THRVE FORWARD 2026

You built it.
Now build it right.

Growth Architecture: Building Businesses That Endure

A one-day conference where Nigeria's most ambitious founders come to think bigger, build smarter, and go home with a real plan.

Saturday, 22nd August, 2026
The Zone Gbagada, Lagos Nigeria

50+ founders. 3 pitch winners. 1 edition. 2025 proved it works. 2026 goes bigger.

·Saturday, 22nd August, 2026·Victoria Island, Lagos·Growth-Stage Founders·One Day·Real Frameworks·Pitch Competition·₦1M+ In Grants·Growth Architecture·Saturday, 22nd August, 2026·Victoria Island, Lagos·Growth-Stage Founders·One Day·Real Frameworks·Pitch Competition·₦1M+ In Grants·Growth Architecture
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Actionable Frameworks

About The Event

We Proved It Works.
Now We Are Going Bigger.

THRVE Forward is a one-day conference for Nigerian founders who have already built something real — and are ready to build it right with systems in place.

Growth Architecture: Building Businesses That Endure.

Because endurance is not about working harder. It is about building smarter. Building with structure. Building something that lasts.

50+ Founders3 Pitch Winners1 Edition. Real Results.

Watch the 2025 highlights - and see why founders keep talking about that room.

THRVE Forward 2025 — Victoria Island, Lagos

THRVE Forward 2025 — Event Photo 1
THRVE Forward 2025 — Event Photo 2
THRVE Forward 2025 — Event Photo 3

50+ founders. One room. August 2025. See what we built together.

Why Attend

One day. Real change.

TF26 is the room where serious founders get serious about structure. Here is what you will actually leave with.

01

Real Frameworks. Not Inspiration.

Every session at THRVE Forward delivers something you can go back and actually use on Monday. Not a motivational high that fades in three days — a real framework that will help structure your business, team, and also stabilize your revenue.

02

A Room of People Who Actually Get It.

THRVE Forward brings together founders at the growth stage — people who are building something real, making money, and facing the exact same challenges you are. These are the conversations you have been waiting to have.

03

The Pitch Competition. Real Stakes.

Apply to pitch your business to a panel of funders for a chance to win grant funding and business support. In 2025, three founders won and used that support to scale production, upgrade their operations, and create real employment. In 2026, the stakes are bigger.

04

The Community Lasts Beyond the Day.

THRVE Forward is not a one-day event that people forget two weeks later. The connections you make in that room continue. The THRVE community gives you ongoing access to founders, resources, and opportunities that extend well past the conference day.

THRVE Forward Pitch Competition

Three minutes on stage.
One year of transformation.

The THRVE Forward Pitch Competition gives growth-stage founders a real stage, a real panel, and a real shot at grant funding and business support. Not a talent show. A legitimate platform where the quality of your business and the clarity of your thinking determines what you walk away with.

Win between

₦250,000 – ₦1,000,000

in funding and business support

What happened after 2025:

🥇

1st Place

Venn Biscuits

Theofilus Ben

Sustainable snacks made from African ingredients

Scaled production. Upgraded packaging. Business formally registered.

The support helped our business scale and improve branding.
🥈

2nd Place

MayCoutures

Temitayo Oluyege

Premium African menswear

Purchased an industrial sewing machine. Doubled production capacity. Created new employment.

Today I can say I am thriving — and my business is thriving.
🥉

3rd Place

QuinGist

QuinGist

Helping brands grow online

Details to follow.

THRVE FORWARD 2026 PRESENTS

Show your work. Not just your CV.

The Blueprint Challenge — a live competition for strategists, marketers, creatives, and problem-solvers. Present your work on stage at THRVE Forward 2026, in front of founders, executives, and hiring partners.

Work on a real business challenge with a team you've never met before. Collaborate remotely, build a solution, and present it live at THRVE Forward 2026 — in front of founders, executives, and decision-makers.

Tap a card to see what each team takes on.

Teams are assigned by THRVE Forward to ensure each group has a balanced mix of skills and experience.

Free to apply · 3 teams · 1 Stage

Ready to show what you can do?

Featured Speakers

The people on this stage
have built real things.

Operators, founders, and builders who have scaled in the real conditions you are operating in - ready to share frameworks you can apply immediately.

Peace Obinani

Peace Obinani

Founder & Experience Director

Produced by Lucid

Peace Obinani is the Founder & Experience Director at Produced by Lucid, an event experience design company that translates bold ideas into elevated experiences. With over a decade of experience spanning creative direction, event production, experiential design, and leading marketing for some of Nigeria's top technology companies, Peace approaches experience design with a deep understanding of human behaviour. She has designed and delivered high-impact experiences for global brands, high-growth startups, and high-profile private individuals, with clients including Microsoft, Shell, Glovo, Piggyvest, and Busha.

