Biola Alabi is a American born Nigerian entrepreneur, investor, filmmaker, television host and public speaker. She has over two decades of media experience both locally and internationally.
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Currently, she is the CEO of a media consulting company, Biola Alabi Media (BAM). She also founded the Grooming For Greatness Fellowship, a place where young Africans are mentored for leadership, management and greatness.
Generally, Biola has received local and international recognition like: One of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa, by Forbes, 2013.
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Biola Alabi Background
Biola Alabi was born in the United States. She was born as the eldest of four children by Nigerian father and mother who hail from Ondo and Osun States, Nigeria respectively.
For her higher learning, she attended the University of Cincinnati and obtained a (B.Sc.) degree in Public and Community Health, 1996. She proceeded to Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and obtained a certificate in Global Leadership and Public Policy. Also, she earned a certificate from the Yale University’s Jackson Institute of Global Affairs.
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Biola Alabi Early Career
In the US, Biola started as a Regional Marketing Manager at Bigwords.com. Subsequently, she worked as a Regional Director, International Strategies Group Sub-Saharan Africa at Sesame Street, an influential children’s television brand for seven years.
Then, in 2008, she joined M-Net as Managing Director, Africa. There, she oversaw the launching of Africa Magic Hausa and Yoruba in 2010 and Africa Magic Swahili in 2011. The two channels made notable contribution to the promotion of indigenous languages and cultures in Africa. She was also a part of the 4 editions of Big Brother Africa and first ever African Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards in 2013.
In addition, she was a member of the marketing team that launched the Korean motor vehicle corporation Daewoo in the USA.
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Biola Alabi Media (BAM)
Biola Alabi Media (BAM) is a media consulting and production company which began in 2015. It provides services to broadcasting stations, digital industries and entertainment distribution platforms.
BAM tells African stories to the world. Its first TV show, Bukas and Joint was widely received. It was rated the most watched TV food show across the country. Next, BAM made a film debut production with Banana Island Ghost (2017). Subsequently, Lara and the beat (2018) with other soon-to-be released movies in the pipeline.
BAM optimizes revenue models, expand distribution networks, develop content, market entry, acquisition negotiation and sponsors outreach e.t.c
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Grooming For Greatness
Biola Alabi is the founder of Grooming for Greatness. A fellowship that began in a bid to help young people prepare for leadership and be effective managers. The fellowship accept people between age 25 to 35 and help them network, accelerate, and also create a safe place to talk about their dreams.
The Fellowship is a mentorship program basically for new generation of African leaders. To fully cater for their need, Biola works with Tayo Oviosu, Nimi Akinkugbe and others to achieve this goal. .
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Awards And Recognition
- 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa by Forbes Magazine 2012
- Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum, 2012
- West African Business Woman of the Year, CNBC Africa’s AABLA, 2013
- One of the Top 100 Global Female Executive, Financial Times List, 2018
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Biola Alabi Quotes
“I believe our food and culture is intrinsically linked to our heritage.”
“When you have the right opportunity, you have to leverage them. So it’s not always about how do you use your platform to further yourself? It’s about how do you use it to activate and push forward other people?”
“No matter how old one gets, you want to grow and keep challenging yourself.”
“I think luck is a combination of hard work and opportunity; I have worked hard and had some amazing opportunity.”
“Managing is the efficiency; leadership is the uplifting, seeing the future, and bringing people along with you.”
“Women are natural multi-taskers and the model is there for everyone; it can be done.”
“I don’t think luck happens overnight and I don’t think you can pray your way into luck.”
“Nobody invites you to a table except they see you have put the work in, that you have served not yourself, but others.”
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Entrepreneurial Lessons From The Life Of Biola Alabi
Dream Big
From inception, creating a positive narratives about the African continent has been Biola’s goal. She always want to create positive images about Africa that can be seen by everyone and shared globally.
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For instance, she helped in the growth and expansion of M-Net by having dominant African language stations like African Magic Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa e.t.c.
According to her, no one invites you to have a seat at the table unless they see how you have served not just yourself but others. Biola’s work paced the way for her into becoming one of the Non-Executive Directors of Unilever Plc.
In summary, dream, but work hard to actualise your dream. Once you keep the ball rolling, people will see your light and your reward will come.
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Selflessness Is A Virtue
To successfully reach your goals, there is a need to work hard, make sacrifices and achieve your goals. You also need to move beyond ‘me’ and learn to serve others.
According to Biola, she has enjoyed goodwill from people because of her keen interest for the development of others. She believes that, it’s not always about how you use your platform to further yourself, rather, how you use it to activate and push others forward.
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