Lavonne Ebiye is not your everyday woman. From running a mega Coca-Cola distributorship to championing African brands, building a premium travel company, and publishing over a dozen books, she has worn more hats than most could dream of. A firm believer in critical thinking and the power of women, she has built her life around one mission: empowering others.
In this conversation, she opens up about her remarkable journey, the sacrifices behind her success, and why she believes Africa’s future depends on changing mindsets.
Can we meet you, ma?
My name is Lavonne Ebiye. My father is Itsekiri, while my mother is from the Uvwie Local GovernmentArea of Delta State.
And what do you do?
I currently wear many hats. I am the Editor-in-Chief of Chayil Woman Africa Magazine, a magazine for women of African descent across the globe.
I am also a multi-brand marketer, promoting only indigenous African brands, as I believe my seal of approval should strengthen African products rather than foreign ones.
I likewise founded The Critical Thinking Boss Consult where I train entrepreneurs to reach their full potential.
Can you take us back to your early start in writing?
I began writing at 10, though not seriously. My first published book came after I turned 14. Growing up, I was fortunate to have praying grandmothers who foresaw my birth and believed I was destined for
something. They ensured my parents gave me a structured childhood.
By the age of eight to 12, I was already self-aware, with my own room filled with books. I had a personal library.
Though my parents were not highly educated, they invested in books, while my grandmothers instilled discipline and moral guidance.
I grew up sheltered and highly introverted, about 97 per cent, I’d say. Constant reading shaped me, because to be a good writer, one must first be a good reader. While others spent time playing, I was buried in uncensored books, from encyclopedias on health and medicine to human behaviour.
My grandmothers taught me history, my father provided educational resources, nature documentaries, and video
cassettes, and I had access to a computer at 14, when most university students didn’t.
Writing became less of a career choice and more of a necessity. My mind was always overflowing with knowledge and perspectives, and writing became the only way to release them. I never wrote fiction, only reality, my observations, and interpretations.
My father also encouraged my love for newspapers, buying me five daily newspapers and, on weekends, Newswatch and Tell Magazine. While others read lifestyle magazines, I
devoured political analysis word for word.
That is how my writing began, as an outlet for thought and knowledge. Even today, I write no fewer than 3,000 to 4,000 words.
Can you walk us through your career trajectory over the last 20 years, from marketing brands to founding multiple initiatives?
I don’t see myself as a “career” person, as I never applied for a job. I turned job offers into consultancy gigs. From
childhood, my parents and grandparents guided me in line with the prophecy spoken over my life.
At 14, my father noticed me writing business plans and tested me by having me draft one for his business. It was a
restaurant and he executed it. By 16, after my WAEC, I was working in his warehouse, attending business and sales meetings, and writing reports. At university, I used Coca-Cola as my thesis case study on leadership and performance.
After graduation, I joined my father’s Coca-Cola distributorship, rising through every level, from store manager to route sales manager to depot manager.
For 14 years, I ran a mega depot supplying about 15 villages, managing trucks, distribution, and grassroots markets.
Eventually, I spotted gaps in the supply chain, sometimes paying millions but receiving a lorry of only one brand of
Coca-Cola product. I advised diversification, but when my father refused, I began working with Rite Foods Limited,
dealing mostly with their Bigi water, and built parallel distributorship networks across Nigeria.
This opened doors to marketing for indigenous brands, creating structures and demand across states, though many
producers struggled to meet the demand I generated.
Later, I worked internationally, serving on the management board as the Chief Country Promoter of the Enrico Mattei University (an Italian online University with a mission to democratise education for Africa). I also worked as a Strategic Marketing Consultant for Invest Africa, organising conferences in Scotland and Birmingham, and connecting African governments and entrepreneurs with investors. I also became Country Marketing Manager for Noba Africa,
promoting agriculture across the continent.
By 2021, after mentoring over 1,000 logistics agents, I registered The Critical Thinking Boss. I discovered that Nigeria’s bigger challenge was not marketing but a lack of critical thinking. This birthed Mind Grip Africa to spread critical thinking across the continent.
In 2024, I accepted my calling to empower women through critical thinking and leadership, launching Chayil Woman Africa and later Hélo by Lavonne, my premium
travel and lifestyle brand. I also moved into immigration consulting, helping clients prepare documents and navigate
travel processes. Working for myself brought freedom but also full responsibility.
You’ve shared so much of your life story, so much background about the many things you’ve done. I must ask: What is a typical day like for you?
