Adebola Williams, the Group CEO of RED, has emphasized the company’s vision to galvanise Africans in taking action, explaining that its major goal is to be the gateway to access young Africans, creating a sustainable platform to impact the continent, and advising countries on how to engage the youth.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Forbes Afrique, a French monthly publication covering economic news and actors, he stated that it is important for all leaders to understand how the youths communicate in order to engage them, as every prospective leader needs such a large voting bloc in order to win an election.
“We thought we can assist more leaders to influence more youth by using our platforms and skills to make the nation better. Wole Soyinka said his generation was wasted and he did not see a future in our generation. The question that we asked ourselves is “What if we found young people to change this hopelessness and give hope using positive peer pressure that will have a ripple effect in the continent?” he said.
He further explained that his company, RED, has remained competitive due to in-depth knowledge of the voting demography, an understanding of the youth culture, and a knowledge about the leveraging the media.
Sharing his idea on building a business, he said, “An idea will always remain an idea unless it is given life. It is important to keep costs low, keep staff requirements high such as career development, have open communication internally and externally, ensure growth avenues, respect human relations, and keep an eye on the numbers consistently. Then there’s always the important question: are my clients happy?”
He also talked about Statecraft’s pool of resource which he said, gives the firm its competitive edge. He elaborated on how Statecraft leverages on the thirteen-year knowledge of its sibling companies (Red Media Africa, The Future Project, ZED and YNaija) to predict trends among voting demographics, focusing on youth culture and its relevance.
Adebola Williams, who also leads the governance communication company, StateCraft Inc., has successfully managed four successful presidential campaigns in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal, while also serving in advisory roles for many young candidates in Nigerian state elections.
