 All righty, fantastic. You are still hanging out with us right here on Y254Channel. And today, being a Tuesday, we took matters entrepreneurship and, like I said, continue to interact with us on our social media, that's on Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter is at Y254Channel. You can find us on Instagram. There's an underscore by there so that you don't get the wrong Instagram handle and say, oh, Sakur told me it is a no. There's an underscore there. And you can also interact with me at Brian Sakur101. I see it's at the bottom of your screen. And the hashtag is still Y in the morning. The conversation about matters entrepreneurship and financial literacy continues. Now joining me in studio are two powerful people, a lady and a gentleman. They're going to tell us more insight. They're going to give us perspective when it comes to matters financial literacy and world creation. By the way, you could be back at home and thinking, me, I just want to be rich. I will do anything crazy to be rich. And then somebody will say, you want to be rich? You'll be muddied. So what are some of the myths and misconceptions when it comes to actually matters health and wealth that is, and financial literacy. And joining me right in studio right about now live next to me, she is Veronica Ocola. And then I want to butcher his name. I let him pronounce his name personally. But let's have a Veronica introduce yourself. Welcome, first of all, and good morning. Thank you so much. My name is Veronica. Just as you've been told, I'm a financial advisor and I have also a banking background. Right. So you can pop up at a bank anytime soon and say, hold up. His name is Veronica. Yeah, sure. Welcome. Now to the name I don't want to butcher. Please, I want to murder this name. Please introduce yourself, sir. My name is Amadu Chico Cisoco. I'm originally from Guinea. I'm a business coach, a leadership trainer and an entrepreneur. Right. And I love the fact that you mentioned leadership in there because leadership and finances, they're like twin sisters. They say, hey, you are a member of parliament who is broke. Where is your money? And I love the fact that you know we are talking about financial literacy and wealth creation. Now, before we get into that, just a little bit background of some of the things you've done that have actually put you in line into this kind of course that you've taken before you come back to Veronica. Yeah, so I dropped out of three universities. You dropped out of three universities. Yes, yes, yes. I dropped out of medical school, engineering and business school. And I wanted to be a writer. So I wrote my first manuscript in my early 20s. I failed to get it published. So I went through a lot of different failures and a lot of different initiatives that I tried that didn't work out. And then the first one that actually worked was an agrotourism retreat in Guinea. So I built the country's first agrotourism retreat. And that was a fairly successful initiative as a young person, which allowed me then to inspire other young people that indeed, even if you've gone through failures, if you persist and you keep your focus, you're going to make it sooner or later. True, yeah. So that's how I got involved in training, entrepreneurship. We founded Guinea's first social entrepreneurship movement. We funded the first generation of social entrepreneurs. We brought them together, gave them the knowledge, found the finances for them to start their businesses. And then from there I was awarded the Mandela Washington Fellowship by the former President Obama in 2014. Right. Congratulations. I got to see that the problem is the same all over the continent. You have brilliant young people, big dreams. You all have dreams. Your family doesn't believe in you. Your friends don't believe in you. So you go into depression and you don't know how to make it. So I said I wanted my life to be a source of inspiration. So I had to achieve every goal I set for myself. So that's what led me to come to Kenya, want to help the country achieve the vision in 2030, then got involved in training in all the hubs of innovation and entrepreneurship here. I've trained tens of thousands of the best young entrepreneurs across Africa, coached them, inspired them to go after big dreams, make big things happen in their lives. And it's exciting because I have a lot of faith in us as Africans. As young Africans I think that we're going to dominate the world. So how we're going to get there we have to start moving. We have to start believing in ourselves. We have to start going after our dreams. And I love the fact that you talk about with so much power, confidence and gusto. On your description you talk about, you describe your purpose is not your own. It is your opportunity to serve others, inspire them or improve them in some way, shape or form. Before I get back to Veronica, how important is it even to realize your purpose when it comes to even matters leadership? Because you're talking about matters financial literacy and wealth. But you know you could be very rich but feeling empty as well. I think purpose is the most important thing in someone's life, in anybody's life. And the sooner you find your purpose the more fulfilled your life will be. And how do you find your purpose? And why I say that it's always linked to the things that you've gone through but that serve as your tools for humanity. What are you uniquely gifted to offer to the world? That's your purpose. But you cannot discover that without going through things, without having gone through different experiences in your life. So everyone deserves the father and mother that they have. Even if you have a mother who's a drunkard, a father who's an alcoholic, a criminal. That's the environment that you were supposed to be born in for you to become the person that you're supposed to be. So you should never underestimate where you come from because those are the experiences that build you up into who you're supposed to be. Now once you identify that you want to now align everything you do in that direction. So I grew up with my aunt. My parents sent me to live with my aunt. She was abusive, she was insulting, she was demeaning. She used to break me down literally as a child. But that's what gave me the resilience I have today. It's because of that that I set out to say I want to help leaders be better leaders so that they can lead the people who follow them. Because if she was a better leader, if she had been mentored, if she had been coached to lead better, she would have led me better. So the purpose I think is the most important. Every time you see people are lost in their lives it's that desire to