Ayeni Adekunle

Ayeni Adekunle is a Nigerian entrepreneur, writer, and published author. He is known for founding Black House Media Group, which is headquartered in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.[1][2]

Ayeni Adekunle
NationalityNigerian
Alma materUniversity of Ibadan
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, Writer
Websiteayenithegreat.ng

Background and early career

Ayeni Adekunle was born in Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria. He received his primary and secondary education in Lagos, and pursued his university education at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, where he earned a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Microbiology.[3][4] Following his graduation, he began his career as a showbiz columnist at Encomium Weekly, having previously served as a feature editor for Hip Hop World Magazine. He later joined ThisDay, and subsequently became a columnist for The Punch in July 2008.[5]

Entrepreneurship

Leaving The Punch, Ayeni Adekunle established Nigeria Entertainment Today (NET), a newspaper and web portal dedicated to reporting entertainment news in Nigeria and Africa.[6][7] The platform has since evolved into TheNETng. He also convenes the annual Nigeria Entertainment Conference (NEC Live), which brings together professionals from various creative sectors, media, and economic policymakers to discuss industry development.[8]

In 2006, Ayeni founded Black House Media, a company specializing in public relations services. Over time, the company expanded and established subsidiaries including ID Africa, Plaqad, Neusroom, 234Star, NET, Orin,[9] NET Shop, and NEC. In 2012, Ayeni led a team of software and content developers in Nigeria to introduce the BHM App, a public relations app designed for experts in the field.[10][11][12][13][14]

Awards and honours

Described in Forbes Africa Magazine as a key figure in leading Nigeria into the digital-first strategy era of Marketing Communications, Ayeni Adekunle received the title of Nigeria's PR Practitioner of the Year in 2017.[15][16] In the same year, the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) honored his company, Black House Media, with two awards: Agency of the Year and Best Agency to Work For. His other company, ID Africa, received recognition as the Best PR Agency for Use of New Media in 2018.[17] In the same year, BHM won the PR Agency of the Year category at the Brandcom Awards.[18] In 2019, Ayeni Adekunle was honored as a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Marketing (NIMN) in recognition of his contributions to the marketing profession.[19]

References
  1. "Ayeni Adekunle: On a Mission to Redefine PR". ThisDay. 21 July 2019.
  2. "'Why I chose to be a journalist without formal training' -NET newspaper publisher, Ayeni Adekunle". Encomium. 28 February 2012.
  3. "Who Am I?".
  4. Adewole Ajao (11 August 2014). "From Sciences to Publicity". Cre8tiveEntreps. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  5. "Thenetng/BHM Founder, 'Ayeni The Great' Speaks To Pulse". Pulse. 27 November 2014.
  6. "After 2 years, Adekunle Ayeni, Nigerian Entertainment Today Publisher shares his success story". Olori Supergal. 26 April 2012.
  7. "About Nigerian Entertainment Today Adekunle". NET. 28 February 2012.
  8. Reference needed
  9. Odunayo Eweniyi (22 April 2015). "ORIN, The Music Streaming Service For Nigerian And African Music". TechPoint.
  10. "Ayeni Adekunle's BHM Launches Nigeria's First PR App". SabiNews. 5 August 2014.
  11. Raheem Akingbolu (2 October 2014). "Ayeni: PR is About the Truth Well Told". ThisDay. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  12. "Trending Market". BrandsMart. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015.
  13. "BHM Group Announces The Launch of Pan-African Digital Agency". Connect Nigeria. 2 March 2015.
  14. "BHM Group announces the launch of Pan-African Digital Agency". Encomium. 27 February 2015.
  15. "AFRICA'S GROWING PR AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRIES AND THE TITANS LEADING THE CHARGE" (PDF). Forbes. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  16. "NIPR awards Ayeni Adekunle, BHM, Zakariyau". Punch. 23 December 2017.
  17. "ID Africa Named Best Digital PR Agency of 2019". TechEconomy. 20 December 2019.
  18. Ugo Onwuaso (3 June 2019). "BHM Emerges PR Agency of The Year 2018 at Brandcom Festival". CommunicationsWeek.
  19. Raheem Akingbolu (12 August 2019). "BHM CEO, Adekunle, Becomes NIMN Fellow". ThisDay.
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