Aston University graduate chose Aston as he wanted to learn how to do business on an international level
Hi, my name is Davies Okeowo and I studied MSc Entrepreneurship at Aston University. I am from the great nation of Nigeria, and I chose Aston University as a place to study because it is a very entrepreneurial University. Also, it’s in one of the loveliest cities in the UK, which is the city of Birmingham.
I studied a Masters in Entrepreneurship at Aston University because although I have been an entrepreneur all my life, I wanted to learn how to do business on an international level. All the businesses I started before were local to the city of Lagos. I wanted to be in a space where I could interact with people from all over the world, build a network, build relationships and for that to be the foundation of learning to build a globally scalable business.
Why did you want to become an Entrepreneur?
While studying at Aston University, I had the opportunity to work as a Community Manager for Birmingham Enterprise Community, which is the foremost community of entrepreneurs here in the city of Birmingham. It was also founded by two Aston University alumni. Being the Community Manager gave me the opportunity to meet and network with other players in the ecosystem and I think it was a fantastic experience.
From a young age I was quite clueless as to what I wanted to do but when I was in my second year at university, I found entrepreneurship and I decided that I wanted to build businesses that would give other people economic opportunities. So, from that point on I kept studying how to be a business owner and straight out of school I started my first business.
What did you enjoy most about Aston University?
The thing I enjoyed the most about studying at Aston University was the people. The lecturers were really great, and their knowledge base was exceptional. There were a lot of start-up founders and players in the start-up ecosystem that were coming in as guest lecturers to deliver sessions in class and that for me was very beneficial. I also built strong friendships that still exist today.
What did you enjoy most about studying in Birmingham?
The thing that I loved the most about studying in the city of Birmingham is the international nature of the city. I also love the start-up ecosystem. It is the city outside of London that’s got the highest number of start-ups.
The Aston University campus is also quite beautiful. It is the perfect place for learning and to explore. It’s got lots of nature, lots of interesting buildings and my favourite building of all must be the library because that’s where I spent most of my time at Aston.
How has Aston University helped you achieve your ambitions?
Immediately after I graduated, I founded my first company, with my co-founder who also studied at Aston. Very quickly, I found an opportunity within the start-up ecosystem to provide my expertise to other start-ups. In my current role as an Access to Finance Account Manager at the GBSLEP, I focus on helping businesses across all industries, sectors and stages to develop their propositions.
Being part of the Aston University alumni network is very beneficial and I’m sure that it’s going to be very beneficial to every single student. The alumni community creates a network of people across different industries that you can connect with and build relationships that can open doors for you.
What advice would you give to future students?
My degree programme at Aston University has really been helpful and beneficial to my journey because it has given me the tools and the resources that are necessary for growing my business to the next stage. It’s the reason why I came to Aston in the first place, and I got exactly what I wanted. If you are a student considering studying at Aston University, I have just one statement for you – go for it.