In 2008, when Adesuwa Dickens Ijewere gained admission to the University of Ghana to read a combined major in English and Theatre Arts, she had big dreams of becoming a journalist. She wanted to report on events as they happened, like the reporters she watched on Al Jazeera. But instead, she ended up leading the way for EchoHouse’s growth across Africa.
However, during her first year at university, Adesuwa joined the Echo Campus team at Legon. This choice made her stumble on a successful career in creative marketing.
She had no idea of the existence of marketing agencies, “to be frank I was not alone, even the founders of EchoHouse did not know something like marketing agencies existed when they started the Echo Magazine at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST),” Adesuwa said giggling in an interview.
At the time Ade joined, EchoHouse was transitioning from a magazine into a comprehensive marketing agency. EchoHouse was starting to take shape and she found a way to grow with the agency.
Adesuwa’s initial role involved managing the University of Ghana campus team, but professionally, she started as an Account Manager, responsible for curating creative marketing solutions for various brands. This is certainly away from what she learned at Legon while pursuing a combined major in English and Theatre Arts.
Her family, initially unsure of the party-like atmosphere that surrounded EchoHouse’s early ventures, eventually came around to support her passion for the company’s mission.
Adesuwa has made incredible feet in marketing in various West African countries working with multinational brands such as Diageo, Vodafone (Now Telecel), Coca-Cola, Jägermeister, MTN, Nestle CWAR, Nestle Ghana, Monrovia Breweries, Samsung, among others, for more than a decade now.
In 2018, Ade picked up the challenge of leading EchoHouse’s journey into Africa. She packed up and set off to Liberia to set up EchoHouse Liberia. This was the first time EchoHouse was doing business outside Ghana. Her scope of work included setting up a new team and executing the first-ever Tidal Rave outside Ghana. Adesuwa curated the MTN Liberia Music Awards (MLMA) music platform for MTN Liberia. MLMA has been running for 6 years now, and it has been credited for giving a facelift to how events in Liberia were organized. While in Liberia, she also played a pivotal role in securing partnerships with major clients like MTN Liberia, making the telecommunications giant the number 1 brand in Liberia.
As a previous member of the Echo Campus team herself and later becoming the General Manager of Echo Campus -Legon while still in school, Adesuwa is also championing the growth of the Echo Campus Team network in various West African countries. The Echo Campus Teams network now has campuses in six West Africa countries.
Reflecting on her journey, Adesuwa emphasizes the importance of keeping an open mind, believing in the bigger picture, and trusting God’s plan. “Working in new territories from scratch (like Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Benin) has been scary, but it has also been really rewarding. I keep learning new things,” she said.
With no academic background in marketing communications, Ade credits EchoHouse’s supportive working environment for providing a nurturing environment where she could draw on her creativity and repurpose that to address marketing problems for various brands irrespective of the market.
“EchoHouse encourages people to be themselves and do what they love,” Adesuwa said, citing herself as an example.
Looking ahead, Adesuwa envisions further expansion for EchoHouse, focusing on empowering young talents across Africa to pursue their dreams in the field of creative marketing. As a trailblazer in a male-dominated industry, she understands the importance of mentorship and support, especially for aspiring female creatives.
Adesuwa’s path to finding a career in creative marketing was unconventional. She stumbled into advertising and marketing and now she is making a mark as she leads EchoHouse’s growth in Africa.