Ayodeji Razaq

Ayodeji Razaq

Group CEO

RED for Africa

Ayodeji Razaq is the Group CEO of RED for Africa, a pan-African creative communications and development company delivering culture-led, results-driven solutions for brands, governments, and institutions. He brings extensive expertise in brand strategy, integrated communications, media, and youth engagement, with a strong track record of leading high-impact, multi-market campaigns across Africa. He is also the Co-founder and COO of The People Company, where he focuses on organizational strategy, leadership development, and building high-performing teams. Ayodeji's work is anchored in aligning purpose with performance, enabling African brands and institutions to drive relevance, sustainability, and measurable growth.

Meme Osuocha

Meme Osuocha

Founder & CEO

TACT

Meme Osuocha is the Founder and CEO of TACT, a tech-enabled market entry intelligence organization for African markets. Trained in both Computer Science and Informatics, with a dissertation in IoT and Data Security, she began her career at the intersection of technology and data before applying that foundation across brand strategy and consumer research in agribusiness and venture capital. That breadth gave her an uncommon ability to decode markets with both technical precision and commercial instinct. A member of the Africa Council of 8 for the Shared Value Africa Initiative and recipient of the IESE Business School Future Female Leader Award, Meme is driven by the conviction that robust intelligence infrastructure is foundational to how Africa competes and grows.

Adeife Oluwatomi

Adeife Oluwatomi

Founder

ProfilePro & CarryHer

Adeife Oluwatomi, popularly known as Miss Adeife, is the Founder of ProfilePro, a career technology company building products, services, and communities that help people build meaningful careers and businesses. She is also the Founder of CarryHer, a movement dedicated to helping women rebuild their lives with confidence, purpose, and practical support. Through her work, she equips ambitious individuals with the skills, strategies, and opportunities they need to grow, while championing innovation, entrepreneurship, and community-led impact. She is passionate about creating solutions that empower people, not just to find opportunities, but to build meaningful careers and businesses.

Caleb Akpasubi

Caleb Akpasubi

Finance & Wealth Creation Expert

Caleb Akpasubi Consulting

Caleb Akpasubi is a Finance & Wealth Creation Expert, a Serial Investor, a Stock Market Trader, and a Real Estate Mogul. He is also one of Africa's most sought-after Sales Gurus and a legendary high-ticket closer. He has helped individuals and organizations build and retain their wealth, grow their money through excellent salesmanship frameworks, design workable financial management systems, and make strategic investment decisions across several sectors, with a major focus on real estate. Caleb Akpasubi is the Founder and CEO of Caleb Akpasubi Consulting. He is a graduate of Computer Science from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. He is also the Founder and CEO of Fination Global, one of the biggest real estate network marketing companies in Africa, with its foothold in about five countries globally. He is the CEO of LandRemit Company as well as the current serving President of GOPES Legacy Club. Through his expertise in Financial Intelligence, Investment, Stock Market Trading, and Real Estate Development, Caleb Akpasubi has established himself as a thought leader and an authority in Wealth Creation and Financial Empowerment.

Your Host

Keeping the room engaged and on track.

Jude Okpara
Event Host

Jude Okpara

JAYCEE TALKS

Brand Storyteller · Actor · Event Host · Presenter

Okpara Jude Chizaram, popularly known as JAYCEE TALKS, is a global event host spanning over a decade, a multi-award-winning media personality, digital creator, and actor. He is a Presenter at Yanga 89.9FM and Team Lead, Digital at Max FM Lagos, Yanga FM Lagos and Max FM Abuja of TVC Communications. He has been listed several times among the Top 20 Young On-Air Personalities in Nigeria. Aside from radio presenting, he is the Creative Director of JAYCEETALKS MEDIA, a registered media enterprise that caters for event hosting and management services, voice-over and jingle production services, and brand influencing services. He is also the Founder of The Microphone Conference, a platform geared towards helping people become better and more professional MCs and public speakers. He is a certified Business Communicator from the University of Athena in the United Kingdom and an alumnus of the prestigious National Broadcast Academy, the training arm of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria. He is Igbo, from Abia State, and speaks Yoruba as well as a little French. He is an impressionist with the ability to speak in over seven different accents. He is also a humanitarian to the core, always seeking to add value to anyone he meets. His love for media, acting, public speaking, and branding, combined with his creativity and commitment to excellence, continues to set him apart.

