Meet Dami Atere. The young innovator, using his resources to inspire and create a platform for the youth. From brainstorming in his room at boarding school to running multiple successful businesses in Nigeria, Dami has proven that it is possible to balance student life with entrepreneurship. At just 21, Dami has a football tournament (Touchline), a food kitchen and his own charity, showing the power that the youth have to spark a movement.
With Touchline III around the corner, I wanted to sit down with Dami and understand how he juggles preparation for his events in Lagos while being in his final year of university.
So Dami, why did you start 53 Collective?
Dami founded his business to channel his entrepreneurial drive into creating meaningful experiences and opportunities for people. His first venture, DaChef, allowed him to use his passion for cooking to build a platform to connect with people through catering. He described the addition of Touchline as a natural step, due to his love of football.
“Both ventures represent different sides of what I love to do”
In his businesses, Dami has used his hobbies to reach his ultimate goal of uniting people in exciting ways. Reflecting on his childhood, he shared how on his 10th birthday he hosted a football tournament—a precursor to his future ventures. During his secondary school days, he and his friends also frequently participated in football tournaments at CIS. The feeling of nostalgia had them reminiscing about their childhood fun, and using initiative, Dami started his business to bring his people back together.
What does your business mean to you?
For Dami, his businesses are much more than just a money making strategy; they’re a way of expressing himself. A key lesson I took away from this conversation was that the ways in which you can express your creativity are unlimited. Whether it be through entrepreneurship, as Dami has done, or other routes such as creating music or writing, there is a method that can work for everyone. Dami also spoke about the importance of business in creating an impact. In relation to his own businesses, he mentioned this impact being shown through his events offering people the chance to build new connections, having already attracted over a thousand people.
How do you think your community has helped to grow your business?
Community has been a cornerstone of Dami’s success. His friends and supporters have played a pivotal role in spreading the word about his ventures, through both social media and word of mouth. This organic growth has been fuelled by genuine enthusiasm from his network, a result of Dami deeply understanding his target audience.
“It got to the point where people are picking up the phone and calling me saying ‘Dami, what have you done? All I can see on my social media page: Touchline, Touchline, Touchline’”
Dami believes that a strong community can elevate any business, and so it is vital to back your network so that when it is your turn you can receive the same love back. Whether it’s friends, family, or strangers, Dami credited his community as the backbone of his journey.
Where did your entrepreneurial spirit come from?
Dami regards his parents as a critical source of support through his entrepreneurial journey, as well as his two younger brothers who regularly give him feedback on his work. Although his parents were his first inspirations, Dami spoke of how the catalyst for his personal passion of entrepreneurship was realising the potential for the platform he had built over the past few years. He also spoke of the importance of transferable skills; Dami has always been a problem solver, growing up as the person his friends first reached out to for advice. So when he heard people regularly complaining about not being able to receive as good quality of food in Nigeria, compared to the UK, he created a solution to this through DaChef.
How do you balance your business with uni?
“Planning a football tournament miles away is essentially a full time job”
With Touchline III just around the corner, I wanted to know how Dami is able to keep up with his uni deadlines while also preparing for his events this Christmas. Keeping it real, he told me that finding a balance between these two commitments is one of the hardest things to do. To get around this, he keeps his academics as a priority while committing 2 hours solely to his business related tasks.
Do you think that the African diaspora have a duty to use the knowledge they learn abroad to help foster the development of their native country?
While Dami did not agree there is an automatic duty, he highlights the unique opportunity the African diaspora have to leverage the experiences they’ve gained abroad to contribute to the development of their native countries. He believes that he has a personal duty to create opportunities and inspire the next generation of Nigeria, whether this be through a not-for-profit, increasing accessible education and so on.
What role do you think that the youth in Nigeria have in fostering sustainable development within the country?
Dami refers to the strength of collaboration among the youth and the power that arises when we uplift one another. He mentioned how while we may not be able to be at the forefront of discussions concerning the development of the country, we can still collaborate on ideas and use our voices to push change.
For those looking to start a business in Nigeria what advice do you give?
“Starting a business in Nigeria requires patience and adaptability”
Dami relates this advice to instances when he has ordered stock in bulk, being assured that they will be delivered within the set time frame, only for delays to occur. In some of these cases, he has had to find new suppliers within 2-3 days of an event. His ability to do so comes from always having a back up plan to prepare for any challenges.
“If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail”
A more general piece of advice Dami gave for starting a business was to make sure that it is solving a problem or meeting a need. Make sure you do your market research to identify this as it helps give your business its purpose and from this, a unique selling point.
So, what’s next for DA and 53 Collective?
Dami’s ambitious goal for Touchline is to make it the premier tournament in Africa and eventually the whole world. He has already begun working towards this by gaining the traction of investors, including Sparkle Nigeria. For DaChef, Dami plans to open a permanent location in Nigeria to help it expand and become the number one late-night fast-food service. His plan to grow and define 53 Collective extends past these two businesses, as he continues to work on projects encouraging youth development and inclusion. All of these plans aim to achieve Dami’s ultimate goal of making sure his businesses make a lasting impact.
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