Marketing mentorship firm graduates 30 professionals

Aim One Company, one of Africa’s leading strategic marketing and communications agencies, has concluded the second edition of its Marketing Mentorship Program (MMP 2.0), graduating thirty exceptional marketing professionals at a Demo Day held in Lagos, Nigeria.

The programme, widely regarded as one of Africa’s foremost marketing career accelerators, drew over 300 expressions of interest from across the continent. From that pool, 80 applications were received from Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Ghana, Gabon, Malawi, Namibia and the United Kingdom before a final cohort of 30 individuals was selected. Not on potential alone, but on demonstrable readiness to commit to the discipline and rigour that serious marketing leadership demands.

The geographic spread of MMP 2.0 is itself a statement. With participants drawn from eight countries spanning West, East and Central Africa as well as the United Kingdom, the programme has established itself as a truly pan-African and globally connected platform for marketing leadership development. What began as a Lagos initiative is becoming a continental conversation.

Over eight intensive weeks, participants engaged with industry leaders, challenged established frameworks, and were pushed to make the transition from marketing practitioners to business leaders. The program was made possible through the support of an exceptional group of institutional, corporate and community partners, including Imperio International Limited, EXMAN, ADMARP, The Comms Avenue, Fishcross Medical Services and MoseBee Foods Limited, whose collective investment in the development of Africa’s marketing talent gave the program the depth and resources it required.

Demo Day opened with a keynote address delivered by Osato Evbuomwan, Marketing Director, Moët Hennessy Nigeria, whose address grounded the day in the commercial realities facing marketing leaders across Africa. Evbuomwan was unequivocal in her framing of marketing as a business driver rather than a cost centre, stating that marketing is not just for spending money but is an engine for growth, and any marketing activity that is not generating demand is simply wasting money. Her address set an aspirational but commercially rigorous tone for everything that followed.

The day also featured a high-level panel session bringing together some of Nigeria’s most respected marketing and communications practitioners, all of whom served as mentors within the MMP 2.0 program. The panel comprised Maurice Igugu, Chief Marketing Officer, The Alternative Bank; Peter Adesanya, Group Head of Strategy, The Redwolf Company; Oyindamola Fakile, Executive Creative Director, Flow; and Nana Milagrosa Maximilliana Utomi A. Biyang, Chief Experience Officer, MPXM Agency. The session was moderated by Zion Rufus, Vice President of Communications, ADMARP. The conversations that emerged from the panel reinforced a singular message. The standard of marketing leadership in Africa is rising, and the industry has a responsibility to accelerate that trajectory.

The program culminated in a live capstone challenge powered by Imperio International Limited, one of Nigeria’s foremost cosmetics and personal-care brands. Participants were divided into groups by Aim One Company, each assigned a name that reflected the ambition of the program. Groups were evaluated on four criteria: creativity, strategic thinking, target audience understanding, and feasibility. One group, named The Visionaries, comprising Omotoyosi Johnson, Emmanuel Oziegbe, Afolahan Ishola, and Johan N’sitou, a marketing professional from Gabon, delivered the standout response to the capstone brief. They were crowned Top Players, MMP 2.0’s highest honour. In a moment that captured everything the program was built for, the group named The Visionaries proved they had earned the title.

“We built MMP because we believe the future of marketing leadership in Africa does not need to be imported. It needs to be developed deliberately, from within. One thing we observed is that there is a critical need for marketing to have a seat in the boardroom, for professionals to drive business conversations rather than just campaigns. What this cohort proved on Demo Day is that when you raise the standard and hold people to it, they rise. This cohort is a signal of what African marketing leadership looks like when it is taken seriously,” said Aizehi Itua, Founder and CEO, Aim One Company.

The event also drew the attendance of Olalekan Biliamin Oba, Special Senior Adviser to the Lagos State Governor, whose presence signaled the growing recognition of marketing and the creative economy as a strategic priority beyond the walls of industry.

“Branding and communications are not peripheral to governance. They are central to it. How we tell the story of Lagos determines whether the world sees us as a destination for investment, for talent, and for opportunity. What Aim One Company is doing with MMP is commendable. They are building the quality of minds that will shape how brands, institutions, and indeed cities like Lagos are perceived on a global stage. When the professionals behind that story are operating at this standard, it strengthens everything we are trying to build. Lagos needs more of this,” said Olalekan Biliamin Oba, Special Senior Adviser to the Lagos State Governor.

Imperio International Limited, whose live brief powered the MMP 2.0 capstone challenge, expressed confidence in the quality of thinking the cohort demonstrated.

“When we brought the Genie brief to MMP 2.0, we wanted to see how the next generation of marketing professionals would approach a real challenge for a real brand. We asked them to develop a 360 marketing plan for Genie, targeting a Gen Z customer base, and what we received exceeded our expectations. The thinking was sharp, the strategies were commercially grounded, and the creativity was exactly the kind of energy that Genie, as a brand, is built for. This is precisely the kind of talent pipeline that Imperio International Limited wants to be associated with. These are the future leaders of our industry, and we are proud to have played a role in their development,” said Roseline Abaraonye, Marketing Director, Imperio International Limited.

For one of the participants, the program represented a fundamental shift in perspective.

“MMP 2.0 did not just teach us marketing. It changed how we think about business. Working on a live brief for a real brand, under real pressure, in front of an industry audience, is the kind of experience that accelerates a career in ways that no classroom can replicate. We are proud to be The Visionaries and proud to be crowned Top Players. But more importantly, we are ready to lead,” said Omotoyosi Johnson, member of The Visionaries, MMP 2.0.

The full Demo Day proceedings, including the keynote address, panel session and live capstone presentations, are available to view at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKNiyF8HYjY

The success of MMP 2.0 reinforces Aim One Company’s positioning not only as a strategic marketing and communications agency but also as a builder of industry infrastructure, committed to raising the standard of marketing practice and leadership across the African continent.

Applications for MMP 3.0 are expected to open later in 2025. Interested candidates are encouraged to join the waiting list at aimonecompany.com/mentorship