How Rachael’s Mo Nexus turns African challenges into scalable solutions
Mololuwa Rachael is the founder of Mo Nexus, the umbrella brand for four sub-brands: Dushers Events, Events by Mo, Mo Farms and Mo-Ments.
For Mololuwa, business was never about having huge capital or chasing investors. Her story has always been about survival and finding solutions where others only saw problems.
“My entrepreneurial journey has always been about survival, problem-solving, and a refusal to be broke. At the same time, it has been about seeing gaps and filling them with solutions people did not even know they needed until I showed up,” she says.
Her first brand, Dushers Events, began in 2018, during her third year at the University of Ibadan. “I was the student lecturers trusted, the one they called when they needed ushers for academic events such as conferences and symposiums.
My friends and I did it for fun, never realising it was a business. I still remember guests walking up to me after events asking for my business card, and me not having one,” Mololuwa says.
“By 2019, the picture became clearer. Referrals started coming in for bigger, national gigs, some I lost because I didn’t have a registered business and a business account. That was the year I came up with the name D Ushers’ Events (that clients soon started calling Dushers Events) just to meet the requirement for government contracts.”
What started as a fun side gig had, within five years, grown into a full events production and management brand that curates both luxury social and corporate experiences. “This year, I started a sister brand- Events by Mo to cater to clients who prefer luxury intimate events,” the young entrepreneur says.
Read also: FG orders tertiary institutions to account for unutilised TETFund allocations within 30 days
In 2023, when food prices skyrocketed in Abuja, Mololuwa started Mo Farms. “Everyone around me was complaining, week after week, about how expensive basic things had become. I realised I could source food and livestock directly from farmers, cut out the middlemen, and give people bulk value at cheaper rates.
“Then came Mo-Ments, the newest of my ventures in 2024. For years, I had given free brand strategy and communications advice to friends, family, and colleagues. I had even organised free seminars and workshops.
“The feedback and confirmation from God made me realise it was time to build a consultancy around it. So, what motivates me? The fear of lack, but beyond that, the conviction that there is always a gap to fill, and that I am equipped to bridge it.”
On how she got funds to kick start her business, Mololuwa says, “If there’s one thing unique about my story, it is that I did not need money to start. What I had was God’s favour, relationships and people skills.
“When Mo Farms started, my colleagues at my 9–5 trusted me enough to pay upfront. Their trust was my seed capital. I simply went to the farmers with their money, bought in bulk, and delivered. With Mo-Ments, my years of giving free value laid the foundation.
The first client I signed wasn’t from advertising but from years of seeing my impact and trusting my skill. So my “funds” came in a currency called trust.”
On challenges, Mololuwa says entrepreneurship has a way of testing every fibre of your being. “For Dushers Events, my deepest wound came in 2019, when I lost a dear team member during a three-day medical conference.
She had been perfectly fine the first two days. On the last day, I was told she was writhing in pain. Shocked, I rushed her to UCH. I stayed with her all night- helping her, praying, doing everything possible,” the young entrepreneur says.
“By the next morning, she was improving. We joked. I even felt relieved enough to tell my parents. Then, on Sunday morning, before church, we called to check in and the unimaginable happened.
She had died. That was my first experience in an emergency ward, seeing a lifeless body, entering a mortuary. It broke me. I cried endlessly and almost gave up on the business. It took my mother’s constant support to get me back on my feet after 4 – 5 months.”
For Mo Farms, Mololuwa says the road has not been smoother. But the hardest blow came in 2024.
“A trusted client in the UK bought farm products worth millions. I used a new delivery company recommended by a colleague. What was supposed to take two weeks stretched into six. By the time the products arrived, most were spoiled,” she says.
“My client, though kind enough not to sue, was left with almost nothing. I was devastated. To worsen it, when I threatened to report the delivery company, they retaliated by getting my Instagram business page taken down. My page was my office. My storefront. My identity. Losing it felt like my whole business had collapsed.”
Mololuwa says, “I took a long break after that, especially since I was preparing for my master’s programme in September 2024. I was broke, discouraged, and exhausted. Even Mo-Ments, though still young, comes with its challenges. Starting out means battling self-doubt: “Will people pay for what I once gave away for free?”
According to Mololuwa, joining professional communities gives her a network of mentors and colleagues who understand the struggles of entrepreneurship, especially when she started out.
Besides, she learned to communicate openly with clients, improve systems, and treat every setback as a lesson. Relating with them has proven that integrity truly builds loyalty.
On her short-term goals, Mololuwa says, “In the short term, I’m focused on rebuilding Mo Farms with better structure, scaling Mo-Ments as a communications consultancy, and expanding both Dushers Events and Events by Mo’s reach.
“Long-term, I see Mo Nexus becoming a household name across industries. For agriculture, I want to grow into large-scale food processing and export. For events, I see a luxury brand trusted globally for unforgettable experiences. For communications, I envision a hub where African brands come for clarity, strategy, and visibility.”