The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the premier Chamber of Commerce and a leading voice in the organised private sector (OPS) in Nigeria, has elected Mrs. Toki Mabogunje as President for the next two years. This followed the expiration of Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase’s tenure, having meritoriously served the Chamber in the same capacity in the last two years.
Muda Yusuf, Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said: “Mabogunje emerged as President after a duly conducted election at the Chamber’s 131st Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 5th December, 2019 at the Commerce House, 1 Idowu Taylor Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
“Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants, is an astute boardroom guru who specializes in business development, value chain development, project financing, strategic organization and management and the provision of legal and business advisory services to small and medium enterprises. She has served the Chamber previously in various capacities such as Deputy President, Vice President, Member, Trade Promotion Board, Chairman, Professional Services Group, Chairman, Financial & General Purposes Committee among others.”
Muda Yusuf also added that, “Indeed, we are very pleased as Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, FIMC, CMC assumes the role of President of the LCCI. As a Council Member and a key Officer of the Chamber, she has brought her extensive knowledge and experience to bear on the Chamber mandate and has provided quality perspectives to deliberations at the Chamber. Her election will enhance the Chamber’s role as a leading advocate of best business policy and practice, with the objective of promoting and protecting the interest of its members and the business community at large.”
The investiture of Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, as President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), is in recognition of her contribution and commitment to the ideals of the Chamber movement, its public policy advocacy and protection of the interests of the Nigerian business community.
Mrs. Toki Mabogunje is set to be formally inaugurated as President of the Chamber on Saturday 7th December, 2019 at an Investiture Ceremony billed to hold at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Toki Mabogunje is a business consultant interested in the growth and management of small and medium enterprises on the African continent. As a business consultant, Toki has particular interest in business development, value chain development, project financing, strategic organization and management and the provision of legal and business advisory services to small and medium enterprises.
Toki Mabogunje has a degree in Law from the University of Ife, Nigeria, a postgraduate law degree (LLM) in International Business Law from the University of Exeter, England, Executive Management Training in Strategic Organization and Management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, California, United States of America, training in SME Policy Design and Project Implementation from the ILO Training Center in Turin, Italy, Value Chain Development Training from MDF in the Netherlands, Enterprise Development through value chains and business service markets from the ILO International Training Center, Turin, Italy and several other workshops and seminars all related to the growth and development of SMEs.
Over the last 36 years, Toki has been involved in commercial and business enterprise from both a public and private sector perspective. As Assistant Legal Adviser to the Ministry of Defence and later Senior State Counsel in the Mercantile and Industrial Law Department of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Nigeria, Toki was involved in public sector policy formulation, regulation and monitoring of commerce and industry nationwide. Toki provided legal advice to the Federal Government in its cross border business negotiations with other governments and commercial enterprises worldwide.
Toki moved from the public to the private sector. This provided her with the opportunity to attain a well-rounded perspective of business enterprise in the Nigerian, African and Global business environment. She worked as Company Secretary, Group Head Legal and Corporate Affairs for a startup broadcast enterprise, which grew into a global business concern, known as Minaj Media Group. Toki was part of a dynamic management team that grew this local broadcaster into a satellite television operation. Toki’s experience with Minaj Media Group extended to other markets within Africa, Europe and the United States. Her management expertise and skills earned her the position of President of Minaj Inc., the American subsidiary of the Group. Toki founded the firm Toki Mabogunje and Co. (TMC) in the year 2000 and over the last nineteen years brings her skills, training, expertise and experience to bear when consulting with clients seeking to grow their market share in Nigeria, Africa or elsewhere globally.
Toki is active in business organizations of the organized private sector in Nigeria. She registered her firm as a member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry when she began business operations in the year 2000. She had represented Minaj Media Group in the industrial group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and knew that she wanted to remain an active member of the Chamber. She quickly engaged as a member and joined the Professional Practice Group (PPG). Within two years she was elected as Chairman Programmes of the Executive Committee of the PPG. She served the Exco of PPG in various capacities from 2003 to 2007. During this time, Toki was appointed by Council to serve on the accreditation committee which ensured the Chamber met the requirements set by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE); The Code of Ethics drafting committee; the Board of Business, Education Services and Training (BEST) and the Editorial Board for the Chamber’s Newsletter. In 2007 Toki was co-opted to serve on the Council.
