In this episode, Abiodun Folawiyo joins Rinz to elaborate on his experience learning to make shoes and how he created an industry out of it by developing human potential and raising awareness for Nigerian-made goods, such as his shoes. Take a listen!
FOLAWIYO ABIODUN is an award-winning entrepreneur, a trainer/speaker and a scioprenuer. He fills these roles as follows:
Biodun is the Group Head, SHOESPEED GROUP.
He founded Shoespeed in 2002 as an undergraduate at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Over the years, he has grown the Shoespeed brand into one of Nigeria’s leading shoe and leather accessories brands. The SHOESPEED GROUP has also evolved into three (3) arms namely a manufacturing arm, a design/marketing arm and an academy.
Biodun was profiled and rated amongst the top 100 successful upcoming entrepreneurs in 2011 and his enterprise has gained the attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria which awarded him the YOUWIN grant just recently he was a recipient of the Diamond Bank Plc sponsored “Building Entrepreneurs Today” scholar programme at the Enterprise Development Centre of the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University.
In a strategic move to conquer Nigeria’s shoe retail market, the Shoespeed design and marketing arm teamed up with Italian manufacturers, to build a partnership that would enhance the design and quality of their leather offerings to a broader range of Nigeria’s fashion-savvy consumer audience.
Abiodun cut his teeth in the area of human capital development at Community Development Initiative (CDI) where he worked extensively with youths and teenagers and at FifthGear consulting where he served as the Head of Operations and trainer. FIFTH GEAR is an avant-garde training and management consulting firm with clients that include at least one of the top three organisations in every major sector of the Nigerian economy.
As a trainer, Abiodun’s knowledge and skills as a human capital advisor have been utilized via facilitating diverse soft skills training in organizations such as First Bank Plc, First Registrars, UAC, FinBank, Intercontinental Bank, Lamata, Globacom and Mtech Communications, Lagos State Government and the United Nation Information Centre etc.
Biodun has also trained innumerable entrepreneurs in the art and business of shoemaking and he has worked as a shoemaking training consultant with the United Nations Information Center, Lagos, Lagos Empowerment and Resource Network (L.E.A.R.N), Microsoft Nigeria’s Aiki project, Daystar Christian Centre’s Skill Acquisition Project (DSAP), Redeem Christian Church of God (RCCG), Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (Oshodi Satellite Campus) and Christ Living Spring Apostolic Ministry (CLAM). etc.
Biodun serves as the coordinator of NAME-it (Niyi Adesanya Mass Empowerment Initiative) the corporate social responsibility arm of FIFTHGEAR consulting, which is saddled with the responsibility of equipping undergraduates with the required orientation, attitude and knowledge to survive and thrive beyond their campuses. In addition to the above, Abiodun has also been the program’s coordinator of ‘CLIQFEST WITH NIYI ADESANYA’ an empowerment initiative sponsored by ETISALAT Nigeria (NOW 9MOBILE)across Nigerian campuses. Biodun has coordinated and facilitated the successful implementation of ‘CLIQFEST WITH NIYI ADESANYA’ in over 60 Higher Institutions in Nigeria
