Level UP! 2 | The Speed Mentoring Night for Creatives is Back
Register Below
Have you heard about our Mentoring Scheme? Great! We’re holding our second Speed Mentoring Night to once again get you up close and personal with the very best in the business. So whether or not you are part of our mentoring cohort you still get a chance to be mentored in a fun and relaxed setting.
Level Up! 2 will be bigger and better. Whether you’re working in Fashion, Visual Arts, TV, Publishing, PR, Advertising or Creative Direction, whatever stage you are in your career or business, don’t miss this opportunity to build on the progress you’ve made so far.
The Event
Will allow young and established creatives and professionals – that’s you! Meet and connect with industry leaders, get career and business advice, show off your portfolios, discuss projects/ideas and network with like-minds. Basically walk away with insider insights and right steps towards fulfilling your ambitions. This is a unique chance to have a chat with trailblazers, seasoned pros, top execs, senior creatives and managers in Africa’s fashion/arts industry, directly and possibly land yourself a new opportunity.
You can check out the highlights from our first edition here.
Guest Mentors:
Papa Omotayo, Founder A Whitespace Creative Agency (AWCA); CEO/Creative Director of MOE+ art ARCHITECTURE
Papa Omotayo is the CEO/Creative Director of MOE+ art ARCHITECTURE and the founder of A Whitespace Creative Agency (AWCA). Papa seeks to redefine a African modernism through collaborating with contemporary artists. He’s has achieved this by working with a strong focus on context, culture and nature, creating ideas and work engaged in participation and collaboration that tries to find new possibilities for architecture within Africa’s urban centres and beyond. Papa is a Graduate of the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, United Kingdom. His accomplishments include ‘Best New Director’ at the Fashion Film Festival Milano, as well as the ‘Best Curator’ at the Nigeria Expo’ International Fashion Showcase in London, among other accolades..
Michael Ugwu, Founder FreeMe Digital Ltd; General Manager Sony Music Africa
Michael Ugwu is the Co-Founder & current General Manager of Sony Music Entertainment West Africa. At Sony he single handedly pioneered and brought the world’s leading music business back to West Africa. He also led negotiations on multiple catalogue licensing deals in West Africa with local/regional Telcos and digital services Provider. Michael Ugwu was actively involved in the global signing of modern Afro-pop superstar Davido to Sony Music Global. Michael also founded FreeMe Digital Ltd, Nigeria’s no.1 music distribution platform. Before FreeMe he was the CEO of iRoking Ltd which was set up to reorganize Nigerian music distribution online via its streaming/download platform iRoking.com. In 2011 Michael oversaw the initial iRoking.com content acquisition effort, signing 50 of Nigeria’s biggest artistes to landmark deals, and successfully renegotiating subsequent deals in 2013. In addition to his key roles he consults with a number of investments in the entertainment & media space. Michael holds a Masters Degree from the prestigious University College London (UCL), graduating with a Merit in Economics in 2006.
Fade Ogunro, Executive TV Producer; Founder, Bookings Africa
Fadé Ogunro is a seasoned Executive TV producer and Founder of BookingsAfrica.com. She has produced numerous music videos for artists such as: D’banj, Tiwa and Wizkid. TV Commercials for brands such as 5Alive, GTBank and Samsung and documentaries for Microsoft, General Electric, Anap Jets and Lagos State. In 2018, she ventured into the tech-world and is set to launch www.BookingsAfrica.com, an online marketplace for freelancers in the media and entertainment industry.
Reze Bonna,Photographer; Founder REZolution
Reze Bonna is a trained architect and multi-award winning photographer, recently being awarded Best Fashion Photographer Africa 2017 at the Abryanz Style and Fashion Awards, which held in Kampala, Uganda. His work has been featured in several international publications including Vogue Italia, GQ, Architectural Digest etc and featured in CNN, Fashion One, Fashion Tv, Spice tv, with his images currently exhibited in the Grammy Museum as a part of the African music section. He has worked with personalities like David Tlale, Bill Clinton, Goodluck Jonathan, Roberto Cavalli, the late Franca Sozanni (Vogue Italia), Suzie Menkes, Naomi Campbell and Janice Dickenson to name a few. He is currently the official photographer for Arise fashion Week in Nigeria, and has covered major Fashion Weeks in London, Lagos, Dubai and South Africa. He is also a founding member of the group REZolution which is a collective of creative photographers, and a member of the Camera Club of Johannesburg, and the Professional Photographers of America.
