Blog
Entrepreneurship, leadership and fundraising, plus honest yearly reviews of what actually happened. Written by Olugbenga Ogunbowale from the work itself, not from theory.
-
How to Win the $5,000 Tony Elumelu Grant in 2026: The Definitive Guide
Few weeks ago, The Tony Elumelu Foundation opened applications for the 2026 Entrepreneurship Programme. If you have a business idea or an early-stage business, you could walk away with $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital.
-
Sometimes You Struggle, Sometimes You Soar: My 2025 Review
Bigger apartment. Bigger milestones. Bigger dreams. I also upgraded my problems. Mold in every room. A baby struggling to breathe. Clinic bills I didn’t budget for.
-
Marriage, Millions, and Making Waves: My 2024 Review
December 31st, 2024: Husband and father, still chasing wins — but with tiny footsteps following mine. What happened in between? Everything.
-
The Ultimate Guide to Acing Your YALI West Africa Fellowship Application
The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Regional Leadership Center West Africa offers an incredible opportunity for emerging leaders aged 18–35 to enhance their skills, expand their networks, and...
-
The Ultimate Guide to Acing Your Mandela Washington Fellowship Application
Yours truly somewhere in Chicago As a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow, I’ve experienced firsthand the transformative power of this prestigious program (you can read all about my experience here).
-
Ignore this if you don’t want your share of N110 billion
Hi, grant seeker! Hope your weekend started off on the right foot. Omo, the gist is hot! Over 100 sharp guys and babes have already grabbed their spots for tomorrow’s NYIF Secrets Masterclass. E be like say Burna dey perform for free.
-
Chronicling the Asaya experience: A Kogi Coper’s guide to NYSC orientation exercise (NYSC files)
Let’s be clear, I was not exactly excited about being posted to Kogi [I personally wanted Ekiti or any South West state or Cross-River for that matter!] but nonetheless, I found my way to Asaya camp, Kabba on the 5th of August 2014.
-
Quest 4d Best: EVENT REPORT (NYSC Files)
EVENT: QUEST 4D BEST TOTAL ATTENDANCE: 300+ 200 [inside the hall], 100+ [outside the hall, they peeped through the windows] REPORT “We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give”...
-
2015: The Origins of Change
Every year, for the past 2 years, I have written a comprehensive review of my year (2014, 2013). It serves the dual purpose of inspiring someone out there to change lives (and smash records) while...
-
My Outstanding 2014
Woooooooow! What a year! From making the top 20 in Africa in the Etisalat Flash Fiction contest to Nigeria’s victory over Ebola, the emergence of Buhari/Osinbajo as APC’s presidential/VP candidates...
-
My personal thanksgiving memoir: 2013’s Most Prodigious Personalities
ALL MEN ARE BORN EQUAL, NOT ALL FRIENDS. To close 2013 in grand style, I have decided to say thank you in a very special way to all those that made my year rock.
-
From ‘Bad Blood’ to Big Wins: My 2023 Story of Pain & Personal Growth
When Spotify informed me “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift was my top song for 2023 — played a whopping 710 times — it suddenly made sense.
-
Against All Odds: How I Cheated Death and Achieved Success [2022 Review]
“Is He breathing?” “Is He Alive?” “Scream his name!” In a series of events worthy of a Netflix movie, I went from a simple harmless pain in the chest to the surgical table. Welcome to the 10th installment of my yearly reviews.
-
You can write? Apply for Grant Master’s Creative Writers Fellowship 2.0
The 100% online fellowship, fully sponsored by Grant Master, is currently looking for exceptional creative writers all over Africa who want to master grant writing and significantly increase their income by working as Grant Writers.
-
The easy way to win Grants
Imagine being able to pull out your phone and instantly get connected with the best grant writer for your grant writing needs.
-
What is a pitch deck and why should you care?
A pitch deck is usually a Powerpoint presentation of 10 to 15 slides that captures the problem you are trying to solve, your solution, what makes you different, what you have done so far (traction) among other things.
-
Are you an A-player or a B-player?
In every startup, there are humble, selfless individuals who want a challenge and are excited to help build a company from nothing. There will undoubtedly be long hours that creep into weekends.
-
Want to grow? Stay humble
Humility is an invaluable trait when you’re trying to grow as a human being. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to put your pride aside and listen to feedback.
-
Firing people is one of the toughest decisions any leader must make
Your team as a startup can be the difference between an industry-changing unicorn and just another failed venture. And this is why you must get the right people onboard, and the wrong people off-board.
-
Grants and storytellers: A Marriage Made in heaven
Check every single list of business leaders and NGO leaders who have won a grant and you will find one thing they all have in common: they are incredible storytellers.
-
If there’s one thing we’ve all said about being scammed, it’s this: “It can never be me.”
If there’s one thing we’ve all said about being scammed, it’s this: “It can never be me.” In my case, it was a hotel booking gone wrong. I attended a dinner somewhere in Lagos and it stretched very late into the night.
-
Of Guns, Grief and Creative Violence: the inside story of my 2021 [review]
Olugbenga Ogunbowale I started 2021 with both of my parents. I’m ending 2021 without my Dad. My Dad was the most courageous person I had ever known. He was brave and blunt. Dad led by example and was honest to a fault.
