Interview with Jayne Akinyi, Founder & CEO, Dada Dunia, Canada

Listen here or on your favourite platform

CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHTS:

Subscribe above to be invited to the next conversation.

Learn more or buy the book Make Your Contribution Count for you • me • we

---

Interview with Jayne Akinyi, Founder & CEO, Dada Dunia; Canada

Jayne Akinyi is a community-based entrepreneur who has embarked on an incredible journey spanning four continents. From her humble beginnings as a door-to-door fundraiser in the UK to her role as an operations manager in her parents' hotel back in Kenya and even as a language instructor in China, Jayne's diverse experiences have shaped her into the woman she is today. While Jayne brings a wealth of technical skills to the table, she also possesses a deep passion for infusing creativity into everything she does, whether it's website design, content strategy, or developing engaging workshops for newcomers. Her business, Dada Dunia, embodies this fusion by connecting virtual assistants in Africa with socially responsible businesses in Canada. But it doesn't stop there—Dada Dunia goes the extra mile by providing intentional training, mentoring, and workshops on emotional intelligence and confidence building for these women. Drawing from her invaluable insights from her Kenyan background, Jayne fully grasps the cultural intricacies of building and operating an ethical organization like Dada Dunia. Her true calling lies in empowering and inspiring women to unleash their full potential.

United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal(s) addressed:
#3. Good Health and Well-being, #5. Gender Equality, #8. Decent Work and Economic Growth, #10. Reduced Inequalities, #16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

Social impact:
For us, "home" extends from Africa to Canada, aiming to envelop our dadas and clients in a supportive embrace, ensuring everyone feels valued and cared for in their respective spaces. By offering emotional intelligence workshops and best practice sessions, we not only enhance our dadas' professional relationships but also empower them to enrich their communities with shared knowledge, fostering a thriving economic and social environment. Our unique approach allows dadas to work from home, eliminating exhaustive commutes prevalent in African cities like Nairobi and Lagos, and offering them thriving wages—significantly above the local minimum. This financial independence boosts their confidence and work quality, benefiting our clients who seek exceptional service while contributing to meaningful change. Moreover, Dada Dunia cultivates a vibrant cultural exchange, bridging diverse worlds through shared learning and vulnerability. Meetings transcend mere business transactions, becoming conduits for mutual respect and understanding. This symbiosis not only nurtures our dadas' growth but also reinforces our collective commitment to sustainability and economic empowerment, proving that when we support one another, we can create ripples of positive impact across continents.

Website: https://dadadunia.com/

Jayne Amelia Larson, Creator & Host, Bonus Babies Podcast, United States

Note: This conversation is transcribed using AI software, which means the transcription is not perfect. Watch the video or listen to the podcast to hear our guest’s wisdom in her own words. If you want to see more interviews like this, please comment below!

To read about difference-makes international, check out Suzanne’s book Make Your Contribution Count for you, me, we. 

Visit bio for resources. 

Oh, I felt like I was in my happy place. Not only during this interview, but editing this interview with Jayne Akinyi, the founder of Dada Dunia. I’m engulfed in her vibrant Kenyan energy. It makes me crave to go back to Kenya where there’s so much of this special aura. And as you’re listening to this podcast, you’re going to feel her energy coming through the video. Through her words and through her voice. Although Dada Dunia operates internationally. And our guest lives in Halifax, Canada,

she is in Kenya during this interview. So, Admittedly, We had her breaking up a little bit throughout the interview, but I did my editing best to ensure you receive the insights and her inspiration of her business and the social impact Jayne and her co-creators have brought to the West. But beyond her impact. One of the things that struck me most was her Canadian immigration story. Although I find it very disheartening,

I also appreciate the resilience of people that see doors closed again and again and again, and how they need to find a way to not only survive, but thrive. We can learn so much from immigrants and I’m so glad to bring Jayne’s inspiration, insights, and strategies to you. So you can learn more, not only about our business and our impact, but also about Kenya. And why she is such an advocate, not only for Kenyan women,

 but for Africans as a whole. Enjoy the podcast.

Let’s dive in.

​

[00:02:14] Suzanne F Stevens: Welcome to YouMeWe Amplified Podcast, where we have conversations with shame packed preneurs addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These entrepreneurs are transforming where we live and work with sustainable social solutions. Each episode has an hour long podcast.

Actual insights into what, why, where, and how to make a social impact to empower you, your organization, and ultimately the community. Hello, I’m Suzanne F. Stevens, an international speaker, author, a sheImpactpreneur community builder, and a multi award winning IMPACTpreneur. And yes, your host for YouMeWe Amplified Podcast.

Today, I am so excited because my two loves are being united, Canada and Kenya. So today we have a conversation with Jayne Akinyi, founder and CEO of Dada Dunia. Dada Dunia connects virtual assistants in Africa with socially responsible businesses in Canada. Okay. There’s a third thing I love, social responsible businesses. And it provides training, mentoring and workshops focused on emotional intelligence and confidence building for the virtual assistants.

Welcome Jayne to the show. Thank you so much. I am so, so excited to be here contributing, talking about this, and I can’t wait to get started. Thank you so much for having me, Suzanne. Well, it’s great. It’s great to get to know you, and I feel connected. As I’ve said to you, Kenya’s kind of my second home.

