Storm 360 CEO and Ngozi Odita Present the Social Media Week

Storm 360 CEO and Ngozi Odita Present the Social Media Week

The social media week has begun, it started yesterday, the 18th of February, 2013. A week full of  high-profile events designed to explore the social, cultural, political, and economic powerhouse that is social media, the first of its kind on the African continent.

The pitch to bring Social Media Week—a global franchise held in major cities around the world—to Lagos was made by entrepreneur Obi Asika, the CEO of Storm 360 and his business partner, Ngozi Odita, who knew they’d be making history by having Lagos join Copenhagen, Hamburg, Milan, New York City, Miami, Paris, Singapore and Washington, D.C. in hosting the event.

According to Mr. Asika, who is also a founding partner of strategic-communications firm Dragon Africa Associates, “I know the huge potential and impact these new technologies are having on our country, as well as the quality of work being done here, and I was very keen.” He also added, “I had no idea, however, the response would be so massive. We have more than two million unique mentions in social media and close to 100 events planned.”

The sheer number, variety and tone of events for SMW Lagos is mind-boggling, from parties (such as the kick-off Calabar Music Festival & Carnival) to panel discussions, networking events, expert presentations and more. Themes include a mix of the expected (“Connecting Africa and the Diaspora via Social Media” and “Publishing in the Age of Social Media,”) to the more surprising (“Eden Lifestyle Presents Chi’s Yoga”), which just goes to prove the organizers’ point: Social Media now touches every area of life. Meanwhile, every night will conclude with a party and concert (“SMW Lagos Life”) at MACE HUB: Terra Kulture (For a full, up-to-the-minute schedule of events see socialmediaweek.org/lagos/schedule/.)

Along with Obi chairing the advisory committee and Ngozi serving as executive director, Nkiru Asika, executive director of Storm 360 (as well as Obi’s sister), signed on to serve as producer. For her part, Nkiru sees SMW Lagos as an unprecedented opportunity to show off the country’s dynamic and creative strengths to the rest of the world.

“First of all, it is not always easy to attract a global event of such high standing to Africa, let alone Nigeria,” Nkiru says. “Social Media Week Lagos is important because it showcases the side of Africa that the world doesn’t always see or recognize—the innovative, creative, vibrant, talented, youthful, highly connected, forward-facing Africa. The diversity of events, panels, workshops, concerts, conferences, interactive discussions and so forth are a wonderful representation of the intellectual and creative capital that exists within this city and this continent.”

For the advisory board, Obi explains he put together a cross section of talented people from industry, government, social media and technology. One of these is Dayo Ogunyemi, the well-respected CEO of 234 Media, a firm that invests in media, entertainment and technology sectors in Africa. “When he sent me an email asking me to get involved, I said ‘Sure,’” Dayo recalls. “Obi is someone who works very well at bringing different people together. He is amazing at that.”

For his part, Obi says he hopes SMW Lagos will prove that Nigerians’ use of social media is here to stay and growing by the day. “Amazingly, a lot of Nigerian corporations still look at digital media as some weird thing on the edge,” Obi says. “But this reaches across all segments of society, from politics to business, from policy to music to arts and culture and sports and entertainment. “And the reason I wanted to do it is because, frankly, Nigerians are viral.” Which brings up one final point: if you are unable to attend SMW Lagos—and spots are filling up quickly—no worries. That’s because, of course, many events will be streamlined live, so you can still participate using the social media tool of your choice.

Social Media Week Lagos is produced by Dragon Africa and AFRIKA 21, and Nokia is the sponsor of Social Media Week globally. Visit socialmediaweek.org/lagos for reservation information and a full list of events, venues, speakers and sponsors and mor