UBA Business Series: Digital entrepreneurs urge creators to treat content creation as business
Digital entrepreneurs who spoke at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Business Serie urged content creators to treat their craft as a business, emphasising the need for structure, consistency, and purpose to achieve long-term success.
The session, which brought together some of Africa’s most dynamic digital entrepreneurs and influencers, focused on ‘Content that Converts: Building Influence and Driving Growth Through Strategic Marketing,’ was held on Thursday in Lagos.
The highly engaging forum explored how authenticity, consistency, and passion remain vital to success in today’s evolving digital landscape, with speakers sharing first-hand experiences from their journeys across various industries.
Chinonso Egemba, popularly known as Aproko Doctor, a digital health educator, said content creation must be approached with the mindset of a business. “If you’re building a business or doing content creation, treat content creation as a business. When you treat it as a business, it needs proper structure. Otherwise, it won’t last. If you don’t put structure in place, you’ll end up responsible for everything, and that leads to burnout. You have to build structure, because if you want longevity, structure is very essential,” he said.
Welcoming participants, Kayode Olubiyi, UBA’s group head, Digital Banking, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to empowering entrepreneurs across Africa through knowledge-sharing and capacity-building initiatives such as the Business Series.
He noted that the quarterly event continues to provide valuable opportunities for supporting innovation and entrepreneurship, equipping individuals with practical insights to grow their brands and businesses in a competitive digital economy.
In his keynote address, Lampe Omoyele, managing director and chief executive officer of Nitro 121, encouraged creators to focus on impact rather than trends. “You can create something out of what appears to be nothing,” he said, explaining that impactful content should go beyond aesthetics to focus on value, purpose, and agility. According to him, creators who want to make a difference must define their personal brand identity and remain consistent in delivering messages that resonate with their audience.
The panel session featured an impressive line-up of digital entrepreneurs and influencers, including actor and digital creator, Elozonam Ogbolu; digital health educator, Chinonso Egemba (Aproko Doctor); Kenyan actress and media entrepreneur, Catherine Kamau; content creator, Nasiru Lawal (Nasboi); and digital influencer, Enioluwa Adeoluwa, who moderated the session.
Speaking on the importance of personal development, Nasiru Lawal urged young creators to prioritise growth. “For the younger creators here, my best advice is this: please prioritise your growth. As a creator, the moment you become famous, you no longer move at your own pace; you move at the people’s pace. It is therefore important to ensure you grow consistently, and over time, the recognition and the money begin to roll in,” he said.
Elozonam Ogbolu agreed, stressing the power of storytelling in content creation. “Content creators have to engage their audience with proper storytelling because brands are always out to carefully choose their creators. For the brands, you must pick your influencer or ambassador very deliberately and work together over time to grow. That is when you will see a proper return on investment,” he said.
For Kenyan actress Catherine Kamau, maintaining balance and staying grounded are key. “What I realized is I have a community that keeps me grounded, and that’s family. When you get famous, you tend to forget where you come from. Social media is an illusion, and you start assuming that it is your real family until bad things happen to you. So please remember the real people in your life, because fame can get to your head, but those are not the people who are going to have your back when things go south,” she advised.
The speakers collectively emphasised that building a strong personal brand should take precedence over chasing financial gain. They also highlighted the importance of originality, urging upcoming creators to find their unique voice instead of copying others.
Alero Ladipo, UBA’s group head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, commended the panellists for their valuable insights and applauded the bank’s management for continuously supporting impactful conversations. She noted that sessions like the Business Series “remain impactful and will benefit not just individual customers but also contribute to economic growth across the continent.”