Event Schedule

One focused day.
Here is how it runs.

Full programme updated as speakers and sessions are confirmed.

9:00 AM

Doors Open & Registration

Arrive, collect your badge, and get settled. The branded environment is set up and ready.

10:00 AM

Opening & Welcome

The host sets the frame for the day. Who is in the room, why we are here, and what we are building together.

10:30 AM

Session Block A

First content block. Speaker and topic to be announced. Focus area: business systems and scalable growth architecture.

12:00 PM

Networking Break

Structured connections — not just open mingling. Guided introductions based on shared industry and challenges.

1:00 PM

Session Block B

Second content block. Speaker and topic to be announced. Focus area: financial resilience and scaling in the Nigerian context.

2:00 PM

Games & Engagement Session

An interactive session designed to energise the room and deepen connections. Activities may include live polls, business trivia, and founder challenges. Full details to be confirmed.

2:30 PM

The Pitch Competition

The competitive highlight of the day. Selected founders pitch to a panel of funders for grant funding and business support. This is what THRVE Forward is known for.

4:00 PM

Close & What Comes Next

The host closes with clarity, not just applause. One clear thing every founder should go and do this week. And what the THRVE community looks like from here.

Times are approximate. The full detailed programme will be published closer to the event date.

After THRVE Forward 2025

Do not take our word for it.

1st Place
The key learnings from THRVE Forward — business administration, marketing, finance — has helped our business grow enormously. The support helped our business scale production and improve branding. Thank you for supporting businesses and taking a project for the betterment of humanity.
T

Theofilus Ben

Venn Biscuits

Founder | THRVE Forward 2025 — 1st Place

2nd Place
Through THRVE, I received a grant which was used to acquire an industrial machine for my business. That support has increased production capacity, improved revenue, and enabled us to employ more people. Today I can confidently say that I am thriving — and my business is thriving as well.
T

Temitayo Oluyege

MayCoutures

Founder | THRVE Forward 2025 — 2nd Place

Add your story to the 2026 chapter.

REGISTER FREE
THRVEPartners

“Building businesses that endure.”

Who Is Behind This

THRVE Partners

THRVE Partners is a growth and development consultancy dedicated to building, supporting, and scaling African businesses. Through strategy, visibility, and execution support, THRVE works directly with founders and brands to help them grow with intention. THRVE Forward is our annual flagship event — the room where we bring everything we know about building businesses and put it in front of the founders who need it most.

Learn more about THRVE Partners

Get Your Free Access

Secure your spot at
THRVE FORWARD 2026.

Registration is now open for founders, creatives, operators, and ambitious builders ready to grow with more structure, intention, and long-term thinking.

Fill the form below to secure your free access to TF26 on Saturday, 22nd August, 2026 in Lagos.

Questions? Email us: info@thrvepartners.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Got questions? We have answers.

THRVE Forward is specifically for growth-stage Nigerian founders — business owners who are 2 to 5 years in, already generating revenue, and ready to move from building by instinct to building with real structure. If your business is working but the foundation is not as solid as it could be, this event is for you.

No. THRVE Forward is open to founders from across Nigeria and beyond. The event is held in Lagos — venue to be confirmed. We are working on hotel recommendations and practical guidance for out-of-town attendees.

Pitch applications will be announced soon. You will need a registered business and the ability to pitch in person on the day. Finalists are selected by the THRVE team and notified in advance. Express interest in the Pitch Competition section above to be notified when applications open.

All registered attendees get full access to every session, panel, and workshop on the day. You also receive the order-of-programme insert, a branded souvenir bag, and access to the structured networking sessions. Registration is completely free.

THRVE Forward 2026 takes place on Saturday, 22nd August, 2026 at The Zone Gbagada in Lagos.

Yes. If you are unable to attend, your registration can be transferred to another person. Contact us at info@thrvepartners.com and we will sort it out.

THRVE Forward 2026 is designed as an in-person experience. There are currently no plans for a live stream. Session highlights and key moments will be shared on our social media platforms after the event.

We would love to hear from you. Click 'Become a Sponsor' in the navigation or the sponsorship section above, or reach us directly at info@thrvepartners.com with the subject line 'THRVE Forward 2026 Sponsorship.'

Still have a question? Email us at info@thrvepartners.com or DM us on Instagram @thrvepartners — we read every message.

Not ready yet? Stay in the loop.

Be the first to know when speakers are announced, early bird tickets drop, and pitch applications open. No noise. Just THRVE Forward updates.