(upbeat instrumental music) >> Hey, everyone, welcome to theCUBE's coverage of the International Women Showcase 2022. I'm your host, Lisa Martin. I'm pleased to welcome my next guest, Jadesola Adedeji, the Chief Executive Officer of STEM METS. Jadesola, it's wonderful to have you on the program. >> Thank you so much, Lisa. It's great to be here, thank you. >> I was looking you up on LinkedIn and I noticed that your profile describes you as a social entrepreneur. Talk to me about that. >> Well, basically, the idea is that we are a business but we are in the social segment. And of course, that segment for us is education, which is obviously is one of the critical, you know, things that you need in life to thrive and to progress. So it's a social need and we are in that space trying to make a difference and bridge a gap that is in the education sector, which is around digital skills, 21st century skills. >> Jadesola, talk to me about STEM METS, the impetus to found this organization which you and a physician friend founded seven years ago. What was the genesis? >> Okay, so about 10 years ago, my husband and I moved back to Nigeria from North America, where we'd been working and studying. And we decided that we would take our experience and education back home, as well as our young kids, who were six and 10 at the time. But when we got home, what we found was a broken and impoverished educational system. And Nigeria was, you know, essential in our own foundational years. So it was really shocking and disappointing that our education system hadn't moved with the 21st century. A lot of our youth were leaving school without the relevant skills for them to get meaningful jobs. So my co-founder and I decided to do something about that by bringing in a different and more up-to-date way of learning and teaching, which was in STEM education. And so that's how we started, so both of us had a STEM background and we decided that, well, we would do something or attempt to do something about the state of our education in Nigeria. And so that's how we started. >> I love that. And you were talking to me a little bit earlier about the enrollment rate of students. Share with the audience what some of those statistics are and why this STEM METS program is so pivotal. >> Mm hmm. So as I said earlier, there are about 80 million school-age children in Nigeria. There are 10 million children that are out of school, of which about 50 to 60% are actually girls. So we are already at a disadvantage regarding our female population and even diversity in education. And so for us, we saw it as being bad enough that we can't even get into school and then when we get into school, you're not getting quality education. You get an education, but not sufficient enough with skills to get you meaningful jobs. And so for us, STEM education was the answer to trying to bring up the quality of our education and making sure that what the learning that was going on was relevant to the 21st century, which is innovation-driven, which is technology-driven, and combining that with soft skills that are required for the future workplace or even a life in entrepreneurship. And so, that's what we did in response to that. >> Tell us a little bit about the curriculum. And also, are you focused on young, school-age children, primary school, high school? >> Sure. So the great thing about what we do is that early years is essential, we feel, because those are the foundational years when the brain is developing. So we run programs for children from ages three to 16 and we run a variety of programs, so anything from construction with Lego, robotics, coding, UX design, sound and technology, just to be able to show the array of skills and modules that are available under the STEM umbrella, and also be able to showcase the diversity in terms of career options that are available to the children in our community. >> Who are some of the educators? Because one of the things that we say often when we talk about women in STEM and women in tech or some of the challenges with respect to that is, we can't be what we can't see. Talk to me about some of the mentors or the educators within STEM METS that these young girls can have a chance, as young as three, to look up to. >> Well, so that's the thing. So, I think fundamentally, our co-founders, myself and my co-founder were pivotal in terms of positioning ourselves as role models. We're female, we both had a STEM background. And then, secondly, our educators. Not being sexist, but about 90% of our educators are female. So we train them. We make sure they have the skills that they require to also implement our programs. And that is a secondary way of also showcasing to the children and the girls that we are teaching, that look, you know, STEM isn't just for boys. These are live and present role models that you can aspire to be. And we also felt that it was essential for us to recruit from the female pool, and it also helps working mothers. So they are able to look after their family, as well as still earn an income to support their families. Otherwise, they would have to give up one or the other. And because our programs are supplementary classes and we run them as after school clubs or holiday clubs, they are able to manage their time and their family accordingly. So we see what we are doing as two programs. We are educating the kids, we are educating the girls, but we're also capacity building in terms the female work force. So yes, we think that what we're doing is just really feeding the female ecosystem and just ensuring that we are developing women with relevant skills. >> So she can be what she can see because you're enabling her to see it. Talk to me about like the number of educators versus the number of girls that are in the program so far in the first seven years. >> Okay, so to date, we've reached about 10,000 learners, of which I would say about 40% are female. Obviously, our aim is to be sure that that number increases. So we're quite targeted in some of our programs, particularly the ones that we take to low-resource community. We are supported by brands from organizations such as Airbus Foundation, so that enables us to take our programs to the low-resource community and we ensure that the enrollment and the sign-up is equitable, ensuring that the girls also have access to it. >> I'm curious about your background. You said you were 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Were