Africa Business Communities

[Interview] Paul Oghoghorie, CEO, Top Naija Music, Nigeria

Paul Oghoghorie is founder and promoter of Nigerian music platform, TopNaijaMusic.com. He is also prominent in the Nigerian fashion industry as founder of Top Naija Models, a company that organizes frequent competitions for aspiring male and female models in Nigeria.

Paul Oghoghorie was a recipient of the Business Icon of The Year Award in Dallas, Texas, USA at the 2015 edition of the Extraordinary People's Award organized by La Expose Productions and Heal The World Mission. 

Would you please introduce Top Naija Music?

Top Naija Music (and Naija is the Nigerian slang for ‘Nigeria’) company is an online based music promotion platform designed to connect Nigerian music with lovers of her music across the world via the internet. We operate in the entertainment industry and our clients are music artistes. Wherever you are in the world, you can, through this platform, inform yourself on the trending music and artists in Nigeria on a daily basis.

Why did you start Top Naija Music?

To contribute my quota to the growth of the growing Nigeria music industry. Promoting Nigerian music to more people via the internet is a powerful way, probably the most powerful today, to advance its exposure and the interests of the Nigerian artist.

Please tell us about the Music Awards you organize.

The Top Naija Music Awards was put together by our company out of the need to give hardworking young Nigerians the zeal to pursue their music dream. Many young people are turning to vices as a means of livelihood, while many others are striving to make it. We saw this and chose to encourage those who are working hard, believing that it will spur those into vices to turn to working on their dreams instead. And indeed, the awards, which is in its third edition has been a driving force for young people who have given music a thought as their career choice.

What did you do before founding Top Naija Music?

I have been into digital marketing, online marketing consultations and direct marketing. Other startups I’ve been involved in include Hispeed Media, Empower Naija and Naija Top Models.

Please tell us about Top Naija Models.

Top Naija Models was designed as a digital marketing platform for Nigerian aspiring and professional models. Our primary objective is to enlist models on the website and get them brands and individuals who will use them for various services.

What can be done by entrepreneurs and government to stimulate the business environment in your Nigeria?

Funds, soft loans should be provided for entrepreneurs to be able to manage the expense of running. At the moment, all entrepreneurs in Nigeria, especially small and medium scale entrepreneurs have little to no access to loans due to the technicalities involved.

Do you believe Social Media and the Internet to be a plus to the business environment, as it applies to your industry?

Absolutely. Social media and internet are a BIG plus to business because it affords a more affordable and quicker means of connecting with clients and networking with people. One does not need to move about to meet with customers anymore as it can be done easily by phone.

How would you assess Nigeria’s economic performance in the first 3 quarters of 2015? Economic performance since the beginning of the year has been not much different from the last years, as I’ve personally not noted any major improvements, especially with respect to incentives to small and media scale entrepreneurs. But we keep hoping for the best.

www.linkedin.com/profile

www.topnaijamodels.com

www.topnaijamusic.com

www.twitter.com/TopNaijaMusic

 

Africa Business Communities is conducting a series of interviews with CEO's and high-end professionals from and/or operating in Africa. Are you interested in an interview? Please send an e-mail to andrea@africabusinesscommunities.com

 

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