House of Tenposs Launches to Take Nigerian Creativity to Global Markets
House of Tenposs, a creative hub focused on developing products with local relevance and international appeal, has officially begun operations, with a vision of bringing Nigerian creativity to global markets.
The organisation comprises four independent subsidiaries: Gush Book, Nutrika, Bill-Am and Winca LAB. Together, they aim to develop locally owned ideas, products, technologies and brands for international markets.
The House of Tenposs launch was formally declared open by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who was represented at the event by Janet Oputa.
Keyamo commended the organisation’s founder and chief executive, Ojo Ayoola, for his ingenuity and commitment to innovation. He also outlined government efforts to reform the aviation sector, including work on safety, sustainability, maintenance and space development.
However, the minister said public-sector efforts could not replace private innovation and ownership.
“None of that can substitute what the inventor of the House of Tenposs is building,” he said, encouraging Ayoola to remain committed to his vision.
Keyamo also urged Nigerians to embrace ownership and entrepreneurship, saying the country’s future would be shaped by people willing to take risks and create value.
Ownership as a route to global relevance
Speaking at the event, Ayoola said ownership was essential to Africa’s ambition of achieving global relevance.
He said control of ideas, intellectual property, brands, production capacity, technology and routes to market could help Africans move beyond consuming other people’s innovations and become creators of globally valuable solutions.
“When we own the idea, the intellectual property, the brand, the production capacity, the technology and the route to market, we stop being only users of what others create. We become creators of value that others can use,” he said.
Ayoola pointed to African technology companies such as Andela and Flutterwave as examples of businesses that have developed solutions to local challenges while creating opportunities in global markets.
He said Andela began in Lagos with six engineers and built a model connecting African talent with international opportunities, while Flutterwave developed payment infrastructure for businesses operating across different markets.
“These stories matter because they show that African problems can produce African capability and African capability can travel,” he said.
From possibility to ownership
Ayoola said House of Tenposs was founded on the idea of moving from possibility to ownership, describing its approach as a three-stage process.
The first stage, independence, involves building the intellectual, technical and productive capacity needed to stand on one’s own. The second, interdependence, centres on collaboration and turning dependent relationships into mutually beneficial exchanges.
The final stage, dominion, is not about dominating others, Ayoola said. Rather, it means developing the ability to solve important problems so effectively that people beyond Nigeria begin to rely on locally created solutions.
Titilayo Oshodi, Special Adviser on Climate Change and Circular Economy to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, also spoke at the event. She encouraged Nigerians to take the risks associated with ownership and entrepreneurship and called for selfless service and collective commitment to building a greater Lagos and a stronger Nigeria.
Government officials, entrepreneurs, innovators and other guests attended the launch, which marked the start of House of Tenposs’s operations and its effort to bring Nigerian creativity to a wider global audience.
