Dozy Mmobuosi, Chief Executive Officer of Tingo Group, has launched Founders House, a new initiative positioning itself as a monthly gathering point for Nigeria’s entrepreneurs, creators and business leaders. The inaugural meeting held at Tingo AI’s Victoria Island premises, brought together founders, CEOs and business minds under a vision the organisers describe as bold and distinctly African in outlook, echoing the “Africa 2050” ethos of people, ideas, capital and impact converging to shape a bolder Africa.
Founders House is conceived as a hub where creators can birth ideas, access collaborations and, where warranted, unlock funding. The initiative promises entrepreneurs a space they can walk into any day, all week long, to exchange thoughts, build networks and explore opportunities that could reshape their ventures and, by extension, the wider economy.
Speaking as the founder of the initiative, Mmobuosi struck a tone that was both reflective and instructive. “I have built businesses, I have failed, I have gotten back up, and I have learnt that the difference between an idea and an enterprise is often just one honest conversation with the right person,” he said. “Founders House is not about me. I have no interest in taking an executive role here. This is about giving back, about opening a door for the next generation of businessmen and women who deserve the kind of mentorship and access that I had to fight for. But let me be clear, funding is not for every idea. The ideas that will get funded here are the ones that solve real problems, the ones that can scale beyond Lagos, beyond Nigeria, and can genuinely go to the capital markets anywhere in the world. That is the standard we are setting.”
At the inaugural meeting, Prince Osasuwu Okojie addressed attendees on the philosophy underpinning the gathering. He explained that Founders House is designed to bring young entrepreneurs together once every month to discuss how they can synergise their efforts. Drawing an allusion from the Bible, Okojie referenced the creation of man in Genesis 1 verse 26, where God said “let us make man,” explaining that even creation itself required collaboration. “So what Founders House is doing is bringing people together, talking about how they can support each other to push the envelope forward,” he said. “We cannot continue to wait for the West to come to our aide. Nigeria has always done good by us, it is left for Nigerians to make Nigeria work. We are the world’s largest black nation, and Founders House is for us to shape our own narrative.”
Michele Odisi, a participant who runs a travel and hospitality company, expressed enthusiasm about being part of the new network. She said she was motivated to attend the meeting and remained optimistic that the gatherings would birth ideas and initiatives capable of advancing the nation while improving the quality of lives of those involved.
The launch of Founders House arrives at a moment when Nigerian entrepreneurs are increasingly seeking homegrown structures of support rather than external validation, and the initiative’s framing, deliberately steeped in themes of collaboration, self-reliance and continental pride, appears designed to capture that mood. Whether the monthly gatherings can translate goodwill and networking into the kind of scalable, globally competitive ventures Mmobuosi says he wants to back remains to be seen, but the early turnout of founders, CEOs and business leaders suggests an appetite for the kind of room Founders House is trying to build, one where ideas can be tested, refined and, for the fortunate few, funded.
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Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple’s Bite International Magazine.
