Nov 25, 2020
Fadila A. Ahmad shares her story of growing up in northern Nigeria, desiring to travel the world, and leaving home at the age of 16 to go study in Ghana without telling her father. She explains how she navigated her family dynamics in pursuit of her dream life, joined the Model U.N. in college and traveled outside of West Africa for the first time. From there she shares her experience working in the corporate world after college and then quitting her job with minimal savings and co-founding her business Fainajs Express Limited as a trade-facilitation agency based in West Africa. Fadila explains how she transformed her local business to one with a location-independent infrastructure that she could run from anywhere in the world, and how she set off on her digital nomad journey to travel the world. She tells stories about her first road trip across Europe, her first time seeing snow, why she loves Brazil so much, and why Swaziland is the most under-rated place in Africa. She then provides specific tips for solo-female travelers, Muslim travelers, and African travelers. Fadila then talks about founding “Africans Living Fully” as an online travel community to support African digital nomads. She shares specific tactics and paths for Africans to become location-independent and shares tips for traveling the world on a Nigerian passport. And, finally, she talks about her history of social justice activism, her work with NGOs across West Africa, the current human rights struggles in Nigeria, and she offers suggestions for how digital nomads can get involved and stay grounded in struggles for justice.