Becoming an Entrepreneur Was a Divine Reality

Prince Adedapo Adelegan fits the image of an entrepreneur. He introduced Nigeria to many firsts: Lekki Sun Splash, electronic billboard company and entertainment branding. At the age of 11, he was already his mother’s business partner as he learnt the rop

You have been in business for over 30 years. What exactly has been your driving force?

Well, 30 years in business this year, with effectively 40 years in informal enterprise. I lost my daddy at the age of 11 and my mum being a caterer and employee of University of Lagos engaged me fully in her enterprise from that age. I recall that when I was dropped in school, CMS Grammar School, a bucket of snacks will be dropped at the staff room and my business was to come during break time and sell to my teachers. By becoming my mother’s business partner at age 11 meant that by the time I got into university, I was already an entrepreneur. When I was serving in Lagos, at the prompting of friends who wanted me to organise beach parties for them, we discovered Lekki Maiyegun beach and within a year of that encounter, Lekki Sun splash was birthed in 1998 and the rest is history.

I have been wired to be a lawyer and for that my family ensured I read English for my first degree to be able to read Law after youth service but Lekki Sunsplash came in and truncated that dream. The success of the concert was massive and monumental to the extent that the Lagos State government dualised the road into the beach and gave me unfettered access to it includ- ing a one-hectare land allocation of 99 years. It became irresponsible for me to abandon that vision to study Law.

What were your major challenges at that time?

First, my entrance into formal business at that age was an accident of fortune. It was not planned, and I had always wanted to be a lawyer. Now thankfully, I have a son who is a lawyer and a daughter who is reading Law. But the accident of fortune was a good one because it allowed me to put into use all I had learnt hustling with my mother, especially with regards to organisation. Two things are critical for success. One is organisational and crisis management abilities which are essential to manage a big concert. The way and manner in which the sponsorship came was divine. I had given up on going around Nigeria’s corporate organisations to ask for sponsorships. People were offering me jobs rather than sponsorship. I met a guy called Philip Duprez of Inca Partners who introduced me to Tom Sezzner, MD of Polygram Records who then said that was their 25th year of existence in Nigeria and they were thinking of how to celebrate and offered to put only Polygram artistes on the stage and he would sponsor it.

He not only did that, he took me to England and I signed a one-year record album contract with Polygram records