Adebola Williams

Adebola Williams (born 1986) is a Nigerian media entrepreneur, journalist, political consultant, and motivational speaker. He is the Group CEO of RED | For Africa. He co-founded and runs Red Africa, Africa's largest portfolio of youth media brands which include Red Media Africa, Statecraft Inc., The Future Awards Africa, and YNaija.[4]

Adebola Williams
Born (1986-03-07) 7 March 1986
Nigeria
OccupationJournalist/media entrepreneur
Alma materLondon School of Journalism, Pan African University
Notable awardsMandela Washington Fellow;[1] 100 Most Influential People of African Descent under the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent;[2] Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellowship in South Africa[3]

His career in media and television began at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) with advocacy for youth, and, eventually good governance. Described as "the man with the golden touch" by Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, he was profiled by Forbes as the man who helped elect a trifecta of presidents in Africa.[5]

Early life

Williams was born on 7 March 1986 "to a wealthy family, but when he was 10, his family lost everything they had, so he had to struggle."[6] In his early teen years, Williams wanted to become an actor and was paid only 50 cents for his first acting role.[7]

"He started working as an assistant with a counselor and a psychologist as a freelancer without any relevant qualification by which time he had chalked up 3 years worthy experience with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)."[6]

Career

Williams and Chude Jideonwo started The Future Awards Africa and went on to co-found Red Media Africa.[8]

He co-founded EnoughisEnough (EiE), a Nigerian civic participation platform and a voice for young people in politics.[9] He resigned as the board chairman to steer the rebranding of the [10] former Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari,[11] optimising media engagement to change longstanding perceptions and sway the elections.[12] A consequent success in Ghana helped the opposition candidate win the presidency on his third attempt, and Williams currently consults in other regions in the continent.

His 2017 cross-continental speaking tour included several conferences at ivy league schools Harvard, Columbia, and Oxford.[13] He gave a speech at the 2017 Obama summit in Chicago.[14]

His work in corporate marketing and communication in different decrypts from oil and gas to banking, technology to fast-moving consumer goods has earned him and Red Media Africa several awards on the continent from SABRE[15] Lapriga,[16] Marketing Edge, Young Cannes and the C4F Marketing awards in Davos.[17] He writes a monthly column on brands and communication in The Guardian (Nigeria).[18] Williams took part initialing massive collaboration art piece Remember To Rise.[19]

He gave a speech at the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Africa Summit on Wednesday, 9 January 2019, at the European Parliament on democracy and good governance.[20]

Recognition

Personal life

He married Kehinde Daniels, the daughter of former Ogun State Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniels, on 7 August 2021.[23]

References
  1. "Matilda Kerry, Adebola Williams, Otto Orondaam & other outstanding Young Nigerians selected for 2016 Mandela Washington Fellowship". BellaNaija. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  2. "Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) unveils 2017 Global List". mipad.org.
  3. "Tutu Fellows". alinstitute.org.
  4. "Adebola Williams". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  5. "Interview: Meet The 30 Year-Old Nigerian Entrepreneur Who Helped 3 African Presidents Get Elected". Forbes. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  6. "Everything You Need To Know About Adebola Williams, 'The Man with the Golden Touch'". Nigerian Celebrity News + Latest Entertainment News. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  7. "I started working at age 15". Vanguard. 12 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  8. "The Young Moguls that built a Media Empire in Nigeria with zero capital". Tech Point. 31 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  9. "Profile: Adebola Williams' lens story". Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  10. "2023: Buhari Hands Over Transition Documents To Tinubu Ahead Of May 29".
  11. Citizen Truth, Alex Muiruri. "Adebola Williams – The Election Genius in Africa Every Politician Covets". citizentruth.org. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  12. ideaslane (10 October 2018). "Adebola Williams: Interesting Facts About Him – Ideaslane.com". Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  13. "Adebola Williams Speaks at Harvard, Columbia, Oxford and Yale University on the Business of Nation Building". BellaNaija.
  14. Amah, Munachim (3 November 2017). "The best moments from Adebola Williams' powerful speech at Obama summit". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  15. "Red Media Africa wins big at SABRE Awards 2018". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  16. "Red Media Africa wins big at LaPRIGA 2017". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  17. "Adebola Williams". The Future Awards Africa. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  18. "Adebola Williams". guardian.ng. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  19. "Innovative Painting: Remember To Rise a London Business School collabo endorsed by the noteworthy". Omenkaonline.com. 13 November 2018. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  20. "Our passion is bigger than our problem. 7 takeaways from Adebola Williams' speech at the ECRG Africa Summit". YNaija. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  21. "Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams win CNBC Africa Young Business Leaders awards (Photos)". Nigerian Entertainment Today. 24 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  22. "Dr. Kwabena Duffuor named 'Man of the Year' as distinguished gentlemen are honoured". pulse.com.gh. 25 June 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  23. Ugbodaga, Kazeem. "Jonathan, Osinbajo, others attend wedding of Gbenga Daniel's daughter (Photos) - P.M. News". PM News. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
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