Mo Abudu
Africa is blessed with many talented women, today we celebrate the African Queen of media, Mo Abudu. She is an award-winning producer and the owner of Africa’s first global Black Media, lifestyle and entertainment network, EbonyLife, known for award-winning shows like Moments with Mo, hit movies like Wedding Party 1&2, Chief Daddy, and the Royal Hibiscus hotel including others.
Mo Abudu has been described by Forbes as “Africa’s Most Successful Woman” and she is rated as one of the “25 Most Powerful Women in Global Television” by The Hollywood Reporter.
Born in Hammersmith, West London, Mo attended the Ridgeway School, MidKent College, and West Kent College. She is an alumna of the University of Westminster, where she attained a master’s degree in Human Resource Management.
Over the years, Mo has consistently produced and directed diverse successful media projects. Mo Abudu is the executive producer and host of TV show Moments with Mo, an Africa’s first and only syndicated daily talk show which airs across 49 African countries and on cable TV in The United Kingdom. She is also the creator and executive producer of The Debates, a reality TV show which aims to give Africa a voice by promoting oratory amongst others and The Inspire Africa Foundation.
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On 1st July 2013, Mo Abudu launched the EbonyLife TV as a pan-African channel, with a vision to be a global platform for premium African entertainment. The channel’s main aim was to create a positive response to the portrayal of the African continent being in perpetual crisis, war, famine, and corruption.
Subsequently, Forbes Africa recognized Mo Abudu as the first African woman to own a Pan-Africa TV channel. She received the Entrepreneur of the Year award by Women Werk in New York in 2014. Also in 2014, she was honoured with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (Honouris Causa) from Babcock University. For her contributions to the growth of the broadcasting industry in Nigeria, the University of Westminster, her Alma Mata, conferred an honorary doctorate degree on her in 2018 during the university’s graduation ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
In 2019, Mo became the first African to receive the MIPTV Medailles d’Honneur, in Cannes, France.
Mo Abudu continues to accelerate and soar as a filmmaker extraordinaire. She embodies the definition of hard work and commitment to one’s craft. In June 2020, Netflix, an American media service provider and production company partnered with Ebonylife TV to create two new content from indigenous West African stories. This new partnership was to witness the on-screen adaptation of literary works by two outstanding and creative Nigerian authors, Lola Shoneyin and Wole Soyinka.
Beyond excelling in media, she is the founder of Vic Lawrence & Associates Limited (VLA), which has become one of the fastest-growing People Management and HR consultancy firms in Nigeria.
Mo Abudu is a visionary and hardworking woman worthy of emulation. She is indeed an inspiration and she embodies the definition of hard work and commitment to one’s craft. Mo Abudu’s past and recent achievements tell us the dividends will come over time and bountifully too.