So, even though you live there half time, and you live in Canada half time as well. Is that right?

Yeah, essentially, I immigrated to Canada about two years ago, and I’ve been popping in and out, but once I discovered my true calling, while I was in Canada, I’ve made more of an intention to come back home, just to connect with the motherland, to the people, to the culture.

And it’s been adding so much intention behind Dada Dunia. So, yeah, I do a little bit of both, halfway in Canada and then half here in Kenya. So, I have to ask, as far as coming to Canada a couple years ago, what drew you to Canada in the first place? Wow, so it’s a bizarre story. I was living in China for four years.

Initially, I was there teaching English, but I transitioned into the marketing industry for the company I was working with. And, When I was there, I had a list of countries that I wanted to immigrate to. I didn’t want to come back to Kenya ’cause I hadn’t lived in Kenya since I was 16. And at the time when I was in China, I was around 26, 27 and one of the countries on my list was Canada.

And so I did a pros and cons for all the other countries, but Canada seemed like it’s going to give me a better standard of living. It had something that I was looking for, yearning for, and it had nature, it had a balance of the city life, and it looked like somewhere I could put my roots into. And so, I didn’t know I was going specifically to Halifax in the East Coast.

I had made up my mind that I was going to Toronto. And on one fateful night, I was watching my many interior design shows, and something popped up, and it was something about a cabin in the woods in Halifax, and I was like, oh my gosh, what is this city? I need to know! And just like that, I chose Halifax, and I chose Canada, and the rest is history, baby!

Well, it is so interesting you say that because I have a lot of friends out in Halifax and, their soul is beautiful. And I went out to visit one of them and I thought, I looked at a house and said to my husband, I think we’re going to move out here. And he said, stay there in the winter. You may change your mind.

But it’s such a great place. Such a great place. It’s amazing the people and the place everything. But you’re right about the winter. Oh my gosh, Suzanne, I’m still trying climatize to, has to the winter.

Now the name of your company. I love the name of your company. It is Swahili, correct? Can you tell us what it means? Of course. I love how it rolls off the tongue, especially for like native speakers. So you pronounce it Dada Dunia and Dada means sister in the Swahili language. Swahili spoken through Various countries in Africa, but it’s predominantly spoken in East Africa, and I’m from Kenya. So, in Swahili here in Kenya, Dada just means a sister, but I’ve traveled to many other Eastern African countries and in Tanzania. When they say Dada, it’s an elderly woman looking after the youngsters in the community, in the tribe, and they have this relationship with this Dada.

It’s not just a helper, it’s not just this woman who’s eating or taking care of things. It’s, there’s a relationship built because this woman is taking care of the community, providing resources, connecting people. And I just found that so So beautiful that even if Dada means something different in Kenya, it means this other thing in Tanzania and it means something else in these different Swahili speaking countries.

And Dunia means world. Also in Arabic, it means world. So it essentially was, Dunia was born from the essence of building this global sisterhood. We want to make sure The people that work within Dada Dunia feel that Dada Dunia is supporting them, is carrying them, is holding space for them to thrive, to provide opportunities for them, to provide them with things that they wouldn’t typically find in their own countries in terms of resources, connections, wages.

And so that’s where the name essentially was born from. Your virtual assistants are Swahili, or many of them are, maybe not all of them, but your customer is in Canada.From the name standpoint, how does that translate for your customer in how receptive have they been to the name of your company?

Such a great question. And oh my gosh, Suzanne. I come from a background where my parents have built multiple businesses here in Kenya. Some of them have failed, some of them have succeeded, but it’s like been a brick and mortar kind of business that they’ve been building. Building a business here in Kenya, is completely different from how you build a business in a first world country like Canada. And so, although I had seen the grit and the execution from especially my mom, she has this entrepreneurial spirit. I’ve seen her putting in the work. When I came to Canada, I love research and I had to put in that market research.

I had to put in those hours. I had to talk to many businesses, many clients. And when I came up with the name that didn’t change, I had to put it out there to get a feel, to understand what are the pros of naming this company a Swahili based name and will it land well with people? And From my research, it didn’t essentially land well the first time, but then I realized the power of the story, the context, the why. What Dada Dunia is, why did you name it that, who are you helping, and once they understand the why, then there’s no other questions about working with us. it’s interesting when I, wrote my book, Make Your Contribution Count, I was thinking about it because it’s inspired by African women, although the context is for the West. And I was, I was struggling, what to call it, and similarly Ubuntu is what came up. I went, well, what does that mean?

And I, I decided to make sure the Western world knew exactly what it was. So it is interesting because I didn’t want to use a word that inspired me, but I’m also not African. So I thought maybe there’d be a perception. So I went with a, what’s the essence that we’re working YouMeWe, we’re all in this together. Right. So it’s really interesting that struggle.

Two years ago, you moved to Canada and then you had this awakening and the irony, it brought you back home. So what was the catalyst for starting Dada

Dunia. You go. I would know how to say this ’cause I’ve learned some Swahili, but dadada. Yes, exactly. Okay, thank you. I’ll say when I immigrated to Canada, Suzanne, North America was the fourth continent I have lived and worked on. So in my mind, I am this UK master’s degree holder. I have an undergraduate. I’ve lived on this four continents and I’m like, of course, integrating into Canada is not gonna be hard. Like, of course not. And, I was shocked. I was in disbelief of the transition that took place. For me, with a master’s degree with lived experience and worked experience on different continents, different countries, different industries.

