§ Speaking & Thought Leadership

For stages that want the truth — and a plan.

I speak to founders, women, students, funders, and institutional leaders on the craft of building — and the mindset underneath it. Rigorous keynotes, generous panels, and workshops your audience actually uses on Monday morning.

Signature keynote

Cultural Capital & Entrepreneurship

My most-requested keynote. I show founders and institutions how the six forms of Community Cultural Wealth — aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, and resistant — are the operating system underneath every venture I've built. Attendees leave with a language for the capital they were told didn't count, and a playbook for putting it to work.

Capital
Aspirational
Capital
Linguistic
Capital
Familial
Capital
Social
Capital
Navigational
Capital
Resistant
§ Talks I give

Five topics I'm most asked to speak to — and who they're for.

T.01 · Signature

Cultural Capital & Entrepreneurship

How Black, African, and diasporic founders leverage the six forms of Community Cultural Wealth (aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, resistant) as their unfair advantage in building ventures.

Who it's for

Founder cohorts, universities, DEI programs, incubators, accelerators, and corporate ERGs.

What I cover
  • Dr. Tara J. Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth framework — applied to entrepreneurship.
  • How to name and monetize the capital you were told didn't count.
  • Case studies from my ventures (GRANTED, Okwera Academy, Woveo, BFN).
T.02

Grants, Funding & Building a Sustainable Business

The playbook I use to raise non-dilutive capital and design ventures that don't collapse the moment the founder rests.

Who it's for

Non-profits, early-stage founders, ecosystem builders, funders themselves.

What I cover
  • Grant discovery, matching, and application strategy (the GRANTED method).
  • Diversifying revenue beyond grants: earned + partnership models.
  • What funders actually read — and why most decks lose them in 30 seconds.
T.03

Career Coaching & Sustainable Leadership

Leading teams and building careers without burning out — anchored in strategy, execution, and community-first mindset.

Who it's for

Emerging leaders, women's leadership programs, corporate L&D, university career centres.

What I cover
  • The mantra: 'Focused on strategy, grounded in execution, community-first.'
  • How to lead cross-functional teams and cross-country programs.
  • Career pivots and rebuilding after academic probation, layoffs, and setbacks.
T.04

Equity, Inclusion & African / Female Youth Leadership

Beyond the DEI slide — how to actually build ecosystems, curricula, and workplaces where African women and youth lead.

Who it's for

Institutional partners, universities, government programs, corporate EDI teams.

What I cover
  • Lessons from building Black Founders Network from zero to 10,000+.
  • Designing programs that produce measurable employment and revenue outcomes.
  • Ubuntu leadership — 'I am because we are' as an operating principle.
T.05

Motivational Speaking & Spiritual Midwifery

For rooms that need honesty, joy, and a call to action — my story of Lusaka → Toronto → building four ventures, and what it teaches about purpose.

Who it's for

Conferences, women's gatherings, graduations, faith communities, keynotes.

What I cover
  • Failing the Japanese scholarship, winning the Mastercard scholarship, academic probation, and pivoting.
  • 'Midwifery' as a leadership metaphor — bringing other people's purpose to life.
  • The permission to build in public and share the receipts.
§ On stage

See me speak.

A rolling gallery of keynotes, panels, and fireside conversations. New talks added as they're published.

Cultural Capital & Entrepreneurship — Keynote
Coming soon
Panel: Funding the Diaspora — Coming Soon
Coming soon
Fireside: Building Across Continents — Coming Soon
§ Formats

How you can bring me in.

Keynotes

30–60 minute stage talks tuned to your audience — founders, women's cohorts, students, funders.

Panels & Moderation

Rigorous, generous moderation on funding, equity, tech, and African women's leadership.

Workshops

Half-day and full-day sessions on grants strategy, cultural capital, and building sustainably.

Fireside & Podcast

Long-form conversations on entrepreneurship, faith, and building across continents.

§ Speaking case studies

Where I've spoken — and what happened next.

A working list of stages, programs, and events I've led or spoken on. Templates to start; will keep growing.

Year
2024
Event
Black Founders Network Annual Summit — University of Toronto
Panel Moderator · Community Building

Moderated a panel on ecosystem infrastructure for Black entrepreneurs across Canada.

Outcome

2,000+ attendees across BFN's flagship year; contributed to 25% partnership growth.

Year
2024
Event
BRIDGE-ing the Gap for African Entrepreneurs · Woveo
Keynote & Program Lead

Designed and hosted the program launch — capital, capacity building, mentorship — for African entrepreneurs in Canada.

Outcome

$60K deployed to participants; 1,248% growth in on-platform communities in <12 months.

Year
2023–Present
Event
ElevateHer Leadership · Okwera Academy
Founder & Lead Facilitator

Multi-cohort leadership curriculum for women — designed, delivered, and quantified.

Outcome

30% employment growth for participants; $80K+ raised to fund the pillars.

Year
2023
Event
Situmbeko 30 Launch · Zambia
Program Architect & Speaker

Convened diaspora sponsors, local chiefs, and educators to co-sponsor 30 rural women into the digital economy.

Outcome

6-month TEVETA-aligned curriculum; anchor cohort for the Okwera Learning Center.

Year
2022–2025
Event
20+ Conferences, Panels & Corporate Talks
Speaker · Moderator · Facilitator

Spoken at 20+ stages on cultural capital, grants, equity, and building African-led ventures.

Outcome

10,000+ cumulative audience across events; sustained inbound speaking pipeline.

§ What organizers say

Testimonials from the rooms.

"Every stage Justina walks onto leaves the room more honest than it was."
Conference Organizer · Women in Leadership Summit
"She turned a 45-minute keynote into the reason our cohort actually applied for grants."
Program Director · Startup Accelerator
"Rigorous, generous, and unafraid to name what everyone was thinking."
Panel Co-Speaker · University Panel
"Our audience talked about Justina's talk for weeks. Book her twice."
Corporate ERG Lead · Fortune 500 Company

Have a stage that needs the truth?

Tell me about your audience, the date, and what you want the room to feel on the way out. I'll take it from there.