Like many who come to the Netherlands, Adenike Alade had to face the challenges of starting over in a new country. This experience led her to found Thrive Lydia Generation – a platform dedicated to supporting expat partners and skilled female migrants find their true potential and be economically independent. She shares her journey, how she overcame the challenges, and four tips for aspiring women entrepreneurs.
Could you tell me a little about the journey that brought you here, Adenike?
I am from Nigeria, and I moved to the Netherlands to follow my husband, who was coming to do his PhD. I saw it as an opportunity for my own educational advancement and to explore the world. If you stay in one place too long, you end up with a very narrow view of the world, but moving around and exploring possibilities is good for your outlook and your growth.
I’m a passionate advocate of women’s empowerment, and I’m particularly focused on helping highly skilled migrants thrive in the Netherlands, enhancing mental well-being and economic participation. I hold a Master’s degree in Consultancy and Entrepreneurship from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. I am an ICF Associate Certified Executive Coach and a McKinsey Forward Program graduate.
I pursued my Master’s to sharpen my strategic thinking, leadership, and business development skills all essential for building a sustainable social enterprise and to gain a deeper understanding of the talented migrant women I aimed to create impactful solutions for understand the very smart migrant women I wanted to create impactful solutions for. Now, I’m the founder of Thrive Lydia Generation, a platform that is dedicated to empowering women to achieve economic independence and meaningful integration in Dutch society.
I’ve been in the Netherlands for over a decade. I feel quite settled here, but I’m still advancing in the Netherlands’ system. It’s a very strategic system, and you need to know how to crack the code. It’s important to understand the system if you want to settle here you have to have a vision and a destination in mind. I’ve not yet reached my destination.
What is that destination?
My destination is to become that extraordinary woman that I’m advocating for. My destination is to have a big centre in the Netherlands: the Lydia Women Empowerment Centre. Within five years, I aim to empower a thousand women to find meaningful work, develop a strong work ethic, and feel confident and fulfilled in themselves. Many come here following their husbands, but often put their own dreams on hold. These women have incredible skills, yet they can get stuck. My mission is to help them unlock their potential and achieve their own vision.”
For example, one of our members came to the Netherlands with her husband, who is an IT professional. She has a PhD in pharmaceutical studies, and yet she’d been here twelve years and did not know what to do because she could not find a job. Our organisation helped her find a fast-track education programme in nursing and healthcare. Once she finished the course, we helped her find a job as a pharmacist’s assistant. My goal is to support and empower more women to participate and thrive in the Netherlands.
What inspired you to found the Thrive Lydia Generation? What were you hoping to create?
My inspiration came from my own journey and the many stories I heard of highly skilled migrant women who were unable to reach their potential in the Netherlands. I wanted to create a platform where they could find support, practical tools and inspiration to move into thriving careers. Because these women are somebody in their original country. Like myself: I was a project manager, working with many members of parliament. I arrived in the Netherlands and all of that changed. I became a stay-at-home mum. I went from being highly intellectual, using my brain and managing all these projects, to managing children, which is challenging in itself of course, but completely different. I was missing something, and that’s where the idea of this platform came from. Once my children had grown up, I wondered: how do I fit the system? That’s a challenge for many women. Once you’ve left the corporate environment for a few years, how do you get back in? How do you prepare and position yourself? How do you stay focused? Because, to use the example I gave earlier, by the time this lady joined us, after twelve years out of work, she had lost her self-esteem, she felt like she was nobody. My motivation is to support these women to reach their potential instead of getting trapped.
Did you experience that loss of self-esteem while you were going through your own journey?
Absolutely. In Nigeria, I was busy – I travelled from one state to another, mixing with high-level people, doing practical work, empowering women in my local area, helping them set up as entrepreneurs, providing tools to help them start a business and seeing that business become successful, and the positive impacts that followed from that. That was very fulfilling. I was used to performing and empowering women, that’s where my happiness and joy came from, and I was getting paid handsomely for it. When I relocated to the Netherlands, all that changed. After six years looking after the children, I started working with a Swedish company in Delft. That gave me hope, but I knew I didn’t want to do that job forever. I started getting this craving to do something for other women who experienced the same struggles I had. I started strategizing, I enrolled for my Masters’. And here I am.
Where does the name Thrive Lydia Generation come from?
Actually, it’s funny how I got the inspiration. I’m a Christian. I went to fellowship one day. The pastor was teaching about empowerment: how can the Holy Spirit empower you to become who you are? The pastor said, like a woman in the Bible, you don’t have to be spiritual all the time, you can also be a businesswoman and do great things. As he was talking, I knew I needed to read more about this. I went back to read that particular verse, and it was as if it was talking to me directly: Book of Acts, Chapter 16, verse 14, it is about a leader, a woman called Lydia. She was a successful entrepreneur, and she used her influence to entertain the apostles. She was one of the first Christians in Europe. I just heard my spirit saying: what if we create a model? Because, you know, if you don’t have a model to follow, you don’t really know what you want to replicate. I wanted to create a holistic model, not just being successful as a businesswoman but being fulfilled, working on yourself, taking care of your mental wellbeing. That’s where the name comes from.
What was the biggest challenge you faced when creating your business, and how did you overcome that challenge?
There are two main challenges: getting funding and building trust.
We’re a nonprofit organisation, it’s a challenge to secure initial funding and here too, trust is an issue. The question is: how do you pitch yourself to get other organizations to believe in your idea? I think that when you are authentic, people know. And when you’re clear about what you want to do, the funding organizations can discern that you have the passion to make it happen, then they will partner with you. They may not give you a lot of money at the initial stage, but when you break through the first step, you can build up that trust.