Toki continued to serve the Chamber to the best of her abilities. In 2008 she was appointed member of the Commercial Law and Taxation Committee; Women Leaders Committee; Building Committee and reappointed to the BEST Board. In 2009 Toki was one of 3 representatives of the Chamber in a tripartite partnership to establish a Vocational Skills Village at the Lagos State Polytechnic Ikorodu with the collaboration of Highbury College Portsmouth Britain. By 2010 Toki was elected Chairman of the PPG. A position she held for 2 years. In that time she executed a mentoring programme in which members of the PPG mentored businessmen and women from the city chambers of Abeokuta and Ibadan. The Ibadan Chamber of Commerce reported that after the experience they birthed Chambers in Oyo and Ogbomosho and proceeded to mentor members at those locations. At this time Toki also birthed other programmes for the Chamber. She Designed and Birthed the LCCI Mentoring Programme for young entrepreneurs in partnership with Fate Foundation, Leap Africa and Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND). This programme has proved its sustainability and is executed annually with an Alumni now standing at over 300 businesses. Toki also originated and managed an African Study Mission which she arranged to be led by the LCCI to the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) consisting of 10 Nigerians and 5 other African participants who were Directors General or the equivalent.
Toki was elected Vice President in 2011. As Vice President she chaired the Board of BEST, a unit of the Chamber meant to generate revenues as part of the Chamber’s sustainability model but had recorded losses several years in a row. Toki led this Board which turned around its operations and grew revenues in excess of N30 million. Following BEST, Toki was appointed to Chair the Membership Committee. She served as Chairman of this Committee for two years and the Chamber experienced phenomenal growth in membership. This led to subscription income in 2017 exceeding Lagos International Trade Fair (LITF) surpluses as a major revenue source for the Chamber. Toki was then elected Deputy President twice in a row and in the last two years Chaired the Finance and General Purpose Committee. Toki was the lead and championed the installation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software Odoo, in order to achieve greater efficiency in the Chamber’s Operations and deliver greater value to members. The Chamber is also in the process of obtaining its ISO certification. These efforts are to strengthen the brand and deepen the quality of service and value delivered to membership.
Beyond the Chamber, Toki has consulted for various international development organisations and this includes the World Bank, British Council, Department for International Development (DfID), International Labour Organisation (ILO), Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), German International Aid Organisation (GIZ), United States Aid Organisation (USAID), Partnership for the Development of the Niger Delta (PIND), Projects of DfID known as SLGP, SPARC, ENABLE etc., Projects of USAID known as MARKETS I and II, NEXTT, Farmer to Farmer Project; African Project Development Facility (APDF) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC); etc. She is a former Vice-President South West and Council Member, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME); a former Council Member of Business Club Ikeja; the Chairman Shelter Origins (a Housing NGO); Board Member Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF); Board Member Convention on Business Integrity (CBi); Board Member Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA); Board Member Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria; Board Member Negotiation and Conflict Management Group (NCMG); Board Member Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR); Governing Council Member NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW); Board Member Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre of the University of Lagos; Board Member Arterial Network amongst others.
In her spare time she expresses her creativity by writing poetry. She has contributed to a number of poetry publications and this led to her co-authoring an anthology of poetry with her son in the year 2009 which is titled THE DUET, available on-line at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble online. The book is available in bookstores such as Quintessence and Terra Kulture in Lagos. The DUET was performed on stage in 2011 and in 2013 it formed part of the National FESTINA festival. In recognition of her support of the literary arts, the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners awarded her the WTD (World Theatre Day) Personality of the year and Cultural Ambassador 2014. The British Council in February 2016 supported the staging of the DUET performance as part of the Lagos Theatre Festival. She recently had some of her poems published in the 2019 Anthology of Nigerian Literature published by the PEN International Nigerian Centre titled “Silver Lining”.
Toki has great passion for impacting positively on society and the communities she serves. In recognition of her contributions, various associations have bestowed Toki with various awards. Amongst these have been the award by Volunteer corps in 2008, the volunteer of the year award by Fate Foundation in 2007, subsequent induction into the Fate Foundation hall of fame, and the outstanding volunteer award for 10 years of dedicated service in 2010 by Fate Foundation. She mentors young women and has done so with Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), Idea Builders for which she won the mentor of the year award 2009 in the WOMEN MENTORING WOMEN programme run by Idea Builders and Vital Voices of America founded by Hilary Clinton. She has also received an Achievement award by the Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE) in 2009 for breaking the glass ceiling. Toki has mentored young entrepreneurs, men and women, on the Federal Government of Nigeria YouWin programme and also served on the panel of judges annually. In recognition of her contribution to the design and successful implementation of a 5 year mentoring programme for students at her Alma mater, Holy Child College Lagos, this year, Toki was appointed a Trustee of the Old Girls Association. The mentoring programme is currently in its 4th year with over 400 students in the programme. Over the years Toki has run several business and training programmes at her church, Our Saviours Church, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) for members of the Business Fellowship and other interested persons. In recognition of her many contributions Toki was this year inducted as a Patron of the Fellowship. She is married to an Electronics Engineer, Mr. Seun Mabogunje and they have two grown sons.
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