Meet Ismatou Bah

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ismatou Bah. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ismatou below.

Ismatou, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I have to admit, I can’t sit here and say that I’ve figured out my purpose just yet. I’m relatively early on in my journey of self discovery.

For so long, my purpose has just been about creating opportunities where there were none. Being the eldest daughter of immigrant parents, I’ve always had people looking at me to “figure it out,” from my parents to my 3 younger siblings, and that pressure has pushed me to break barriers. Even though I’ve had access to some of the best opportunities growing up in New York City, as a Black woman from a low-income background, resources were very limited. But I was able to do a lot with a little. Thanks to my mom, I found out about and was able to apply for boarding school, introducing me to a world I didn’t know previously existed. From that point, I knew I had to work hard to build my own path, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I was suddenly on a strict path toward excellence; I graduated and attended NYU, secured internships in high school and college, and entered the world of Big Tech upon graduation. I paved the way for my siblings to do the same–applying for scholarships, supporting them through college decisions, and encouraging them to study abroad and take advantage of collegiate opportunities. I might not have known my purpose, but I knew that education was going to be the way to provide opportunity for myself and my family.
Fast forward to now, it’s hard to believe that that first episode of On Our Terms was released just a few months ago. Since then, I’ve grown in so many ways – I’m growing into my desires and developing my vision for my future. Going through school, I feel like there was always an attempt to put me in a box, but now, I see that true purpose feels more multifaceted.

I’m passionate about increasing representation for Muslim women, for Guineans, and for people who feel like their stories don’t get told. On Our Terms was born from this exact sentiment – to create a platform that breaks free from societal constraints and uplifts underrepresented voices. I realized that my purpose isn’t tied to one specific thing; it’s about creating space for the themes I care about and the missions I’m aligned with. Whether I achieve this through business, teaching, or media, the core purpose—to uplift and create space for others—will always be there.

In many ways, I feel like I’ve been thrown headfirst into this process—almost like I’ve been shoved into my purpose without a life jacket. But while I haven’t found my purpose in its entirety, I’m actively building it every day. It’s an evolving journey, and honestly, I want to do it all.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Currently, On Our Terms with Ismatou Bah is my baby. 🙂

Having this platform allows me to embrace my purpose in life, to provide a brave space for people to share their stories. In many of the communities I come from, shame is used to control people. This has been anything from shaming women to “keep our legs closed,” to holding black women to unrealistic standards around our hair, to simply being queer in Guinea. It’s enough.

This podcast has been a place to fight back against that. Through these conversations with my guests, we’ve laughed and cried our way through the pain, we’ve dissected the realities of our experiences, and shared advice on how we have taken back our power, in unique and different ways.

At the end of the day, humans are fascinated with the “why” behind our actions. I’m no exception, I was a whole sociology major in college. With On Our Terms, my kitchen table conversations with friends have been able to be shared with hundreds of followers from all around the world, adding well rounded perspective and nuance, and ultimately, shedding light on conversations that help push culture forward.

I’m excited for the future of On Our Terms. We’ve been getting great feedback so far, and I’m looking forward to furthering its impact in the near future. One of our goals for 2025 is to shoot a few special episodes in West Africa to get even closer to the stories that are near to my heart. We rarely see perspectives like these shown in Western media, and it’s time these voices get heard.

Being the eldest daughter of immigrants in America, you are constantly in between. This was my opportunity for all of my disparate identities to have a space to live and intermingle, and allow people to relate to each aspect and learn about themselves along the way.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Project (Life) Management is key, I fear – You have to be the admin of your life, there’s just no way around it. Planning is a crucial part of having goals that I’m realizing now that I am making choices for myself. And once you get around the initial mental barrier, the planning process can actually be a huge asset – it forces you to sit down and concretely decide on the steps needed to get you from point A to point B. It forces you to be realistic. At the end of the day, you have to set yourself up for success.

Resilience – I learned early on that giving up after a failure or a set back isn’t an option. You have be the KING of pivoting – not in a flakey way, constantly changing direction, but finding a different channel to get what you want or to attain that goal. Being solution-oriented when faced with challenges is paramount. To think achieving anything great or commendable is a straight and easy path is comical.

Confidence / Audacity – It sounds silly to say this, but never underestimate the impact that walking with confidence has on your journey. Nowadays we call it “being delusional,” but it works – tell yourself you are THAT person and stand on it. Trust your taste, trust your gut and trust your intuition; believe that that project you are working towards will work out. Dare to imagine, and dare to be creative. If not you, then who?

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

More than any single act, the most impactful thing my mother did for me was simply taking me along for the ride. I had a front-row seat to her incredible resilience. Imagine this: a single mother in NYC, juggling multiple jobs, raising four kids, and pursuing her bachelor’s degree – which she triumphantly achieved in 2015!

I remember those late nights, curled up beside her in college lecture halls, doing my homework while she absorbed her lessons. We’d pore over her literature books together, deciphering unfamiliar words in the dictionary. She never seemed to tire, this young, Black, Muslim, immigrant woman, persistently striving for her children, and most importantly, for herself.

Witnessing her dedication firsthand instilled a deep love of learning in me. Those shared nights studying, attending her classes – they weren’t just about academics; they were lessons in perseverance and grit. They gave me the courage to navigate my own “firsts”: boarding school, college, internships, and now my career.

Seeing my mom overcome obstacles to build a life in this country ignited a fire in me. It erased any excuse I might have had to give up on my own dreams. My mother’s passion for education, her unwavering love for her children, and her fierce self-determination taught me that I can prevail over any challenge. She showed me that I have a responsibility to myself, to my future, to shatter any glass ceiling that stands in my way.

And for that, I am eternally grateful.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Dumebi Malaika Menakaya (Official OOT Shoot)
Samantha Watson (BTS OOT Shoot)

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