Ayeni Adekunle is a

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

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

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

Ikeja Ikeja is the List of capitals of states of Nigeria, 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, cl ...

Lagos, Nigeria Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Background and early career

Ayeni Adekunle was born in

Ondo State Ondo () is a States of Nigeria, state in Points of the compass, southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State (Nigeria), Western State. Ondo borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast fo ...

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

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, and pursued his university education at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

Oyo State Oyo is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo ...

, 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. Refere ...

''. 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 and edito ...

'', and subsequently became a columnist for ''

The Punch ''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded on August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited is registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to publish newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. The newspaper's aim is said to be to "inform, edu ...

'' 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

*
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)