TEDxYaba Emmanueal Adegboye Organizer

Hacking the Red Circle

Emmanuel Adegboye is the organizer of TEDxYaba, which is a community located in Lagos, Nigeria. He has a long relationship with TEDx, going back to 2014 as co-organizer of TEDxIfe. He is also the TEDx Ambassador for West Africa, and once you get to know him, you'll understand why he was singled out to represent this vital part of the world for TEDx. He's been on the team of five TEDx events in Lagos and in 2017 took the lead as the sole organizer and leader. Yaba, located in the center of Nigeria's Silicon Valley is a tech cluster and hub for entrepreneurial activity and thought leadership. Emmanuel says that they balance the tech-heavy influence with storytellers and artists to make their event reflective of the region. Our listeners know that I'm always interested in local cuisines and how the food choices reflect regional favorites. Emmanuel spoke highly of Jollof Rice, which looks delicious. I appreciated his take on why he does TEDx, and it's a perfectly ambassadorial reply, "I don't make TEDx about me - it's about building a community.