Yet Yekemi Otaru still believes in starting small.

Before she ever stood in a Chancellor’s robe, before the awards, the boardrooms, or the business titles, Yekemi was just a young Nigerian woman with questions about possibility, about purpose, and about where she fit into a world that didn’t always expect much from people who looked like her.

She answered those questions not with noise, but with focus. She studied Chemical Engineering, then Petroleum Engineering, and went on to earn five degrees, each one a brick in the foundation of the life she was quietly building.

Her story has never been about personal achievement alone. It has always been about access. About who gets to rise. She saw how systems overlooked people, especially women, especially those from the margins. And she made it her mission to change that.

From 2018 to 2024, she co-led Doqaru, a management consultancy that gained national recognition. Under her leadership, Doqaru earned multiple accolades, including Business of Excellence of the Year at the Black Scottish Awards, and Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

But for Yekemi, awards are not the destination. She wanted to be known for impact- positive impact. She became CEO of Somebody Cares SCIO, a charity in Aberdeen providing support to over 13,000 people facing hardship. Walk through their warehouse, and you’ll see what makes it different. It’s the dignity, not just the donation. People aren’t treated like numbers. They’re seen. They’re heard. They’re cared for.

She also founded YO Ventures, a business consultancy helping start-ups and founders get unstuck, scale up, and drive real impact. Her guidance isn’t just strategy. It’s fuel, especially for entrepreneurs facing disadvantage or exclusion.

In 2021, Yekemi made history as the first Black woman appointed Chancellor of a Scottish university, the University of the West of Scotland. And while she holds the power to confer degrees and academic honours, she also holds something more powerful. The ability to show every young person watching that they belong in rooms they were never expected to enter.

Even now, she doesn’t lead with her titles. She leads with her time. She mentors women across continents. She speaks in rooms where decisions are made. She builds bridges between ambition and opportunity.

Yekemi’s story isn’t about arriving. It’s about rising, with purpose, with care, and with a hand outstretched to the next person climbing.