They say that nothing great ever came that easy– and it is no different for the founder and owner of Green Street Media, Olawale Adeyina. Now considered one of the renowned digital media and content production companies in West Africa, Green Street Media was built from the ground up by Adeyina and his committed team of incredibly talented creatives– from filmmakers to writers and designers who produce campaigns that are audience-specific from concept to post-production.
In 2012, Adeyina founded Green Street Media using his savings as a freelance graphics and web designer. Fueled by passion and perseverance, Green Street Media– ten years later– became one of the leading content production companies in West Africa. The company is focused on combining creativity, media, and tech. As the CEO, Adeyina ensures to drive the creation of unbiased and value-driven coverage of talents, businesses, and products that are contextual to the African continent.
Over the years, Olawale Adeyina has served as the CEO and Creative Producer of Green Street Media, and he managed the production of over a thousand videos for various brands and organizations. The digital media platform that he also established, TechCity, has become a voice for “techies” and non-tech entrepreneurs alike with over 600 business-focused articles, more than 80% of which are published for free for small enterprises. It has become one of Nigeria’s top-notch technology blogs, providing a diverse range of culturally relevant news that are data-driven and well-researched. Just recently, Adeyina’s company produced a video series that showcased the impactful work of Tech4Dev, a non-profit social enterprise that creates access to job and entrepreneurship opportunities and platforms for Africans through digital skills empowerment and advocacy. “We went across 10 northern, 8 southwest, and 2 southeast Nigerian States. We did the same for Microsoft, covering various African countries, and are driven to keep inspiring confidence in organizations and products or services through the qualitative experiences detailed in our narratives.”, he added.
When asked what the biggest challenge he faced as a CEO was, Adeyina said that it was when he was beginning to build the company ten years ago. “Starting my company in Nigeria without any investor was one of my biggest challenges. As a recent university graduate, I used the meager funds I had saved while working as a freelance graphic and web designer to launch the company”, he said in an interview. Looking back to the humble beginnings of his own company, Adeyina remembered the risk he had to take by withdrawing his savings to book the studio for the first videos of Green Street Media. They shot the pilot episodes using his friend’s camera, and two of his personal friends also served as the hosts of the show. Although things were harder after the production of the first videos as they could not afford the airtime rates of TV stations, it did not stop Adeyina from turning his idea into action. After uploading the videos on YouTube, he was able to get the attention of global smartphone brand, Samsung and, later on, the attention of a CEO of an e-commerce company that gave them the very first brand deal of Green Street Media. From then on, the rest was history. “I would like to thank God and also give credit to the founding team: Tosin Hunkuten, BellaRose Okojie-Duruji, Benita Okojie-Adeyina who is now my wife, Adewale Oladipupo, Adereti Emanuel, Gbenga Sawyer, Adeusi AdeDeji, Marcel Ifejokwu, Justice Amadichukwu and Lukman Giwa. They all supported the dream from the time it was just an idea and contributed to its realization.”, Adeyina added, giving credit to his friends who served as the pioneers of his company.
Adeyina was able to build his own content production company from the ground up without relying on any investors’ funds. As of today, Olawale and his hardworking team have produced world-class quality and award-winning television commercials and documentaries. Green Street Media was also able to showcase the impacts of global and local organizations like Microsoft, YouTube, Google, Samsung, Transsion, Stanbic IBTC, Leadway Assurance, 9mobile and Sterling Bank.
Olawale Adeyina believes that it takes deliberate leadership to operate in the high-stakes world of business and entrepreneurship. As a CEO and entrepreneur in the creative media sector, he reiterates that it’s crucial to learn about strategic business development before delving into the pervasive opportunity gap of inequality in Africa’s dynamic business environment. Most importantly, he highlights the importance of being open to discovering new markets, building connections for future partnerships, and learning from experts, local business communities, stakeholders, and other business leaders.
You can connect with Olawale Adeyina through his LinkedIn and Instagram.