I knew what I was bringing and finding any job was met with, “you don’t have Canadian experience.” “You don’t have Canadian experience.” “You do not have Canadian experience.” And it was just that in different variations. And so for me, I didn’t quite understand that because the jobs I was applying for, I had the experience.

I didn’t have Canadian experience, whatever that meant. and to this day, I still don’t know what “Canadian experience” means. And so I found it so hard trying to just pay rent, pay my bills, just live in this country that has been advertised as this is the way to go, this, you’re going to start a brand new life.

And I had to work two minimum wage paying jobs. I had to really struggle with my mental health and I had to be hospitalized when I found out I had ulcers. All of these things. All culminated to me finding my purpose when I was in the hospital and I was like, “this shouldn’t be so hard.” Why is this hard for newcomers?

Why is it for anyone? Why is this hard for a Black woman? Why?

And I created Dada Dunia, essentially my initial So the whole point of creating Dada Dunia was to help immigrants and newcomers settle into Canada by connecting them to these jobs. But six months later, after doing my market research and getting a mentor and going into these entrepreneur programs, And traveling back to Kenya, and speaking to over 200 women, I knew that I have to start from back home, my roots.

I have to for the women that are in this country and this continent that don’t have the same resources that I have when I just immigrated to Canada. I’ve been given 5, 000 after immigrating to start my business. So I knew I need to do more, but I need to first focus on the women back home, and so it pivoted to, what it is right now, and I’m glad to say right now we are hiring newcomers and immigrants, so it still came full circle.

 It saddens me to hear your immigrant story. And right now we’re having a lot of challenges in Canada with immigrants and immersing them into our society and homelessness, particularly amongst Africans. So it devastates me. This could be a whole podcast in its own right, in the sense that we have all this expertise and yet we still say “Canadian experience,” but that’s with a lot of Issues. And I say this not to defend, but as a perspective that I know going into coming out of the training corporations, if I want to go to work for a non for profit, they’ll say to me, well, you don’t have non for profit experience and yet all that skill set that I’ve acquired from corporations who non for profits may want money from.

They don’t find it valued. Now, that being said, I’m not, that’s not my story. That’s many women I know who got out of corporations and really wanted to make a contribution, found the doors were closed on them for that very reason. Me, I actually prefer to work with entrepreneurs who, like yourself, because that’s where I know I can add the most value.

And, and I love leadership. I share that story, not because it’s right that we do not welcome immigrants and give them a pathway to success, but because there’s always doors closing, no matter what your background is, if you want to change your trajectory. And I’m so glad, those doors closing brought you to such a unique opportunity and perhaps a calling.

Would you call elevating women in Africa with jobs and connecting them with Canadian businesses? Do you feel that you’re calling or is that just, Hey, this is what I’m good at. And I have experienced both ways. So I’m going to do this because I can eat.

 That’s a great question. I would say it is part of my calling. My calling is to envision a future where there are African women empowered. They have resources at their fingertips. They understand who they are. As an African woman, as a black woman who has come through colonization and deconditioned their minds from every trauma triggers that we have gone through.

And they’re actively working to better themselves by accessing these resources that Dada Dunia is able to give them. And so for me, whatever way I can facilitate and hold space for that is my calling. Right now it’s with Dada Dunia. And with my side mentorships that I do, and with my volunteering that I do, so whatever avenue is going to provide and hold space for me to facilitate that group of African women, that is where I want to be.

And also on the other side of that coin, I found so much happiness and enjoyment and culturally storytelling what Africans have been through. What African women have been through. And just opening the eyes of people from the first world country into seeing the different realities that people are actually living. In Canada, it’s so easy to just be spending 50 dollars and 100 dollars. Over here, that money goes so, so far.

So having conversations with our clients where they’re seeing the realities of some of our Dadas is when like the wifi is up and down or there’s no power. It really humbles me. It humbles them. And it provides that space for such, such a magnificent thing to happen that cannot be taught. It’s can’t, you can’t talk about this.

It just happens. It’s like in the background, things are opening up for these clients that don’t typically see us where they end up interacting differently with their employees or end up interacting with newcomers in the country, just because they have an understanding of this different reality for where this woman is coming from.

So, yeah, any space that allows for me to facilitate that. That is my calling.

So, you bring up some really good points and you and I’ve had challenges too trying to get the internet working and I built websites when I was living in Kenya, so I know it can be a challenge. But if I’m hiring Somebody and working with them in one of the many countries that you will get your Dada’s, how do you overcome that in your customer’s mind that there may be some hiccups, but this is why you should do this.

So, I manage that by making sure in the call, I have all the discovery calls with all our clients. We have a conversation where it’s almost like we’re feeling each other out, but they’re understanding the impact that Dada Dunia is making, but I also manage expectations on that call. We’re explaining that this Dada lives in this small village in this country and they have access to Wi Fi.

However, this is the reality that this might happen and you will always ensure that your tasks are complete, but this is a reality, and the essence of working with us is, yes, for your tasks to be complete, but we’re also in the business of making social impact. We’re also in the business of empowering our women. And because of the historical background and context that these African countries have gone through.

