Chude Jideonwo, Mosun Layode talk social Innovation, leadership at Ideation Hub Africa’s Development Dialogue

Ideation Hub Africa recently hosted the Development Dialogue, her flagship conference for social entrepreneurs and development champions in Lagos, on Thursday 26th November 2015.

The event, which held at Commerce House, Victoria Island, Lagos; attracted change makers, government stakeholders, NGO owners, and development leaders from diverse impact areas.

In attendance were Dr. Ousman Dore, Nigerian Country Director at African Development Bank, Ndidi Nwuneli, Founder at LEAP Africa, Akin Fatunke, Manager of Public and Government Relations at Exxon Mobil. A high-level Panel Session hosted Adenike Adeyemi (ED, FATE Foundation), Mosun Layode (ED, WIMBIZ), Chude Jideonwo (CEO, Red Media Africa), Bekeme Masade (ED, CSR-in-Action), Akin Olukiran (ED, Institute of Voluntary Sector Management), Dele Osunmakinde (ED, Enterprising Nigeria) and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji (Co-founder, ANDELA).

Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Ideation Hub Africa, Adebola Deji-Kurunmi stated that the Development Dialogue was a rallying point for social entrepreneurs and development professionals to share ideas, connect, hone their skills and deepen the knowledge for solving Africa’s challenges.

She also stressed collaboration within the non-profit space, and across the private sectors as well as the government, as a defining requirement for social prosperity and economic development on the continent.

Dr. Ousman Dore, the Keynote Speaker presented an insightful speech on “Spurring Africa’s Development by Social Innovation and Leadership” showing the role of principled leadership as a vital driver for Africa’s development. His paper also expounded on Africa Development Bank’s laudable pursuit and initiatives.

He further expressed the huge role of government, academia, and the private sector in supporting social prosperity, nurturing innovation from an early age, as well as promoting risk taking culture in social entrepreneurs, in order to enable them push beyond boundaries as well as create ground breaking innovation for society.

In the Short Seminar on “How Social Innovation Emerges and Thrives”, Mrs. Ndidi Nwuneli of LEAP Africa spoke on the tremendous power of social innovation as a new approach to solving pressing problems as well as creative ideas, products and services that heighten the quality of life for citizens.

She also shared on important considerations around creating social innovation including scaling, recruiting right talent, board governance, financing, investment-readiness amongst others.

Mr. Akin Fatunke gave an interesting expose into Exxon Mobil’s creditable Corporate Social Responsibility Projects as well as the reasons many social enterprises find it hard to leverage the support and funding of multinational corporations.

The High-Level Panel Session       

After a set of questions for the speakers, the Dialogue proceeded to an eclectic panel session which was focused on “The Toolkit for Social Innovation” and “Collaboration for Change”. The panelists did a remarkable job of drawing from their rich experience to provide practical counsel to the delegates on many issues bordering on setting up non-profit organizations, understanding business models in the development sector, striking and maximizing partnerships, focusing on your core mission, leverage data for building initiatives, measuring impact, engaging private sector as well as growing the skill for social innovation.

Panelists also added color and powerful dimensions to the discussions by sharing many real life examples, providing tips to delegates and answering questions asked by the audience.

Bekeme Masade on Engaging the Government in Development Work

Drawing from her successful involvement with government agencies on her organisation’s programs; the CEO of CSR in Action, Mrs. Bekeme Masade, spoke to the participants at the Dialogue on strong tips for engaging the Public Sector on social projects and development work. Her top guidelines included understanding the unique environment, clarifying the real issues to address, staying persistent, dealing ethically and engaging stakeholders from the beginning.

Contextualizing the Sustainable Development Goals

The Dialogue went on to a powerful culmination with the delegates grouped into small working teams to contextualize the Sustainable Development Goals within Nigeria’s framework. Each team came up with suggestions for achieving the Goals in Agriculture, Education, Economic Empowerment, Youth Development, Health Care and ICT for Development.

Ending at about 4 pm, delegates were treated to video presentation on Phillips Consulting Limited’s new eLearning Product, engaging networking breaks and an exhibition tour of businesses.

It is to be recalled that Ideation Hub Africa held an earlier edition of the Development Dialogue on principled leadership and social innovation for over 85 Stakeholders in May 2015 with a Keynote Speech by Gbenga Sesan of Paradigm Initiative of Nigeria.

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About Ideation Hub Africa

Ideation Hub Africa is a pan-African social enterprise focused on igniting innovation and social prosperity in Africa, by equipping businesses and development actors to create value and solve burning social issues. Development Dialogue is one of its initiatives.

Interested in our work? Please send an email to [email protected].

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