Mushin to Birmingham: How Founder Akintola Made African History in Britain

Daniel Akintola, a Nigerian entrepreneur has made African history in the United Kingdom after becoming the 2024 IAMBCU Entrepreneur of the Year Awards – Student at Birmingham City University, England for OH PRIME TV, a product of his technology start-up media constructed from limits. of cyber cafes in bustee Mushin, Lagos, 17 years ago.

The milestone makes him the first Nigerian and by extension African to claim the award, which recognizes entrepreneurs who make waves in business or support others to develop an entrepreneurial mindset through community impact.

But Akintola’s path to setting a new African record is not linear. As a Nigerian entrepreneur in a competitive market, he has had his fair share of the Nigerian dream.

INCREASE

Akintola was raised as the last child in a family of 4 in Mushin slum in Lagos, Nigeria. At only 6 years old, he lost his father and was raised by a righteous virtuous widow mother, whose influence proved to shape his trajectory.

“To give me an academic edge over my peers in public schools, my mother gladly wore rags so as to enable me to attend the after-school tutoring classes of the Ifelodun Group of Schools at Papa-Ajao, Mushin ( Ivy League year). Mushin ranking school in those days),” he told BusinessDay.

During those times of struggle, Akintola would be content to eat Ewa Otili (pigeon peas, a type of bean that takes at least six hours to prepare) and drink Leebu (ground cassava lumps) to satisfy hunger for a day.”

A successful attempt, but not completely, as Akintola continues to thirst, not for food, but for African grandeur.

“My life is nothing but an amazing grace story of a man navigating the highways of the covenant for the fulfillment of his divine destiny,” he said.

Akintola continued his studies and obtained a National Diploma in Accountancy from the Ogun Polytechnic, Abeokuta, obtaining his first degree, B. Sc in Accountancy from the Lagos State University (LASU).

If Akintola had been informed earlier about the recognition he is now gaining, it might have come as a surprise.

The birth of an idea

As an entry-level intern, Akintola began his corporate career at Precise Financial Systems (PFS), known for his meticulous analytical thinking and public speaking skills. His internship prepared him for the accounting industry by participating in an audit of bank expenses and interest on loans granted to Dangote Group subsidiaries of 17 banks. Impressed by his performance, Philip Ayeni, Assistant Medical Officer of PFS, retained him.

After several years under Ayeni’s tutelage, Akintola became a formidable presence in the financial probity sector, demanding refunds from banks for overcharged fees.

“An excess of #7.5 billion was recovered in that forensic audit exercise in 2007. That was the highlight for me, so I took a break from paid employment to experiment with my findings of 2 years of video streaming technology research by founder. Danny Brooks Technologies.”

In 2007, he played a key role in recovering #7.5 billion for the Dangote Group, marking a career highlight. Following this achievement, he left a paying job to launch Danny Brooks Technologies, capitalizing on his two years of research into video streaming technology.

Danny Brooks

In 2007, Akintola envisioned a streaming technology company that could provide a full suite of end-to-end online streaming and broadcasting solutions. From the confines of several cyber cafes in Mushin, he built Danny Brooks Technologies, a media technology start-up that buys weekly night surfing tickets for research.

“How can I forget those nights when some of those cafe managers who go to the toilet invite the police, telling them that the food is ready (police raiding the cafe in those days was corruptly profitable).”

13 years later, in 2020, when the world suffered from the spread of the coronavirus, and opportunities opened up for Akintola’s organization.

With everything and everyone going digital, Danny Brooks Technologies partnered with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) to digitize their annual Ministry Partners Dinner event.

“It was a resounding success,” Akintola said. “So in 2021, we were invited to a collaboration, therefore Danny Brooks Technologies formed a JV with RCCG and brought freedom to African media consumers, freeing them from their pay TV slave masters by launching the first online TV platform with zero subscription from Africa. called OH PRIME (Open Heavens Prime).

“Through resilience, the start-up over the years has grown and has had a hold of its clients, Lagos State Government, Legal and Criminal Trial Networks, Bedmate Furniture, Loveworld Television Networks and many more.”

A contagious recognition

His achievements have not gone unnoticed as on January 20, 2024, Danny Brooks Technologies was awarded one of the Top 100 Fastest Growing SMEs in Nigeria.

According to him, the recognition was “extremely contagious”.

“We won the BusinessDay Top 100 SME CEO award last January and by September we were also the West African winner of the Global Start-up: Diversity Role Model Award.”

Now in 2024, Akintola has won another recognition for his company at Birmingham City University, where he is currently writing his dissertation towards an international MBA degree from Birmingham City Business School, where he appreciated RCCG’s General Supervisor, E.A. . Adeboye and Dove Media for their influence on his business.

“Actually, the composition of the BCU award journalism team was extremely tight as they were demanding in the set business audit criteria, however, by the grace of God, winning the award was a walk in the park for me, because we came from the toughest business ecosystem in the world for any business to thrive.”

In Nigeria, many companies continue to navigate the thick cloud of unpredictable government policies and currency fluctuations, despite a booming population and a large market. Akintola has seen his fair share.

“The volatility of government regulatory policy formulation in Africa is the worst across the globe. While the corruption surrounding the internet crawling and the government supporting the telcos in overcharging for data is shameful. I look forward to when a 100TB monthly data plan will cost no more than $20 so that hoteliers across the African continent can conveniently stream OHP to all their rooms.”

He says his time in the UK has taught him about the dynamics of rival brands collaborating in terms of their comparative advantages.

Idea stimulants

Akintola, a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Program, attributes his rise to “the mercies of God and my own dexterity in not wanting to let my background hold me back.”

He believes his story could inspire aspiring tech entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

“The green of geometric mining is all I see in our future as the powerhouse of Africa’s streaming technology. This global recognition is the brainchild of hundreds of aspiring tech entrepreneurs in Yaba, Ojere and Futa that dreams are coming true.”