It’s not our fault that we are in a third world country and you’re in a first world country. (I find this a very intersting perspective)

During that discovery call, we’ve never had like any questions, but I usually find that whoever is coming to us, they already have that foundation of being one to help and they want to understand and

they want to be graceful and humble in the interactions that they’re going to have with our Dada’s going forward. So there’s that level of understanding. And beyond that, we also make sure that everyone on our executive team is in a country or in a place where their Wi Fi or internet is up to par. So like my co founder, she’s traveling through Spain right now, but her base is in America. Our client success manager, she lives in the UK. So there’s typically someone on the call, even if there’s Wi Fi problems. Clients tasks are still being handled.

 I would imagine a lot of the tasks that are being given to your Dadas are not tasks that you always need to be on the call for, Once you get rid of video, and it works. So we have you on video today and I want to be clear for our audience. Sometimes the video is great. It really does depend where you are, pockets in and out. So, and you don’t need to have video all the time. It’s great for connection and trust and those sorts of things, but you don’t need to have it all the time.

​

[00:22:25] Suzanne F Stevens:

I loved finding you because I am possibly looking for a virtual assistant myself and I’ve been chatting with people about virtual assistants and a lot of them are in South America, particularly from where I am in Toronto, that the timeline is the same.

Whereas in Kenya or in Eastern Africa, you’re like seven or eight or six, depending on where you’re at, hours ahead. How do you handle that with your customers? And also of course, the Dadas. Yeah, so initially, before the discovery call, we have a pre discovery intake form, which asks the clients just high level questions, also just to get to understand what kind of work they’re trying to, outsource to us, and then, also we have them fill in something where they’re letting us know if, They’re looking for synchronous work or asynchronous work.

So it’s an option of, do you need us to be online at the same time you’re online, or your work can be done at any time. So we have that to give us a context before we have that discovery call. And then with our Dadas, whoever we are hiring and onboarding into Dada Dunia. We’ve discovered that everyone is different.

Not everyone, like, works at 9 to 5. That’s why we built this company. Some people are night owls. Some people are early birds. I, myself, work super well in the morning from 5 until around noon. And after that, I only want to do, like, creative work. And so, when we’re hiring, like, We have, a form that’s called a KYD, which is Know Your Dada, and it has, it’s quite lengthy, but it’s just for us to get to know a bit better and for us to be able to really understand who they are so we can pair them with the right client.

So we have those two things to help us figure out the time zone differences. And then on top of that, like I mentioned before, everyone on our executive team is sparsed out throughout the different countries. So if I’m in Canada, my co founders in America, and then our client success managers in the UK, so there’s always someone online to handle client work at any given time.So we manage it with those kind of three buckets to act as a safety net for the time zones.

And I would imagine that you would also, as far as, there’s different education backgrounds with each of the Dadas as well. So different like tech, someone needs technology. If somebody needs, like, if I need someone to edit this podcast, like, would there be people that have different skill sets and then you set them up with.

the technology and that sort of thing.

Exactly. So when we were hiring, we did think of the start. We were, I was like, I’m starting this business and I’m going to help every African women. So even if you need training, come on down. And that led to burnout because I cannot help every single human being.

And we were growing like we were still a small business. We are still. A small group of mighty women, but we’re still a small business. And, due to that process, we were putting different kinds of tests, and they had to go through this, like, rigorous system to come into Dada Dunia. However, that, that plan and that model wasn’t working because it ended up, it was just not working with all our clients who were coming in that wanted so many things.

So we have a waitlist right now and from that waitlist we essentially let our clients know like it’s like a one month onboarding for this process. It’s not just like we come in we have a discovery call that we start working. So within that one month, we’re able to have an internal process. We look at our different Dada. Who has the skills to do what?

Okay, so this Dada has video editing skills. She can do reels. She can work Adobe Photoshop. And she would be perfect for this social media client. This other Dada is good at administrative. She can work through ConvertKit, Kajabi. She would be perfect for this client. And so when a client comes on board, and we’ve already onboarded them, we have a KYC, which is a Know Your Client document that we send out to within our Slack channel for the specific that is to look over and then we give them the option of choosing whether they want to this client, but our exec team has an internal meeting where we’ve alreadyidentified which Dada would be perfectly suited. And then from there we just have conversations and finalize on which Dada is going to work with which client.

So yeah, we do a lot of like research background and find out what their skills are before pairing clients to our Dada.

So, with that, a lot of times people have preconceived ideas of Africa, not understanding that there’s 54 countries within the continent and which means different countries also have different cultures and different ways and different educational systems and all sorts of things.

So that’s for our audience, which leads to how educated Are your Dadas?We don’t put education as like a benchmark. Like, you don’t need to go to university or have a master’s degree. Because in this day and age, it’s so easy to get educated online.

There are so many courses. There is so much information. so many workshops, so many conferences that you gather this information with. And for me, the way I’ve lived my life, I was conditioned to believe education. If you have a good education, you’re smart, you’re intelligent, you’re going to get a good job, and all of that.

And that’s not how I want to limit our women, don’t want to limit them into thinking you have to have a degree before coming into this business. Some of our Dadas have universities degrees. Some of our Dadas have multiple courses that they’ve done online that they’ve self taught and educated themselves to be good at editing Reels or using Adobe.

