Osikhena Oguah is currently the Director of Expansion at a Tech Solutions platform. He was previously the  Head of Vendor Success at a leading e-commerce giant in Nigeria, following his initial role as the Operations Manager at Uber West Africa. In this insightful interview, Osi shares his career journey, transitioning from an engineering role into more commercial roles in multinational startup organisations. Enjoy reading!

Please tell us about yourself (profession, work, and most recent job roles/projects…).

My name is Osikhena Oguah. I am the first of five children. I was born and grew up in several communities in Lagos, Nigeria. I love the city and studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Lagos, after which I spent four years in Schlumberger Oilfield services executing Well Intervention Projects on the Arabian Gulf and eventually studied for an MBA at INSEAD. I served as the Head of Vendor Success at Jumia Nigeria, where I was responsible for helping local sellers grow their revenues by increasing their online presence.

How would you describe some of your career highlights so far, and which particular decision have you taken over the years that has made a significant difference in your career/professional growth?

One major career highlight for me was quitting my engineering job at Schlumberger in 2016 for a full-time MBA programme at INSEAD. Another was joining Jumia in March 2019, which has allowed me to build on my operations experience while further developing my commercial mindset. Also making it more exciting is that online marketplaces are growing rapidly, so it has been interesting.

Why the choice of an MBA?

I decided to go for an MBA because I got to the point in my career where I needed to develop broader business and management skills beyond technical skills. In my career journey, I realised that I was more of a generalist than the type of guy who finds fulfilment in being good at one particular thing or skill set. I had considered doing a Masters in Chemical Engineering, but with all the work experience I had garnered, I decided the next stage would be to pursue an MBA.

What areas of business are you passionate about, and do you see yourself as a catalyst for change in Nigeria and Africa’s quest for socio-economic transformation and infrastructure development?

Yes, I do see myself as a catalyst for positive change in society. My MBA internship experience at Uber showed me that it is possible to be a catalyst for change in the business sector. I was able to add value and realised many opportunities to do even more! In terms of the area of business that I am passionate about, the honest answer is I am still in the process of discovery. Still, I am slowly leaning toward product development. In the next decade, competitive product development will be extremely important for tech and non-tech companies in any market. Fancy technology products and services need business people to fully and profitably extract the promised value from them.

How would you describe your MBA experience at INSEAD and the key lessons you learned from your time in school?

I found INSEAD to be a very exciting adventure. The sheer diversity of the class and learning from people’s experiences have indeed broadened my experience and perceptions in life. The course material included many case studies; it was an intense learning experience that gave me a good feel of what it means to be in the decision-making shoes. That provided a good foundation for practical application should the opportunity present itself. Studying at INSEAD also deepened my cultural sensitivity, which is a lot more important in the decision-making process in business, especially in multinational, multicultural organisations.

Osi poses with classmates at the INSEAD graduation ceremony

Which other schools did you consider in addition to INSEAD, and what did it take for you to get in?

I considered Lagos Business School, Cambridge Judge and Imperial College Business School, all one-year MBA programs, and I was lucky to have had the circumstances that made me settle for INSEAD. I actually gained admission into all four programmes. It took a lot of soul-searching and sifting through my personal and professional life experiences to bring out elements of my personality that would show not only past achievements and my plans and dreams for the future but also how I intended to use the MBA to achieve my long-term career objectives, particularly in making our world a better place. This, for me, is a lot more difficult to achieve and a lot more important for getting into any top MBA program than getting a good GMAT score.

What were your essays about, and how did you get about writing them? Can you share any tips on writing winning MBA admission essays?

My essays were essentially about my experiences and how they naturally led to my choice of doing the MBA. The first, and maybe the most important thing, is to take a lot of time to reflect on your personal and career experiences. Try to weigh the relevance and significance of these stories in the context of why an MBA is the next logical step. For me, it was difficult because, from a technical background, it was difficult to translate this into a language that the business person would readily understand without understating my experience or selling myself short. This was where TweakMyContent came in handy.

I worked with the TMC team to uncover more relevant details of my story and write them better. It was amazing how much difference and impact the same story could make when told through a different lens. By the way, this doesn’t mean that you will tell lies or half-truths because you will be found out at one stage of the admission or the other, and this applies across all business schools and not just INSEAD. Essentially, the TMC team helped me cut out the fat of verbose language, zoom in on critical aspects of my life and work experiences that were most relevant, and demonstrate how I was a good fit for the MBA programme at each school where I was applying. I went from feeling quite frustrated on seeing their first detailed feedback on my CV/resume and essay drafts to feeling hopeful as I worked on subsequent versions — edit after edit — until we were all comfortable that the several reviews and editing rounds were now enough.

What is your outlook on the chances of Nigeria and Africa catching up with the level of development in the world’s most technologically and socioeconomically advanced countries within the next few decades?

With all its challenges, Nigeria is at a growth stage of its life, and there are still dozens of opportunities to create value. Staying in tune with changes and preparing for opportunities would be critical. The same applies to many other countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. There remains a lot of potential to be harnessed in the people and resources with which this country and our continent have been blessed.

What advice would you give the average Nigerian youth who dreams of doing great things as you currently do?

Stay true to yourself. Learn as much as you can where you are. Keep dreaming. Don’t stop believing in a better tomorrow, and never doubt yourself. You can be the best in your profession. We can all make a little positive difference every day, which will make a lot of difference in the days, months, and years to come!

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

The decision to study for an MBA, especially the one-year programme, should not be taken lightly. You need to be sure it is the right move for you before making it.