Level UP! 4 | A Speed Mentoring Night for Creatives

For an amazing fourth time round, we’re hosting the popular Speed Mentoring Night for creatives – LEVEL UP!  to get you up close and personal with the very best in the business.

Level Up! 4 will proceed in the same fashion as it’s previous editions, being the best platform for those working in Fashion, Visual Arts, TV, Publishing, PR, Advertising or Creative Direction to build on the progress you’ve made so far in either your career or business endeavours.

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 second edition below.

Guest Mentors:

Dakore Akande, Actress & Media Personality
Ambassador for Amnesty International, Amstel Malta and Oxfam of America, Dakore Akande  has featured in more than 100 Nollywood movies including the critically acclaimed 2017 Nollywood blockbuster “Isoken”. She’s  won numerous awards including Most Promising actress in Nigeria at the Africa Movie Academy Award, Best actress in a leading role role at the City People Entertainment Award, Best Actress of the Year at the Nollywood Movies Awards and Most Promising Actress in Nigeria at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.  Along with her Media accolades she’s also been recognised as the face of many notable brands, such as the fashion house, Mobos, MTN and Eye bank of Nigeria to name a few, earning a nomination for brand ambassador of the year at 2014 ELOY Awards for her work with Pampers.

Kelechi Amadi-Obi, Photographer & Publisher, Mania Magazine
Kelechi Amadi-Obi is a Nigerian born photographer and artist who has earned international renown for both his photography and paintings. After obtaining a law degree and his call to bar in 1993, he settled to full-time studio art. His unique style and mastery of aesthetics and creative lighting in his paintings have been reinvented in his photography to create understanding, dynamic and result oriented photography for his clients which include Guiness Nigeria Plc, PrimaGarnet Ogilvy, PZ Nigeria plc amongst others.Some of his works have been featured in exhibitions within and outside Nigeria. These include; 2006 “Snap Judgement” – New Position in Contemporary African Photography, International Centre of Photography, New York, USA,2005 “Depth of Field” South London Gallery, UK, 2004, “Lagos” Ifa Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany, 2003 “Transferts” Africalia, Brussels, Belgium. In 2004, he won the St.Moritz Style Award for Photography. 

Femi Olayebi, Founder Femi Handbags, Director Lagos Leather Fair
An award winning handbag designer and accidental entrepreneur, Femi OLAYEBI is the Chief Creative Director at My World of Bags, a handbag design and manufacturing company producing an eponymous leather handbag and accessories line, FemiHandbags, and a second, more corporate line that caters to corporate organisations. Following a first degree in French, a Masters in Translation and a brief stint working as a freelance translator, she one day tried her hands at making a baby bag for her first baby when she couldn’t find one she liked. Before she knew it, orders started rolling in and she registered her bag company. In 2008, she became a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women scholar, and was twice nominated to attend programmes in the United States, where she job-shadowed some of the world’s most famous handbag designers (2009) and experienced corporate business ethics first hand. In 2010, she participated in her first international show as FemiHandbags at Pure London. She was also selected by the Nigerian Bank of Industry to attend the Brazil-Nigeria Business Summit in Rio de Janeiro (2013), and that same year, became a case study for MBA students at the Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos. In 2016, she attended her first ever course in Handbag Design and Construction at the prestigious ModainPelle Academy in Milan, and later that year won the Exclusive Women’s Award for Best Accessory Designer of the Year. In 2017, she championed the first ever Lagos Leather Fair, motivated by the recurring issues faced by leather designers, using the platform to bring together the major players along the leather value chain in an effort to change the narrative within the Nigerian leather industry. A second edition was held in May this year. She now sits on the Advisory Board of the Global Entrepreneurship Network Nigeria, in partnership with Enterprise Development Centre and the Federal Ministry of Investment, Trade and  Industry. She’s been featured on CNN’s MarketPlace Africa and is constantly invited to share her story to inspire and impact. She now runs a series of intensive handbag making courses in partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council. In spite of her hunger to expand her business into the international space, the Made-in-Africa brand is one she wears with pride, leveraging her amazing story and high quality pieces. Her handbags are currently being sold in Lagos, Lon