And they didn’t need to go to school for that. I personally went to do my master’s in film practice, where I learned how to use all these different softwares and apps. But I have a dada who can use the same apps, and she didn’t do a master’s in that, and she knows the process, just like me. So I don’t put that as a benchmark, for bringing in our Dadas to work with us.

We just looked at their skills, their experience. How they communicate and if they’re willing to be open to this process, because Dada Dunia is not just a corporate, like, employee employment kind of relationship. You need to be open with your perspective in that, yes, you’re going to be working with clients, but there’s also this internal part of Dada Dunia. There’s workshops that you need to look at yourself internally and be able to de condition your mind from what you’ve been taught from all these Kenyan teachers or all these Nigerian churches and all of these things that have been conditioned in your mind.

So, it’s more than education for us. It’s deeper. It’s perspective. It’s your willingness to be open. Your willingness to take feedback, to listen. Drive and to transition into who you’re truly supposed to be in life.

I love that you’ve said that and for a few reasons, one is very much a culture.

Correct me if I’m wrong in my experience, very much a culture in Kenya and many other African countries that Education’s a Shangri La. That’s when people will listen to you. And that’s not necessarily true. And, even at a very young age, you’re, I don’t know if they still do this, your picture used to get on the front cover of the local newspaper if you achieved something with education, right?

We often think in the West, it’s true. That education’s this big deal. Well, the reality is it’s actually even bigger in Africa from my experience, where your only value comes with the degree and everyone would put money in to make sure that one person made it out with that degree.

And it usually was a male that would do it, right? Okay. So, So the fact that there is a reality that internet is World Wide Web for a reason, that these women do get access to knowledge and whether they went for a degree or they did not, you, the three of you, your co- founder yourself and your UK, partner, you’re making sure they have the tools to succeed.

Exactly. That is exactly it. We need to make sure we’re not like, you need to be educated, but once you get in, we are providing you to the tools, the resources, the training, the mentorship, the space for you to grow into who you truly want to be. And Dada Dunia is here to hold your hand through it.

So one of the things that you had said earlier on is one of your draws for your clients would be somebody who has this interest in having a social impact, but also has the need for a virtual assistant.

And some people have a tendency in interviewing women like yourselves who are having a social impact baked into your business, sometimes they put that social impact in the back. They market the product and by the way, you’re having a social impact. What I’m hearing from you though, is you’re actually putting that social impact up front And because there’s got to, there has to be a tendency of some patience.

Doesn’t mean you’re not going to get it done, but you need some patience in order. So you’re investing in the social initiative, but you’re also getting your work done. So it’s almost reversed. Is that fair to say? Exactly. Okay. That’s so fair to say, absolutely. Which also leads me to something else, that I love that you highlight in your marketing and I want to emphasize this in this podcast, is now I do live outside Toronto now, but I grew up in Toronto.

And apparently, Toronto traffic has gotten worse, but that Toronto traffic is nothing like Lagos or Nairobi, which is where you have a lot of your Dadas from, and it allows, right? It allows an opportunity for people to work from home and not travel hours to get to their destination. Which I absolutely love that you highlight that.

And I just wanted to emphasize that in the podcast because Toronto’s nothing, folks. New York, nothing compared to Nairobi and Lagos. Lagos. Yeah, I think both are good.

Absolutely. The traffic is nuts. It’s crazy. You can sit in your car for hours and then, If you have a family, like, you have to think about those things for women especially.

We’re not in the first world country where there’s feminism and, all those things are happening now, but we are years and decades behind what is happening in Canada, in America, in the UK. We are lagging and that’s not our fault, obviously, but we have to understand that the woman is still seen as this figure where you need to take care of the family, you need to take care of the food, that the husband’s food is cooked.

And I’m here to tell the women that no, you don’t need to do all of that. You don’t need to feel forced or burdened to do that. I want them to make that choice. And so if they have to commute all the way to work, it’s just adding on to all that pressure. So if we can take at least one of that burden out and one of those stressful factors out, Then I’m all for it.

And that’s what Dada Dunia is doing. We’re just taking off stressful factors one by one.

We’re at a different level of feminism.

 I’m finding my strong feminine voice these days. and I’m amplifying it.

And here’s the reality though. I want to say Kenyan women were able to vote in the sixties. I want to say , 64, . I don’t know if you remember, but it was around then.

Well, that, cause that’s when colonization, changed. And I think it was around then, but it was 1918 for Canadian women. So that’s a lot of different years, right? So things unfortunately take more time than we would like them to take. And, therefore again, patience. Yet. Feminism is alive and well and in Kenya, is that fair to say? It’s there. I’ve had the honor of interviewing women with powerful voices there.

Because we’re so focused on the business and the opportunity that you provide these, Dadas just curious, can you share with us how much, you tend to pay?

Like, if I was to hire a virtual assistant, how much are we looking at? You are paying us, Dada Dunia. We have different packages. So our cheapest package is 40 dollars per hour, and there’s a minimum of 20 hours per month. So that is our cheapest package and then the more expensive one is 55 dollars per hour and that has no monthly minimums.

So that is no contract. It’s just mostly for clients that are looking for short term project based kind of tasks. So that’s how much clients essentially pay the Dunia.

