He came to give a keynote. Then he walked straight into the masterclass lounge and gave us 40 more minutes of this.
Singer. Label founder. Actor. Two-time political candidate. Georgetown Masters graduate. Serial entrepreneur.
@bankywellington has built, pivoted, lost, and rebuilt more times than most people have started and at MMC 7.0, he sat down with our attendees and answered every question they brought to him. Unfiltered.
The full Q&A is on YouTube now. Link in bio.
If you've ever wondered how someone juggles multiple industries without losing the plot watch this one before you do anything else today.
And while you're there — follow this page. Because what we have coming from 234Finance very soon is going to give everything Banky said in that room a whole new level of relevance.
Something is still loading.
Want to attract investors without losing control?
Austin Avuru, Chairman of AA Holdings (former CEO of Seplat Energy and NNPC board member), shares insights on how founders can build credibility with investors and protect their vision.
📌 Catch the full video on YouTube
Don’t miss the Mentor Matchup Challenge 7.0 (MMC 7.0), a platform connecting ambitious founders with mentors, investors, and global partnerships.
Visit /mmc to register as a delegate or exhibitor
Date: December 4-5, 2025
Venue: Lagos Oriental, Nigeria
.
.
.
#mentormatchup #mentormatchupchallenge #234finance #startupgrowth #entrepreneurship #ESG #investorconfidence #founders #leadership #startupfunding
We asked @zinnyzulu Convener of the Mentor Matchup Challenge for her boldest prediction for trade in Africa by 2030.
Having worked with African entrepreneurs for over a decade, She's seen first hand the talent, creativity, and determination on our continent.
Mentor Matchup connects founders with experienced mentors who understand their journeys and can support them as they scale.
Our work at MMC is laying the foundation for resilient African economies that are driven by young entrepreneurs who are creating pathways for inclusive growth.
We are excited to see the conversations, deals, and partnerships that will emerge at MMC 7.0 in Lagos, Nigeria, this December.
Join us for the 7th edition of the Mentor Matchup Challenge, themed “Building Bridges for Equitable Trade”, on December 4th & 5th, 2025.
🎟️ Early bird tickets are still available. Grab yours before prices go up!
Link in bio!
.
.
.
#mentormatchup #234finance #mentormatchupchallenge #mentorship #mmc7 #equitabletrade #buildingbridgesforequitabletrade #africanentrepreneurs #tradeinafrica #networking #UNGA
If you had one magic wand to change ONE thing holding Africans back from building bigger, creating better, and scaling globally… what would you change?
This conversation during the tourism panel at MMC 7.0 sparked real answers every entrepreneur, creative, and founder needs to hear.
Watch the full panel now on YouTube.
He Could Have Rested in His Father's Shadow. Instead, He Built His Own Stage.
Femi Kuti soaked up his father's pathbreaking Afrobeat — a fusion of American funk with Yoruba rhythms — taking up the saxophone at 16 and playing in Fela's band within a few years. It was the most immersive mentorship imaginable: not a classroom, but a living, breathing, politically charged stage where every night was both a concert and a protest.
But Femi knew the difference between inheriting a legacy and building one. In 1986, he started his own band, Positive Force, establishing himself as an artist independent of his father's legacy. It wasn't an act of rebellion — it was the natural conclusion of great mentorship. Fela had taught him everything. Now it was time to teach the world something new.
Both Femi and Seun Kuti have retained their father's pan-Africanist outlook and unconditional belief in human rights, actively campaigning against the corruption which, today as in Fela's day, holds back African development.
Africa's creative economy doesn't need more imitators. It needs people who were mentored well enough to innovate."
Alex Osho has spent over two decades executing energy deals across Africa. From roles at Barclays Africa and FBNQuest to leading a $12B+ transaction portfolio at Waltersmith Group, his work sits at the intersection of capital and execution.
At MMC 7.0, he brought that same discipline to the Energy Panel, challenging the conversation around ESG and pushing a critical question: is the transition structured in a way that actually attracts capital?
In December 2025, he was appointed Executive Director, Finance and Commercial at Waltersmith Petroman Oil, marking a significant step in his career within one of Nigeria’s leading indigenous E&P companies.
This is what keeping up looks like. 🌍
Watch the full Energy Panel from MMC 7.0. Link in bio.
Is creativity alone enough to build something that actually lasts?
Or is it strategy and structure that separates ideas from real success?
If you’re thinking of starting up or already building this conversation will shift how you see things.
Tap in and watch the full video on YouTube.
"She Had the Voice. He Built Her the Stage.
Miriam Makeba performed in London, where she met the Jamaican-American singer Harry Belafonte, who became her mentor, helping her with her first solo recordings. But his mentorship went far beyond music.
Belafonte, who was a master at treading the line between music and political activism, served as a strategic guide. He arranged her US television debut. He co-produced her Grammy-winning album. He protected her in a country that was not yet ready to receive her.
And Makeba repaid that gift not with loyalty to a benefactor, but with courage. She testified against apartheid at the United Nations. She was exiled. She lost her citizenship. She held nine passports across her lifetime — and never stopped singing.
Upon her death, Nelson Mandela said: ""Her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us.""
Africa's Soft Power is not new. It has always been here. It just needed someone with access to open the door — and someone with courage enough to walk through it.
"You cannot talk about an Al-driver economy when young people in rural areas cannot even afford smartphones or data."
Justina Nnam Oha said this at the BusinessDay Summit 2025 - and she has spent her entire career backina those words with action.
On Afrotradepod, she brought that same conviction tc the MMC community - making the case that building Africa's digital future is not just a tech conversation. It is a trade conversation, an equity conversation, and an economic sovereignty conversation.
Africa doesn't ust need more Al users. It needs A architects. Justina is training them from age six.
Listen to her Afrotradepod episode - link in bio.
African journalism has a visibility problem. We’re seen… but are we actually shaping anything?
If you care about the future of media on this continent, this is a conversation you need to hear. Head over to the link in our bio to watch the full conversation on YouTube..
