Being A Young Entrepreneur In Northern Nigeria – Maryam Ali Adamu

Maryam Ali Adamu is a northern entrepreneur married to Yusuf Gidado Idris son of the former Secretary to government of the federation during the General Sani Abacha regime. Maryam studied business administration and law at Coventry University. She is a popular and successful skincare therapist in Nigeria. She believes no woman is unattractive as long as she has a flawless skin. The skin is the largest organ on the body hence what a person consumes is equally as important as what they apply on their skin. She has helped thousands of Men and women clear their skin problems.

Maryam believes in the education of the girl child. She believes an educated girl becomes an educated mother and births educated children who are the leaders of tomorrow. Successful women are produced from the grassroots. Women like Mary Barra of General Motors, Gail Boudreaux of Anthem, Ginni Rometty of IBM, Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo are typical examples of how women can become leaders in the society. In the Northern parts of Nigeria, very few women are CEO of large corporations.

Maryam Ali Adamu believes in encouraging young female entrepreneurs to grow and succeed in various businesses believing that they can also be as successful as the likes of Indra Nooyi one day soon. She is passionate about empowering others as well as building herself. She believes passionate is a great motivator. If you are not passionate about what you do for a living, you wouldn’t be able to grow and succeed. She has made mistakes and never allowed them to drag her backward. This is one of the many things she teaches other women. “Your mistakes do not define you, what defines you is whether you learn from them, correct them and move forward or you let them stop you from pursuing your dreams” she always says. Successful women do not remain in a vacuum. They encourage and give credit to those around them. This endangers a greater sense of loyalty and dedication. Maryam has a voracious appetite for learning which she inherited from her father. In the past women in business in northern Nigeria were few. Maryam has built a platform to reform this ideology. “Women are powerful” she always says, “together, there is absolutely nothing they cannot achieve.”