FORBES HONOURS MO ABUDU

Mo Abudu

THIS, indeed, are the best of times for Mosunmola Abudu, popularly known as Mo. Barely two months after the launch of her Ebony Life television channel, she has received another accolade. Forbes Media, a renowned establishment, which has become a symbol of distinction for recognising worthy business decision makers, investors and progressive individuals, who have impacted the world through their stimulation of business growth, has named Mo Abudu as the first woman on the African continent to own a pan-African TV channel.
   In the best of Forbes Media tradition, this honour is coming to the industrious Mo, also known vastly within and outside the industry as Africa’s Queen of Talk, after months of intense research and a thorough verification exercise by the outfit.
  An incontrovertible position, the award, no doubt, firmly affirms and establishes Mo as a true primus inter pares who has indeed treaded grounds that many considered an uphill task. The dogged, tireless and steadfast visionary known for her simple, timeless and inspirational mantra, ‘If you can think it, you can do it’, has continued to blaze the trail in many areas, expanding possibilities and being a huge inspiration to millions in Africa and many parts of the world.
   Not only is she spearheading innovation, creating employment and influencing great change in the economy of her nation, Mo has made her mark in diverse fields of endeavour, which cut across the corporate world as an Executive in ExxonMobil for nearly a decade.
   She was the promoter behind the Protea Hotel Oakwood Park, of which she remains a shareholder and director; she was the Founder of Vic Lawrence & Associates, now one of Nigeria’s leading Outsourcing firms, and most recently in the dynamic world of media, she is the creator, executive producer and hostess of Moments with Mo.
The programme is Africa’s first and only syndicated daily talk show. It airs across 48 African countries and on cable TV in the United Kingdom.
    In over seven years of its existence, it has transformed the face and flavour of African TV. The show has been able to achieve this feat by constantly seeking to build and project a new, stronger, more independent and confident Africa. One that speaks for itself, celebrates its people and achievements, and solves its own problems.
   Over the years, Moments with Mo has hosted an impressive list of guests. From Presidents to Nobel Laureates; celebrities to Governors; and even the US Secretary of-State, Mrs. Hilary Rodham-Clinton on her visit to Nigeria, and of recent, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of IMF.
   Over the last few years Mo has developed other TV properties to include The Debaters, a highly intellectual, but vastly motivating, innovative and entertaining reality TV show that gives the youth of Africa a voice; and Naija Diamonds, an award winning documentary series, celebrating the unsung heroes of Nigeria.
   Mo is also proud of her philanthropy work with The Inspire Africa Foundation and in partnership with Moreno Construction, The Harbour, a one hundred-bed home for Street children in Lagos, is near completion.
   Mo is a great believer in the media, and her strong persuasion about using media and entertainment as a tool to change global perceptions about Africa and to advance various social-economic agenda, is the driving force behind Ebony Life TV.