Olawale Adeyina is the CEO and founder of Green Street Media—one of West Africa’s leading digital media and content production companies. He started the company in 2012 and quickly launched TechCity which soon became a top tech news and reviews digital platform.
Before launching his company, Olawale worked as a freelance graphics and web designer. After graduating from the university, he decided to use the funds he had made as a freelancer and university entrepreneur to start a company.
He always liked watching tech videos and reading tech-related news updates on CNET and wanted to establish a similar company in Nigeria.
He realized that Nigerians weren’t receiving the most recent information on technological advancements happening around the world. Instead, it was common to learn about such advancements months after the official launch.
So, he wanted to create a company that would bring relevant and timely tech-related news to Nigerians. That was when his company, Green Street Media Network, was born.
At the time, tech reviews in particular were mainly done in writing, but he wanted to change that. Olawale wanted to launch a tech TV show and establish a media section in his company.
Not having any investors, he was understandably worried about the costs associated with producing professional video reviews. He explained: “Ideas are easy to come up with but putting them into action is never easy. I was afraid that the financial implications would deter me from doing it.”
But, one lovely evening, a friend of his, Tosin Hunkuten, called Olawale and said that he could start producing videos right away.
With renewed vigor and a friend by his side, Olawale foraged ahead, set up a studio, got a professional presenter, worked on a script, and produced the very first pilot episode of TechCity reviews in less than a week.
He then went to get his recently filmed tech review videos aired on TV but was met with steep rates from the TV stations. So, he turned to try to get a sponsor for the video only to find none.
After meeting with someone at Google, he was directed to publish his videos on YouTube. This turned out to be a great idea and resulted in much-needed exposure for his company.
It wasn’t long before he got the attention of major tech companies like Samsung who commissioned his company to create a review video of their newest product.
Soon, more deals were being made and the Green Street Media Network skyrocketed to the top—becoming one of Africa’s top producers of visual content.
For other entrepreneurs looking to enter into the creative and media business sectors, Olawale advises that you: “…be open to discovering new markets, building connections for future partnerships, and learn from experts, local business communities, stakeholders, and other business leaders.”
All in all, Olawale Adeyina did what every good entrepreneur does—find a problem and create a solution. In his case, the Green Street Media Network helped bring relevant and timely tech news to West Africa which opened up a whole new market for emerging and established tech businesses to showcase their products to.