find purpose. And because most of our parents are not equipped to help you find your purpose, that's why it's difficult for you to relate even at home. So it's like really finding out what is that one thing. If you were a tool that God was using in the universe what are you uniquely gifted to accomplish? And how do you do that for the most? And I love the fact that it's touching on other people. Now let's throw it back to you Veronica. You are a financial advisor. And just to make you aware she is his student as well. And I just wanted to tell us a little bit of background. How did you start to interact with Amadu and how did you start working together and do you have a background in banking as well? Well okay, when I was interacting with him the first time I met Amadu was through Yali. I'm an alumni of Yali called 40. Alright, awesome. So I was actually looking for funding to boost my business. I have a small restaurant shop for fast foods. And so when I received a call from him I felt like I received a grace from God. So we started engaging and they told him the challenges I was facing within the shop where I needed a hundred dollars. A thousand dollars. Good amount of cash. So in the process of engaging we realized we could work on something. So that's how you struck a rapport. Yeah, yeah. And money is involved. Now speaking of wealth and finances how important is it, even from an experience with a person with a banking background how important is it to actually know about money especially in a generation where young people are all about having fun. We want to spend, we want to go out there, we want to post it on the ground, get lit, what not. How important and why important do you actually have financial literacy? Okay, now financial literacy we normally say for example if I'm earning 30,000 monthly. Now financial literacy entails me spending the 30,000 without going into debt. So I think these are some of the financial tools that with the youths and even the adults lack. And in most cases people normally think people who like financial knowledge are only the uneducated population. Ideally I think even the people who are educated and have more financial incomes are as well ignorant compared to when it comes to financial knowledge compared to people who are not educated and less. So I think these are gaps in our society on how I can manage my finances without going bankrupt, without even the mental aspect. And I love the fact that you are starting on management because for us young people we need to be taught the seven culture. You know, you have been given a hundred K and within two, three days you don't even have five Bob. I think the seven culture should be taught as alias since you say, hi, good morning, ma'am, I'm born. Now back to your Madhu. When it comes to matters as well I remember we had a conversation behind the scenes and you shared with me that there's people who are afraid to actually be rich and are told if you're not rich you want to accumulate wealth and we shared and I told you there's a friend who was telling me that wealth is generational. Wealth can be inherited or wealth can be created from scratch. How do you get to that space where you have to be at a position you're creating wealth not only just for yourself but for generations to come even in regards to the finances and many other assets as well? Yeah, very good question. I think you need to get angry, frustrated, uncomfortable with being poor, right? If you're a young person and you're always dependent on your parents to provide for your basic needs at some point you need to get frustrated that you want it for yourself, right? If you're someone who comes from a family that is really, really poor and you grew up in shame, you were kicked out of school, you had all these, you have to get angry and frustrated of your situation. You have to say, this is enough, I don't want to live in this situation anymore, right? So that's one. Second also you have to have the desire to be of value to society in ways that are limitless because that's the benefit of wealth is that you can see someone for example in the supermarket who's struggling to pay for their food and you won't think you just take out your card or take out your phone and pay for them. That's wealth. That's the spirit of abundance, right? You can have that even if you don't have millions in your bank account. It's a mindset. But without that mindset you're never going to be financially abundant. So when people say that you have to have a particular background or a particular pedigree or a particular last name for you to be wealthy, that's not true because all those last names were built. Like there was one person in that family that said, I'm done with being poor and I have to build something for myself for my children and for my descendants. So I think that a young person today who's watching us, listening to us and has dreams in their mind has to understand that that dream has to be funded. And so they have to want to start looking for money. They have to start to want selling products. They have to start looking for jobs, internships, opportunities to earn. The sooner you start earning, the better you can learn how to manage. Right. Right? If you're already earning even an allowance from your parents and you can be able to manage that allowance between now and the next time you get it, why not earn a little bit more? Maybe take that allowance, go buy some stuff that you can sell to your friends. Right. So I encourage even my own children to start businesses. How many do you got, by the way? I have three daughters and two sons. All right. One of mine daughters is an entrepreneur. She's very interested in fashion. She likes doing people's hair. I told her to charge. Okay. People like coming for them to get their hair done with her for free. I said charge them. Right. She wants to start a shop. I told her write me a business plan, write down on paper. Right. Take her through the questions. Because the goal is to teach her what my parents didn't teach me. As early as possible. As early. I want her to be a millionaire by the time she's 18 or 19 or 20. Right. Because by doing that, she becomes empowered financially. She's not dependent on me. She's not going to be dependent on a man. Right. And she can make her own decisions. Right. She can take her own risks. Right. So I encourage every young person to be a millionaire as soon as possible. Experience what it is to have money. And then experience what it is to have money and not be happy. Right. So that you know that money doesn't make you happy. And I love that you're saying it. Because there's been endless conversations about people talking