Assia Riccio

About Beyond Cubicles

📢 #BeyondCubicles is a weekly LinkedIn series created by Carolina D’Souza, born out of her own experience transitioning from a corporate career to independent consulting. Since its launch in June 2024, the series has evolved into a platform that showcases the inspiring journeys of several founders who have redefined the traditional 9-to-5.

Through authentic narratives, #BeyondCubicles highlights themes of courage, resilience, and purpose. The stories feature individuals from diverse industries—ranging from tech and education to wellness and adventure—who share their experiences of stepping away from conventional roles to pursue passion-driven careers. 

✨ Note: All features in this series are unpaid and shared as a way to honor and amplify real stories of transformation.

When Assia Riccio traveled to Africa for her first program, her mother asked: “Why are you training only 10 people? What about the rest?!”

 

It came with the mix of love and no-nonsense that defined her mother, and it stayed.

 

Assia grew up in Italy in a family dedicated to creating positive change. Her parents pursued initiatives across developing countries, supporting children through education.

 

Several trips to Africa clarified what she wanted. Timing came later. “Being made redundant became the catalyst,” she says, “a push to what I had been wanting to do.”

 

She moved to Dubai in 2012 through hospitality. That shaped her entry point. In 2017, she launched Evolvin’ Women, a skills development initiative for African hospitality youth, inspired by her mother’s model of education combined with employment.

 

Early on, she was described as “the lady who goes to Africa to help women, which, while well-intentioned, was a simplified version of what we were actually building.”

 

As demand grew and young men began applying, the sponsor-led model could not keep pace. This led to the evolution of Evolvin’ Women into EVOLVIN’.

 

Today Evolvin’ operates across 12 countries, has enrolled over 1,400 youth, and generated more than $12.5 million in combined salaries. As the model evolved to include self-funded participation, Kutafiti, a non-profit arm based in Kenya, was established to ensure those without financial means could still access the programs.

 

Alongside this work, in 2021, she founded Nia Coffee (niacoffee.com), sourcing from women smallholder farmers and funding a program to improve yields and market access, extending the same focus on opportunity and empowerment.

 

The turning point she remembers most was a participant who said, “I feel like I can conquer the world now.”

 

“It was never about Evolvin’ or me changing the world,” she says. “It was always about empowering others to do so.”

 

Building it required growing into roles she had never held. “I had to embrace the mindset of an enabler,” she says, “not focusing on what I could accomplish alone, but on empowering others to grow, succeed, and create impact.”

 

Her brand is now “less about one story and more about adaptability, access, and enabling others to evolve and thrive.”