Episode 39: Dr. Lola Adeyemi

Growing up in Nigeria’s male-dominated society was tough for a feminist with a strong ambition to further herself and her education, but Dr. Lola Adeyemi never stopped. She came to the U.S. to study public health at John Hopkins University and sustainability and environmental management at Harvard University. Now she seeks to revolutionize the health-care industry in her home country with Magna Carta Health, a company she founded to focus on preventive care.

She found that changing people’s behavior is challenging. While it makes sense to see a doctor before one gets sick, it’s often left to an urgent, last-minute decision. This makes it more likely to have an outcome that is both adverse and expensive. Adeyemi works with individuals and companies to change this.

Adeyemi also values community and mentorship. As a result, she founded Mentoring Her, a platform that links female professionals with other women they can learn from. Find out how she has navigated the Nigerian government to establish her company and help others with preventive health — as well as why female mentorship is essential — on this episode of SheVentures.

Key Moments

3:14 — Dr. Lola Adeyemi reveals what it was like to grow up as an ambitious young woman in Nigeria.

6:08 — Find out what spurred her to found Magna Carta Health, a Nigerian organization that provides preventive medicine.

9:50 — Adeyemi discusses the difficulties she faced starting a business in Nigeria, a male-dominated society with a known corrupt government.

13:26 — What do you do when government corruption affects your business?

17:00 — “He was going blind and he didn’t even know.” Listen as Adeyemi describes one of her greatest achievements in the five years that Magna Carta Health has been in business.

22:11 — What is Mentoring Her, and why was it founded?

26:26 — With ventures in both Nigeria and the U.S., how does Adeyemi handle work/life balance?

30:20 — Check out Adeyemi’s actionable advice for finding a mentor.