about when I have 10 million US dollars I'll be happy and boiling. But when they get that 10 million dollars they are so stressed and they wish they never lived. So does money make somebody happy? Money does give you good experiences that you have to admit. I would tell everybody to make money. Everybody. Anybody. I've never seen a poor person say money is not important. Only rich people say, oh it's not about the money. But they're lying. We're all thinking about the money all the time. Rich people stop lying to us. It's true. You need to make money. Right. In order for you to experience that one it does give you great experiences but also it doesn't give you long lasting happiness. Right. Money doesn't take away loneliness. Emptiness. Money doesn't take away emptiness. But money does take you to a good spot where you can get a good massage. Money does take you to a good location spot where you can look at the ocean and if you look at the ocean long enough sometimes you forget those problems. I always tell people let's democratize this reality that there's no there's no virtue in being poor. There's no virtue in being poor because it's a mindset that destroys you from within because it doesn't give you the confidence to go out there. But even if you're earning a hundred bucks like I see, oh you have all these young people young ladies working in your studio even if you're earning a little bit that dignity it gives you is better than when you have to ask someone. You get what I'm saying? So earning more money can only be better and there's studies that prove that the more you advance in society the longer you live. So the more achievements you get the longer the more you are alive and the more you go. So I'll tell everybody everybody should be rich. Everybody should find ethical, honest, transparent way of making money. Not stealing, not cheating, not lying but if you can start making money early, genuinely be financially independent not depend on your parents that's the best feeling you can have as a young person. Interesting. I love that you gave a very comprehensive outlook of that. Let me come back to you Veronica. When it comes to finances with young people and I love the fact that you're also still a young person there's usually some I don't know if it's lack of transparency or lack of trust where your dad or your mom gives you let's say a hundred key and they're saying this one is yours go and do a business and do something for yourself but it ends up that you mismanage the finances and you have nothing at all for yourself and you have to make that call hey mom it's me again and for anybody who's watching back at home and they don't know how to actually manage the finances to stay in check what would you tell them to do so that they stay off load financially? Okay I think the first thing that they really need to do is to have a financial plan maybe I have this idea but I don't have the capital so that's when I get the money that's what I'm doing with it but if what I'm thinking about always is sherehe or going to party, traveling the moment you get the money you go and shereheka and come back I do not think about investing then without realizing it the hundred thousand is gone I've done nothing with it so I think as the youth we need to plan ourselves we need to have budget for everything that we want to do we also need to have a vision of what you want with our life what you want to accomplish Speaking of vision when it comes to money very important matters to families as well and I love the fact that we are integrating it with wealth how do you ensure that for example if it's inherited finances which is a model to say still wealth because money is wealth for example somebody died and their father left them maybe let's say 20 million and they want to actually divide that into like the whole family and still ensure that they stay afloat financially and still continue creating that cycle of financial stability how do they go about that and also like a model to actually answer I think like talking about the vision maybe there is a legacy of the family that the family was building or something you can continue the family legacy or you can also decide to pursue your own legacy or your own path because if you are dividing the money amongst your family members what you want may not be what I want and may not be what I do want so like if I have my own vision I have what I want to accomplish and they don't align together with what you want and what I do want so like just have a vision and make sure like you stick to the plan right have a vision stick to the plan let me throw it back to you also Madu when you inherit money it's money you're not expecting right so it becomes like you call it free money you didn't work for it right it comes because of your last name all that like you said if you don't have a plan ideas will just come to you and you'll spend the money there that's why don't become a millionaire don't have a million without being a millionaire you have to first be a millionaire in your head in mind in your mind you have to have a plan it's a mindset because if I ask you right now what is your plan for becoming a millionaire and you can show me a plan and say okay I have a food business if I can open five food businesses and I generate this amount from each one I'm going to be a millionaire when I give you a million you'll know what to do with it because you already have a plan so every family should have a plan even when you're broke have a plan for what you'll do when you're wealthy because you don't know if that money is going to come tomorrow it's already a belief it's already a belief right so think of it that way if you have a plan for a million dollars you will attract opportunities and ideas to generate that million dollars but if you don't have a plan or if you have a plan for close that's what you're going to attract you're going to attract more people and things that are going to take your money away so first every family I believe every family should have a vision for the family like she said a legacy of what your last name will represent in this country for example anyone who's watching tell your parents what does our last name what will it represent in 20 years what does our family look like what do we want to be remembered for what do we want to be known for as a family as a long term vision then we set a plan so that if everyone is going to contribute a thousand a month to that plan opportunities will bring now for you to get there actually you attract them like you said you don't focus on the how never focus on the how of a goal focus on the end goal so if you're going to achieve a goal so much on the