Promoting Possibilities through Digital Transformation
Maduabuchi Ubani reports that Co-founder/MD of Loose Media and Convener of Digiclan Africa, Ized Uanikhehi's invaluable insights about the digital space, tech community and marketing opportunities are all geared towards promoting possibilities through digitalisation
Has it ever happened to you before? That moment when you meet someone who is making impact in a sector you are well grounded in, but you know little to nothing about such person. That’s exactly what happened to me in the case of a tech aficionado known as Ized.
You may know her as the Co-founder/MD of Loose Media and Convener of Digiclan Africa, but there is so much more about Ized Uanikhehi and the impact she is making within the digital niche and tech community.
The first time I connected with Ized was through a mutual friend. And if my memory serves me right, that was in the year 2019, and I was residing in Aba, Abia State. She wanted me to head a digital community and build a foothold in Aba where we have a thriving creative cluster, alongside a vibrant digital enthusiasts. Sadly, I didn’t end up taking that position due to my busy schedule and other activities begging for my attention. But then, I ended up being friends with Ized.
DigiClan
The name of the community I was supposed to head is Digiclan- one of the largest community of digital marketing professionals in Africa which Ized happens to be the convener. DigiClan stands out because it is a community of marketers focused not just on individual growth but on industry growth.
Since its inception on September 1, 2017, Digiclan has impacted over 5000 persons, driven so much digital literacy, trained and taught over one thousand persons on digital media. The clan which is focused on bridging the digital divide, especially the digital gender divide has connected members to jobs and has gone as far as negotiating their pay so they can get the financial worth of the services they offer.
But away from Digiclan and back to Ized, it’s amazing how people come into your life and give you an opportunity to see the world through their eyes; they help you think differently, and even more to show you the true definition of resilience, focus and determination.
In the case of Ized, not only did she further expose me to digital literacy and community development, she also made realize that anyone can be anything, and effect positive changes from anywhere.
From studying biochemistry, to building a post college experience in technology, marketing, and digital media for more than 15 years, Ized’s work in the marketing and digital space has made her sit with individuals of influence and also join in important conversations when it comes to entrepreneurship, technology, innovation and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
You may assume that there was some sort of a blue print or a grand plan that orchestrated her move from biochemistry to the digital space, but that would not be entirely true. In fact, it is safe to say that Ized practically bumped into the digital space and since then made an intentional decision to stay.
That decision taken years ago has been able to make Ized positively affect people in her immediate environment, and also placed her in front of a global audience.
A typical example was when she spoke at a global virtual event from her offce, with over 5000+ attendees from all over the world, alongside amazing women speakers from the UK,South Africa, India. One out of many engaging events she has been part of.
Collaboration Outshines Competition
By breaking the digital gender divide, Ized’s ultimate goal is to get more women into the digital space, thereby providing them the platform to be literate in digital marketing and in the digital media space across all communities. But that’s not all.
In fact, this is where collaboration makes a grand entry. So instead of new digital entrants to try and take the whole digital journey on their own, they can leverage the power of communities and other brilliant minds in the same niche like them. Ized affirms to this by stating that “what collaboration does, especially with a community like DigiClan or with members of the clan is that it expands your bird-eyeview on things and ensures you are working twice as hard because now you are working with a partner. It also helps you achieve more. You are able to grow in impact and revenue. So I always advise collaborations with people and communities that are able to provide support.”
Clearing Misconceptions
While effective collaboration gives support and promotes growth, it also helps to clear some misconceptions that individuals and businesses have when it comes to digital literacy/ education.
For the likes of Ized who have seen situations where people make comments stating that with digitalisation of the marketing industry, there will be fewer jobs and less opportunities for marketers, she on the other hand opines that digital transformation of marketing processes will mean that there are more opportunities created, and more skill sets needed for the industry to grow in terms of delivering value
It therefore takes a step further to explain why businesses and even startups should look at communities like DigiClan when it comes to building digital footprints, strategy, recruitment, sales and even impact. This is because communities like Digiclan strategically provide value driven marketing, improved performance and more insights that come from data sharing.
Future Digital Predictions
When it comes to digital communities and digital marketing for businesses and brands across Nigeria and Africa, Ized is pitching her tent in digital transformation. Regardless of how COVID and the pandemic have made things, she feels that Nigeria is transforming digitally but not as fast as it should.
Her reason being that more people need to get their brands and businesses into the digital space because the world has become a global village and as such businesses that are still physical instead of being virtual or remote or getting into the digital not survive within the next four to five years.
With the growing digital transformation, Ized believes that “there will be a lot of remote working and job offers which will save businesses a lot of money because there will be no need for physical meets or locations. But if businesses or brands are not prepared for this transformation or 100 per cent remote working, there will be a lot of issues and will not be able to survive the next four to five years".
Lessons From the Pandemic
The world is yet to fully recover from the effects of COVID-19 that started in 2019, but from a digital space point of view, it has also presented some kind of sweeping changes. Even with the pandemic ravaging countries across the world, there are growing opportunities around the digital space.
This for Ized goes to explain that one of the most critical opportunity is digital transformation.
“Digital transformation is the way to go for every business, she stated. “Know what is working now and leverage it. Find insights and human truths that relate to your customers at every level you can think of, and the best way to achieve any of this is customer engagement".
And even the tech communities on their own can leverage this transformation by providing the necessary skill set for themselves and workers, learning about it and providing their services to other businesses that are still manual.
They (the tech communities) can take a step further by working with these businesses and transforming them into digital-led businesses that can survive whatever changes will come after the pandemic is done and over with.
Digital Possibilities and Leaving a Legacy
Tech communities and the digital space both hold the key to amazing future possibilities. And not only does Ized concur to this, she also believes that apart from creating a whole new experience in lifestyle trends, technology and digitalisation have brought about a paradigm shift in the minds of young people and developed a new career path for many, plus giving them hope for the future.
It is based on the premise of tech and the digital community that Ized wants to leave a lasting legacy. She wants to be remembered as someone who came, gave her all, did her best and lived her purpose.
“In terms of legacy, I would like to be remembered as the person that came in and gave her best to the community, and committed to the growth of the industry, to individual growth and I want to be known as someone that was a strong part of bridging the digital gender divide.”
Of course, yours truly couldn’t agree more.