Elsie Godwin and the Power of Conversations – THISDAYLIVE

Anyone remotely close to Elsie Godwin – a dynamic business leader, seasoned marketing and communications professional, and respected media personality – knows that she is hard-working. The evidence is everywhere. She sparks conversations at News Central TV and Nigeria Info FM. At Mind-Mastik Media, a marketing agency she founded, she builds brands, manages influencer marketing projects, and creates engaging content.

Away from the media, she is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at the fintech startup, Cashwise Finance, where she is pioneering innovation in the fintech space, focusing on user-centric products that give people access to their money regardless of their location.

Elsie is also the Head of Marketing and Partnerships at Tango Brook Technologies Limited, where she leads strategies to drive innovation and adoption of the Tango Fuel card. 

She has shaped go-to-market strategies for brands in both Web2 and Web3 spaces. Among her notable achievements is facilitating the institutional partnership between Pan Atlantic University and Emurgo Africa, a move that advanced blockchain adoption across the continent. In recognition of her impact, CryptoTV Plus named her one of the Top 40 African Women in Blockchain.

But what truly drives Elsie isn’t just the impressive titles or the hustle.  It’s a blend of practicality, purpose, and personal agency. Her motivation, she says, comes in three parts. First, there’s the simple, honest pursuit of money.

“Money is important. I’m not going to pretend about it,” she said. But it’s not just for wealth’s sake, but as a means to live on her own terms.

Then there’s her innate restlessness, a constant urge to solve problems, to make an impact.

“I think I’m a very restless person in terms of how I work. Once I’m fixated on something or a problem, I have to find a way to solve it, and then once I’ve solved it, I’m looking for the next challenge to do.”

Finally, there’s her need for freedom, the ability to walk away from anything that no longer aligns with her values or direction.

“I don’t like to be held ransom to anything or anyone in such a way that if I don’t work for a company or a project then I will not be able to survive in life. I like to hold my time and have safety nets.” This explains why she builds, diversifies, and stays ten steps ahead.

Part of her entrepreneurial zest comes from her upbringing. Raised by a single mother who managed a school and restaurant simultaneously, Elsie drew inspiration from her mother’s ambition.

“Those are like two worlds apart, but people wondered how she coped in those days,” she recalled. “She wakes up in the morning and goes to run a successful school business, I might add. In the evenings, she’s heading over to the restaurant to see what’s going on. Of course, you know restaurants close late, maybe from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. So I grew up in that kind of space, and maybe that is something that consciously or unconsciously shaped who I am today.”

Her mother’s teaching environment also integrated her into the system. By age 12, she was already helping out in the kindergarten classes and at 15, after secondary school, she landed her first job as a home lesson teacher, teaching twice a week.

“That was really exciting,” she said with nostalgia. “I remember how my mom was so happy for me when I came back to tell her about my job. I think from then it’s always been work.”

That drive deepened when she lost her mother. Since then, Elsie hasn’t slowed down. Like her mother, people often ask how she handles it all.

“Oh I get that a lot,” she said confidently. “But it’s a lot of work,” she quickly admitted. What makes it easier, she explained, is her introverted lifestyle: wake up, work, sleep.

“What that means is there aren’t many external factors trying to get my attention.”

Her single status, she playfully added, also gives her more time to pour into work at this phase of her life.

“I also try to use the tools around me to create some sanity in what I do.”

These include digital reminders that help her prioritise tasks.

Despite her introverted nature, Elsie remains insatiably curious. “I tell people that one of the reasons I am who I am today is my curiosity,” she said. “I started as a blogger where I realised the power of social media. The fact that I can really sit in my small room at the time and connect with 1,000 people who have read my blog post. I realised the power at that point, and I also realised it was a responsibility, even before I did any training on media.”

From blogging, Elsie delved into influencer and digital marketing, while steadily learning new skills to fuel her diverse interests. What came most naturally, however, was her ability to hold and engage in meaningful conversations. She proudly calls herself a conversationalist.

“I don’t joke with conversations,” she said seriously. “Conversations have changed my life.”

Elsie has interviewed more than 300 business leaders, and through her blog and influencer marketing, she has established herself as a respected media personality whose conversations spark more conversations. This, in turn, expands her mind.

“When I’m in the midst of people who know more than I do, I’m humble enough to listen and learn from them. This also helps me to ask the right question,” she said, acknowledging veteran media personality Eugenia Abu, who once observed that journalists can step into any role and succeed when they keep an open mind.

As a media personality, Elsie applies this philosophy fully, refusing to be boxed into one kind of conversation. On women-centred issues, she advocates equity and warns against adopting a victim mindset in corporate spaces.

“For me, any human being is capable of any kind of action. Systems are what we need to ensure people behave well. People can be naturally terrible. So it is your systems and your policy, and also how you implement those systems that get people to behave like right-minded individuals.”

She also urges women to be vocal about their health without fear of ridicule, a lesson she learnt firsthand after undergoing fibroid surgery and sharing her story online. While some responses were encouraging, others questioned whether she should have spoken about it at all.

“Women have the right to choose how they share their personal life, but there is a level of secrecy that comes through, almost like, ‘Don’t talk about it, so you will not be labelled as not being woman enough,’” she said. “And I don’t think that helps anyone.”

“Women need not be ashamed of what their bodies put them through, because none of it is our fault. We did not do it to ourselves. It’s not our fault,” she added.