Tenacity. Dedication: 15-year-old Kate Ene David Shares Story Of Her Journey To Becoming MTN’s A Day CEO
When news hit the internet on November 26, 2022, that a 15-year-old student will be leading Nigeria’s leading telecommunication company, MTN, many Nigerians were eager to know how she achieved such a feat.
“This small girl? CEO? Wow!” Many Nigerians expressed astonishment in the comment section of the post on MTN Nigeria’s Instagram page announcing Kate Ene David’s achievement.
Kate Ene David, who won the MTN mPulse Spelling Bee competition and was MTN Nigeria’s one day CEO on February 1, 2023, is not your average 15-year-old. She is a very ambitious teenager with multiple prizes on her shelf from participating in spelling B competitions to increase and brush up her knowledge in vocabulary. To the scholar who hails from Itabono in Owukpa district in Ogbadibo LGA of Benue state, these perks are great, but they are not her driving force.
In March 2021, when I spoke to Kate over a zoom call in company of her dad, Mr. Ene David, who had enthusiastically rushed down from an important outing to meet the scheduled time for the interview, she had seemed very relaxed over the phone. Picking her words carefully while answering more eloquently than you would expect a 15-year-old to respond, she took me down a journey of how she found love for vocabulary. Using clear, concise words and speaking with a world of knowledge, we delved into why she is choosing to conquer the world of vocabulary before she eventually steps into her choice of career in the medical field.
Born into a family of nine that cherishes and embodies academic excellence, it’s no surprise that she has taken on this part. Her Father, Mr. Abah David, is an educationist who runs his own school, Talentfield Academy in Nasarawa State, while her brother is also a super speller who holds an O-level certificate and is currently seeking admission to study computer science. It’s instantly obvious that her family’s line of academic excellence and discipline has influenced her to start participating in spelling competitions from her time in Junior Secondary School.
Although she officially started representing her school in competitions in JSS2, she started developing her spelling skills in primary school by watching her elder brother also prepare for these competitions.
“My elder brother is a spelling bee champion himself, I would say he ignited my passion for spelling bee because I usually assist him in calling out the words for him to practise their spellings, in doing that, I also developed more interest in the competition myself,” she told Neusroom.
Considering the fact that her father is an educationist, it’s no surprise that he has dedicated his time to leading his children toward academic excellence. “My father deserves the accolades. He pays for any competition that comes to his knowledge and also provides the necessary study materials. Even at home, he helps manage my time to encourage me to study for every competition I enrol for. He is diligent and believes in excellence,” Kate praised her father.
For five years, with the help of her family, she has been competing, winning some and losing some as she sought knowledge, but not until the MTN Mpulse competition in 2022, did her wins leave a significant influence on her life. As she did not only win a ₦2.5m scholarship grant, a laptop, a smartphone, and an MTN goody bag, but she also became the first female to become MTN’s CEO. Even if it was for a day, not many people can say that they have achieved such.
“I am excited. I didn’t imagine myself being the CEO at such a young age. So I would say that it’s one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Being a CEO of a large organisation at such a tender age is something that is very exciting,” she added.
The student of Intimacy with Christ Secondary School, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, just 45 minutes away from where Kate lives and was born in Koroduma, Nasarawa State, with their teaching resources had put her through over 6 hours of lecture on spelling and grammar, which helped her win the competition.
Considering the fact that she was great at vocabulary, one would assume that she was an art student, but that’s far from her choice of study. Kate is going into the health sector.
In her words; “Biology claims that organisms evolved, while spirituality, Bible to be specific, says life came by God. These are things that I’ve always sought after their answers.” In simple terms she simply wants answers, answers on why the universe came to be and why it has evolved to be what it is now. In her opinion, being well-developed in vocabulary would help her achieve that.
“I have always wanted a career that would enable me to impact more meaning on humanity through technology and health sciences,” she said. MTN mPulse was a step towards achieving this goal which is why she decided to apply for the competition because she desired a scholarship.
But she did not only get a scholarship, she got the knowledge and used her opportunity to help students in need. With the help of MTN, she launched the mPulse education data bundles for students, a bundle that comes with 250 MB to 4 GB. The 250 MB is viable for one week, while the 4MB works for 30 days. It is a discounted offer for students and young people.
“The educational bundles are really for children who do not really have access to quality educational materials, this is going to assist them in their academic work because they pay little for a large amount of data bonuses, and with this, they could learn more. I believe that any student who is willing to improve in their academics would benefit from this.”
Her initiative is a direct interpretation of what she claimed to have learnt from MTN’s CEO, Karl Toriola. According to Kate, she was amazed at how well he handled his affairs and how he had time to mentor teenagers like her even with the great position he held. “I learnt from him that whatever you are doing you should have time for humanity, that’s what he displayed that day,” she said.
Although she had revealed that she had not passed through any major challenges while preparing for the MTN mPulse competition aside from the need to study rigorously, she had revealed that the process has prepared her for her future plans as she plans to take online courses in UI/UX designing while preparing for her forthcoming transitory exams to the university.
In four months, the 15-year-old A-plus student who had been competing in academic competitions finally earned the reward and the recognition she deserves from both her peers and teachers while getting the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to call herself MTN’s first female CEO. What better time to make such a feat than a year when MTN and the world are celebrating women in ICT?
