Across the world, there are lots of Blacks making positive waves and Reni Odetoyinbo is one of them. She has carved a niche for herself in the content creation space and has been recognized by a world class platform for her innovation, creativity and hard work. Its on this note that we are delighted to showcase her in commemoration of this years Black History Month.
Popular social platform, YouTube recently announced the 135 creators who will take part in this years $100 million #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund. The list of inductees, comprised of tech experts, comedians, business owners and more.
Remarkably, this cohort includes five talented Canadian creators, including Reni Odetoyinbo.
It is imperative to note that Odetoyinbo began sharing resources on personal finance and career development through her YouTube channel, xoReni, during the pandemic. As one of the only Black Canadian women in the personal finance space on YouTube, Odetoyinbo plans on leveraging #YouTubeBlacks funding and mentorship to grow her unique voice and reach more viewers in 2022.
In a chat with newsmen, an elated Odetoyinbo said Being the first in this space can be scary because there is no point of reference or anyone in the space who looks like me who can mentor me.
On the other hand, it is incredibly exciting because I am filling a huge gap in the market. People often tell me that they were waiting for a Black person in this space.
She believes that the skills she developed at Schulich propelled her to kickstart her content strategy journey.
Odetoyinbo said My experience at Schulich shaped me in a number of ways. First, taking marketing courses allowed me to see that there was a way to combine my creative side with my business side. Also, because we had to take so many courses that required presentations, I definitely became a better public speaker as a result now I speak for a living!
When asked to shed light on her channel and why she started it, she said I have always loved the idea of sharing my knowledge with others, but wanted to do this in a space where I could provide real value. When I purchased my first home at a young age, I had so many people ask me how I did it. Thats when I realized that I could carve out an area for myself in the Financial Literacy space”.
Harping on the journey so far, she said Its going really well! I previously worked at a bank and decided to quit in October and try to focus on YouTube full-time. So far Im able to support myself in the same capacity as my bank role.
“Im so proud of the community Ive built on YouTube – weve built a lot of trust, and I dont take this for granted. From what Ive seen, there arent many Black Canadian Women in the financial space on YouTube, so I think thats a unique factor to my content.”
Reacting to When it comes to financial literacy, how did you get into this space? Reni said Im extremely lucky to come from a family that understood finance. Every year for my birthday I would get stocks in addition to gifts. As a child I found it frustrating as Id much rather have more gifts than ownership in a company, but I couldnt be more appreciative of this now! My parents also took the time to teach me about investing. I sometimes bring my Dad on my channel to discuss various topics, and I think viewers like hearing from someone whos like their parents.”
On why she applied for the #YouTubeBlack Voices Class of 2022, she said Someone from my community on YouTube sent it to me. When I took a look, my first thought was wow! These creators are huge, and I wasnt sure I was a fit. But Im thrilled to be part of this years cohort, and its a great opportunity to amplify Black voices.
“Whats really exciting is that with the support from the Black Voices fund, Ive been able to hire an editor and an intern. Support for creators goes so much further because its growing the creator economy of Canada”.
When asked on why representation and amplification are important, she said Financial literacy, and the financial space in general, tends to be Male and White dominated. BIPOC communities that dont come from generational wealth dont often know where to start, and financial literacy feels inaccessible.
“Looking at my community on YouTube, its mostly new immigrants and Black women who dont understand the financial system, and dont know where to start. On top of that, they dont see anyone that looks like them that they can talk to.
“Someone from my community recently said to me I didnt even know I could negotiate a salary. This is why representation is important – so that we can support our Black communities to understand financial literacy and share this wealth with their communities.”
Odetoyinbo recently left her marketing manager role at BMO to pursue her content strategy and speaking dreams full-time.
The editorial board of The Nigerian Canadian Newspaper celebrates with Reni Odetoyinbo for being named among the 135 creators who will take part in this years $100 million #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund.
We also urge her to keep being a good ambassador of Blacks.
