CBO's statement

Aisha Bello-Tukur is a Social Entrepreneur and a Life Coach whose mission is to find lasting solutions to societal challenges in Africa. She is tenacious, selfless and passionately dedicated to making the world a better place. Her experience cuts across business strategy, fund raising, project coordination, human resource and social development. She has been instrumental in supporting various philanthropic causes such as the drilling of water wells and bore holes in various cities across Nigeria. Aisha studied Business Administration at the Sir Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria. She is also, an alumnus of the Pan Atlantic University, member of the International Women's Organization for Charity (Small World), member of the social sector dialogue committee, coordinator Ruxton Women Association, Vice Chairperson – Ladies of Republic of Nigeria (LORON) .She is the Chief Believing Officer of Orbus Global Solutions, a social enterprise with a track record of successfully implementing world water day initiatives in 30 locations across Nigeria and a driving force for social change and sustainable development.

Pearls of Wisdom from the CBO She calls herself 'socialpreneur', a coinage that stems from the fact that she is an entrepreneur who is involved in social causes. Her Orbus Global Solution is determined to help organisations create platforms to help them meet their CSRs and also empower youth and women. Aisha Bello-Tukur, the brain behind this new idea tells her story to SHAKA MOMODU. You could call her the 'real' Nigerian. She was born in Lagos, but her parents were from Katsina. But Aisha Bello-Tukur is a citizen of the world. Her passion is the society and her spiritual calling (if you can call it so) is caring for the poor; the vulnerable in the society and the needy amongst us. The passion she shows for this in unquantifiable. She was at a time the project co-ordin tor of ‘ oject O'e Milli n Souls’ of the Junior Chambers International. This project was involved in distributing relief materials like food, clothing and other essential materials to the less privileged in the society. That was the quintessential Aisha. Recently, as creative as ever, she came up with her new idea. She called it Orbus Global Solutions. Many have been wondering if this would be another non-governmental organization or a business concern. Aisha herself explains. “It is a business concern. We are using entrepreneurial principles to help solve social problems.' This answer further confounds this reporter and she is asked to throw more light for the benefit of the public and her admirers out there. She obliges:

“Our strategic intent is to drive change and sustainable development in the social space by creating a platform for empowering and engaging the minds of entrepreneurs, women and youth through our initiatives. Our business strategy hinges on the fact that society is not in itself self-sufficient, and there is dire need for continuous analysis of the external business environment; anticipation, identification, and providing solutions to social needs for the empowerment and creation of social change that would lead to sustainable growth and development. The New 'Socialpreneur' in Town… Aisha says she is no longer an entrepreneur but a 'socialpreneur' and before this reporter couldstart wondering what she meant by that, she threw more light on this coinage that is set to gain currency in the days ahead. As a socialpreneur. First of all, let me define who a socialprenuer is. It is someone that recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to create, organize and manage a venture to make social change. We believe that by using this principle we will be able to achieve our vision and our mission in a sustainable way, hence the reason why we have made social enterprise our cardinal rallying point. The core issue here is that Aisha Bello Tukur is an entrepreneur who will never shy away from what the society demands from her. Her husband, Mahmud Tukur, the chief executive of Eterna Oil and Gas Limited, is a man of considerable means and the wife has never forgotten the enormous responsibility fate has placed in their hands to reach out to the less privileged member of the society. When asked what benefit does she derive from this latest venture, her answer is straightforward.

'We derive benefit from this venture because it brings fulfilment to the core purpose of our organisation. We are guided by the triple bottomline, (profit, people and planet). Our intention is to initiate this change and in turn share our success stories to other organisations to embrace this drive.' Not done and perhaps, not totally satisfied with her explanation, this reporter asks again what the motivation is in taking on social issues like youth empowerment, women empowerment, community development etc. 'Our motivation on youth empowerment: Youth empowerment can be described as a process whereby young people gain the ability, authority and agency to make decisions and also implement change in their own lives. We believe by training the youth who are the future leaders of our country, we are helping to build our nation.' Perhaps, not to be accused of male chauvinism, Aisha Bello-Tukur believes that training a woman seems to benefit more the society than training a man. While not saying the boy-child should not be trained, she alludes to the saying that is you train a woman, you train a nation. She gives this explanation when asked why the focus on women empowerment. 'There is an old adage that says ‘You educate a woman, you educate a nation’. Global research has shown that two thirds of the 774 million adult illiterates worldwide are women according to United Nations 2010 trends and statistics. We at Orbus Global Solutions are working in line with the 3rd Goal of the Millennium Development Goal which is ‘To promote gender equality and empower women’. We are looking at ways in which we can help women by empowering them to help their families first, their work place, and their community at large. This will increase growth and productivity and help our economy.'

