The year 2023 has quickly jumped in on us and what better way to end the previous year than with a networking event where you meet like-minded individuals to spice up your new year business plans and individual aspirations.
I attended one such event on Thursday and met the host himself, in person of Wole Ademola Adewole, Founder of Cashir, an early-stage fintech startup.
The event, titled “Wole Ademola and Friends” was designed to enhance collaborations between business enthusiasts and experts, creating an inclusive environment where idea and early-stage business-oriented individuals, as well as established entrepreneurs, could connect and support each other’s growth. Trust me, it was one to remember.
In Adewole’s words, “Wole Ademola and Friends was initiated based on the identified need to create a community that enables people expand their business network as a catalyst for improved social capital.”
The yearly event, in its first edition, was sponsored by Linx Rethink Technology, Watre, Timeless Apartment & Bar and Mosad Events. It was a quintessence of friends catching up with each other, making new friends and discussing interesting areas of collaboration that could evolve into business ideas or growth.
With an exclusive number of people in attendance, which according to Adewole, was because “this was the maiden edition of Wole Ademola and Friends and as such, we decided to start small by limiting the invite to close friends,” the event was attended by highly influential business people and top employers in Lagos including founders, tech enthusiasts, product designers and a range of players in the Lagos tech ecosystem. They included Adeleke Emmanuel, Urban Policy Expert, UN Habitat; Babajide Oluwase, Founder, Ecotutu; Olufela Olanipekun, Senior Manager at Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission; Adeniyi Babajide, Head of Product, Chekkit, among others.
Adewole leveraged this opportunity to stir up conversations about the impact of global economic decline on the growth of businesses and startups. “The outlook of 2023 is clouded by a number of uncertainties in Nigeria, for instance, the national elections are planned to take place in the first quarter. Coupled with the continuous economic shock which might limit growth potentials of most startups among others. Hence, networking events like this are essential as a support system where people can collectively find synergies and form strategic partnerships,” he emphasized.
The best way to build a business is through networking. This is a great way to build your personal brand and build relationships with other business people.
The result of the event was a network of people sharing information and ideas, and making connections that could lead to success. It was a great time connecting and having some really interesting conversations about making each other better.
From my viewpoint, the goal of the event was achieved to kickstart an incredible new year and agreeing to this, Adewole said: “Yes, the timing of the event was intentionally set as the 29th December 2022 to serve as a building block for framing the outlook of 2023 and I believe it was a success based on a number of feedback received so far.”
The social event was a great success and it pointed to the fact that 2023 is a year to reiterate even more on collaborations and partnerships as the keys to success rather than competition.
