We should be more curious

Serial social entrepreneur and founder of Royal Blue & Orange (RBO) International Trading, Sukai Ceesay, is a results-driven changemaker with an interest in how technology can impact supply chain management.

“Social entrepreneurship has been at my core from day one,” says Sukai, who has degrees in urban design, industrial engineering as well as an EMBA. She’s also a certified EQ master trainer. Sukai believes in changing yourself before attempting to change the world and strives to constantly learn and acquire new skills. “I may be biased but I think with an engineering mindset, we can solve almost every problem in society! We should be more curious.”

In 2011 Sukai founded a non-profit, Global Village Children, that helps schools across the world integrate emotional intelligence into the school curriculum for a complete EIQ and to raise Global Citizens. In 2014, she founded AVIM Leadership Solutions, a consulting company that supports businesses and professionals to align people, purpose and passion to achieve a thriving business index.  

Before starting RBO, Sukai spent more than 14 years working for a multinational fast-food company, managing the food supply chain for master franchisee countries in the EMEA region. During this time, she says she tried to understand “certain issues and pain points for global restaurant owners” and this was the reason she founded RBO. “We now support the restaurant and food industry with an end-to-end conscious and ethical sourcing of food ingredients, equipment and logistics using blockchain and AI.”

Innovation and solutions

“Technology has improved every industry on earth,” she says, adding that the supply chain industry has come a long way. “I’ve seen operations as basic as Excel worksheets and faxing orders and some as advanced as drones and robots. I have helped to create state-of-the-art systems that reduce waste in food manufacturing and have been involved in the transformation of certain operations through automation and robotics.

“The gradual improvement of technology, pushing the boundaries for reducing unit economics, negative social implications and improving efficiency, has brought us to the dawn of blockchain and AI. Many people are afraid of blockchain but once you know what you’re trying to solve, it’s simple and effortless. It’s not a magic bullet by any means but I do know it has a way of being more transparent than a lot of other systems. It can help identify the universal ‘truth’ by which a certain establishment, industry or even society operates in.

“I believe being socially responsible and ethically motivated in our innovations and solutions will allow humans and machines to have a valuable ‘working’ relationship in generations to come.”

The present and future is female

Female representation in every industry is important, Sukai believes. “When we have women in distinguished roles in various levels of society, they are giving us all a new perspective of individual best, teamwork, and the many faces of success. This alone has the potential to change the lives of many individuals in various parts of the world.”

She emphasises the importance of having women to look up to in the enlightenment of both men and women alike. “I was lucky to have had a family where the education of boys and girls is equal and achieving an individual best is not based on gender or who you stand next to but rather what you can yield by merit and hard work. 

“So, my grandmothers, mother, aunts and sisters had educations and skills in various industries and I grew up admiring them balancing their intellectual and career pursuits with their home lives. 

“There has been a lack of women in my field for as long as I can remember. Now, I see very few women as founders in tech. We should encourage more girls to pursue STEM education and careers, and providing equal opportunity for men and women in the workplace to achieve full potential and take on leadership roles will definitely make things better. 

“Finally, paying said individuals equally will be the true sign of mutual respect for the journey we all take — men and women — to achieve success at every stage in life. And when women embark on entrepreneurial ventures, opportunities from start-ups to IPO should be available. We are not there yet. The struggle is real! In the meantime, I remain optimistic and focused on my goals.”

Catch Sukai in action at this year’s CIAO event, “Secure your digital future”! Click the button below to find out more.