Hear how leaving home at 16 shaped her drive for independence, global mobility, and creating opportunities for Africans. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE 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. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU See my Top 10 Travel Apps See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Empowering African Digital Nomads and Staying Grounded in Social Justice Activism with Fadila A. Ahmad (Ep 110)

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Hear how leaving home at 16 shaped her drive for independence, global mobility, and creating opportunities for Africans.  ============================  Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.  ============================  ON THIS EPISODE  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.  → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.  ============================  FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE  Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.  ============================  FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU  See my Top 10 Travel Apps  See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel  See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)  Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn  See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend  See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)  ============================  ENJOYING THE SHOW?  Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation  Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally  Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

The Maverick Show is a global travel podcast about what really happens when people cross borders and build lives across cultures. Hosted by full-time world traveler Matt Bowles, each episode features intimate, unfiltered conversations (often over a bottle of wine) exploring the human stories behind global travel and what the journey teaches us about the world and ourselves.  Guests include expats, digital nomads, women and diaspora storytellers, worldschooling families, and human rights advocates, all sharing travel stories that are funny, moving, and deeply human.  In addition to hearing about extraordinary places and the people who live there, you’ll learn what it’s really like to move abroad, build an expat life, or travel long-term, as guests open up about their personal journeys navigating culture, race, power, identity, and belonging in an unequal world. If you’ve ever felt that travel changes you in ways no one talks about, you’re in the right place.  The Maverick Show hit the Top 100 on Apple Podcasts (including #1 in Places & Travel), was ranked in the Top 1% of podcasts globally by Listen Notes, and was named the #1 Digital Nomad Podcast and #1 Remote Work Podcast by Million Podcasts — with hundreds of five-star listener reviews.

The Maverick Show: Global Travel Stories & Life Beyond Borders

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