African brands deserve global stage,TIBA founder, Osideko

The founder and convener of The Iconic Brand Africa (TIBA), Omobabinrin Osideko, has stated that many African brands are doing well in Africa and deserve a space on the global stage like their Western counterparts.

Osideko, a branding expert and social media influencer, made this known on Saturday in Lagos during the event that marked the official unveiling of the new name, logo and mission of her organisation tagged “Unveiling TIBA: Echoes of Africa.”

Speaking on the topic “Concept and Vision of TIBA,” Osideko stated that her organisation, which since 2019 was known as The Iconic Brand Awards (TIBA) has now been changed and rebranded to The Iconic Brand Africa (TIBA).

She said the change of name and the rebranding were necessary to reflect the broader scope and reach of the organisation, beyond mentorship and awards, to other vital areas such as learning and development, awards and recognition, and community and networking.

“The vision of the rebranded TIBA is to empower people and business, to ignite learning and development within Africa, and to foster innovation and collaboration that will put African brands on a global stage,” Osideko added.

Early, in her welcome address, Omotola Adedapo, the chairperson of the Board of Advisors of TIBA, noted that the organisation’s new status is a testament that it has grown well and is still committed to serving people, businesses, and brands across Nigeria and Africa.

Oluwatoyin Aralepo, finance expert and founder of Africa Finance and Strategy Hub, delivered the keynote speech titled “Building and optimising your social capital in business and career.”

Aralepo stated that building social capital is an action and that maximising it should be a priority for every serious entrepreneur, adding that one basic question every businessperson should ask is, “Is my business creating awareness or on top of people’s minds?”

She added that this can be answered by showing up consistently and strategically online.

She said that opportunities need preparedness but most people are not preparing for them, and they just wait for the opportunities to jump on them, which cannot happen.

According to Aralepo, some of the ways social capital can be built include cultivating healthy relationships, attending events that can enable one to network and interact with other people, strategic volunteering, among others.

“In all of it, persistence and patience are key. While doing so, watch your center garden bloom,” she said.

A panel session titled “Elevating African brands on the global stage” comprised panellists from tech, sales, law, and business.

The panellists were Onyinye Peter, founder of Adire Fashion; Emmanuel Ovabor, co-founder and team lead at Flyte Technologies; Chidi Okeke, sales and marketing professional; Osinachi Akanegbu, co-founder of Career Women Africa; and Frank Lenz, virtual photographer and founder of Lenzmode Media.

The panellists discussed how to take African brands to the global space, and also offered insights, encouragement and tips on how to make brands stand out

They agreed that for brands to go global, thorough research; knowledge of where their customers are, what they want, and the value they want; and customers’ experience with your brand and product are needed.

They emphasised that personal development, clear communication, self-confidence, trustworthiness, integrity, network and collaboration among people and businesses across different sectors, and a good knowledge of business and contract law are vital in brand management and career development.

Gabriel Ologunwa handled the unveiling of the new TIBA brand and logo. During the unveiling, Ologunwa stated that TIBA was formerly about something happening in one corner of Africa (Nigeria), but they thought it better to expand its scope and vision into something Afrocentric.

“In TIBA, there is no competition; only collaboration. Everybody is thinking about how to help the next person while doing their unique work.” He declared.

Temitope Ogundeji, Director of Learning and Development of TIBA, and Atinuke Williams, spoke about the TIBA network and subscriptions.

Ogundeji noted that the network is about giving value while receiving value, which will help career professionals and entrepreneurs to be their best and go global.

“This was what prompted the change of name of the organisation. We wanted people to resonate with what we offer in terms of branding, networking, learning, and development. We are out there to give African brands the recognition they deserve so that they can compete at the global scale.” she added.

Ogundeji stated that the subscriptions are in two categories: the basic and premium subscriptions, and encouraged people and businesses to leverage these subscriptions to network and grow their brands.