MiGreat's first customer obtains German citizenship

This month, the first person I ever supported in coming to Germany became a German citizen. In many ways, she's the key inspiration to founding MiGreat Germany.

A decade ago, in Lagos

We met over ten years ago, in Lagos. I had a four-month-old baby, a full-time job at a startup that never slowed down, and the stubborn belief that I could do right by both. Without talent like Nneka, I would have given up in month one.

Talent, interrupted

Like so many talented people across Nigeria, Nneka was the first-born daughter — which meant leaving school early to support her family. She studied on her own to pass her exams anyway. From the day we hired her, her drive was impossible to miss. We knew she wouldn't just be an asset to us. She'd be an asset to Germany too.

So when we moved from Lagos to Berlin, I asked myself: Is there a way to bring talent like hers to Germany too?

Two rejections, one lawyer, and an identical application

Her first application for a visa to Germany was rejected. So was her second. Then we hired a lawyer, who submitted the exact same paperwork — and it was approved. And an important lesson in never-giving up was learned.

Building a new life in Germany

Nneka arrived in Berlin. She worked during the day while spending her nights studying German. She landed an apprenticeship as a kindergarten teacher (a shortage profession in Germany). She trained for three years (while earning a salary as part of the apprenticeship), continued studying German, and finished her training. She was taken on full-time immediately. And piece by piece, she built her own career, her own family, her own life in Berlin.

This month, that life was crowned with citizenship.

To Germany, an even greater opportunity

To Nneka, Germany has been an extraordinary opportunity. To Germany, she's an even greater one.

I was lucky to have met Nneka in the first place as she helped me keep my career after maternity leave. I was luckier still that she showed me — plainly, undeniably — that talent like hers can thrive anywhere it's given the chance. And Germany is the luckiest of all, because it now has one more superwoman ready to help carry this democracy forward.

This is what we're building MiGreat for: Since supporting Nneka in coming to Gemrany, dozens of others have followed. Each time we learn something new about what's effective. And we support our talent from beginning to end.