a large vision, comes large funding, which sometimes can be hard to come by.
The population of unemployed graduates in Africa is alarming. Based on what G.O.A is doing, what steps would you recommend to an unemployed person so that they can land the jobs of their dreams?
With the advent of social media, there are many opportunities graduates miss because they are still utilizing traditional methods. If you really want that job, there are other methods using technology to showcase your skill/talent.
First thing you should do is register online with a job portal, where employers can find you even if you are offline i.e www.goatalentnetwork.com/directory Secondly, harness the power of social media to showcase your skills, and thanks to Youtube, there are lots free training resources to hone your skills.
What is your inspiration? What keeps you going?
God. I know it might sound cliché, but the thought of disappointing Him is what keeps me striving to show him my appreciation by investing the talents he has given me into his kingdom.
If you had a list of ‘best-kept secrets’ [websites, books, materials] you’d recommend, which would you include and why?
a. Websites – Youtube, GOA talent network, Medium (The app), Hootsuite,
b. Books –
i. Altar Ego: Genesis, by Oluwatosin Tabai
ii. Robert Kiyosaki (All his books)
iii. Five Love Languages, by John Gray
iv. Prophet Arise, by Eckhardt John
v. Prayers That Rout Demons, by Eckhardt John
vi. The Bible Code, by Drosnin Michael)
vii. 26 Weeks Digital Marketing Plan (by David Bain)
viii. Sheet music (by Kevin Leman)
ix. Succeeding with Agile: Software Development (by Cohn Mike)
x. Don’t make me think (by Steve Krug)
c. Materials – Gary vaynerchuk
What are three things you’ve told yourself that kept you going during your darkest hour?
a. Keep going. With Christ, there is always light at the end of the tunnel
b. What’s the worst that can happen? This too shall pass.
c. My kids are earnestly watching how I deal with each challenge I’m presented
What are three life memories you recall most frequently and why?
1st Life Memory
Moving from a private secondary school to a public school in Nigeria. I arrived on the first day of school in the uniform of the private school. That definitely didn’t help with making friends.
2nd Life Memory
God sending me an Angel in human form to remind me He can do miracles to ensure we believe in Him as He did in the Old Testament
3rd Life Memory
Running away from home at 18 to gain my independence and learn the ropes of life. Of course, I ended up homeless ha!
What’s your take on Mentorship? Any mentors?
Mentorship certainly helps keep you in check, and as the adage goes, “What a child can see standing, an older person can see whilst sitting”.
My mentors are my soulmate (Gus Ogunlowo), Efe & Paul Okade, Anna Kigang and Revd Funke Felix Adejumo.
Looking out 3 to 5 years, Where do you see G.O.A?
Pleasing God, and blessing humanity.
For me, Life is….
Life is a funnel. What you put into it is what you get out of it. Same applies to what you speak about your life is what it will become.
Life is all about building relationships. If you want to be wealthy not just in fortune, build and invest in lasting relationships.
Africa will rise when …
…we begin to see change as an individual task not for the government.
If you want to change the world, start now with yourself. I have had the opportunity to train graduates in the UK. It’s sad the amount of money Africans spend on Education and never use that knowledge to build their immediate environment but wait for a white collar job to employ them.
What words of wisdom or advice would you like to leave with the youths of Africa? Inspire a young African in a sentence.
It will be a tragedy to follow the norm (Go to school, go to work, eat, sleep, retire and die). There has got to be more to life, follow Christ and he’ll direct you to a more rewarding life.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Do remember to register your talent via the only network for Christian professionals www.goatalentnetwork.com and we look forward to promoting your talent to the rest of the world.
Many thanks for sharing with us, Yetti.
You are welcome.
