Ayeni Adekunle is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, writer, and published author. He is known for founding Black House Media Group, which is headquartered in

Ikeja Ikeja is the capital city of Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria. Its population, as of the 2006 census, is 313,196. Prior to the emergence of military rule in the early 1980s, Ikeja was a well planned, clean and quiet residential and commercia ...

Lagos, Nigeria Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

Background and early career

Ayeni Adekunle was born in

Ondo State Ondo State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Oǹdó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. It borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast, Edo State to the east, Delta State to t ...

, southwestern Nigeria. He received his primary and secondary education in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, and pursued his university education at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Microbiology. 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 ''Hip Hop World Magazine'' is a weekly Nigerian music magazine established in 1995. It has sponsored The Headies award since the award's inception in 2006. The magazine's publisher is Nigerian journalist and music promoter Ayo Animashaun. Referen ...

''. He later joined ''

ThisDay ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-i ...

'', and subsequently became a columnist for ''

The Punch ''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded On August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited was registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to engage in the business of publishing newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. It was designed to i ...

'' in July 2008.

Entrepreneurship

Leaving ''

'', Ayeni Adekunle established ''

Nigeria Entertainment Today The Netng (Nigerian Entertainment Today) also known as ''NET'' is an online entertainment news organisation based in Lagos, Nigeria. It is a leading source of African entertainment, fashion and lifestyle news. Netng formed part of NET Newspaper ...

'' (NET), a newspaper and web portal dedicated to reporting entertainment news in Nigeria and Africa. 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. 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, 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.

Awards and honours

Described in Forbes Africa Magazine as a key figure in leading Nigeria into the digital-first strategy era of

Marketing Communications Marketing Communications (MC, marcom(s), marcomm(s) or just simply communications) refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination.Tomse, & Snoj, 2014 Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate ...

, Ayeni Adekunle received the title of ''Nigeria's PR Practitioner of the Year'' in 2017. 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. In the same year, BHM won the ''PR Agency of the Year'' category at the Brandcom Awards. 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.

References

External links

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Forbes Africa Biographical Feature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adekunle, Ayeni Living people 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian company founders University of Ibadan alumni Yoruba businesspeople People from Ondo State Nigerian newspaper founders Public relations people Year of birth missing (living people)