What does one call the act of doing business to make money while adding perceivable value to a society’s system?

It’s called being a “social entrepreneur,” according to Jadesola Adedeji (pictured), co-founder of STEM METS Resources Ltd.. After leaving North America and returning to Nigeria, Adedeji co-founded a company that is making its mark in the country’s education sector.

“A lot of our youth were leaving school without the relevant skills for them to get meaningful jobs,” Adedeji said. “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.”

STEM METS provides skills training to children in Nigeria using science, technology, engineering and mathematics-based activities and programs, with the aim of preparing them for the future workplace and as contributors to Nigeria’s economic development.

Adedeji spoke with Lisa Martin, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during the Women in Tech: International Women’s Day event. They discussed how STEM METS works to bridge the education gap in Nigeria’s technology space.

An underestimated social issue

Nigeria ranks high in many societal metrics, but its standing in poverty alleviation and access to quality education isn’t up to par. The average child’s school enrollment probability diminishes when moving from primary to tertiary school levels — and that predicament is even worse for female children, according to Adedeji.

“So for us, STEM education was the answer to trying to bring up the quality of our education and making sure that the learning 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 life in entrepreneurship,” Adedeji explained.

STEM METS is primarily focused on girls, with 90% of its tutoring workforce being women. The company nurtures children from ages 3 to 16, showing them a taste of diverse tech-related careers, including robotics, UX design, software and sound engineering.

“I and my co-founder were pivotal in terms of positioning ourselves as role models,” Adedeji said. “We’re female, we both had a STEM background, and that is a secondary way of also showcasing to the children and the girls that we are teaching that … STEM isn’t just for boys.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Women in Tech: International Women’s Day event:

Photo: SiliconANGLE