Welcome, Tosin Faniro-Dada to the Endeavor Family!
by Eloho Omame
Today is my last day as Managing Director & CEO of Endeavor Nigeria. It’s a bittersweet moment; I have run Endeavor Nigeria since February 2018 when I launched the office as a team of one, working from my dining room table for the first couple of months. It’s been a truly great ride, and I am thankful that the organization has grown from strength to strength in its mission to lead the high-impact entrepreneurship movement in Nigeria.
Linda Rottenberg’s nearly 25-year vision and Endeavor’s Entrepreneur-First value shape everything that Endeavor Nigeria does. Endeavor’s commitment to high-impact entrepreneurs is the simple reason why Endeavor Nigeria is differentiated in a sea of local entrepreneur-support organizations that might seem to do similar work. It has been my absolute honor to lead one of Endeavor’s 38 worldwide offices, which touch ecosystems in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, South East Asía, Europe, and North America.
My three years as launch Managing Director of Endeavor Nigeria have been fast-paced! From the outside, it’s perhaps easy to underestimate the scale of the operational task in setting up a new organization. In 2018, we were furiously busy and completely scrappy. There was a lot to get done, including incorporating an entity (“Endeavor High-Impact Entrepreneurship Ltd/GTE”), putting finance & compliance systems in place, selecting our first entrepreneurs, launching our mentor program, and hiring excellent first team-members! We achieved everything we set out to do and more. We selected our first four Endeavor Entrepreneurs that year: Tayo Oviosu, Jay Alabraba, Etop Ikpe, and Elizabeth Rossiello.
The following year, 2019, was when Endeavor Nigeria went from an awkward network of just four entrepreneurs, to close the year with 11 Endeavor Entrepreneurs. Endeavor Catalyst made its first investment in Nigeria (Flutterwave), and we launched Catalysing Conversations, our annual scaleup entrepreneurship forum, drawing over 300 high-profile guests. In 2020, our third year, Endeavor Nigeria forged ahead despite a global pandemic. We established important, new strategic relationships and also quickly scaled up our support & advocacy for startups and technology entrepreneurs in general with an impactful whitepaper. Our work was featured in the Lagos Startup Guide, the Financial Times, Quartz Africa, and Business Insider, CNBC Africa, and AriseTV among numerous other press.
Almost exactly three years to the day, I am signing off on a Network of Trust that has grown to include 16 Endeavor Entrepreneurs scaling companies in and beyond Nigeria, who are part of a global community of over 2,000 Endeavor Entrepreneurs worldwide. Special thanks to Ekechi Nwokah (Migo), Tayo Oviosu & Jay Alabraba (Paga), Obi Ozor & Ife Oyedele (Kobo360), Abasi Ene-Obong (54gene), Bukky George (HealthPlus), Moses Babatope & Kene Okwuosa (FilmHouse & FilmOne), Gbenga Agboola & Ife Orioke (Flutterwave), Chijioke Dozie & Ngozi Dozie (Carbon), Jasper Graf von Hardenberg & Christian Wessels (Daystar Power), and Etop Ikpe (Autochek) for believing in Endeavor’s mission to support entrepreneurial leadership by creating global leverage for high-impact entrepreneurs in underserved ecosystems to accelerate their companies and impact.
Our mentor network includes nearly 30 business leaders who embody Endeavor’s Pay-It-Forward value by giving their time, networks, and resources free for the benefit of Endeavor Entrepreneurs. They are too many to mention here, but I will say a special thank you to Yinka Edu (Partner, Udo Udoma & Belo Osagie), Stephane Timpano (Managing Partner, Bain & Company), Sean Hsu (Group President & CEO, Netcom), Yinka Sanni (CEO, StanbicIBTC Holdings), Yemi Osindero (Managing Partner, Uhuru Investment Partners), Ini Ebong and Akintunde Oyebode (Commissioner of Finance & Economic Development at Ekiti State Government) who have been instrumental to the development of our mentor program in the last three years, and some of whom have been recognized at our annual network gatherings for their commitment to the success of Endeavor Entrepreneurs.
I am excited to be handing the wheel to Tosin Faniro-Dada, who until recently, was Director of Programmes & Coordination at the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). I first met Tosin four years ago when we worked together on launching Lagos Innovates and I am certain that she is the Managing Director that Endeavor Nigeria needs in this next phase. We ran a rigorous search process and Tosin was the overwhelming favorite. As CEO, Tosin will also take over my board seat as an executive director while I transition to the Endeavor Mentor program. She starts her new role on March 1, 2021, and I wish her every success.
I’m grateful to the Board of Endeavor Nigeria, under the leadership of Atedo N.A. Peterside (CON), for their support and look forward to celebrating 10 years of Endeavor Nigeria’s continued success!
Last, and certainly not least, I am especially proud of the Endeavor Nigeria team: Derin Adebayo, Joy Enechukwu, Mide Alonge, Leye Agunbiade, and Joy Mabia. These wonderful, ambitious young people are even more committed to the future of high-impact entrepreneurship in Nigeria than I am! They set an incredibly high bar for team-membership at Endeavor Nigeria and I am excited for what Tosin will achieve with their help.
Thank you for being part of Endeavor!
With my very best,
Eloho Omame
For interview requests or additional information, contact Joy Mabia, Senior Associate, Marketing and Communications| joy.mabia@endeavor.org | 08035886263
