2020-04-01 Forbes Africa

FORBESAFRICA.COM APRIL 2020 FORBES AFRICA| 43

Beingin sucha male-dominatedindustryasa

musicvideoproducer,especiallya youngblack

femalevideoproducer,feltlikebeingblack

twicebecauseI hadto worktwiceashardto

prove I was worthy of being in the room.

ASISATOSHOALA, 25, NIGERIA

FOOTBALLER

INDUSTRY:SPORTS

Ina 2017photographtakenattheCAFAwards

ceremonyinAccra,Ghana,AsisatOshoala,stands

proudlyastheonlywomaninthephotoamong

someofthefootballgreats:MohammedSalah,

SadioMane,andcountrymatePierre-Emerick

Aubameyang.

Shemaynotbeoneoftheboysbutsheis surely in

theirleague.

Butgrowingfootballwasthelastthingfor

a youngNigerianwomantoeventhinkabout

pursuing.

Asa result,Oshoala’sparentswerenothappy

whenshedroppedoutofschooltopursuea career

inthegame.

Butyearslater,it paidoffasshehasbuilta

successfulcareerandbecomea titanofNigerian

football.

Onthepitch,withspeed,techniqueandbalance,

Oshoalais definitelya keeper.

Recently,shewontheConfederationofAfrican

Football's(CAF)Women'sPlayeroftheYearforthe

fourthtime.

“Iamreallyexcited,proudofmyself;fourtimesis

somethingtoalwaysremember,”shetoldBBCSport

Africa.

“It[thewin]keepsmegoing,butofcourse,there

is stillmoreworktodo,I wanttocreatemyown

historyandnotjustequalsomeoneelse'srecord.I'm

goingtogivemybesttocreatemine,”shesaid.

SheplaysforboththeNigeriannationalteamand

internationally,fortheSpanishsideFCBarcelona

FemeníinthePrimeraDivisiónasa forward.

BarcelonawastofaceSpanishrivalsAtletico

MadridinthequarterfinalsoftheUEFAWomen's

ChampionsLeague,whichhasnowbeenpostponed

indefinitel duetothecoronavirusoutbreak.

SCILLAOWUSU,23,GHANA

VIDEODIRECTOR,PRODUCER, SCREENWRITER, AND FOUNDER OF

YOUNGTREPRENEURS

INDUSTRY:ENTERTAINMENT

WhatdoDavido,BurnaBoy,Sarkodie,MrEazi,Patoranking,Diamond

Platnumz,MorganHeritage,WandeCoalandMaleekBerryallhavein

common?

ApartfromproducingmanyofAfrica’stopmusichits,theycanattributethe

creativesuccessofsomeoftheirvideosto23-year-oldGhanaianvideodirector,

ScillaOwusu.

It allstartedinthesummerof2015,afterOwusugraduatedfromcollege

witha businessstudiesdegreeinLondonandshefeltlostanddidnotknow

whatherlife’spurposewas.

Puttingpentopaper,Scillaeventuallyfoundherpassioninscreenwriting

whichledhertolaunchherfirstsix-partseriestitledA LessonLearntthatshe

wroteandproduced.

ThisledhertowinanawardattheScreenNationFilm& TelevisionAwards

in2016.

Followingthissuccess,Owusudoveintotheworldofmusicvideo

productionattheageof19.

“Beinginsucha male-dominatedindustryasa musicvideoproducer,

especiallya youngblackfemalevideoproducer,feltlikebeingblacktwice

becauseI hadtoworktwiceashardtoproveI wasworthyofbeinginthe

room,despitemygreattalents,”shetellsFORBESAFRICA.

Withina year,Scilla’sdriveledhertoproducepopularmusicvideossuchas

TomorrowbyM.anifestfeaturingBurnaBoyandShowYouLovebyKevinCole.

Herlovefortheentertainmentindustryledhertolaunchherownsocial

youthorganizationinGhanacalledYoungtrepreneurstohelpyoungGhanaian

creativesimprovetheirbusinessknowledge,gainworkskillsandprovide

careeropportunities.

Owusuhasbeen featured by different media outlets including theBBC

andOkayAfrica.

Photos supplied; Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images