SLAY Festival

Hey Guys!!!

Happy New Month!

It looked like January wasn’t planning to end at all. *whew*

Did you miss our post where we talked about our travel goals for 2017 and included all your favorite tour operators schedules? Check it out here.

It feels like January is moving slowly because we are still in January or maybe it’s just the owu period affecting me. So I attended the SLAY Festival this weekend (22 January 2017) and I would be talking about my experience there:

• What I learnt from the speakers I listened
• What the festival did well and what not.

I was interested in attending the Women in Technology Breakfast Session with MEST but I got to the event late.

Getting Paid in the Media Industry

This was hosted by Zainab Balogun and the panelists included Kemi Adetiba, Mary Remy Njoku and Stephanie Busari.

Kemi Adetiba started out as a radio presenter with Rhythm 93.7 FM and then moved into TV as a presenter for Studio 53. Kemi Adetiba is the director of the Record Breaking movie, The Wedding Party. Things I learnt from her:

• Are you suppose to be in that industry? Just because you love an industry doesn’t mean you have to be part of it.
• Do I have a passion for it?
• Do I have the skill for it? Obviously skills can be developed
• Am I talented? Talent in the sense of having the eye for it, going with your guts etc.

Mary Njoku is a Nollywood actress and the founder of ROK studios – a Nigerian film production company associated with iROKOtv. She has produced well over 20 movies. Things I learnt from her:

• There is no shortcut/fast track in this game.
• Know who you are – What kind of person do you want to be? Don’t let people dictate you are/suppose to be.

Stephanie Busari is an award winning journalist who started out at New Nation in the UK and is now the Head of CNN Nigeria. She was central to covering the missing Chibok Girls and was the first to get “proof of life recording” of the Chibok Girls. Things I learnt from her:

• Importance of getting your foot in the door first
• Going for it – you can start by setting up a vlog on YouTube or a blog etc.

Building your brand like a BOSS

The rise of social media has made it possible for people to build strong brands and monetise them. Arese Ugwu and Toke Makinwa are two ladies who’ve done this like #Bosses. They shared the secrets to their success.

Arese Ugwu is the founder of personal finance blog (www.smartmoneyfinance.org) and author of bestselling book and 1 of the most talked about books in Nigeria in 2016 – The Smart Money Woman. Things I learnt from her:

• To build a brand you can monetise you must be authentic. If you look at brands that are successful today, they’re authentic.
• Find an important problem to solve while also creating value
• The only competition you have is YOURSELF.
• Never underestimate your support system – friends/family
• Collaboration is very key.

Toke Makinwa is an award winning OAP, Television Host and Vlogger. She is also the author of bestselling book and 1 of the most talked about books in Nigeria in 2016 – On Becoming. Things I learnt from her:

• Before you can be authentic, you must first understand what you have.
• Do not despise humble and early beginnings. People that have made it today, did not start off like that.
• Do not use another person’s progress to measure yours.
• Find like-minded people to collaborate with.
• The importance of prayer and having a relationship with God.

Being a man in the 21st Century

The panel was hosted by MI Abaga (Rapper and CEO, Chocolate City) and the panelists included Audu Maikori (Chairman, Chocolate City), Debola Willams (Co-Founder, Red Media) and

I had an issue with this session to be honest, this event was supposed to be about promoting women, encouraging women, giving them a platform to elevate the voices of women. I expected it to be “Being a WOMAN in the 21st Century”.

I did not take notes during this session because I wasn’t listening 100% and I left to participate in the IMISI 3D Reality Master class.

From Contact to Contract 

This panel was hosted by Lamide Akintobi and the panelists included Kabir Shagaya (CEO, Zippy Logistics) and Bukky Karibi-White (Founder, Bobbi Taylor Company).

Even though I had to leave during this session, my key takeways were:

• Resilience – You have to work hard
• Letting your work speak for your brand

What I Enjoyed

Apart from my lessons learnt listed above, I enjoyed the the following:

• IMISI 3D Virtual Reality Booth – I am looking forward to collaborating with them on travel in Nigeria.
• Pop up stores where entrepreneurs to showcase their products.
• Natural hair styling courtesy of Kinky Apothecary.

What I Didn’t Enjoy

Firstly, there were 2 types of tickets – The Oga Madam (N15,000) and the Motherland Mogul (N5,000) tickets. The ONLY difference and perks that came with the tickets were the fact that some paid more than the others. While they were advertising, the perks for the Oga Madam tickets included free manicure, priority to the master classes, giveaways etc. The supposed “perks” were available for everyone – they didn’t check to ensure you came with the Oga Madam ticket or the Motherland Mogul tickets.

Secondly, there were hardly enough seats for everyone to sit down. Imagine selling 300+ tickets and getting seats for only 80 people. It was later in the afternoon around 3pm/4pm that they brought additional chairs.  A lot of people were left standing. As if that wasn’t bad enough. We were all seating under the sun, there was hardly enough shade for everyone. They could have gotten more shades and fans to help with the heat.

In conclusion, this is my first time (and probably my last time) attending one of their events.

Did you attend the #SLAYFestival? How was your experience?

Thanks for reading!

Simi