The Founder and CEO of BlackHouse Media (BHM), Ayeni Adekunle, is set to join a distinguished panel of C-suite executives at the August 2026 Breakfast Forum of the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce (NSACC). Scheduled for Thursday, August 27, 2026, at the Eko Hotel & Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos, the high-level gathering will focus on the theme ‘Building Local Content Together: 25 Years of Shared Growth.’
The session comes against the backdrop of significant commercial expansion across Africa’s service economy. According to projections from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the continent’s creative and digital service sector is expected to hit a $100 billion valuation by 2030, with Nigeria and South Africa serving as primary regional growth engines. Despite this rapid expansion, structural gaps persist across corporate supply chains; indigenous participation in local content across West and Southern Africa currently remains below 35%.
Ayeni, who founded BHM in 2006 and built it into a communications power player with over £5 million in revenue – ranking 87th on The Financial Times list of Africa’s 100 fastest-growing companies in 2023 – brings broad cross-sectoral experience across media, martech (Plaqad), and digital publishing (ID Africa). Speaking on the necessity for African leaders to look past operational constraints, Ayeni recently emphasised: “Global exposure is critical for expertise and influence… The goal is to return equipped to make meaningful impact in Nigeria [and Africa].” He added that long-term corporate viability hinges on ethical foundations rather than short-term gains, noting: “Platforms incentivise extremes – fraud, polarisation, spectacle. Influence must be grounded in responsibility.”
Advocating for intentional corporate strategy in modern markets, Ayeni has also highlighted changing consumer dynamics, pointing out: “Consumers will continue to compel brands and companies to show they care about what matters to them. And they’ll want to hear from company leaders and internal advocates, not just paid influencers or hired celebrities.” During the session, he will join fellow business leaders – including Modupe Kadri, Chief Financial Officer of MTN Nigeria; Afolabi Sobande, Group COO of Computer Warehouse Group; Yemi Chukwurah, CEO of Seams & Stitches; and Udeme Ufot, Group Managing Director of SO&U – to propose practical operational frameworks for multinationals to deepen engagement with local enterprise partners.
Established in 2000, the NSACC has facilitated bilateral business partnerships across 15 key sectors for a quarter-century, enabling domestic companies to interface directly with major regional conglomerates. Ayeni’s contributions to the panel are expected to outline actionable blueprints for clearing cross-border trade friction, harmonising intellectual property rules, and enabling African technology and creative firms to manage global corporate portfolios seamlessly.