Jessica O. Matthews was only 19 when she invented an energy-generating soccer ball. She now runs a renewable energy company specializing in motion-based, miniaturized power systems, and has big plans for Africa.
Harvard University, one of the most prestigious institutions in the world, boasts among its laurels, 47 Nobel laureates, 32 heads of state and 48 Pulitzer Prize winners.
Competition for a place in the school is fierce. A staggering number of students around the world apply to enter Harvard, few secure admission. So when Jessica O. Matthews was asked to leave this elite establishment due to poor grades, it’s little wonder her world came crashing down.
“I would have been prepared to go to jail than to have the look my mum gave me when I told her I had to leave Harvard. She didn’t even speak, it was just a stare and that drives me to this day, I never want to let her down again,” says Matthews, today, the Founder and CEO of Uncharted Play, a hardware technology company in the United States (US).
As Matthews looks back on that experience, she can pinpoint the exact moment things went wrong.
“For the first 18 years of my life, I thought I had everything figured out. I ran track, I played tennis and I did well on the SATs. I didn’t place as much value in understanding the role that my parents had played in my life. They had created an invisible guiding force so when I left home it was a mess. My whole goal was to do well to get into university and I had no other goals apart from that. I was like ‘look I made it’, I thought everybody there was smarter than me because I didn’t go to an expensive high school,” says Matthews, in an interview with FORBES WOMAN AFRICA in Lagos in September last year.
The New York-based entrepreneur born to Nigerian parents, featured in FORBES 30 Under 30 list in 2014.
Growing up, her parents wanted her to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer. Matthews wanted to build things.
Denne historien er fra February-March 2017-utgaven av Forbes Woman Africa.
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Denne historien er fra February-March 2017-utgaven av Forbes Woman Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Well-Grounded
Coco Cachalia, whose mother Amina was among the 20,000 in the Women’s March of August 1956, made a decision to stay away from politics – and succeed in business instead.
Art Becomes Her
A celebrated international fine artist, Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi overcame the struggles of apartheid, and her work is grounded in her past.
'Not Just Pro-Women But Pro-Progress'
South Africa’s Minister of Women Susan Shabangu on the significance of the 61st anniversary of Women’s Day, and the role men can play in ending gender violence in South Africa and creating an equal society.
Diversity And Inclusion Are Part Of Baker Mckenzie's DNA
According to Law360’s 2017 Glass Ceiling Report, women make up around one-third of the attorneys in private legal practice. Among the law firms surveyed, just below 23% of partners are female.
We, Men For Women
South Africa still has a long way to go for gender justice in business and in life, but with more men openly stepping forward to be a part of the discourse, FORBES WOMAN AFRICA speaks to two male entrepreneurs, a CEO and a social activist. They acknowledge diversity makes smart social and economic sense that will benefit all.
What, After All, Does Feminism Have To Do With Men?
According to the seminal African-American writer bell hooks (her name is not capitalized), feminism is for everybody.
Blood, Setbacks And Tears
Two sisters with common failures and a dream to eventually succeed.
Fighting To The End
In May, 82 more Chibok girls were released in exchange for Boko Haram prisoners. Oby Ezekwesili, a strong advocate in the campaign to bring them back, has vowed to never stop fighting.
Not Just Hard Work, But Heart Work
As incidents of gender-based violence increase in Africa, those like Nigeria’s Kemi Dasilva-Ibru, are trying to bring relief to stigmatized victims.
Going Down The Spice Route
Essie Bartels worked several odd jobs she hated before opening a company selling mouth-watering spices and sentiments to the world.
