Seed Nigeria successfully convened its landmark inaugural summit, Seed G3 2026 (Growth · Grit · Global), on October 14–15, 2026, at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Gathering over 200 business founders, corporate executives, venture capital investors, and policymakers, the two-day hybrid summit marked a dual milestone: hosting the first-ever G3 conference while celebrating ten years of Stanford Seed’s transformative impact in Nigeria.
The conference was anchored on the theme, “Resilience to Relevance: Scaling African Enterprises for Global Markets.”
Delivering the opening welcome address, Omololami (Lola) Ajani, President of the Seed Nigeria Network, reflected on the decade-long journey of the Stanford Graduate School of Business initiative in Nigeria and the profound power of peer entrepreneurship.
“African enterprises possess immense resilience in navigating complex operating environments marked by infrastructure gaps, currency volatility, and shifting policies,” Ajani stated.
“However, we must ask ourselves: must survival always be our greatest achievement? Seed G3 2026 is designed to push us beyond survival mode, to build institutionalized companies capable of competing internationally, attracting institutional capital, and scaling sustainably.”
Ajani highlighted that the network has grown to over 200 members, comprising business leaders actively creating jobs, solving structural problems, and driving economic development.
She challenged attendees to leverage the power of the network more deliberately, fostering deeper commercial collaborations and cross-border partnerships rather than relying solely on individual effort.
Building on the opening mandate, Day 2 of the conference featured high-level keynotes and masterclasses focused on institutional growth and brand equity. Julius Agenmonmen, Group Managing Director/CEO of Brandlife Group and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Seed Nigeria, delivered a keynote address emphasising the transition from local endurance to international market relevance.
Agenmonmen stressed that global scaling requires robust brand equity, strategic discipline, and institutionalised governance structures that outlive their founders. Drawing from decades of marketing and leadership experience, he noted that African brands must earn international trust through consistent value delivery, quality, and customer-centric design.
The summit also featured contributions from prominent business and ecosystem leaders, including Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Chairman of Metis Capital Partners; Senator Tokunbo Abiru; Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy; and Innocent Ike, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc.
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Founding Partner at Future Africa, also contributed perspectives on venture design and capital formation. Martin Giese, Stanford Seed faculty member and Managing Director of XPRENEURS Incubator, delivered the keynote session, “Sell to Scale: Building the Revenue Engine for Global Growth,” sharing insights on the sales capabilities and revenue systems required for sustainable business expansion.
Beyond plenary sessions and masterclasses, Seed G3 2026 featured vibrant business exhibitions showcasing innovative products, services, and growth solutions from member enterprises. Dedicated capital sessions and Investor Deal Rooms provided growth-stage founders with opportunities to engage directly with private equity partners, venture capitalists, and institutional lenders, creating avenues for investment discussions and potential partnerships.
Through its inaugural edition, Seed G3 reinforced the importance of peer learning, strategic collaboration, and access to capital in helping African enterprises build the structures and capabilities needed to compete in global markets, while celebrating a decade of Stanford Seed’s work with Nigeria’s business community.
Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
