Austen-Peters Wins MIT Foundry Fellowship
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bolanle Austen-Peters, has been selected for a prestigious fellowship programme of the Legatum Centre for Development and Entrepreneurship of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA.
This was contained in a statement the Legatum Centre issued Thursday.
The statement said Austen-Peters would join 11 other fellows for the Legatum Foundry Fellowship, which is a transformative experience for accomplished entrepreneurs.
It said: “She is one of the four women selected for this highly competitive fellowship, a hybrid training that will take fellows across select African cities for study tours and coursework in Boston.
“The 2022-2023 Foundry Fellows are here. Join us as we welcome our incoming cohorts. From Egypt to South Africa to Botswana and Nigeria, our incoming fellows are working on enterprises to improve their communities in various sectors.”
The statement added that they would highlight each #foundryfellow over the next week as they get ready to begin an incredible year of networking, innovation and building community here at Legatum.
The Foundry Fellowship is a transformative experience for accomplished entrepreneurs who are at an inflection point between scaling an innovation-driven company and transitioning into a role as an entrepreneurial leader catalysing systems change and inclusive economic growth across the African continent.
The statement from the Legatum Centre said that during the fellowship journey, Fellows will learn new frameworks in leadership development and acolytes building with expert faculty and practitioners, be exposed to ecosystems through visits with key stakeholders, and explore new ways to accelerate innovation-driven Entrepreneurship in Africa.”
In her response, Austen-Peters said: “I’m honoured to be selected as a fellow of the Legatum Centre for Development & Entrepreneurship at MIT. The recognition comes through over 20 years of creating pathways to global prosperity through innovation and entrepreneurship.
“It demonstrates that you should just keep at what you do without allowing distractions. It affirms that in spite of all, hardworking and diligence are recompensed. It encourages one to want to do more.”
Austen-Peters graduated with a BA in Law from the University of Lagos and earned a Masters from the London School of Economics.
After working as a lawyer in the 1990s, first in her father’s chambers, Afe Babalola & Co and later at the United Nations High Commissions for Refugees in Switzerland, she founded Terra Kulture.
According to her, since 2003, Terra Kulture has been at the forefront of promoting Nigeria’s art and culture through exhibitions, indigenous restaurant and storytelling through its award-winning plays and movies.
“Over these years, we have developed an in-depth understanding of arts, culture and languages to impact the next generation most effectively,” she added.
In recent times, the organisation, through the Terra Academy for the Arts, received funding support from both MasterCard Foundation’s Africa Works Initiative and Netflix.
Through Bolanle Austen-Peters (BAP) Productions, she has produced stage musicals like Saro, Waka, Fela & The Kalakuta Queens and Death and the King’s Horseman, among others.
She has also directed feature films such as The Bling Lagosians, Man Of God, Collision Course and Funmilayo: The lioness of Lisabi.
Rotary Club of Ikeja Gets Pass Mark for Project Execution
Project commissioning and recognition of the young club by the Rotary Foundation signposted the recent visit of District 9110, Governor Omotunde Lawson, to the Rotary Club of Ikeja Alausa Central. The Rotary Club of Ikeja Alausa Central would be two years old next March.
A statement from the club at the weekend said the District Governor and her delegation were left spellbound and wowed as they visited the club’s adopted school, Olowora Nursery and Primary School where they flagged off a borehole project and a botanical garden.
According to the statement, Omotunde was accompanied by her Special Assistant, Assistant to the Governor, Valentine Shomoye and Personal Assistant, Past President Aderonke Jones-Adewale.
AG Shomoye led the New Club Development team that founded the Rotary Club of Ikeja Alausa Central and is also its New Club Adviser. The supervising AG for the club, AG Mufutau Adelotan was also effective with the delegation.
The statement added that Omotunde, the first female Governor in the District’s 42-year history, commended the club as she commissioned the project.
In the total package of donations by the club are a bookshelf of story books for the school library, and a Botanical Garden within the premises. “Your beginning is impressive, and I can only imagine what the future of the club will be,” the DG said.
The DG also hailed the club for its contribution to Rotary Foundation as she decorated Rotarian Oluyemi Ogunsanya as a Paul Harris Fellow (PHF), becoming in the club after its President, Rotarian Adebukunola Soile-Balogun.
