Building and Communicating a Strong Brand

The Skills Outside School Foundation is the leading pan-African education, employability and entrepreneurship organization with a vision for a productive human capital driving transformational socio-economic development globally. We do this through our unique, innovative & disruptive strategic model: Data, Interventions & Advocacy.

We address social inequity in Africa through Education, Entrepreneurship & Employability, with our disruptive approach to development & philanthropy. We have reached 100k+ beneficiaries in 11 countries over the last 9 years, working alongside 200+ international & local partners as well as 1200+ volunteers, 300+ investors.

Our content and model comes’ from our 9+ years’ experience in education, entrepreneurship and employability as an organization, a board and management team with combined 60+ years of not profit, public and private experience, and trainers with 86+ years’ experience whilst leveraging on instructors and mentors with several successful businesses on the African continent. Our model guides the learner through 3 key pillars of learning: Absorb; Practice & Refine for which the core outputs are: Ideation; Implementation; Iteration.

For further details, please visit our website

Instructor Profiles

Ahmed Yero is the Transforming your idea into an Enterprise instructor. He is an experienced professional with 28 years’ experience across various organizations including First Bank PLC, North South Bank and ARM Asset Management company. He teaches students in the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa Nigeria (part-time) and is an experienced and trained teacher and mentor. He is a member of several professional bodies including: Chartered Institute of Management of Nigeria, Nigeria Institute of Builders and Nigerian Environmental Society. He is a Fellow, Chartered Institute of Loans and Risks management of Nigeria. He obtained a BSc. in Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1988, MBA in Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, HND Building Technology in Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, MSc in Environmental Resource Management in Nasarawa State University and currently running a PhD program in the same university.

Justin Tochukwu is the Building and Communicating a Strong Brand instructor. He is a Brand and Business consultant with over 10 years of experience in Branding, Strategy and Digital transformation. He is currently the Brand and Business Development Manager at VTB Consulting. He was part of the elite team of brand experts that rebranded NairaBet, Nigerian’s first sport betting company, with over 40 million users. He engaged and lead the nationwide digital implementation of Scripture Union daily guide devotionals into mobile apps across Android and IOS platforms to reach more than 6 million members. He implemented the Strategic branding and market positioning for FRIMA, a Malaysian conglomerate with a vision to penetrate the African market. He is a member of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), a Fellow in the Institute of Management Consultant (FIMC) and Certified Management Consultant (CMC).

Belinda Ezeofor is the Must Have Skills of an Entrepreneur instructor. She is an experienced Legal Practitioner, Career Consultant, Motivational Speaker. She is the Co-founder of Beelanze Consult Ltd, a human resource consulting firm where she has successfully developed training, research, recruitment and skill acquisition programs. Belinda has a LLB degree, was called to the Nigerian Bar and has an MBA (Human Resources) from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She has spoken at and hosted over 50 events over the last 2 years as a motivational speaker including TEDX, America public speaking and motivational forum, Canvas on Air (by Shell Petroleum Development Corporation), JCT Abuja Metro and the UNICEF International Day of the Girl Child. Belinda is also an actor, having featured in several key features and movies in Nollywood including Merry Men 1, Swapped and Exparte. She is multi-lingual, being fluent in English, French, Igbo and Hausa.

Eyo Etim is the Managing and Projecting your Business Finances instructor. Eyo is a highly experience finance, tax and accounting professional with over 18 years of experience.

He is a Deputy Tax Manager in the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service, where he provides audit and risk profiling services. He was previously Head of Accounts of Suctone Ventures Ltd. He has also held a cost accountant role in the same entity.

He was also previously a Senior Consultant at DOC-AA Consultants. He holds a BSc in Accounting from University of Calabar.

Veronica Agana is the Attracting, Incentivising and Managing the right human capital instructor. She has over 12 years of experience in Environmental Management, Human Resources Management, Customer Relations Management and Advocacy. She is the Founder of Waste Plus Environmental Services. She is a Product Manager and a nature expert at Sosocare, a leading emerging micro mobile health insurance startup using innovative approach to bring health insurance to millions of people who never had it before by enabling them to pay for a health insurance with recyclable waste in order to promote universal healthcare and business financing.

She was previously an HR Executive, iSON BPO, a leading BPO service provider in Africa. She also held roles as the National Volunteer, Citizen Led Monitor for the Voluntary Services Overseas, and a Customer Service Officer and HR Supervisor at MTN Nigeria, the leading telecommunications service provider.

She has a BSc in Biology/Biological Sciences from the Ahmadu Bello University, an MBA, focused on Human Resources from Bayero University and a post-Graduate Diploma in Business Admin and Management from the Bayero University. She received the “Best Business Idea Northwest Region, Nigeria” from the Accelerate Labs Project, a project of the Future Africa, building the next generation of African leaders in entrepreneurship. She is a Fellow of the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship.

Olatunji Atoyebi is the Implementing strong corporate governance and legal structures for your business instructor. He is the Managing Partner of Rainmaker Chambers. He was previously an associate at Tawo E. Tawo SAN & Co. He is the Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (Abuja Chapter). He is an avid writer and blogger, contributing to various platforms including the Nigerian Lawyer. He is the CEO of Rainmakers Entertainment. He is the Legal Counsel to Etuk ng, the largest provider of shortlet apartments in Nigeria to law school students across all Nigerian law school campuses in the country, with over 1000+ active listings.

He has 10+ years post call to bar legal experience in Nigeria. He has a BL from the Nigerian Law School, an LLB from the prestigious Igbinedion University.

Halima Ibrahim Abba is the Financing Your Business instructor. Halima Ibrahim Abba is multi-award-winning with 14 years’ international public, private & non-profit institutional experience in both professional and personal capacities. Her experience cuts across Infrastructure & Industrialization Finance - Transport & Logistics; Power; Petrochemicals & Mineral Resource Refining; Agriculture & Agro-Processing; International Development; Education, Entrepreneurship & Employability.

Halima was the Associate Vice President & SA to the Chief Investment Officer at the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a pan-African US$10bn multi-lateral development finance institution focused on infrastructure & industrialization. She has worked in global investment banks & public sector institutions - Goldman Sachs, Nomura, JP Morgan & the Bureau of Public Enterprises.

She co-led the design, launch & operationalization of Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCorp) with promoters – AFC, Central Bank of Nigeria & Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, alongside the Federal Government of Nigeria, led by the Vice President.

She holds a First-Class (LLB) Law degree from Kings College London, UK & Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Development Studies from the prestigious Cambridge University, UK. She is an alum of Yale School of Management, Common Purpose Leadership Program, International Finance Faculty/Middlesex University, Harvard Business School Online, AMT and Euromoney.

She is also a member of the Institute of Directors UK and Nigeria (Young Directors Forum), the Board Room Africa, Women on Boards UK, Young CEO Club (Abuja Chamber of Commerce & Industry), Development Studies Association, International Association for Community Development, African Leaders Network Women, International Institute of Directors & Managers, International Behavioral Public Policy Association, Institute for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Global Council for Promotion of International Trade group and Financial Management Association International.