Going Beyond the Stereotype of Development… Aisha seems determined to take youth and women empowerment and community development beyond the stereotype of what many NGOs have put in place. While hers is not strictly and NGO per se, her intention with the Orbus Global Solution is to take these undertakings to the next level. Apart from youth and women empowerment, her outfit is also into CSR advisory and consultancy. In this regard, the company helps corporate bodies identify areas where their corporate social responsibility efforts will be better appreciated and felt by those they are targeting. The strategy, therefore, is to drive change and sustainable development by creating a platform for empowering and engaging the minds of young entrepreneurs and women and youth through their initiatives. The Water Day Project… And part of the initiatives being undertaken by her Orbus Global Solution is the Water Day Project which is being used to key in to this year’s World Water Day. Aisha says she is aware of the global situation which indicates that about two billion people of the world’s population do not have access to clean water and the World Bank and World Health Organisation say that another one billion do not have enough water to meet their daily needs. 'Our intention for this project is this. In a bid to celebrate World Water Day 2013, we are hosting a landmark Water Day talk to local communities, public schools and youths. It is tagged 'Water is Life'. We will provide our target audience with drums for storing clean water and Aquatabs which is the number one water purification tablet in the world, for purifying the unclean and unsafe water available to them. We have foot prints for this project in over 20 locations across Nigeria. This pilot project is aimed at emphasising the importance of ‘clean water’ as an essential element for every human being and a sustainable resource for a healthy life.'
Apparently concerned by what might have gone into this type of project in terms of resources, this reporter posed the question. She paused, somewhat unsure how to answer the question, then she clears her throat and concurs but also explains that that was the whole essence of Orbus Global Solution: providing platforms for youth and women empowerment while consulting for corporate bodies on how they could key into these initiatives. Revealing that her company has been able to get those who are committing both money and other resources into the Water Day Project. 'Indeed, it came at a huge cost but we were able to bring down our total cost of ownership (TCO) by being innovative and we were very fortunate to have corporate sponsors who keyed into our initiative by providing both monetary and non monetary support.” One of the highlights of the Water Day Project is the water day talk titled, 'Water is Life' in 20 different locations across Nigeria. When asked that a lot of logistics and planning must have gone to this, Aisha says that is true but it would worth the input.

'A lot of planning has gone into executing the project. First of all we had to identify and appoint representatives in various locations nationwide. A database was utilised to get some outstanding youth corps members as project volunteers. We then had to identify our stake-holders, get to know them, perform a needs assessment and convince them of the advantages of the project. Convincing people that you are trying to help them without any strings attached can lead to interesting conversations! The project co-ordination office had to define working protocols, online training for volunteers, co-ordinate sponsorship, procure T-shirts, water buckets and most importantly the purifying tablets. One would naturally assume water flowed freely in these locations, but nay, we have had to learn how to tweak boreholes or provide the ‘last mile’ solution in the shape of a hose! We faced a few challenges with logistics but we had to devise innovative ways to achieve our goals and work within defined budgets.’ Aisha hopes to have achieved a lot by the time this project is over. To her, it is a passion and way of life and not about profits in the strict sense. And that is why she calls herself socialpreneur.

'As I mentioned earlier, this project is aimed at emphasizing the importance of ‘clean water’ as an essential element for every human being and a sustainable resource for a healthy life. This is just the beginning; we hope to make an impact in Nigeria and globally; God willing.' What Motivates Aisha… Aisha sounds very philosophical when asked about what drives and motivates her. As a child growing up, the intention had been to become a medical doctor. She wanted to provide care and compassion to the sick and the dying. ‘I believe what drives me stems from my social identity mapping, which comprised the Given, Chosen and Core. Part of my core identity is Family, Children, Empathy, Integrity and Helping people. Growing up I had always wanted to be a medical doctor, but somewhere along the line I had a change in career and ended up in business school! But deep down inside, I still have that ‘doctor’ in me (she laughs). This passion is what really drives me. I strongly believe in playing an active role in supporting and helping people to help themselves. Most of all I feel that serving humanity and touching lives is indeed the best work of life.’ And for a citizen of Nigeria, born in Lagos, to Katsina parents and seeing the whole nation as her ‘socialpreneural’ constituency, nothing can be added. Nor taken out. .