number of followers and how you're going to get that job you're going to be divergent rather than focus on your purpose you're going to be focused more on what other people expect you to do but if you think about the impact that every single time you speak it's going to have on the lives of other people every single time you have the opportunity to share an idea how it's going to transform someone else's life you wake up every morning keeping that in mind I'm going to go transform someone's life today when we were coming we were sitting there our goal is that someone and everyone who watches is inspired to go and make wealth so you come with an intention to improve the lives of others how will be done by the universe, by God and everything else because people are going to see what you're doing they're going to feel the effect someone say I like that guy I want to work with that guy because of the spirit that he shares in the world so in business with money it's the same thing if you focus so much on how am I going to become a millionaire rather than what am I going to do with the millions the how is going to stress you a lot because you're going to look at where you are and see how far it is and how difficult it is but always focus on what's the impact you're going to make once you're a millionaire how is you being a millionaire going to improve the lives of other people and then the rest will come and speaking of Vanta in your description you say Amadu is on a mission to create one million dollar millionaires across Africa by 2030 through the Emprenuah Africa Emprenuah you say is a land as you earn financial education and management platform designed to empower Africa's most promising entrepreneurs with the financial knowledge, skills and opportunities to build wealth on their mobile that captured my attention on their mobile phone and I just rightly above it you say you have worked with tourist Peace Corps volunteers as well individuals and families from more than 40 countries across the world to come visit your farm in rural Guinea how did that actually pan out going from being a farmer to now a public speaker I think that's a... like I said I was a failure professional failure my grandmother used to say that I went to university to get a degree on how to fail because everything I tried never worked like nothing was working I went to Europe failed couldn't get a degree, came back so that agritourism retreat was a means of me coaching myself that you can succeed even after you failed multiple times so being able to build that to come from all over the world to come and visit rural Guinea was an accomplishment because I was selling the vision I was telling people farming is fun come and relax on my farm and I was building the infrastructure with the local materials so it was a good project because it really gave me that belief that no matter how many failures you've endured if you persist at some point you're going to achieve something no matter what it is that's the first step and then from there my second vision was I wanted to be a world class speaker I was thinking of that you've been on TED TED talk guys have you ever had a welcome to my TED talk this guy has been on TEDx so how did that happen as we sum it up same thing and it brings me to how I'm working with her today a clear vision I wanted to be a world class speaker I wanted to inspire millions of people to change their way of living so I improved my public speaking skills every opportunity I had to speak I spoke I became an expert in my field of entrepreneurship everything you do you have to want to be the best that you can be and if you always want to improve just if you're in camera be the best that every image I capture makes someone cry you're so obsessed about being the best in that makes the audience understand every person I advise that their finances increase so for me it was every soul I speak to that they're transformed transformation I don't need to speak to you for five minutes in one minute I should say one word and your life is transformed you're changed mentally and everything came after that how I met her, why it's important is because when we launched the Emperor the goal was to help create millionaires for all of you how can you become wealthy before 2030 and not just millionaires one million dollars as wealth as wealth it means when you take what you own and what you owe and you subtract you have 100 million or 120 million Kenyan shillings in your bank account that you can see from your phone and so I shared with my network of alumni and she was one of the people who signed up for the information about what are they doing and how are they going towards building their businesses then when I had a chat with her I asked her where do you want to go and she had a big goal of what she wants to do and the impact she wants to make and the person she wants to be in society I said this is exactly what we want to achieve now you also have the financial skills because you've worked with SMEs organized trainings for them so on the journey to helping other young business owners I want them to see young people like them who are working towards the same goal of being financially independent but are willing to walk with them on that journey so it's a journey it's a movement as the one million together will create more than a thousand trillion dollars worth of wealth on the continent so for you to believe that you can actually do it you have to see other people like yourself and so Veronica is a brilliant young entrepreneur who takes initiative, is not afraid to go and fight for herself and that's what we need to show I'm being told that we have to end it sorry we have run out of time we have to end it because you are running on a schedule thank you so much I'd love if you come again both of you Veronica and Amadou but just quickly can people access you faster faster in 3 seconds each if they want to? on Facebook Veronica Cola on LinkedIn Veronica Cola Mr. Amadou Amadou Chico you can search for m slash Perner Africa on Facebook you'll find us there and we'll be happy to connect with you I appreciate your time guys sorry we are out of time we are running on a schedule ok now we have been talking about matters financial literacy and wealth and I think we'll have more time to actually extend this conversation so that you can get a little more inside but I believe you've learned something 2, 3, 4, 5 hacks here and there that will help your life when it comes to matters financial literacy and creating wealth and I love the fact that he's not Kenyan but he's in Kenya giving you such lessons ok right here on why in the morning thank you so much for hanging out with us