you always interested in STEM fields since you were a child or is that something that you got into a little bit later? >> Actually I think unconsciously, well, since I was a child. In our culture, at least then when I was growing up, you were either a doctor, or an engineer, or a lawyer. So there were specific pathways. So if you were in the liberal arts, you were expected to go into maybe law. If you were in science, engineering, or medicine. So I went down the pathway of pharmacy as a sort of in-between because I wasn't very good at physics so engineering wasn't an option. But I think growing up, you know, I felt that we had role models that we could also look up to, so going into the STEM field was something that, you know, was somewhat natural actually in my educational journey. Yeah, so that's how I got into the STEM field, encouraged by my dad actually. You know, he said, "You know, if you're going to "go into a life science sector, "make sure you have something that is professional, "something that can make you independent." So my career started in the pharma industry but then I ended up running my own businesses, as well, so I had a couple of pharmacies in Canada when we lived there. So I ran that as a businesswoman, but still in the life science field. >> So you've reached 10,000 youths so far and you're showing them all about STEM. STEM is a very broad mix of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, arts, as well, if we go to the STEAM area. So you're showing these kids there's so much breadth and depth there within the STEM in and of itself. >> Exactly. So that's why we oftentimes ensure that we have a variety of programs. So, and also, educating the parents and the public that STEM does not mean you're going to be a coder. You know, you can be a graphic designer, you could be a fashion designer even, UX design, you could be a robotics engineer, you could be a pharmacist. You know, so we try and bring in programs that just exposes them to a huge array of career options. One of the programs we brought in last year was a program that Spotify runs, which combines sound and technology. So making beats, making podcasts, and in there was literacy, as well. How do you pull rhymes together? You know, if you wanted to, you know, so music production, sound production, you know, writing poems and literacy. So the idea there is to say the skill sets are transferrable not just within the STEM field but also non-STEM field. So let's not forget, it's not just a technical skills development program. We are learning critical thinking, communication, problem solving, collaboration, how can you work effectively, resilience. So they are life skills that are also incorporated into the concept of STEM education. >> That's so important because as you shared with us, your 20-year history in the pharmaceutical industry, you ran businesses, you ran own pharmacies, you parlayed your expertise in the STEM field into running STEM METS. But what you're showing these kids that you've reached so far and all the many tens of thousands that you'll reach in the future that it's not just doctor, lawyer, firefighter. There are so many, I love how you have a program with Spotify. Kids probably go, "Wait, what? "Music production? "I wouldn't have thought of that "as under the STEM umbrella." But you're showing them, you're making them aware that there's so much breadth to what STEM actually is. >> Exactly, and I think the idea is to inspire creativity and innovation. That there's always a different way to do things. And so, STEM education is actually developing learning and thinking skills. You know, it's not just rote learning or cramming or theory. And you're applying it to real-life situations and real-life scenarios. So, I always say that our vision is to raise future leaders and problem solvers and equip them with skills to tackle challenges affecting our continent, as well as the world. So those skill sets are terribly important really and have a mindset of viewing everything as bringing solutions to any potential challenges that you may face, even personally. >> Which is incredibly important, especially as we've learned in the last two years that we've all lived through. I'm curious that you've got two kids you said, are they showing interest in the STEM arena? >> We are actually quite a STEM family. So my husband's background is in chemical engineering. My son just finished his undergrad in computer science and is doing a post-grad in computer games programming. My daughter is going to university this fall and she's looking into biochemical engineering. So I think the STEM thing was passed along. Not under duress, I think they just showed a general affinity for that. But I mean, we exposed them to a plethora of different programs so we are here now. >> And you're a STEM family. But that exposure is what it's all about, like we talked a minute ago about, you know, she can be what she can see. She needs to be able to see that, she needs to have that exposure, and that's what you're helping to accomplish with the STEM METS. Talk to me, last question. What are some of the objectives that you have for the next, say, two to five years with STEM METS? >> So for us in the next two to five years is really looking for opportunities to extend the reach of our program. With COVID, obviously we had to pivot online so we're seeing ourselves now as a blended learning education company. So we want to build out our online presence and capability. We definitely are looking to reaching about five to 10 thousand learners per year so we're really looking at, you know, our path to scaling. And that could be things like trainer sessions where we also equip our teachers, who then go on to equip students in their community or in their schools, as well. So path to scaling is really important to us and we are looking to see how technology can help us do that. >> Excellent. Well, we wish you the best of luck on your path to scale, and congratulations on all the success and the youths that you have reached so far. Sounds like a great organization and we appreciate learning about that and having the chance to educate more folks on what the STEM METS program is all about. Jadesola, thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you, Lisa. For Jadesola Adedeji, I'm Lisa Martin. You're watching theCUBE's coverage of the International Women Showcase 2022. (upbeat instrumental music)