Entrepreneur of the Year:
(This award if for that young person that has been able to set up a viable business, is getting patronage and is transparently seen to be succeeding with it i.e. someone with a thriving, successful business, a sizeable number of employees, and who has made visible impact in the sector/field of business)
Full Name: Bukola Adubi
Date of birth: June 12 1978
Description of business: Bukola runs a 90 room and 18 holes (green) golf resort – the only of its kind in the country
How long: The hotel started work in July 2003, but was officially opened by President Obasanjo in July 2004.
How big: Miccom has grown from less than a million turnover in 2003 to over a hundred million Naira in turnover as at today
Staff: Direct payroll staff is over 50; Outsourced staff is over 50
Sustenance: The business pretty much sustains itself - bills with extra left over, and all revenue from the jobs the hotel realises. They have also not had any bank involvement since inception until over a month ago when they had to ask for a facility to fund a capital project.
Challenges: “Challenges come and go. Most common one was distance, but this has invariably turned into opportunities for us. Most recent one is more personal with marriage and family obligations”
How has she overcome them: “The distance issue, like I said has become more of an opportunity for us to sell our brand. We call ourselves "your getaway haven" and so the whole idea is for us to be far away from the hustle and bustle and this is what we now sell. The family challenge is more of an understanding issue. I am lucky, I have a very loving & supportive husband who understands the passion I have for my job and so allows me to spread my wings. This has made it very easy to manage the huge work load of the job as well as manage my wife and mother obligations”
Expansion/growth/changes: Some major transformations in terms of looks and aesthetics.
Clients in past one year: Nestle Plc, Johnson Wax Ltd, UNICEF, ETF, CLO, MTN, Naval Conference, PATH, GlaxoSmithKline, NASFAT, PHCN, just to mention a few
Awards: Traveller’s Award as one of the 25 best hotels in Nigeria,
Leadership Award by an association of Yoruba leaders
Kwame Nkrumah Pacesetter Award by the West African Student Union
Finalist, The Future… Awards 2006 for Entrepreneur of the Year
Why we chose her: We are thoroughly impressed by the magnitude of the business that this young woman has had to manage, and the immense success she continues to make of it!

Full name: Temi Ogunsanya

Date of birth: 3rd May 1979.
Description of business: Tiger Tem, The Boutique and Tea Room is a fusion of 2 unique businesses. The Boutique is the ultimate accessory haven in Lagos, when you need that extra something for your outfit, be it a bag, some sparkly jewellery or a one of a kind tshirt, we’re the one stop shop. In the Tea Room they serve over 15 types of tea, scones, sandwiches, salads, desserts – basically designed to provide some serene comfort in our hectic city.
How long: 16 months.
How big: It’s been mentioned numerous times in all the daily papers and national magazines, and was picked up as a Global Hotspot in the UK Vogue’s Xmas Issue. It’s made an impact in Lagos and the bags in particular have been gaining international interest with plans to be stocked in a wider range of boutiques over the course of the next year.
Staff: 7 members of full time staff.
Sustenance: “I live by the ethos that achievement is easy, maintenance is the hard part. I work with a committed team of staff that are constantly educated and trained to work according to the Tiger Tem standard. I have remained true to my vision of what I want Tiger tem to be and with time this vision has gained clarity.
I make sure I take the time out to design my collections as it’s the unique nature of my product that makes the Tiger Tem item, a Tiger Tem item!
I make a consistent effort to make sure my products are seen on people and in the press to maintain a high degree of interest in Tiger Tem which translates to demand then its simple demand and supply. I do believe in offering limited supply as we live in a small society and I like my customers to know they have something unique that they won’t see the lady at the next table wearing.”
Challenges: “As I moved away from Nigeria when I was 4, moving back to Nigeria was a huge challenge for me and continues to be so on a daily basis. Living, working and being an employer in our environment has been a huge challenge. I’ve had to become more flexible in my thinking and adapt to things being done differently. I feel my cosmopolitan experience has benefited me as it gave me the exposure and experience to come up with the idea and to create Tiger Tem the Boutique & Tea Room in Nigeria.
Setting up the Boutique & Tea Room has been one of the biggest challenges in my life as I was ultimately working by myself for myself. As hard as it was to set up, the real challenge has been to introduce a totally new concept to the market and to get the people to believe in it. Making sure I take the time to design my collections while overseeing the staff has been a very tricky balancing act and I’m still learning as I go along.
I strongly believe that you live and you learn so while I have made mistakes as I’ve gone along, I’ve definitely learnt from them. I’ve re-structured and consistently re-trained my staff to create a more effective and symbiotic team.
And ultimately I’ve learnt so much in the year, its been a fantastic opportunity for me as an individual and as a Nigerian woman. Its definitely been a struggle with lots of sweat and tears but I feel glad I’ve been able to make a bit of a mark so far, but I’m also very aware that my journey has only just begun!”
How has she overcome them: “I’ve learnt one of the most important things to learn is how to be flexible without compromising my vision or my standards. Some things are more important than others and there are always alternative paths to reach the same destination. I have not lost sight of my vision for one second and this has maintained my focus on my goals at all times. The clarity of my vision and my goals enables me to strike a balance with the flexibility necessary to get ahead in our society.”
Expansion/growth/changes: The range of items sold at Tiger Tem – there is now a wider selection of styles of handbag. All her t-shirts are one offs as she only creates one of each, and due to demand she has expanded the selection of foods available in the Tea Room.
Awards: Finalist, The Future… Awards 2006 for Best Use of Goodwill
Other info: She writes a double page (Tiger Bites) in THISDAY Style for over a year now, and worked with the Style team in arranging in the Easter fashion show and the latest one with Alek Wek etc this December. She also writes for Exquisite magazine on a bimonthly basis and has assisted the editor organising bi-monthly Tea Parties in the Tiger Tem Tea Room to increase awareness of her magazine.
Why we chose her: Temi Ogunsanya’s imagination and innovation with her one-of-a-kind business is truly inspiring and even better she has been able to make it a commercial success.