Beatrice N. Eneh, MD/CEO, Apples & Oranges Spa
Beatrice N. Eneh is an Entrepreneur with global experience across multiple industries and a strong passion for empowering others with focus on youths & SMEs.  Her passion for the beauty and hospitality industry led to the birth of two companies. In 2012 she founded Apples and Oranges Total Body Therapy, a One-stop family salon and spa destination. The Eko spa at the Eko Hotel and Suites launched in 2015 is operated by Apples and Oranges and is the first venture in Beatrice’s plan for expansion to other luxury locations across Africa. Beatrice has developed various strategies towards setting standards for the logistics & beauty industry in West Africa. Beatrice is a member of the American Society for Women Engineers, MIT Supply Chain Club, and Council of a member of Professional Beauty Association of America (PBA) and Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).Beatrice N. Eneh holds a MEng from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), an MBA from Lancaster University Management School (UK) and BSc from University of Uyo (Nigeria).

Godson Ukaegbu, Photographer & Former E-I-C, Mania Magazine
Godson Ukaegbu began his foray in fashion as a personal assistant to the Editor in Chief of Mania Magazine in 2010. In three years, he rose up the ranks and became the Editor in Chief of the most respected fashion publication in Nigeria at the age of 25. Under his belt, the publication received a more home grown approach to fashion reportage and culture representation through documentation. His daring fashion editorials and compelling investigative essays earned the publication a reputation as a hub for creativity and integrity. Godson has since moved on from the publication. He has an eBook titled PROCESS- an anthology of fashion from the heart of Africa, self published in 2017 which gives the reader a blow by blow account of the inspiration behind most of his daring fashion editorials and covers. He is currently working on a hardcover fashion book with publishers in the UK. This book is aimed to be a reference material for fashion students around the world who want to engage with fashion as an intellectual exercise.The book is due out in 2019. Godson began to build a career in portrait and fine art photography in 2018.

Kemi Lewis, Founder, KLS Natural Hair Salon
Kemi Lewis is a Lawyer and Chartered Secretary turned Natural Hair Stylist is the Creative Director of one of Nigeria’s pioneer Natural Hair Salons. Starting in August 2013 with 2 chairs and stylists, she has grown the business to 3 locations, with a current staff strength of 30, a natural hair product line, a beard line and Natural Hair training services.  Mainly self taught, she’s a firm believer in continuous education and holds a diploma in Hair Dressing from the Opral Benson Beauty Training Institute. She has attended several hair courses here and abroad, and is a certified International L’OREAL Stylist. Kemi is also an Educator for Design Essentials Nigeria- educating stylists and salons in proper handling of natural hair and product usage. Her love and passion for natural healthy hair, has seen her speaking at various events and on radio shows, showcasing the beauty of natural hair. She also at times has contributed to several publications including TW Online and The Guardian on Sunday.

Osione Itegboje, Chief Designer, Light Design Studio
Osione is a designer who works across multiple disciplines particularly fine arts and public policy. He is founder and chief designer at Lightlagos.com, a creative company that designs visual communications for clients like ART X Lagos and Go game limited. Osione’s work spans over a decade of design for print, web and spaces with a particular focus on simplicity in form and function. He is a graduate of Columbia University’s Public Policy School and Baylor University’s Business School. Osione lives and works in Lagos with his wife and son.

Jay Chikezie, Co-Founder, Nairabox & TremenDoc
Jay Chikezie is the Co-founder and COO of Nairabox a digital lifestyle wallet that helps Africans conveniently make payments for their lifestyle needs. Jay is also the founder and CEO of Tremendoc; a telehealth solution that provides easy, convenient and affordable access to licensed doctors through high definition chats, audio calls or video conference, via the Tremendoc website and mobile app.  In just two years Nairabox has secured partnerships and clients with the likes of Blackberry Messenger, Quickteller, the major banks; UBA, Guaranty Trust Bank, Diamond Bank, Access and First Bank, major cinemas across Nigeria Filmhouse, Silverbird and Genesis cinemas. Nairabox is proudly made in Lagos, Nigeria by a team of makers and doers who are obsessed with providing lifestyle needs with ease. Jay’s first stint in the technology space in 2011 was when he was appointed the Commercial Manager of Hibuzz, the first online digital content aggregator in Nigeria. His deep network across industries (Telcos, Banking, Healthcare, Media and Entertainment) has allowed him secure partnerships for different businesses.Jay is a technology enthusiast with an ambitious spirit.

How to Register