Taopheek A Babayeju

Early life and education

Taopheek Babayeju was born in Lagos, Nigeria in the late 70s to the family of High Chief and Mrs. Ganiyu Aremu Adedoja Babayeju - Alemo of Ijaye, Abeokuta of Ogun State. He is the third of five children. He grew up in Ebute Meta, Lagos Mainland, where he had his primary education. He then proceeded for his secondary education at Christ’s School in the old Ondo State, now Ekiti State. He studied Physics at Lagos State University, LASU. He later trained as a mobile telecoms engineer at the United Kingdom Telecommunications Academy (UKTA) and had several post graduate studies at Pan Atlantic University and Harvard Business School to mention a few.

Career

TAOPHEEK has vast experience in project management, technology, business strategy and innovation consulting. He is known for his detailed and analytical approach to solving problems, he specialises in using technology and innovations to enhance business models and processes.

He started his career at Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications Ltd, (MTEL) as a Network Engineer/Project Manager in the Implementation Unit. And worked with various organisations within the ICT sector. As an independent consultant he has delivered several projects across different sectors including finance, IT & telecoms, government, civil, development, education, to mention a few.

Entrepreneurship

Taopheek’s love for entrepreneurship started right from when he was a little boy. He grew up with and entrepreneur father and a trader mum. Immediately after his secondary education he trained as technician in his father’s company on Broad Street, Lagos and continued working while studying Physics (Electronics) as an undergraduate at the Lagos State University. In 2003 he teamed up with a friend to set up an ICT company. The venture failed within a year of set-up, in 2004 he founded ICTech, a technology firm and in 2009 he launched the iCentra brand. He has gone on to birth several other companies and sits on the board several start-ups. He is a proponent of entrepreneur, he started LeadPreneur, a concept that seeks to promote the ethos of Leadership and Entrepreneurship across Africa and beyond. He also serves as a board member of the Creative Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria CEAN

Project Management Advocate

Taopheek initiated and served as the Programme Director the first ever National Project Management Conference (ProMaCon) in Nigeria. He is also a founding executive member and National Secretary of the National Association of Project Management Professionals (NAPMP). He has served as the Vice President of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Nigeria. He was appointed an international contributor for PMWorld Journal. He has been an active voice and advocate for the institutionalization of Project Management best practice in Nigeria and has received several awards and recognitions for his strives and initiatives including PMI’s award for the “Most Outstanding Contribution to Project Management in Nigeria”. He has also shared thoughts with other notable international Project Managers at the various Project Management Conferences ^[4]

Mentoring and Public Speaking

Taopheek is passionate about development, he has over the last decade dedicated his time and resources towards mentoring younger professionals and entrepreneurs across Africa. He has contributed consistently on entrepreneurship and national issues on different media platforms such as Money Show, Global Business and shared his view as guest speaker at different events and initiatives including TEDx, iExpo, Abuja Spotlight, florenceozor foundation, to mention a few.