For our Dada’s, when we’re starting the Dunia I was trying to figure out what is like a number that is going to, not just pay, not pay a dada, but is going to actually make a difference in their lives to give them thriving wages.

And so when I was doing my market research for all of these countries, the minimum wage of that country, it was roughly like for Kenya, it’s between zero cents to a dollar. That’s nothing. That’s peanuts. That’s not enough for you to thrive, to live a good life. And so we made sure that we are at least adding tenfold, for that, at least we’re all starting, and it depends on their experience, their skills, so we just at least try and multiply that by at least ten per hour.

 (Often focus on more than “minimum wage to survive” but Dada Dunia wants their team to survive) And then once we go through their experience, their skills, their resumes, that obviously like increases as well.That would be one of the ethical practices that you implement. Yes, exactly. Making sure that they have an income that they can live and thrive, rather than just get by.

Now, is minimum wage, is it not more than a dollar? I thought it was more than that.

many African countries. There’s people who are being paid around 200 dollars and they’re working 50 hours per week and that’s 200 per month. That’s not, some people are not, like minimum wage is just put out there as a word, but it’s not really adhered to, and there’s no one, our systems in place, governments and the people in power, they’re not on, for example, the same level as these first world countries, where you can put in things in place to make sure everyone is being paid this minimum wage, or everyone at least is has this wage that is going to be enough for them to thrive in the community, the society. And so, you’ll find many people that are not even getting paid that minimum wage in a month.

 So minimum wage isn’t a living wage and you’ve really leaned into that and said, we want to give these Dadas as a living wage.

 Exactly. That’s just one of the things that we do. So the thriving wage is like one of the main crux and foundation of Dada Dunia.

But outside from that, I really try and Dunia based off of my own life, my experiences.

I really see Dunia as a reflection of me. It’s called Dunia. It has the word Dunia meaning world because I feel like I have traveled the world and I have experienced all of these cultural differences, what racism and discrimination is. I’ve gone through so many different aspects of life that have afforded me to sit here to go to therapy, to access different resources, do shadow work, understand how my energy interacts with others.

I have to use what I’ve learned to pour into my business. And so when a dada comes to us and says, Hey, I’m going through X, Y, and Z, and I’m wondering if Dada Dunia could help support me with this. We are there to give them financial help. We’re there to give them support. We’re here to pay for them whatever that they’re looking for.

It’s obviously like within reach for us, but I want to say that is also our priority. Not just to stability or this thriving wages, but there’s resources that are just readily available to me in Canada that aren’t here. If a Dada comes and tells me, “okay, Jayne, now Dada Dunia is paying me all of this money.

I don’t know how to invest it into this. We have people that we connect them to, that we have a conversation and we go through. These are the steps for you to get financial stability in the long run. This is how you can save your money. Invested this, in this. And so it’s really like case by case basis, but the finances, because there’s so many things that our Dadas don’t have access to living in these third world countries.

 How many Dadas do you have right now? So in total, all of us are eight. Plus me, I think there’s nine.

You’ve only started for two years, right? Yes. The inception started in November, 2021. I applied for all these entrepreneur programs and I got the 5, 000 grant and then we officially registered the business last year, February.

I officially quit my full time job in April. We won new business of the year in Halifax this January, which was really humbling. Thank you. So yeah, that’s the journey of Dada Dunia.

Is it your hope, or has this happened, because it’s still a relatively new business, that a virtual assistant work with you and then perhaps get hired full time by their client? I don’t think that’s where we’re aiming for it. We’re aiming for right now, we have clients that are providing hours, we’ve just turned into this pricing model, this business model that has minimum hours. So what I was telling you before us having 20 hours per month, that’s not something we’re doing last year.

And we were having, just an open ended plan, and that wasn’t stable for our Dada’s. They didn’t know how many hours they’re getting paid for. And in like June, July, August, it was just up and down. And so we shifted that model to become more stable, not only for Dada Dunia to envision where it’s going, but for our Dada’s stability.

And so this is just one of the steps that we are making in making sure our Dadas are stable. The next step is to make sure that our clients are giving at least a hundred hours to one Dada. So that is going to provide for them more than thriving wages per month, and with that, they can still have their work life balance and still with them being part of Dada Dunia, there’s that sisterhood, there’s that emotional intelligence workshops, there’s communication, there’s social hours that we do.

We have VA best practices, so there’s a community that is thriving. Where they have the option to definitely leave, and find another client or find a client long term. But I think for them, from my conversations, it’s one on one. It’s about having that sisterhood that you can check with this person, if feeling down or confused about a task or you just need someone to pick you up when you’re having a bad day or something has happened back home and you need a break, a mental health break.

So if they definitely want to veer off and be with clients, that is fine. But our hope is for them to stay with us long term so we can provide that stability and sisterhood.

Yeah, love it. love, love it.

In your marketing materials, you do say that you want to connect, the, virtual assistants with Canadian companies that create a social impact.

When you say that, is the social impact somebody like who I interview on YouMeWe Amplified podcast, somebody who bakes social initiatives into their business. Or is it somebody who can be any business but wants to have a social impact by hiring a virtual assistant in Africa? So it’s a bit of both.

It’s both of those. we have clients that are, living in the social impact, they are not hiring, for example, Canadians just because it’s easy, but they’re already hiring people from third world countries to help them create content. So they can sell in Canada. They’re helping those women in those countries in South America.