Full name: Symon Okhale Adeji
Date of birth: 1 December 1976
Description of Business: Sleek Media – publishers, media consultants and PR firm
Projects in past one year: 2 editions of 366-page Sleek magazine
Working in partnership with the UN on his charity foundation, STAND4LUV MAKE-POVERTY HISTORY CAMPIAGN,
PR Consultancy for Creative Academii working with the Cross Rivers State Government, Product Development/Branding Consultant; African Star in partnership with Laura Mars Paris Perfumeline for Africa
Publishing the first coffee-table book for the President of Nigeria, out in February 2007
Other info: The first to publish 200+ page magazine and also the first to publish the first 366 page magazine
The only African magazine to cover the 2006 miss world that has just been concluded in Warsaw Poland
Why we chose him: Symon’s inspiring drive shines through.

Full name: Emem Ema

Business description: ONE MANAGEMENT is a creative arts management company, in the business of discovering, nurturing, developing and promoting Nigerian/ African talent. VZHUN MEDIA is a production company poised to promote the Nigerian culture through entertainment and improve the Nigerian entertainment industry.

How long: Since September 2005

How big: Grown to staff strength of six from two last year; and have about ten clients – becoming a major player in the Nigerian entertainment industry.

Staff: Six fully employed staff, and depending on projects number may increase up to 30

Sustenance: Initially set up with shareholders’ funds- and basically work with a detailed financial plan.

Challenges: “Pioneering a new market is challenging in itself and informing the public and those that need our services of that need.”

How has she overcome them: “By remaining focused and committed to our objectives, vision and diligently implementing same, we have been able to show and prove to our clients and prospective clients our capabilities.”

Expansion/growth/changes: A client base of ten, and some international partners

Clients in the past one year:
Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas: Sights & Sounds of Bonny,
MTN,
NB Plc: Product Launch of Fayrouz
Handled logistics for the Kick Polio out of Africa Campaign and the Christmas Concert

Awards: British Council’s International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year 2006

Other info: Recently staged the theatre production “A Game of Wit” at the Muson Centre in December. She is a musc artiste and a lawyer

Why we chose her: Emem is pioneering a new kind of business in the country and we are proud of the fact that the British Council recognized her just so soon after starting

Full name: Goke Oludare

Date of birth: 1977

Describe your business: printing

Staff: Over 40

Sustenance: From profits

Challenges: “Power”

How do you overcome them: “Generator”

Expansion/Growth in past year: More equipment, new branch, more staff

Why we chose him: From starting as a very young entrepreneur over a decade ago, Goke’s consistency continues to endear him to many

Full name: Funke Bucknor

Description: Zapphaire Events is an events planning/consultancy outfit
How long: 4 years
Staff: 7 permanent staff, 6 trainee staff
Outsource: 150-200 ushers
Clients:
She was in charge of the spectacular 60th birthday celebration of Senator Florence Ita Giwa this year. Children of Bakassi
She was in charge of the Nigeria Stock Exchange Merit Award Dinner
She was in charge of Ali Baba’s huge wedding extravaganza
Skye Bank’s Christmas people (over 2000 people)
Governor Oyinlola’s daughter’s wedding in Osogbo (over 5000 people)
She was in charge of Governor Bola Tinubu’s daughter’s wedding
Chief Cornelius Adebayo’s (Minister of Communications) daughter’s wedding
VC of UNILAG (Prof. Ibidapo Obe’s daughter’s wedding
(More than 40 weddings)
Sustenance: Every job done helps sustain the business
Other info: She is also a lawyer
Why we chose her: When it comes to events organization in the country, Funke is a living legend! The kind of respect and trust that the nation’s biggest and most respected names/organizations have in her is truly mind-blowing. We remain SHOCKED that she is this young!