-
How to Apply for the 2025 Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF)
Yours truly at Kellogg School of Management At my 4th attempt, and 2nd interview, I was selected as 1 of 55 outstanding young leaders out of 11,000 applicants from Nigeria and as part of 700 Africans out of 55,000 applicants from Africa.
-
Apply for Grant Master’s Grant Writing Fellowship For Creative Writers
Apply for Grant Master’s Grant Writing Fellowship For Creative Writers Applications for Grant Master’s Grant Writing Fellowship for Creative Writers are now open.
-
5 ways to get free advertising on Google
Free advertising on Google? It’s possible because I have done it. Right now, I want you to Google “How to win Tony Elumelu Grant”. You should see this.
-
How To Apply For March 8th Initiative MSME Grants for Small Businesses by ‘Friends of Prof’…
How To Apply For March 8th Initiative MSME Grants for Small Businesses by ‘Friends of Prof’ (complete 2021 Guide) Ready to accelerate your business growth with grant funding?
-
No pain, No Gain: how 2020 took me from surgery hell to startup heaven (review)
I was nervous. Understandably so. I had lost 3 pitch competitions in a row. Why would this be any different? My 2020 was a journey from hell to heaven, and I mean that literally.
-
Winning grants is not rocket science: here’s how
One of the ways you can quickly get back on your feet in this COVID-19 Phase is to be able to raise money for your business, projects and dreams. In this COVID-19 era, the world is focused on one single problem: ending COVID-19.
-
Remote Work: 7 tips for maximum productivity in the age of COVID-19
1 Set expectations at home: If you stay with your siblings or your better half, or maybe you even have kids, you need to set expectations. Establish periods when you are not to be disturbed (except in case of an emergency, that is).
-
How To Win Grants
When I won the Tony Elumelu Grant in 2017, over 150,000 people applied! Now, imagine I’m a tired, grumpy and hungry reviewer. I’ve got 100 grant applications to get through.
-
How to never be late again
Graduation day at EDC In 2016, I got into Building Entrepreneurs Today (BET6), a program for young entrepreneurs at Enterprise Development Center (of Pan Atlantic University), located at Ajah area of Lagos.
-
How to pass the Mandela Washington Fellowship Interview
Sbukeli, Rooney & myself (L-R) At my 4th attempt, and 2nd interview, I was selected as 1 of 55 outstanding young leaders out of 11,000 applicants from Nigeria and as part of 700 Africans out of 55,000.
-
How to win the $5,000 Tony Elumelu Grant in 2020
How to win the $5,000 Tony Elumelu Grant in 2022 (Updated!) Who wants to be a millionaire? From January 1 to March 31, entrepreneurs like you with an exciting business or idea, can apply to win...
-
From Aduloju to America: My Fairytale 2019 (review)
Asides from what I had seen in movies and heard on the news, the only place I had ever seen USA was in my affirmation.
-
Do your friends & family know what you do?
One of the biggest mistakes small business owners make is to not educate those closest to them- friends and family- about what they do.
-
Why you should (not) outsource your social media marketing
As someone who runs a digital agency, I’m supposed to say you should always outsource social media marketing. The problem is I don’t agree. There are many reasons why you should manage your own social.
-
Diary of a passport applicant: Prayer, fasting, whistle blowing & other extreme ways to secure…
Diary of a passport applicant: Prayer, fasting, whistle blowing & other extreme ways to secure your passport. Do you have a passport? A Nigerian Passport? Congratulations!
-
The incurable optimist (my 2018 review)
Sometimes, people ask me why I write a yearly review. Is it for self-promotion? Is it for entertainment? Is it for inspiration?
-
From Tumultuous to Terrific: my 2017 review
This was no joke. I couldn’t find my laptop. My baby. After inspecting the windows and doors for a breakage, it was obvious this was an inside job.
-
Grab headlines like Ebuka’s #BAAD2017 outfit in 3 steps
#BAAD2017 will be talked about for months and remembered for years. Banky & Adesua’s wedding was unsurprisingly lit with stars, however, it was Ebuka that grabbed all the headlines.
-
How To Grow Your Idea Into A Business (In 6 Steps)
Everyone has ideas. I get ideas by the dozen. When I’m brushing my teeth, when I’m going to work, when surfing the web. But here’s the truth: Ideas are just ideas until you nourish them. An idea is the seed of a successful business.
-
How to tell stories that touch
Once upon a time, in a faraway town, a very old king was troubled. He was troubled because He had no male son and his only daughter was single.
-
Africapitalism: How Tony Elumelu is unleashing prosperity across Africa (TEF Forum 2017 Report)
Tony & Awele Elumelu with some fellows How do you change the economic system of an entire continent? 60% of Africans are under the age of 30. Every year, 12 million youths enter the labor market, yet, there are only jobs for 2–3 million.
-
From ‘Fire’ to ‘Fireworks’: The inside story of my 2016 journey (complete review)
How do you review the highs and lows of one entire year -365 days- in one single article? Every year, for the past 3 years, I have written a comprehensive review of my year ( 2015, 2014, 2013).
Get the next one by email
New posts on entrepreneurship, leadership and fundraising, plus my yearly reviews. Sent only when there is something worth your time.