Banke Alawaye, CEO Rock Salt Services; Digital Media Expert
Banke Alawaye is an expert in exploiting digital tools for business growth and productivity. With over 20 years of work experience with many businesses, she’s been helping personal brands and organisations make the best of digital tools for years. Banke has spent thousands of hours mastering digital tools that can help simplify business processes and improve efficiency. She has a talent for spotting the opportunities for real impact in small businesses and is able to devise strategies for their growth. Banke is a Chartered Management Consultant. She holds a B.Sc in Computer Science, a Masters in Business Administration from Edinburgh Business School, Scotland and a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management from Pan African University’s Enterprise Development Centre. She was country manager, Praekelt International, a leading pan African digital agency, leading operations in East and West Africa. Her work experience spans investment banking, software development, management consulting and digital marketing. She is currently consulting for the Ministry of Education, Lagos State, on several projects and is program manager CodeLagos. She serves on the advisory board for Girl Code Academy and is founder, Girls-in-Glasses, an initiative to identify women techpreneurs and support their growth.
Lekan Oladunwo, Group Head Art, Insight Communications
Olalekan Oladunwo is a seasoned Art Director and Conceptualizer with years of professional experience in creative ideas development and execution. Having honed his craft at top notch brands like Soundcity, Saatchi & Saatchi (South Africa), SO&U and most recently Insight Communications.he’s had the opportunity to work with brands in and outside the country. Some of his prominent projects include Cover Art for a number of Nollywood A-list movies like; New Money, A Trip to Jamaica , 30days In Atlanta starring renowned entertainers like AY the Comedian, Funke Akindele Bello and Falz The Bahd Guy to name a few. He also provides design and content for top Nigerian celebrities and companies such as D’banj, Omotola, Brymo, Red Media, Inkblot Productions, Nairabox, Soundcity Blast Magazine, DB Records, Spice TV, Retrospective Shop, etc.Olalekan holds a Certificate in Art Direction at the AAA School of Advertising, Johannesburg, South Africa, he’s also a member and certificate holder of the Chartered Institute of Professional Marketing (UK).
Simi Esiri, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Schick Magazine
SCHICK Magazine is the brainchild of Simi Esiri, an Intellectual Property Lawyer turned Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. Simi started her career in Fashion over 10 years ago, whilst in University through her fashion and style blog – RubysView.com. Ruby’s View was famously liked on Twitter by La La Anthony and Kim Kardashian West’s long-time stylist Monica Rose. Simi went on to style celebrities such as Rihanna and Alexandra Burke to name a few. She has taken a number of courses in Fashion PR and Fashion Buying. With her previous role as Deputy Editor of Complete Fashion Magazine, Simi broadened and harnessed her skills in Fashion Journalism. Having garnered a wide breadth of experience within the fashion industry, combined with an appreciation for luxury and affordability, SCHICK Magazine was born.
Adenike Ogunlesi is the Founder and Chief Responsibility Officer of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble. Driven by a passion to prove that Nigeria is able to produce good quality she’s built a brand with over 15 retail outlets across Nigeria and an E-commerce platform; making Ruff N Tumble one of the most recognizable brands in the Nigerian market. Adenike is the founding member and the first president of the Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) at the Nigeria Employer’s Consultative Association (NECA). She was the pioneer advisory board member of the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) at the Pan African University’s Lagos Business School. She is also an Advisory Board member and mentor at WISCAR (Women in Successful Careers) which is a structured mentoring programme for young women. She is a Non-executive Director at Lafarge Holcim Plc, a board member of the Feed A Child Programme and Amazing Amazons.Adenike is a winner of numerous awards and an avid motivational speaker talking to women’s groups, entrepreneurs and young people.Happily married to Adegbola Ogunlesi, who’s an industrialist in the beauty industry, and one of the founders of men’s fashion label, Sofisticat.
Who is this event for?
This event is for anyone ready to take their careers and business to the next level. Those with an insatiable passion for their craft be it in – visual arts, fashion/retail, photography, TV, publishing, advertising or art direction we want you to apply. You might be working in the industry, studying or looking for your next opportunity, we want to assemble a group of ambitious people with bold ideas and who are committed to their craft.
How to Register
Register here by 12PM on Thursday 26th, spaces a very limited in order to make sure all attendees get the most out of the event.
Venue: The FreeMe Space, Plot16a, Block 139a, Nike Art Gallery Road, Lekki Lagos
Date: Saturday, 28th April, 2018
Time: 4-9PM
Registration Fee: N5000
Register here by Sunday 22nd April 2018.
*Registration Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable