By Adama Amahiri
Women in Marketing Africa (WiM Africa), in partnership with Women in Advertising (WIA-AAAN), has brought industry leaders together to examine Nigeria’s creative potential and the steps needed to translate it into measurable impact.
The Real Talk Debate was held in Lagos on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, under the theme, “From Creative Ambition to Impact: Is Nigeria Realising Its Creative Potential?”
The event brought together marketers, advertising professionals and creatives to discuss opportunities and challenges facing Nigeria’s creative industry.
In her opening remarks, WiM Africa CEO and convener Andrea Djan-Krofa said the debate series was created to encourage honest conversations about issues shaping the industry.
She said, “I wanted to create something a little different: a space where we could genuinely challenge the status quo, professional assumptions, and hear different perspectives. And importantly, a space where we don’t necessarily have to agree.”
Djan-Krofa said previous editions had been held in Accra, Johannesburg and Nairobi, where discussions focused on artificial intelligence, Gen Z and brand relationships, authenticity and representation.
Founder and Group CEO of X3M Ideas, Steve Babaeko, shared his experience of building the agency during a fireside conversation with Katharina Link, CEO of Pulse and Business Insider Africa.
Recalling his decision to establish the agency in 2012, Babaeko said he invested his savings in setting up an office but initially overlooked the financial demands of running the business.
“I had just quit my job. And I have started. People tell me how, oh, ‘you know, you’ve always said stuff, and you’ve always been prepared.’ I’m like, what most people don’t know was that I was scared shitless going out on my own. I was very scared about so many things. I just said, if we do it scared anyway,” he said.
He recalled that the agency struggled to meet its first payroll despite securing a contract with Etisalat, adding that the experience taught him the importance of managing cash flow.
Speaking about his determination to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Babaeko said he had long been concerned that no Nigerian or West African agency had won the recognition.
He said, “I took it so personally. So unbelievable. I just didn’t, how and why. It is like the World Cup, and a great footballing power like Holland has never won the World Cup.”
He eventually attended the festival after insisting on being included in the Nigerian delegation, despite leaving his former agency. He said the experience changed his approach to building X3M Ideas and competing internationally.
During the panel discussion, industry stakeholders also stressed the need for collaboration among brands, agencies, media organisations and regulators.
Brenda Nwagwu, president of the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), said stakeholders needed to work together, adding that “the customer has to be at the centre.”
Senior Director of Marketing at Coca-Cola, Osato Evbuomwan, said agencies should understand the objectives behind campaigns before discussing budgets.
“One of the things I have tried to ask agencies to understand is, you are not working for me, you are working with me,” she said.
She also urged regulators to understand the complexities involved in building brands and creating content for consumers.
Director of Regulation, Monitoring and Enforcement at the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Emme Akande, said effective regulation required cooperation among advertisers, advertising agencies and media organisations.
“The regulator works with three sets of people, the advertiser who gives the brief, the advertising agency who creates content into commercials that we watch on TV, hear on radio, on digital, and the media house that broadcasts. The regulator needs collaboration needs the collaboration of all these people,” she said.
Akande added, “Whatever we do must conform to the laws of the land. If it does not, people will have issues.”
The panel was moderated by Oluwaseyi Layade, Chief Operating Officer of Leo Burnett Lagos, and featured Fiona Uwagwu, Managing Director, Special Projects and Chief Digital Officer at First Primus Group.
Tamara Ojeaga, Client and Commercial Growth Partner at Kantar, also delivered a presentation at the event.
The Lagos debate formed part of WiM Africa’s Real Talk Debate Series, which provides a platform for industry professionals to discuss issues shaping the future of marketing and advertising across Africa.
