The Mettle Approach

Mettle Consult was established from the realisation of the limited understanding of the African continent and culture in Scandinavia with regards to doing business. Having sat through many seminars across the world, that sought to educate Westerners on the high costs (monetary and otherwise) of doing business in Africa, a trend became apparent - there is a single story about Africa, that of difficulty, chaos, corruption, and uncertainty, which inadvertently breeds fear. As an African who has spent a significant part of her life living in the Western world, Chisom has always felt the responsibility to change that single-story and at the same time, make a positive impact on the business landscape. Knowing that it takes a village to run a successful business venture, she sought like-minded individuals, most of whom are Africans, who had the education, experience, network and grit to make the desired difference. Thus, the Mettle team was created. While we have different backgrounds and experiences, what brings us together is our work ethic and strong desire to change the negative single-story of Africa.

We are a group of innovative and entrepreneurial professionals who are motivated by change, results, and progress. We are doers, bold, principled, and circumspect. We have an international background with experiences that spans across 5 continents. We are particularly passionate about bridging the business cooperation gap between Africa and the rest of the world. Each one of us has spent a significant time working and living in West Africa. We are well aware of the difficulty of doing business in Africa, we have first hand experience. But most importantly, we have navigated and sailed through it. We are fiercely anti-corrupt and highly compliant with laws, both foreign and domestic. We believe that in order to successfully do business in Africa, you need Africans on your team, as your sparring partners. One of our core comparative advantages rests in our abilities to easily translate the local African business contexts to highest Western standards.

"We are not in the business of telling you what you want to hear. We are in the business of telling you what you need to know. "

Economist & Lead Strategist

Chisom is an economist with a strong passion for Africa and entrepreneurship. She is highly knowledgeable in and has a versatile expertise in business processes and practices. An energetic researcher, business strategist and analyst, she has a track record of bringing business ideas from infancy to adulthood. She is driven by value creation, efficiency and effectiveness, and motivated by measureable results. Chisom is an excellent communicator and facilitator, having brokered many successful business projects and partnerships in Africa. While working at Madre, she also assisted in designing and facilitating training events and seminars at the African Women’s Millennium Initiative (AWOMI), and at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), at the United Nations in New York City. She has also worked as a Lecturer of Economics at Utrecht University.

As the founder of Mettle Consult, she aims to positively impact the business landscape in Africa by challenging the status quo and fears that accompanies successful business operations in West Africa. Born into an entrepreneurial family, she spent many years learning from her family’s businesses on navigating the full life cycle of conducting business in Nigeria, from conceptualization to successful operations. As an entrepreneur, her first venture was the founding of a private secondary school, Xanadu Academy (currently under construction) in Nigeria. She is also co-founder of Language121 AS, an online language school based in Norway, and co-founder of a small construction company in Lagos, Nigeria. Chisom has experiences from and is interested in the non-profit, oil and gas, energy, finance, trade (import/exports), research and higher education sectors. She has lived and worked in 6 countries in North America, Europe, and Africa.

Work Experience

Chisom founded Mettle Consulting with working experiences from organizations such as ExxonMobil, Madre; Utrecht University; International Indigenous Women’s Forum (IIWF); Xanadu Academy; Language121 AS; Friends of New York Corps—Turtle Tree; China American Psychoanalytic Alliance (CAPA); and Middlebury College.

Education

Undergraduate:
BA in Economics, University of Mississippi (USA); BA in International Studies—Global Economics and Business (Regional Focus: Europe; Language: French), Croft Institute for International Studies (USA)
Post-Graduate:
MSc. in International Economics and Business (Development and Globalization), Utrecht University (Netherlands); Masters of Public Administration & Masters of Arts in International Education Management, Middlebury College (USA).

Languages

English, Igbo, Yoruba, French, Norwegian (A2)

Trade & Compliance Specialist

Trade & Compliance Specialist

Prince has years of experience in the areas of International Trade Regulations and Policies, WTO Laws, Competition/Antitrust Law, and Management. As a Global Trade Advisor at Sandler Trade LLC, Washington DC, Prince drafted petitions, and facilitated hearings by the U.S. government to aid the countries of Georgia and Fiji, in bringing their worker and labor rights regime up to par with international standards, which is a major criterion for eligibility under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). He Created and implemented trade logistics for the import and export of goods for various clients, making sure they are in line with country-specific trade regulations.

Prince has also conducted seminars at the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in Imo-State, Nigeria, on how to maximize export opportunities afforded by the U.S. trade preference programs such as the GSP and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Consequently providing farmers, exporters, and small business owner’s duty saving opportunities. As a Global Trade Advisor, Prince researched and drafted a successful petition on behalf of 40 U.S. small batch importers/exporters. This petition was filed to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and advocated for the small batch importer “third-party testing” carve-out for meeting lead content, phthalates and ASTM F-963 specifications. Prince has also wrote successful petitions for the country of Brazil to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to grant tariff breakouts to the U.S. Harmonized Tariff System to help expand GSP utilization.

With a high interest in International trade and development, Prince has assisted and instructed companies from Kenya, Uganda, Timor-Leste, and other developing countries on how to get their products exposed to U.S. buyers through product displays, field trips, product design and quality, packaging, labeling, and U.S. Consumer Product Safety requirements and compliance. He also has in-depth knowledge of ever evolving trade laws and regulations in West Africa, with special expertise on Nigeria.

Work Experience

Prince joins Mettle Consult with working experiences from Washington DC Superior Courts; CVS Caremark Corporation; Eurasia Center; Sandler Trade LLC; and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Education

Undergraduate: BSc. in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government; The American University (USA)
Post-Graduate: LL.M in International Economic Law and Development from Universitat De Barcelona, (Spain)

Languages: English, and Igbo.

The Team

The Mettle Approach

The Team