Scholar Spotlight - Kalifat Adeoye
Kalifat Adeoye, a Laidlaw Scholar at Oxford Saïd Business School, on turning her experience in supply chains into a force for social and environmental impact.
Please tell us about your background and what led you to apply for the Laidlaw Scholarship
Growing up in a Naval officer's family shaped my life in extraordinary ways. Discipline and adaptability were cornerstones of my upbringing, but it was my role as a caregiver to my infant sister at 11 that instilled a deep sense of responsibility and resilience. Living in military barracks across Nigeria exposed me to the beauty of diversity and the power of community, qualities that now define my approach to leadership and collaboration. Governed by rules and regulations, I developed a knack for maintaining structure and bringing order to chaos; skills that have been pivotal in my 8-year career driving impact across supply chains in multiple industries.
Despite modest financial means, my parents exemplified generosity. Every Ramadan, they opened our home to feed the less privileged, planting in me a conviction that leadership is measured by who you lift as you rise. That conviction grew into Walk In My Shoes (WIMS), a nonprofit that began as a simple desire to keep children in school and has since empowered over 1,000 women and children through healthcare and education initiatives in Nigeria.
My entrepreneurial spirit was shaped by my parents' ventures, which faced challenges due to limited resources. Witnessing their struggles fuelled my determination to excel; from honey packaging to an online modest fashion store, I learned perseverance and innovation while identifying the gaps in my own business acumen.
These experiences pull me toward a single goal: to merge world-class operational leadership with a lifelong passion to serve, designing sustainable supply chains that improve efficiency while creating social and environmental value. The Laidlaw Scholarship speaks directly to this. Its commitment to raising women who lead ethically and pay it forward mirrors the leader I am becoming, and I want to help build that pipeline for the girls who will come after me.
What is the biggest life challenge you have overcome and what did you learn from it?
Discipline was a cornerstone of my upbringing, yet, ironically, living up to it is the challenge I still wrestle with most. My childhood gave me the standard and taught me exactly what discipline looks like; it did not make meeting that standard come naturally. The people I work with and my friends would swear I am one of the most disciplined people they know, but the truth is that it is a battle I fight daily to stay on the right side of.
What I have learned is that a weakness you acknowledge loses much of its power over you. Rather than rely on willpower alone, I build processes and systems to keep me in check, structures that hold me accountable and ensure the work always gets done, even on the days I might otherwise fall short; I have made peace with being a work in progress.
The deeper lesson is that discipline is not simply a trait you inherit; it is a practice you choose, again and again. The values my upbringing planted are real, but honouring them is a daily decision, and that daily recommitment, more than any inherited gift, is what carries me forward.
Briefly describe a scene from the future you are striving to create.
I am striving for a Nigeria where underserved women and children finally stand a chance, a nation where the playing field is levelled. I see clinics across the country where any woman can walk in and access the care she needs, where maternal mortality is no longer a sentence but a rarity. I see classrooms in every corner of the country where a child receives an education strong enough to let them compete on the world stage. It is a future in which a child's address no longer determines their destiny.
Having recently taken part in the 2026 Skoll Centre Map the System, I carry a quiet hope, knowing there are young people in every corner of the world driving the social and environmental conversations that will shape it.
Presenting at the Map the System Oxford Finals
What is the most useful/impactful piece of advice you have been given in your life?
Keep moving… It's okay to cry and feel sad when you fall, but it's important that you keep moving, and whatever you do, start with God.
Conversely, what is the WORST piece of advice you have been given?
You are searching too high — go for something within reach.
What are your top 3 tips that will help someone become a better leader?
- Have vision and direction: A good leader sees the bigger picture, inspires others with a clear vision, and provides the direction needed to achieve it.
- Listen with empathy: Great leaders listen to understand, not simply to respond. Empathetic listening builds trust, strengthens relationships, and helps people feel valued.
- Be teachable: Leadership is a continuous learning journey. A good leader remains humble and open to learning from others, regardless of their role or status.
Which leaders in the world inspire you the most and why?
- Ibukun Awosika leads with vision, integrity, and purpose. She has shown that it is possible to build successful businesses while remaining deeply committed to developing people and creating opportunities for others.
- Indra Nooyi, for her strategic leadership and ability to balance commercial success with empathy. She demonstrated that strong leadership is not just about delivering results, but also about leading with authenticity and care for people.
- Sara Blakely’s resilience and willingness to embrace failure as part of the journey. Her story reminds me that confidence isn't about having all the answers; it's about believing in your vision, taking risks, and learning along the way.
What does it mean for you to be a Laidlaw Scholar?
Receiving the Laidlaw Scholarship is truly a lifeline. It is an opportunity to transform my life and pursue my aspirations at Oxford with confidence. More importantly, it is a profound reassurance that my leadership potential is seen, valued, and worth investing in. It has also given me the confidence to embrace the responsibility of being a role model for other underrepresented women, showing them that things that seem impossible are worth pursuing and that they, too, belong in spaces they once only dreamed of.
My matriculation
Quick-fire Questions
📺 Currently Binging:
Saworo Ilu – Teledalase
🎙️Podcast obsession:
🌈 Something that made me feel joy recently:
My friends and I got together to throw a picnic in honour of our friend's birthday. It was such a beautiful day; the sun was out, singing along to old songs felt wonderfully nostalgic, and there was so much joy in sharing food and simply being surrounded by love.…
💫 A message from Kalifat:
I would like to plug my baby, Walk In My Shoes(WIMS)
Find out more about our work here: www.wimsng.com
Kalifat Adeoye, is a Laidlaw Scholar at Oxford Saïd Business School. You can find Kalifat on LinkedIn. The Laidlaw Women's Business Education Scholarship aims to help build a pipeline of future women leaders through access to best-in-class education, resources and global networks by providing full and half scholarships to women who would not otherwise be in a position to reap the benefits of attending an outstanding school.
🔦 Discover more Scholar Spotlights:
⚡️ Juliana Ruseva, a Laidlaw Scholar at London Business School, on volunteering, helping women break the glass ceiling and tackling issues step by step.
⚡️ Ekaterina Keyzerova, a Laidlaw Scholar at the University of Leeds, on how poetry is created, shared, and experienced across diverse communities in Leeds.
⚡️ Harshita Jain, a Laidlaw Scholar at Oxford Saïd Business School, on helping women-led social enterprises across the Global South access the capital they deserve.
