I started a consultancy to train university students on data management

By Nelson Papi Kolliesuah

Growing up, I was always an inquisitive child. In school, I excelled and then started to appreciate the value of investigative journalism. I later enrolled to journalism school. Although I could piece together circumstances leading to the occurrence of certain situations, I kept yearning for more.

Every time I listened to reports from different media outlets, I became increasingly convinced that some of the challenges Africa faces can be addressed if we invested more in research. 

My conviction was further validated at the 2018 RUFORUM Biannual conference held in Nairobi, Kenya that called for the need to increase the continent’s pool of scientists while at the same time creating and strengthening institutions that will promote the discovery and application of knowledge and skills in a data-friendly environment.

That is why in my search for knowledge, I realized that helping to close this gap requires a foundational approach, one that builds the competencies of individuals, businesses, and community-based organisations in the area of statistical training, scholarly writing, work readiness, soft skills, training, and coaching for SMEs at start-up and execution levels. This led me to start a data-driven consultation firm called “Delta Consulting and Services”, abbreviated as DELOS. DELOS is a research-driven institution offering strategic solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), CBOs, CSOs, and other public-private institutions. Since its establishment this year (2020), we have been able to conduct two virtual trainings for students across different universities in Uganda, India, Liberia, Kenya, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Burundi. These trainings span the areas of data management both in academic and professional settings. As we continue to grow while leveraging data to shape our activities, we are keen on incorporating students who have no experience yet, but are passionate about these activities. Our philosophy at DELOS is “Go and multiply”.  We have also provided mentorship and coaching that is relevant to shaping academic research for over ten (10) students in Somalia during the lockdown period. As we keep scaling from input to impact, we are optimistic that gaining legal accreditation at the country level in Liberia will help us grow into a full non-profit institution. We are moving one step at a time.