And so they’re really creating the impact. Other clients who have a need to do more, but they don’t know where to start. They want to create a social impact, but all they know is that they want to help. Won’t be able And they want to contribute to this movement called Dada Dunia that’s already facilitating and holding this space for them.

And so during that discovery call, you’re able to tell which client you’re speaking to and guide them through the process. But we essentially work with both of those clients. Some clients don’t know what they want to do, but all they know is that I just want to make an impact. I just, this is all I want to do.

And I don’t know how to start, but Dada Dunia is the first step for me, and we hold space for that.

Wonderful.

You had also mentioned, which I did not know, that you have a partner. how did you find that partner in the United States? Oh, okay. It’s a funny story. So, remember when I said I was working two minimum wage paying jobs and I had ulcers and all of that?

And one of those minimum wage paying jobs was a virtual assistant company. That is in BC. And so I was working in that company and it was full of women and it was amazing. And I was paired with my co founder, Lily, and she was working in a client account and we just hit it off. She was so precise, so focused, and so good at executing.

And so she was also in charge of doing the newsletter for that particular company and doing some blog pieces. And so I had been working there for a year now, and she had scheduled an interview to just ask me about what other things that I do outside of the, outside of working with the company that we work with.

And I told her about Dada Dunia and she was like, Jayne, can we have a separate conversation about this? I want to be part of this. How can I be part of this? And we scheduled for another call. And she was so, she was like, I want to be your co-founder. I don’t want to be a business partner. I want to be contributing to this.

I want to help with whatever this is because I feel it innately in my blood. And she is essentially, she’s actually born in Mexico. She’s Mexican, but her parents are from America. And so she’s lived in Mexico, up until she was a bit older and then moved to America and then moved to Canada. So, I’ve only met Lily once, and that was when she flew over to Halifax to win the award with me.

What was the last time? Well, that, yeah, so that’s amazing. And who says you can’t build relationships online?

She essentially came a year after I had already done the market research, put some things together, but for one year she was contributing financially.

Both of us were contributing financially. but she just said, I want to be part of this and I’m going to give, and we’re going to build this thing. And she’s just been excellent, magnificent. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner, better co- founder, better friend. so yeah, she’s been there for me.

Wonderful. Just before we go into our rapid fire, I do have one more question for you.

Do you have an example of Dada and working with you and how this opportunity has actually impacted their life and beyond? Do you have a story?

Oh my gosh, yes. I have many different ones. I don’t know which one to say, but I will say, one that really hit, hits like close to home because it’s, all of us are, we are all human and we’re trying to expand and find peace and find love in the world, right? I myself had a very difficult time last summer. I had immigrated to Canada four years ago with my partner and I had a very traumatic breakup and my co-founder was there for me through everything. And so later as we progressed, like I understood how impactful it can be to go through things like that and I poured into like creating a workshop about things like that and one of our Dada’s actually was going through something like that and they had to move.

They have to move out because of something traumatic that was happening with them. And they didn’t even have the tools to ask for help. It was during one on one that we have monthly and I asked them, I was like, Hey, how’s everything going? it’s been a month and da. And she just like broke down and explained, this is what’s been happening.

I’m forced to find a new place. I don’t even know what I’m going to do. And I was just like, girl, we got you, we could give you an advance, we could hold this space for you, we could do all of this. And she was able to come out of that situation.

 So, that humbled me that Dada Dunia was able to do that, for her. And those are the things that we just want to make sure, like, Dada Dunia holds space for. And she came out and we were speaking and she said that she is still trying to decondition, From this thing of African women not knowing how to ask for help, not knowing how to be vulnerable, and that’s what motivated me.

These workshops are so important because they need to know that we’re there for them, in every aspect so that they can just feel safe and still thrive. So, yeah, that’s one that I really feel happy that DadaDunia was able to help with and, it just made us closer to that Dada as well. Yeah, thank you for sharing that story.

I’m sure that there’s many powerful stories as you, you go through and I only hope that you log these stories because they’re great marketing tools. I don’t mean to sound business like right now, but I’m a philanthropist business woman. They’re great marketing ideas when people want to connect and understand the power beyond just providing a job and uplifting someone.

You’re lifting someone in such a powerful way, and providing all kinds of tools. So kudos, kudos to you and your partner.

So let’s dive into our 11 and 10. I’m going to ask you 11 quick questions and just make your answers as short as sharp as possible would be great.

 What is the one thing you wish you knew prior to engaging down this contribution path?

Ooh, it’s okay to be my true authentic self and I don’t need to know everything.

What is the worst piece of advice you ever received?

Specifically about this business is that this business is not going to make money. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

From my mentor. He, I told you this before, but he told me that you’re building a impactful business. It doesn’t mean that you don’t need to make profit. Make sure that you are enjoying what you’re doing, that you are making an impact and that you are making a profit. So helpful for me. That’s music to my ears as well.

 What is one piece of advice you would give an entrepreneur who wants to have a social impact?

Just do it. Just start. You don’t have to have all the answers. Awareness and the intention of making an impact is enough for you to put your first step forward.

What is one recommendation you would suggest to promote a culture of contribution? So this is a culture of contribution amongst your team. Gosh, that one is I’m going to have to think about that one. Okay, good enough. Something for you to think too, because what’s interesting is you’re contributing so much, but we all have that desire as your team does too, right? They have the desire to contribute as well. So there may be an opportunity in your business where you could create that.

