Ayodeji Razaq, a serial entrepreneur and marketing expert has won the Young Person of the Year at the 2021 edition of the Young Entrepreneurs Award summit held recently in Lagos.
The ceremony which had hundreds of entrepreneurs and professionals present saw Razaq, clinch the highly coveted prize for his dexterity in the business of communication and track record of excellence managing several thriving and highly-ranked businesses.
According to the organisers, the award seeks to spotlight young individuals who have become trailblazers in their fields, and the choice of Razaq as Young Person of the Year further emphasizes this.
While responding to the recognition, Razaq who is the co-founder of X-Holdings Group, a group of companies that includes Riquesa Africa-a leading experiential and activation company with operations in Nigeria and Ghana, and duo agency- a digital and tech driven marketing agency, appreciated the organisers for the recognition describing it as timely and a celebration of his over nine years journey as a professional and entrepreneur.
“My entrepreneurial journey is quite an interesting one. I started first as a professional and later dabbled into creating and managing businesses because I had understood the art of it and wanted to apply the knowledge to create businesses that would add value to customers,” he said in a statement.
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“I am delighted to have done just that. This is not to say there were no challenges but looking back today, with this award in hand, I am glad that I didn’t give in to the challenges but instead, stayed resolute and continued tenaciously.”
An excited Razaq continued, dedicating the award to everyone who believed in his vision and played an active part, “This award is a celebration of the successes achieved in the past but more importantly, a gentle reminder that there is a lot of work yet undone.”
“I would like to use this opportunity to charge every young Nigerian and African that there is so much we can achieve if we put our hearts to a vision with no doubt in our hearts. I would like to dedicate this award to my partner, colleagues, clients, and family for daring to believe in me and the businesses I run. To everyone, I say a big thank you.”
An alumnus of the University of Lagos and Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK, Razaq’s over nine years of experience has seen him create customized experiential solutions for brands across the FMCG, technology, manufacturing &financial services industries.
Under his leadership, his agencies have helped organizations including PZ Cussons, RedBull, Canon, Oracle, Hitachi, Danone, Johnson & Johnson, Arla, Unity Bank & Google among others, to significantly improve their bottom line, and connect with consumers, through the deployment of customized experiential solutions that win in the marketplace.
He is passionate about national development and youth empowerment he currently seats on the boards of NGYouthSDGs, a United Nations Driven NGO that is at the forefront of Youth Participation in meeting global SDGs goals and All Lives Matter Initiative, a non-profit organization that seeks to provide support for persons with disabilities.
He also volunteer as team lead for Media and PR for Slum2School Africa, an NGO that is focused on help underserved children get quality education.
