As Africans living outside the continent (i.e. Chioma and I - the founders of Afroterminal), we wanted to create an online platform where fellow Africans abroad and those across the length and breadth of the African continent could meet, forge new friendships, learn from each other, share tips and experience, media etc. We didn’t see anything else like it i.e. a truly Pan-African social network, connecting Africans at home and abroad, so we set about starting one.

What is your current mission, what is the vision behind your work – do you have one?

Building Afroterminal definitely forms a significant part of my focus. Afroterminal's mission is to be the leading African Social Network dedicated to bringing Africans all over the globe to meet, make friends, chat and learn from each other. Our vision is to become Africa’s largest Social Network and the No. 1/ choice platform for advertisers seeking to reach the African market. Like many SME’s looking to create global awareness, we have faced resource challenges - as an entrepreneur, creating and marketing value are essential aspects to my life’s work.

The continent of Africa, as a ‘place’ in the world, is often depicted to be understood among Western perspectives as a place of corruption and poverty, a place of conflict and unrest, a place of tension and suffering, a place distinct to the ‘rest’ of the world – Are such perspective accurate?

Such perspectives are not accurate. They don’t tell the whole story. Africa has its peculiar challenges, but so also does every other continent in the world. It’s like a ‘pick and choose’ situation, where only negative things are highlighted and reported in the world media. It was precisely because of such inaccurate characterizations of Africa that we launched the ‘I Love Africa’ video competition last year. As I said then, "there is so much bad press about Africa - and yet, for those of us from the beautiful continent - we know Africa is the future. We want to allow everyone express why they love our Motherland, through video. Most Africans are proud of where we come from; we just need to tell the world and show Africa in a positive light.”

As a friend said many years ago, “people, places and events are the building blocks of your final destination.” Communities are important.
No man is an island. Everyone is, in some way, a product of his or her environment. That’s one of the reasons we launched the ‘Communities’ feature on Afroterminal.

The Communities model, launched last year on Afroterminal and which re-enforces Afroterminal.com's focus on the African culture, encourages new and existing members to join Communities, based on their location and topics of interest.

I am excited that our Communities feature on Afroterminal continues to catch on – we now have about 600 Communities since we launched the feature late last year (our Communities feature provides a platform for members to connect based on their location and topics of interest). This year we’re excited to be evolving our mobile technology.

Social media platforms are continuing to make it easier for Africans, and indeed the world, to interact and communicate. In many instances, social media can be a vehicle for social , political and economic change in African communities. While Facebook is a social network where old friends and family meet, Afroterminal is a social network where Africans meet and make new friends. Twitter is a microblogging site. Unlike Facebook/ Twitter/ others, Afroterminal is owned by Africans -
It is for Africans. It is Africa-themed and Africa-focused.

The answer is yes. On Afroterminal, you get to appreciate that Africa is not just a continent, but one big country! Even though there are many hundreds of tribes and languages, we share similar experiences and values across the continent. As Afroterminal’s co-Founder Chioma Anyanwu described in an earlier interview (Forbes), “For me, it’s a joy to log into the chat room and see people from Ghana, Egypt, Nigeria, Botswana, Kenya, all chatting like old friends. We have very mixed characters – many regulars, but also lots of people who just drop in briefly for a quick hello at lunch time. Sometimes, we discuss serious topics like our cultures and national news, and at other times, we just have a good laugh.”

The reality is that most of these chat room and forum discussions are ones that each participant can easily identify and ‘flow’ with, because of the common vein shared by all Africans.

I believe I have tapped into a passion.

My dream is to be all that God has made me to be…to ‘serve my generation’, like it was attributed to David in the Bible. My values and philosophies are shaped by my Christian faith. Values that continue to nourish me: My faith in God and the belief that, with God, all things are possible; and also the assurance that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.

Purpose is a discovery.
I am still discovering.