MEDIA-PRENEURS

Mo Abudu: Television in Nigeria would not be the same without the input of this woman. Simply one of Nigeria’s biggest media moguls, Mo Abudu revolutionized at certain points, the way we as Nigerians consume media. From hosting ‘Moments with Mo,’ Africa’s biggest talk show at one point, to building one of Nigeria’s biggest television networks EbonyLife, to paving the way for international collaborations with local movie studios, Mo Abudu can be said to be Nigeria’s biggest media asset. But in recent years, she has kicked things up a notch, with the launch of her new entertainment resort, EbonyLife Palace. In 2018, she partnered with mammoth global studios Sony Pictures Television for the production of Television series. In 2020 she partnered with AMC (USA) for the production of a crime-drama, and in the same year she partnered with Netflix to create two original series alongside the rights to stream some of EbonyLife Studio movies. This year, she partnered with the Lagos State government to launch a media workshop; EbonyLife Creative Academy for young aspiring creatives.  Very recently, she was also invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, popularly known as ‘THE OSCARS’, in the PRODUCER membership category, as her work on Oloture and Royal Hibiscus Hotel was cited as reason. She is the only Nigerian and African woman who was afforded this honor.

Tiwalola Olanubi Jnr: Populalrly known as TJ Dotts of the Dotts Media House is one of the fastest rising young stars in the business of digital marketing. In just the short time he founded his company; Dotts Media House he has received one recognition after the other. In 2018, the Guardian listed him as one of the game changers shaping the future in Nigeria. In 2019, he was nominated by the Future Awards Africa for the Prize in Business category, and in 2020 he was awarded the CEO of the year at the BrandCOM Awards. In 2021, he decided to be a convener of his own award as he launched and successfully held the first Trendup Award, an award program that recognizes those in the media.

Yasmin Bello-Osagie: Perhaps juggling a life of navigating between different cultures, having been born in the USA, moving to Nigeria, and schooling in England and Paris, she may have gotten the indoctrination needed to shape the career which she is currently enjoying. She co-founded; She Leads Africa an initiative that inspires and assists African women in chasing their dreams. She is also the director at FSDH Holding Company. Prior to this she gained a lot of work experience as an employee in the highly renowned Mckinsey and Company.

Uche Pedro: She is the brains behind the popular online media platform; BellaNaija. With the vision of properly glamorizing the Nigerian media space, Uche Pedro created the BellaNaija brand, a digital media platform which brings to its audience, the glitz and glamour of Nigerian socialites and major events in the country. Very few if any at all do this as well as BellaNaija does, as the platform has become somewhere aspiring young leaders aim to feature in. Last year she was mentioned as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Africa by Forbes. She was one of the honorees of this year’s Royal African Awards.

Ugochukwu Obi-Chukwu: With the goal of bringing finance reports, news and analysis to the Nigerian public, including reports on government spending, Ugochukwu Obi-Chukwu created Nairametrics, and as the name suggest, the site covers metric information on the finance and government sectors. The platform which has now become a go to site for young Nigerians looking to get certain financial data covers everything from Business News to information on the Stock Market to Money Market to information on Cryptos and Financial Literacy. The site is truly one of a kind, as it focuses on an objective review of finance and nothing more. Ugochukwu Obi-Chukwu is also the CMO of Ikeja Electric, Chartered Accountant, Chartered Marketer, and a  Certified Investor Relations Practitioner.

Teni Zaccheaus JR: Teni Zaccheaus JR,known as the Alte pioneer,  Fresh Prince of LasGidi, and Teezee for short, is the founder of one of Nigeria’s coolest pop-culture media platforms; The Native Mag. With the idea of evolving with the times, this young entrepreneur thought it a good idea to create a platform where modern music art can be celebrated in all its glory, enter Native Mag, a site which emphasizes heavily on the Millennial driven Alte culture; a new school movement. The Native Mag in its short history has become the go to site for any Alte related information particularly music and fashion. It has also become one of the most popular and fastest rising media platforms in the past year.

Seyi Taylor: He is the founder and CEO of Big Cabal, the company behind media platforms such as Ebolafacts.com Techcabal, Africa’s response to TechCrunch and most notably Zikoko. His efforts with the brand Zikoko has made it one of the most likable and interactive platforms amongst young Nigerians. The concept of conversing with young people, which Zikoko is known for, rather than force feeding them content is an idea that has caught on pretty fast. It also helps that Zikoko is up to date on anything pop- culture and doesn’t shy away from topics that interest young people including sex, sexuality, and relationships. He is also the Founder and Editor in Chief for the award winning lifestyle and entertainment Magazine; TaylorLive. He is also a PR specialist and consultant who manages artists like Yungsix, dj4kerty and Horlarboi.