Something you and I can talk about offline. Okay. Now, I don’t know if you have any children. I don’t. Okay. I’m single. Yeah. Okay. Putting it out to the podcast universe. You’d be a catch for sure. Let’s say you did have a daughter and she was 10 years old today, what advice would you give her? Oh my gosh. Don’t make me emotional Suzanne! I would tell her it’s okay to be different and it’s okay not to conform. It’s okay to follow what everyone is doing and to just be your own unique, vulnerable, authentic self.

You don’t have to fit in everywhere. Accept yourself and the universe is going to bring whoever and whatever to you to light your path. So, not to be emotional, it’s okay on this podcast. So, what advice do you wish you received when you were 10 years old? Oh my gosh, Suzanne! You do it to me! Um, I wish I was told that I am a unique individual.

I am not going to live a norm. I am going to set a different path and hold space for everyone. So it’s okay to fail math, and it’s okay not to like do well in school. It’s okay not to conform. so yeah, I would pat myself on the back and keep pushing forward.

Well, you’re not 10, that’s for sure, but you are unique and you are setting your own path. And no, we all appreciate that.

What is one thing you had to do that made you uncomfortable in this pursuit of your business, but if you didn’t do it, you wouldn’t have had the desired impact of your social initiative.

Putting myself out there and speaking, using my voice, pitching, everything to do with me, verbalizing and communicating the impact of Dada Dunia. That would not have happened if I didn’t put myself on those stages and in those pitching competitions and those one on one calls with my mentors. It would not have gotten here.

Who is the greatest female influence in your life and why? My mother! She is the greatest influence. She gave me some tough love when I was growing up, but it’s all because of the generational trauma. She was never shown how to show love in this vulnerable, this warm, this nurturing way. And just seeing how she has aged over the years and been open to my communication, my boundaries. What I need from her, has been so important to me to understand that people can change.

And more than that, she has so many things in her mind and in her, on her plate that she makes look so easy. And so that just pushes me to be like, I can do this. Of course I can do this. My mama did this. Of course I can do this in a healthy way, not adding pressure to myself, but, just in a humbling way that I can appreciate how much effort she’s put in.

What three values do you live by? Integrity, honesty, and vulnerability.

 Integrity more than anything.

Besides yours, which beneficiary do you think needs the most investment of time, research, and money? Oh

my gosh, that is a good question.

 I am just an advocate of African. Africans have just been robbed, I feel. Colonization. Has taken so much from us and we’re rebuilding and finding our voice and there is not enough help not enough benefits and advantages that can be poured into Africa to make us reach our needs.

I’m just helping African women. My vision is to have a male version of this company. Just because I can’t hire men right now, but they are also in need. They are very much in need. Africa as a continent needs the support and the help that was taken away from many years and decades ago.

Okay, great. Thanks you for that. Is there a book that you would recommend others to read? I indulge in spiritual activities.

Like, so I wouldn’t say I have a book in mind, but anything that is really going to help you have a better understanding of yourself. I am an advocates for that. Okay. Self awareness.

And I love that, to your point that you have a spiritual healing, is such an important piece that over the years that more and more people are embracing.

And with the mental health issues that as they are today,we have to heal ourselves first, but sometimes by contributing to others, we start healing ourselves. That’s something that I often advocate for is you have to do the me, you, me, we, the me is making sure you’re good so you can help others, but sometimes by helping others it helps you

Exactly.

Love it.

 Let us know where can people connect with you. Our website, we are just in the middle of rebranding, actually. So, you might, by the time this is out, you’re going to find our new website. So, www. dadadunia. com we also have Instagram where you can find us with Dada Dunia and me personally, I’m always active on Instagram just because I did film in my masters in the UK.

I am very like, my energy is communicated so well via video or voice notes. So you can find me on Instagram as well. Always advocating or culturally storytelling. You can search for me with Jayne Akinyi.

Okay, wonderful.

So do you have any words of wisdom for our audience regarding making a conscious contribution to society?

 If you understand yourself and you do the work that Suzanne is saying, the “me,” if you truly sit down, do the meditation, do that shadow work, do that internal work and understand your triggers, your trauma, who you are, what has led you here, that is going to make you lead with intention, with purity, with vulnerability and authenticity.

 Be discerning to the outside voices, to the society that has gone through trauma, because sometimes they’re the ones who are advising you, but they’re coming from a traumatized place and that’s not healthy. So listen to that inside voice.

You know what? I love that. I love that advice. It hasn’t been quite said like that before in all my hundreds of interviews. And it’s so important. We all come from different places. So, you need to have context around where someone comes from in order to adapt to your situation. Frame of the world. So love that.

Thank you, Jayne, for sharing your insight, inspiration and social impact with us today. So feel, I feel the warmth coming through the video and through your voice.

So it’s awesome to have you here and discover more podcasts with SheImpactpreneurs, transforming where we live and work with sustainable social solutions. Please visit podcast. you me we podcast. ca. . Y O U, Me, We, dot C A. And please like, share, and subscribe. Until next time, I’m Suzanne F. Stevens, and I encourage you to make your contribution count for YouMeWe.

​