Lord’s London Dry Gin Honours Nigerian Innovators

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

On Saturday, March 26, 2022, one of the leading premium spirit brands, Lord’s London Dry Gin, rolled out the drums to celebrate Nigerian innovators.

The impact makers were honoured amid pomp and pageantry at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos at the fourth edition of the Lord’s Achievers Awards.

“Since the establishment of the Lord’s Achievers Awards in 2018, we have worked towards the vision with doggedness, birthing a platform that helps us to fulfil our desire to celebrate the journey towards success and every achievement along the way.

“Today, we recognise young, exceptional, and outstanding people who have recorded notable success and kindled within us a desire to contribute to national socio-economic development,” the General Manager, Marketing at Grand Oak Limited, Mr Stanley Obi, stated.

It was gathered that this year’s event themed The Bold and Audacious was to recognise and celebrate young and exceptional Nigerians between the ages of 25 and 40, who have recorded notable success in their chosen endeavours.

Mr Obi, while explaining the criteria for being nominated and chosen as a Lord’s Achiever, said, “A Lord’s Achiever is young and vibrant, bold and audacious with their ideas, confident and unflinching in their resolve to develop innovative solutions.

“They are deliberate about impact, outstanding and exemplary in leadership. In choosing each honouree, we consider the following: reach and scope of their work; duration since they commenced the work or initiative; and the potential for scale and future impact on wider socio-economic outcomes.

“With the increasing brain-drain in Africa, we are especially proud of the strength and resilience of these individuals we honour today.”

On his part, the Category Manager, Schnapps, Gin & Bitters at Grand Oak Limited (GOL), Mr Tony Ogbonna, expressed the brand’s gratitude to the honourees, resource partners, fans and their entire team.

“This evening could not have been a success without our special guests, tonight’s honourees, lovers of Lord’s London Dry Gin and our partners.

“This fourth edition of the Lord’s Achievers Award is a milestone that has strengthened our resolve to keep the momentum and commitment to celebrating the successes of our people. More importantly, we recognise the importance for the younger generation who look up to these achievers and need to understand that there is no limit if we can only believe,” he said.

The beneficiaries for this year cut across all segments of the Nigerian ecosystem, including Finance: Tosin Olasiende, the founder/CEO of Ladda and Money Africa, a platform that enhances financial literacy and investments leveraging technology; Tech: Akintola Adensami, co-founder and CEO at Spleet Africa, a property tech solutions company whose work realises a basic amenity needed by all, Shelter; Science: Bukola Bolarinwa, founder of Haima Health, Nigeria’s first online and mobile blood bank revolutionising the country’s blood supply system; and Arts: Dapo Adedeji (DapoKing), a visual storyteller whose visual works help bring awareness to vulnerable groups.

Others were Agriculture: Jennifer Onyebuagu, the co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Voriancorelli, which aims to solve food insecurity by bridging the gap between actors in the agricultural value chain; Fashion and Lifestyle: Ore Runsewe, founder of Arami Essentials, a beauty brand centred on beauty with integrity and encouraging people to make better decisions for their body, being mindful of it as a sacred place; Literature: Sarah Aluko, a Nigerian-British author and poet whose poetry speaks about womanhood, being black, love and loss; Social Development: Wilson Atumeyi, the founder and CEO of Water With Development (WaterWide), a non-profit organisation that solves water sanitation and hygiene-related issues for vulnerable communities; Start up:  Maya Horgan Famodu, MD at Ingressive Capital, a $10 million VC fund targeting early-stage startups across Sub-Saharan Africa’s key tech markets; and Entertainment: Tomike Adeoye, an award-winning TV and radio presenter, brand influencer, actress, and on-air-personality.