Eno’s passion for grooming business analysts

Gobal consulting company Eny Consulting Inc. is in the forefront of equipping professionals with requisite skills set to innovate and drive organisations’ projects. With strong footprints across Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, its Chief Executive & Founder, Eno Eka, a Nigerian in the Diaspora, Canada precisely, is helping to groom business analysts and experts to implement solutions for key business problems. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

GLOBALLY, the workplace has changed. Today, employers are demanding graduates with core skills for problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and of course, teamwork. Naturally, this has spurred the need for employees to upgrade and acquire relevant job skills needed to fit into some of today’s most sought-after jobs such as business development managers, project managers and business analysts.

For existing and prospective employees looking to develop specific expertise in the afore-mentioned high-growth and sought-after jobs, Eny Consulting Inc., a global consulting company based in Canada, is perhaps, the place to go. The company’s Chief Executive & Founder, Eno Eka, an award-winning Nigerian business analyst and career coach based in Canada, has been successfully filling that niche.

Eno, an Accountant, has curated various mentorship and coaching programmes for immigrants to Canada. She has also been partnering immigration settlement centres and non-profit organisations to provide pro-bono career coaching and mentorship programmes for those who wish to hone their skills as business analysts, development managers, and project managers among other professionals.

The acclaimed career coach has also gone a notch higher by collaborating with certification bodies and institutes around the world to provide discounted training and coaching services to immigrants. This, she said, was to help them up-skill and gain the confidence they need to become gainfully employed.

Eno is also the host of Linkedin Livestream, ‘Fireside Chat With Eno,’ where she shares valuable insights on job search tips and strategies for new immigrants. She also launched the Business Analysis Accelerator Coaching Program and the Career Elevation Mastermind, where she is helping 1,000 professionals get their dream jobs and elevate their careers.

Through her efforts, Eno said over 1, 500 immigrants have been able to kick-start their careers and become more fulfilled. In most of her trainings, she never ceased to drive home the point that business analysts are increasingly expected to identify and solve a much wider range of business problems than they did in the past.

However, there is something instructive about Eno’s rise to fame and fortune in the career coaching business, one of which is the need for one to be committed to his or dream or passion. Despite studying accounting, she remained true to her dream of equipping professionals with relevant skills required by present-day organisations to successfully drive their projects.

Giving more insight into her new-found career path, Eno said: “My parents wanted me to be a medical doctor, but I insisted on studying Accounting. I so much wanted to be an Accountant to the extent that I had to wait an extra year to get my preferred course after being offered a degree in a different field from my dream school then.

“After graduation, I got employed to work in my field of expertise. Along the line, I got bored. I found Accounting monotonous and outdated.” Her reason: “With technology on the rise, Accounting was going beyond the basic Excel, spreadsheets and bookkeeping.

“Everything was getting automated. Technology was driving everything, and I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted something different: to be innovative and to use my skills to solve problems.  I took a project management course. I started coordinating projects.”

Since then, Eno has never looked back. She said, for instance, that business analysis is more of innovation and driving change through technology and digital transformation, which excited her. “It (business analysis) is in high demand. More and more companies are looking to have an upgrade of their existing systems to stay competitive by adopting new technologies,” she said.

After acquiring her certification in Business Analysis, Eno said she moved to Canada a few years afterwards. However, her relocation to Canada where she has since been making waves did not come without challenges; she had to fight several battles, including moments when her academic qualification was questioned, because she is an African.

Eno said, for instance, that from being told during an interview that they were surprised she could speak ‘good English’ to having several degrees and certifications, and to being told she was too young and ambitious, it was never a walk in the pack for her.

“My residency status was often questioned because of my skin colour.

I have fought several battles in my not-so-long sojourn here in Canada. On my arrival in Canada, my bags went missing on the last flight to Calgary. I had to start my life in Canada from ground zero,” the expert in business analysis added.

Despite the hiccups, Eno remained undaunted. Instead, she continued to leverage her expertise in understanding the changing skill needs of employers in various industries to deliver tailor-made solutions to her trainees. “I was resilient in my pursuit for success and invested heavily in myself because I knew that my earnings will always be proportionate to my value,” she said.

Her resilience eventually paid-off. For instance, from being told that she wasn’t good enough and she had no Canadian work experience, Eno is arguably, one of the most sought-after career coaches in Canada, having mentored over 5,000 immigrants.

Eno’s mentoring prowess has also earned her awards and recognitions from home and in the Diaspora. For instance, she got nominated for the Avenue Calgary Top 40 and the Forbes under 30.

She also won the Mentorship Award for Universal Women’s Network 2019, Top 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada 2020, RBC Women of Influence Award 2020, and RBC Top 75 Immigrants in Canada 2020.

Despite these, Eno said she is not near where she desires to be. “I have not stopped investing in myself. I know the future is brighter and I am positioning myself for that opportunity to rewrite my story,” she said.

“One of the areas she worked in is the training and development of people for international assignments. As a result, her organisation has achieved competence for a global pipeline of talent.