Jimi Daodu has always been entrepreneurial. Back at Babcock University, he had established an entertainment business that organised parties in the school. After Daodu completed his master’s programme in Advanced Computing at the University of Bristol, he wanted to stay back in the UK for a couple of years to work and earn back his master’s fees.
At the time, Daodu recalled, the British government allowed international students to apply for a post-work-study visa, which grants one a two-year stay in the UK. Daodu got the post-work-study visa, but things started to look grim when, for months, he couldn’t get a job. Frustrated from his job search, Daodu contemplated booking a return ticket to Nigeria and returning to his shoe selling business.
He eventually got a job that sustained him until he got yet another which secured a visa for him and got him to stay. In the past decade, Daodu has worked in project management, hospitality, financial services, and the telecommunications industries all in the UK.