Your Dream Moment with Mo

Your Dream Moment with Mo introduces women, 18- 34 years old, to Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife Media. These young women will receive help to define their passion and to make a difference in their lives and careers, one moment at a time. It only takes one step to jump-start a dream that can foster a new beginning. With guidance and support from Mo Abudu, participants will learn how to use their passion to build a more fulfilling life and career, in the programme’s first series, called The Power Series for Today’s Woman.

One hundred women will be selected as mentees to attend an all-day, free session with Mo Abudu, to learn how to discover their passion and learn from her years of experience as a serial entrepreneur.

Mo Abudu

Mo Abudu has made her mark through various endeavors—first as an executive at ExxonMobil for nearly a decade, then as the promoter behind the Protea Hotel Oakwood Park, as well as the Founder of Vic Lawrence & Associates, one of Nigeria’s leading outsourcing firms. She entered the world of media as the creator, executive producer, and host of the TV show “MOMENTS WITH MO,” earning the accolade of Africa’s ‘first lady of chat’. The show was the first of its kind to be syndicated across Africa, now in its ninth year and citing an impressive guest list that includes the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, and former US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham-Clinton, among others. “So there’s a constant give and take that has to go on. And I think it’s important that more voices like yours be speaking on behalf of Africa…” These are the words of former US Secretary of State, Senator Hillary Clinton, to Mo Abudu, Africa’s Queen of Chat, and inspired the creation of EbonyLife TV, Africa’s first Global Black Entertainment and Lifestyle Network for premium homegrown entertainment content.

Mo received international recognition from Forbes as the first African woman to launch a Pan-African TV channel in 2013. Steve Forbes, the Editor-in-Chief of business magazine Forbes magazine, as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes, Inc., was the keynote speaker at the launch of Mo Abudu’s TV Network, EbonyLife TV. Forbes has described Abudu as “Africa’s Most Successful Woman,” and CNN announced her as “Africa’s Queen of Media who conquered the continent.”

The Sisterhood Awards was launched in 2014, as part of Mo Abudu’s 50th birthday celebrations. The awards ceremony honors the unrecognized accomplishments of women in Nigeria, who have accomplished achievements in various professional arenas, but who’ve yet to be recognized. The annual event is designed to empower women to work together and accomplish great things.

In her quest to change the global perception of Africa, Mo took the plunge into filmmaking by establishing EbonyLife Films in 2014, and was the Executive Producer of its first feature-length film “FIFTY”, which was the biggest premiere in the history of the Nigerian movie industry, the top-grossing Nigerian film of 2015, and selected to screen at the 2015 London Film Festival. Her second feature length film, “The Wedding Party,” premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival with positive reviews. It was then released in cinemas across Nigeria on December 16, 2016, and is the highest grossing movie in the history of Nollywood.

Mo returned to Toronto once again for the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival for the world premiere of her third feature-length film, “The Royal Hibiscus Hotel.” The film was the only Nigerian selection and one of only three African features in the Contemporary World Cinema category, which spotlights 48 of the best new films worldwide. The Royal Hibiscus Hotel was recognized as a “Hidden Gem” by the Toronto International Film Festival. Variety, the world’s leading magazine for the movie industry, had this to say: “Royal Hibiscus is a polished, crowd-pleasing comedy full of easy laughs from an all-star cast.”

After 5 years, EbonyLife has developed into a media group focusing on 4 key areas—EbonyLife Studios, EbonyLife TV, EbonyLife Films, and EbonyLife ON. EbonyLife Studios is a production service for inhouse projects and third-party clients. EbonyLife TV is broadcast on DStv channel 165 and StarTimes channels 189 and 191 in Africa as well as on FLOW in 10 Caribbean countries. EbonyLife Films is the producer of blockbuster movies such as Fifty, The Wedding Party, Wedding Party 2, and The Royal Hibiscus Hotel. EbonyLife ON is a global video-on-demand (VoD) digital service for viewers who want to enjoy high-quality series and movies at any time and in any place.

Recently, EbonyLife announced its scripted television development deal with Sony Pictures Television, the first of its kind between SONY and a Nigerian production company, will also include a TV series inspired by the Dahomey Warriors. The action-packed series, inspired by true events that took place in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey, will tell the empowering story of the all-female Warriors and show the ultimate strength of women coming together, fighting to protect and honour their people.

An accomplished entrepreneur and philanthropist with a predilection for television, Mo was recently listed in Hollywood Reporter’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Global Television in 2013 and 2017. The Business Insider listed Mo amongst the top 100 business visionaries creating value for the world. The Governing Council of the Institute of Directors Nigeria (IoDN) awarded Mo the 2017 ‘IoD Entrepreneurial Award’. Mo received an Honorary Doctorate Degree (Honouris Causa) from Babcock University, Nigeria’s premier private university.

Mo is highly sought after for her in-depth knowledge on the African and Global creative industry. She has spoken at the Wharton School of Business, Oxford Union, University of Cambridge, Judge Business School, Harvard University, New York University, and Stern School of Business, among others.

Mo says her most significant achievement is being blessed as the proud mother of two amazing children, Temidayo, aged 27, and Adekoyejo, aged 22.