Then there’s understanding these women and their needs, and building that trust within the migrant community. You build trust through consistency, transparency, delivering genuine results through small, successful programs that show you have their interest at heart.
What skills or qualities helped you face challenges and achieve your goals? You’ve mentioned authenticity. How do you embody that authenticity in your work?
“Authenticity is best seen in how we treat people.”
At Thrive, our consistency in hospitality, kindness, Empathy and professionalism allows others to discern our genuineness and trust our community. I think people can sense authenticity. Plastic smiles don’t work. No matter how you try to mask something, in time, people will begin to see who you are. In practice, people usually experience someone’s authenticity through how they relate. Are they honest, consistent, empathetic? Authenticity comes from our experiences in relating with others. That’s why I focus on being true to myself and those we serve, working alongside our dedicated volunteers to build genuine relationships grounded in a strong value system. We value respect, hospitality, empathy and professionalism. For example, At our events, we focus on creating an atmosphere of empathy and understanding by reminding ourselves of the women we are here to support. We imagine what it might be like to arrive as a migrant leaving behind an entire life and starting from scratch. What would we hope to find at such an event? We are here to empower one another and to show respect, because authenticity is built on that mutual respect.
Authenticity is about mutual respect.
How do you stay motivated when things get tough?
My faith and my passion for empowering others. When I remember my passion for empowering others, that keeps me motivated. Every time I see a woman regain her confidence and find a place in society, it gives me energy to continue.
Every time I see a woman regain her confidence and find a place in society, it gives me energy to continue.
I draw strength from prayer, listening to worship music, and learning from voices like Tony Robins and Les Brown. I also stay focused by reading the Bible and other content that inspires me. I am grateful for the support of my intelligent and empathetic husband, as well as the guidance of my mentor, Professor Lucas Meijs of Rotterdam School of Management, who taught me how to manage an NGO. When challenges arise, I turn to them for perspective and wisdom, which helps me see new possibilities.
What have you learned through the Migrant Women Empowerment Program about how to empower migrant women to thrive in their new countries?
Empowerment must be holistic. It’s not just about skills, but also about mindset, community support and visible role models.
One of the things I’ve learned is that empowerment must be holistic. It’s not just about skills, but also about mindset, community support and visible role models. We focus on confidence building too, because women who have migrated to the Netherlands have faced many challenges. We provide this community support and confidence building through masterminds, seminars and coaching. We bring people together to share their stories, as well as teach professional skills like emotional intelligence or how to write a good CV. We always encourage our speakers to tell their stories because there’s a lot of power in stories.
How do you approach fostering connections and collaborations among people from different backgrounds?
We treat everybody equally, no matter where they come from. I find Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs very interesting. After basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing, we all need a sense of belonging. So we focus on making everyone feel seen and heard. We check in with everyone, we show love, we are empathetic, we ask how they are. We focus on building people’s confidence. That creates connection.
How important are communities like Female Ventures for creating connections?
Communities like Female Ventures are crucial because they provide spaces for learning, networking and empowerment. Collaboration amplifies impact. By sharing knowledge opportunities, we can create a much more inclusive and powerful ecosystem for women. The last time I was at a Female Ventures event, I had a lovely time, and I met new women with whom we will soon be collaborating on the Thrive Lydia Generation platform. So communities like this are very important because they provide spaces for networking and connecting skilled women with empowering projects. We love them!
By sharing knowledge opportunities, we can create a much more inclusive and powerful ecosystem for women.
You have mentioned that your vision for the future of Thrive Lydia Generation is to empower a thousand women to thrive in their new host country. Is there anything else that you envision for the future of your platform?
I would like to see the Thrive Lydia Generation tribe expanding across more cities in the Netherlands. We would also like to offer entrepreneurship incubation, leadership training and greater advocacy for migrant women in the future. Our slogan is “Don’t just be a woman, be extraordinary”. I would love to see many more women moving from being ordinary women to extraordinary women, by fulfilling their vision, missions and goals.
What advice would you give to aspiring women entrepreneurs and professionals, particularly those who have come here from another country?
The number one thing is self-concept and self-belief. How do you see yourself? No matter what I say, no matter how we try to help anyone, if they don’t believe in themselves, it cannot happen. Even if I give you all the strategies, you won’t make it if you don’t believe you can. The number one thing is to believe in yourself. Nothing is impossible if you put your heart into it and you want to do it.
Nothing is impossible if you put your heart into it.
Number two is resilience. With every goal or dream or plan you have, there are going to be challenges. But your ability to keep on going and focus and continue to learn, that is very important.
Number three is open-mindedness. That means that you don’t underestimate anyone. Just be open-minded and keep learning. You never know what you might learn and how it might be relevant to your journey. I’m open to learning from anyone willing to teach me. I think that should be everyone’s mentality. When you’re open, opportunities will come when you least expect them.
When you’re open, opportunities will come when you least expect them.
Finally, don’t aim to just survive. “I want to pay my bills, and I want to have money for my vacation”. That is too small a goal for your worth. Think bigger. Believe bigger! Beyond that, who do you want to become? What do you want to achieve? How do you want to create impact? Setting bigger goals, goals beyond yourself, is very important. These would be my four suggestions for any aspiring woman entrepreneur.
Thank you, Adenike, for sharing your journey with us!
Connect with Adenike through Thrive Lydia Generation or on LinkedIn.