Lagos hospitality and lifestyle businesses are increasingly looking beyond social media visibility to customer retention, repeat patronage and technology-driven engagement.
This is as Awari prepares to unveil an expanded platform connecting consumers with the businesses and experiences shaping the city’s lifestyle economy.
At an event, which held on October 16, 2026, at the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel Victoria Island, Lagos, Awari, formerly known as Lost in Lagos, positioned its platform as a technology-driven solution for restaurants, hotels, entertainment providers, wellness brands, retailers and other businesses seeking to improve how they attract and retain customers.
The initiative also looks forward to the Awari Business Connect (ABC) 2026, a gathering expected to bring together entrepreneurs, hospitality operators, tourism stakeholders, technology companies, creators and government representatives to examine opportunities within Lagos’ expanding lifestyle economy.
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The event will also feature the unveiling of the next phase of Awari’s platform, a proposed partnership with Lagos Tourism and the introduction of the Awari Loyalty Network (ALN), which is designed to connect participating lifestyle businesses through a shared customer loyalty ecosystem.
The development comes as businesses across Lagos hospitality sector navigate a competitive market in which attracting customers is only one part of the challenge, with service delivery, customer experience and repeat spending increasingly important to sustainable growth.
For restaurant owners, hotel operators and entertainment businesses, social media platforms have become important marketing channels.
However, converting online attention into bookings, completed transactions and repeat visits require additional investment in customer service, digital marketing and relationship management.
Awari aims to address the above gap by bringing business discovery, customer engagement, bookings, ticketing, rewards and loyalty into a connected digital ecosystem.
Oladapo Bolarinwa,chief technology officer and co-founder, Awari, explained that the company developed its solution around the challenges businesses face in discovering customers, engaging with them, completing transactions and encouraging repeat patronage.
According to Bolarinwa, businesses often compete for attention on conventional social media platforms, where their content appears alongside celebrity posts, entertainment content and breaking news. Even when customers express interest, businesses must still manage enquiries across different channels, creating additional demands on their operations.
Awari is designed to provide a business-focused environment where consumers can intentionally discover companies, explore their offerings and interact with them.
The platform’s discovery features include: Awari Social, Explore and Ads Manager, which are intended to help businesses showcase their products and services, publish promotional content and reach potential customers.
Beyond discovery, the platform is introducing artificial intelligence-powered tools to improve customer engagement and support sales conversion.
Its Ask Awari feature allows users to seek recommendations and information from the platform’s database, while Awari Assist is designed to help businesses manage customer enquiries and facilitate transactions.
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Bolarinwa said that the objective is to reduce the operational burden associated with responding to large volumes of customer messages while helping businesses convert more enquiries into completed sales.
The platform also plans to support customer retention through loyalty incentives, allowing participating businesses to reward repeat patronage.
Under the proposed system, customers can accumulate rewards from qualifying transactions and use Awari points to access value within the platform.
The introduction of the Awari Loyalty Network is expected to extend the approach by connecting participating lifestyle businesses, creating opportunities for customer engagement beyond individual establishments.
For the Lagos hospitality industry, where businesses compete for consumer spending across dining, accommodation, nightlife, wellness and leisure, loyalty programmes could offer an additional mechanism for encouraging repeat visits and strengthening customer relationships.
However, the effectiveness of such initiatives will depend on adoption by businesses and consumers, the value of the rewards offered and the ability of participating operators to maintain consistent service quality.
Awari Business Connect will also examine the wider conditions required to position Lagos as a global destination, with discussions expected to cover entrepreneurship, tourism, infrastructure, technology, consumer behaviour and collaboration between the public and private sectors.
A planned live podcast conversation, featuring governor of Lagos State or a representative, will explore how the state can support lifestyle businesses and strengthen its appeal to residents and visitors.
Two fireside conversations will focus on the future of lifestyle and entertainment in Lagos and the transition from business visibility to customer loyalty.
Tannez Banner, co-founder, Tannez, said: “Lagos State is changing the world, and the world is looking to Lagos for good food, culture and tourism. Awari is all about connection, building and the future of our country.”
Bolarinwa added that Awari is business first, discover, engage, ticket, retain and grow.
The planned Awari-Lagos Tourism partnership is another major component of the event. Although further details are expected to be announced at the gathering, the partnership is intended to strengthen the connection between technology, tourism and the discovery of places and experiences across Lagos.
The evolution from Lost in Lagos to Awari reflects a broader ambition to move beyond publishing information about places to visit towards connecting consumers directly with the businesses behind those experiences.
The company is seeking to build an ecosystem in which discovery can lead to engagement, bookings, transactions and sustained customer relationships.
Awari Business Connect will bring together restaurant owners, hotel and hospitality operators, wellness brands, entertainment providers, retailers, beauty businesses, creators, investors and other industry participants to discuss how partnerships and digital tools can support the growth of Lagos lifestyle economy.
As Lagos continues to build its reputation around hospitality, entertainment, culture and leisure, the ability to deliver compelling experiences and retain customers will remain important to the sector’s long-term prospects.
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Athekame Kenneth is a politics, economy, and finance reporter whose work is anchored in sharp investigative storytelling. He brings analytical depth to every piece, drawing on a strong academic foundation that includes a degree in Economics, an MBA in International Trade, and a minor in Petroleum Economics from Lagos State University, Ojo. His reporting blends rigorous research with a keen eye for hidden truths, delivering stories that illuminate power, policy, and the forces shaping everyday lives.
