The year 2023 will come to a close in a few days. While the year witnessed some unpleasant events, on the flipside were some inspirational highlights worthy of note. This was inspired by individuals who blazed the trail in their respective areas despite the daunting challenges.
Below are a few of the inspirational stories that dominated the news in the year 2023.
How Kenya’s Tesh Mbaabu was inspired by Facebook to start company that operates several African companies
Kenya’s Mutethia “Tesh” Mbaabu is a serial technology entrepreneur who blends commerce and technology. He is the founder of MarketForce, a B2B commerce platform that was introduced to empower over 200,000 neighborhood merchants across five African markets to source, order, and pay for inventory, access financing, and earn more by reselling financial services in their communities.
Mbaabu was inspired to start MarketForce when Facebook was launched and he was fascinated by the influence of the platform in mass communication, according to Forbes. He subsequently learned everything he could about technology and building startups.
How domestic abuse survivor Jamie R. Wright turned her nightmare into a business and an avenue for saving lives
The success story of Jamie R. Wright began from a rough plane of child abuse, becoming a mother at age 14, and later meeting and marrying the man of her dreams. Usually, this is where the story ends in a fairytale, however, Wright’s was just the beginning.
Years later, she is now a trauma and self-love advocate, author, motivational speaker, and ambassador for women who have been subjected to domestic abuse. Wright encourages and empowers others to overcome their shame-filled past, using her experiences as an example.
The entrepreneur established Jamie R. Wright LLC to provide survivor-led awareness, education, and empowerment to Black Communities affected by domestic violence, although her organization is open to all.
How daughter of Ghanaian immigrants Nancy Abudu worked her way up to make history as judge in U.S.
Nancy Abudu was usually the only Black student in classes in public elementary schools. The daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, she once traveled with her sister and mother from the U.S. to visit her family members in Ghana. When it was time to go back to the U.S., officials did not allow her mother to board the plane on the return trip, saying that she did not have the right immigration documents.
For almost 20 years, Abudu had to live without her mother; her father took care of her and her sister alone in Alexandria, Virginia, in their mom’s absence. Usually bored after doing her homework when back from school, Abudu would put on the TV set in their home and the character of defense attorney Andy Griffith in the 1980s legal drama “Matlock” would inspire her to pursue law.
She would become passionate about voting rights and civic engagement thanks to her father’s anti-apartheid activism in South Africa. Abudu’s father worked as a political scientist in his home country Ghana before moving to the U.S., where, during apartheid in South Africa, he wrote, edited, and published a magazine that demanded an end to the tyranny in the Southern African country. This became the foundation for her future success as a judge.
How YouTube star and son of Nigerian immigrants KSI turned his followers into a $24M fortune
Olajide Olatunji (KSI) is a British-Nigerian content creator who transitioned from commenting on and reacting to FIFA video games on YouTube to becoming one of the most celebrated influencers in the world.
His journey began in 2008 when he first arrived on YouTube. A year later, his channel was launched under the name KSIOlajideBT and he began filming himself playing video games – usually FIFA and running humorous commentaries which earned him millions of followers.
Then 15 years old, Olatunji’s newfound fame and success on YouTube will turn him away from his parents’ ambition for him.
A decade later, KSI has become a multimillionaire on the back of the success of his YouTube channel. He has over 40 million subscribers and cumulative views spanning over 10 billion.
How Tina Wells grew Buzz Marketing Group into a 7-figure enterprise
At the age of 16, Tina Wells launched her first business, focusing on her desire to help businesses understand how teenagers like her felt about their respective products and services.
Her passion for fashion and pop culture led her to start writing product reviews for a teen-targeted newspaper called The New Girl Times, where she worked as a product review editor. Through her job, she had the chance to test products from various companies and even pitched great clients like Apple, Kroger, and The Oprah Winfrey Network and landed them
According to her, the writing gig led to more independent work for those companies, which enabled her to launch a market research company within a few years – with the support of her “clients.” Today, her business continues to focus on teens and young adults.
Aspiring billionaire on the rise: North West to launch own toy and skincare brands
North West, the eldest child of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian was scheduled to launch her own brands this year, following in the footsteps of her parents. It was reported in March that North will soon start her own skincare and toy brands.
Kim reportedly filed to obtain four trademarks with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on behalf of her 9-year-old daughter. The description of two of these trademarks is related to a skincare line and a toy line, Vogue Teen reported.
The products for the skincare line include moisturizers, skin serums, facial oils, bath gels, nail polish, shampoo, hair gel, and more, while the toy line will have toy products of all kinds.
Sixty-two-year-old grandma sets internet on fire with how she keeps her 42-year-old marriage alive
Theodore Smith Sr., 64, and Rita, 62, have been married for 42 years. The pair met while they were teenagers when Theodore would frequently pass by her parent’s house until one day he stopped by and asked for her phone number. They were married shortly after; she was 19 and he was 21.
Rita revealed that though their marriage has always been strong, it has gotten even better as their three children went out and they became empty nesters.
She told Business Insider, “You get to communicate a lot and get to know each other even more. You get a lot of intimacy in.”
