Entrepreneurship and community

Israel Oladejo is an ambitious recent graduate from Carnegie Mellon University Africa. Oladejo, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar, earned a master’s degree in information technology and applied machine learning this spring and has already founded a startup. His company, Animal Solution Feedmill, aims to produce animal-specific feed for livestock to reduce cost and improve the efficiency of livestock farms.

"Feeding accounts for 70% of the total cost of livestock production in Nigeria," says Oladejo of his home country. "The goal was to promote animal farming and reduce the cost of livestock production. That was what led me to start the organization."

Oladejo says part of what inspired him to begin such a positive career was the support that the Mastercard Scholars program gives to its students outside of coursework. The program provides leadership training, such as personal branding and emotional intelligence programs. Oladejo says that these classes helped him learn how to work in multicultural environments. “Some of my superpowers are problem solving and empathy,” he says.

After earning a bachelor's degree in management information systems from Ashesi University in Ghana, Oladejo worked at the Visiola Foundation, which educates young African women in STEM-related fields. Oladejo began as a technology associate at the Visiola Foundation but worked his way up to an operation manager in the foundation before beginning his master’s degree at CMU-Africa in 2020. 

Thanks to my education, any time I see a product or a solution I get to think about how it is helping the community

Israel Oladejo, MSIT '22

The Mastercard Scholars benefit from financial and technical support to develop successful ventures. Oladejo also received a grant from the Foundation to found Animal Solution Feedmill. He plans to continue his education by pursuing an MBA in digital technology to expand on the knowledge he needs to build his company.

“Thanks to my education, any time I see a product or a solution I get to think about how it is helping the community and solving what it is meant to solve,” Oladejo says, “It has let me think beyond normal academics. Because of the experiential learning, the industrial exposure, and guest lectures, this education was like a complete package.”

Oladejo's encouragement to future CMU-Africa students who wish to succeed is: “Go for it, know what you are really interested in, take your top three interests, and then go for every and any opportunity in that space. You never know what your future holds; it might be in any one of those opportunities, and don’t waste time going for opportunities that you are not interested in.”