I am very spiritual and always keep an altar in my home. I wake at 5 a.m., having played subliminals through the night, which I continue absorbing for about 30 minutes before prayers at my altar. Around 6, I pause to supervise my daughter getting ready for school, then return to prayer.
At 8, I shower, eat, and take medication. By 9, I am at my desk. Mondays are reserved for weekly planning, but on other days, I begin work at 9, coordinating my five assistants and various task groups. I also oversee and train ambassadors for the Hélo by Lavonne brand. From 9 to 2, I work intensively, before preparing for my
children’s return at 3. Receiving them is a ritual; I welcome them at the gate and spend an hour together before starting
dinner at 4, which is ready by 6.
Evenings are for research and political reading. Between 6 and 9 p.m., I study the news, compare sources, and often
post analyses on LinkedIn, where many say I break stories 24–48 hours before they surface publicly. From 9 to 10, I
spend time with family or close friends before winding down and sleeping at 10.
How are you able to balance family life with your professional commitments?
That part has always been natural for me. My grandmothers began nurturing me early. My paternal grandmother
from Edo State called me “Mandela,” saying I was the light ofthe family and must carry everyone along. Both she and my maternal grandmother gave my mother strict instructions on how to raise me.
My grandmothers made it clear I was to uphold values, unite the family, and be hospitable, homely, and responsible.
So when I became a mother, I was ready. Before marriage, I had been working in the church, earning money, buying household items, and preparing for my own home.
From the age of 10, I had read widely on anatomy and medicine, so I understood pregnancy, childbirth, and children’s health long before motherhood. By God’s grace, none of my three children, now 18, 11, and 7, has ever been hospitalised since birth.
Even after my divorce, while stranded abroad, I put my children first. I turned down job offers and money-making
opportunities, choosing instead to take flexible consultancy roles. I made a vow: no matter how many titles or opportunities came my way, my children would come first until my youngest turned eight.
In your professional journey, what has been your biggest risk?
I am only now starting my own businesses after years of running my father’s and other people’s. At 45, I am just beginning my master’s, with a PhD to follow. For me, the journey is only starting. I cannot say I have had negative experiences. However, it is always easier for a woman to move
faster without children, especially without the support of a spouse. The greatest risk I took was holding on to my children and sacrificing everything else.
What about achievements?
Taking my children out of Nigeria is my greatest achievement. I have followed Nigerian news and read newspapers
since I was nine, so I know the patterns and the cycles, and I can predict what is coming, and it’s not really a nice one.
Moving them at the nick of time may sound unusual, but it is true. I needed my children to be secure and have access to
good healthcare.
What are some of your goals for the near future?
I want to earn my PhD. It would make my mother proud, as she already calls me “Professor.”
One of my dreams is to run a women-only food business across 30 African countries and 17 European nations. I have
planned it down to the smallest detail, and everything I do now, including my Master’s in International Project Management, is geared towards this goal. It will operate on a franchise-like model, designed to empower women.
Alongside this, I am developing Mind Grip Africa, an initiative rooted in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I believe Africans should take the best from global systems and apply them to rebuild Africa. My vision is to train professionals in critical thinking and mindset development while
tying their work to sustainability.
I have paused the official launch to focus on my education, but after completing a one-year mentorship with a senior
UN expert who runs an organisation in Switzerland, I will launch fully. My goal is to reach 50 million people by 2030, using technology to scale.
On the travel side, I am building Hélo by Lavonne with a circle of 12 women. I recently had a second interview and
will soon sign an MoU with one of the world’s largest immigration organisations. This will expand into second passports and other premium immigration solutions.
Altogether, my work, whether through food, critical thinking, publishing, or travel, falls under one mission: empowering women and youth.
What is your word to the youth of Nigeria?
What I would say first is: stop blaming. When people are not taught to think, they are conditioned to react. Before every reaction, there’s always a pause, however brief, and that pause is crucial. The quality of one’s response is dependent
on their ability to engage with their higher faculties. Politicians understand this and exploit it through distractions,
psyche-ops, and propaganda. Many youths don’t even realise they should be consciously feeding their subconscious
minds. Instead, their subconscious simply absorbs whatever it sees or hears. That is why my focus is on mindset. If
Nigerian youths can learn to pause, think critically, and consciously direct their thoughts, they will stop being reactive
and start being proactive. It won’t happen overnight, but it is the only way forward.
