Biola Alabi 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 ...

businesswoman. She is the CEO of Biola Alabi Media (BAM), a production company that produces TV series and movies for the Nigerian market, such as the food travel series ''Bukas and Joints,'' movies; '' Lara and the Beat'' and

Banana Island Ghost ''Banana Island Ghost'' (''B.I.G'') is a 2017 Nigerian Fantasy film, fantasy action comedy film. The film was written and directed by BB Sasore and executively produced by Derin Adeyokunnu and Biola Alabi. It stars Chigul, Patrick Diabuah, Ali N ...

. She previously served as Managing Director for M-Net Africa part of the globally-renowned Naspers Group, where she launched seven

Africa Magic Africa Magic is a collection of Pay TV entertainment channels that focus on African programming, most popularly Nigerian series and movies. ''Africa Magic'', which started off as single channel of the same name, is a brand owned by M-Net and no ...

channels including the indigenous language channels; Africa Magic Yoruba and Hausa. She also developed the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards which is regarded as the “African Oscars”. Biola Alabi is an angel investor and advisor in the fast-growing African technology and media startup ecosystem. She is a limited partner in numerous funds, and has invested in companies like Trove Technologies, and Chekkit. She is a Non-Executive Director at Unilever Nigeria PLC, a member of the board of directors at Monty Mobile, and the Chairwoman of Big Cabal Media.

Early life and education

Biola was born in the US to Nigerian parents. The eldest among four children of Yoruba origin, her father is from

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as of the 2006 population census. Its current population is estimated at 774,000.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 ...

, while her mother is from

Ilesa Ilesa () is a historic city located in Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of the capital of a historic state-kingdom(also known as Ijesha) centred around that town as the capital . The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the ti ...

, a town in

Osun State Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...

. Alabi attended

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

where she graduated with a degree in Public and Community Health, she furthered her education with a program at Harvard University's

Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

and Yale University's Jackson Institute of Global Affairs.

Career

Alabi founded ''Grooming for Greatness'', a leadership development and mentorship program for a new generation for African leaders. Alabi held the position of Managing Director for M-Net Africa, part of the Naspers Group. Prior to this, she was based in the United States where she was part of the executive team at the influential children's television brand

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

, and a member of the marketing team that launched the Korean motor vehicle corporation

Daewoo Daewoo ( ; ; ; ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "''dae''" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerate) and aut ...

in the USA. In 2018, Alabi took part initialing massive collaboration art piece ''

Remember To Rise ''Remember To Rise'' () subtitled ''Black's Dream'' is a derivative work of the ''Iyasile Naa'', a massive art collaboration. Observing innovation in developing countries, technologist of '' Ijebu'' descent Ade Abayomi Olufeko, known for his co ...

''.

Corporate Boards

* Unilever Nigeria PLC, Non-Executive Director * Monty Mobile, Member of the Board of Directors * Big Cabal Media, Chairwoman

Biola Alabi Media (BAM)

Biola Alabi Media (BAM) which began in 2015 is a production company that provides services to broadcasting stations, digital industries and entertainment distribution platforms. BAM tells African stories to the world. Its first TV show, Bukas and Joint was widely received. It was rated the most watched TV food show across the country.

Filmography

*''

'' (2017) as The Executive Producer *'' Lara and the Beat'' (2018) as The Executive Producer

Awards and recognition

*2012 – 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

Magazine *2012 –

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Young Global Leader *2013 –

CNBC Africa Consumer News and Business Channel Africa (known as CNBC Africa) is an African pay television network launched on 1 June 2007. Founded by Rakesh Wahi and Zafar Siddiqi, the network is produced under license from CNBC International and is owned ...

's AABLA West African Business Woman of the Year *2014 –

Yale World Fellows Yale World Fellows is an international fellowship program at Yale University for rising global leaders. World Fellows come from around the world and from diverse disciplines. They are selected through a competitive application process. Each year ...

Recipient (Named 1 of 16) *2018 –

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

top 100 global female executive

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alabi, Biola Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Nigerian film producers 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian women company founders Businesspeople from Lagos Nigerian chief executives Nigerian venture capitalists Women venture capitalists 20th-century births Angel investors Yoruba women in business Yoruba businesspeople University of Cincinnati alumni Nigerian chairpersons of corporations American people of Yoruba descent American people of Nigerian descent Yale University alumni Harvard University alumni Women corporate directors