About Tolagbe
Making meaningful connections
Tolagbe Martins
I am a Nigerian connector and communicator. I am a two-time graduate of the London School of Economics & Political Science; I have leveraged my education in Organisational Social Psychology to assist individuals, brands and agencies develop business processes to meet their objectives through effective strategy and communication.
How it started- early beginnings
You could say it all began with my grandmother Ajike Doherty, an English teacher and one-time headmistress of the University of Lagos Staff School, Akoka. Years of impromptu grammar lessons, poetry recitations and countless reading comprehension exercises after school and on the weekends led me to study Organisational Social Psychology. I co-founded a pioneering event‘ Urban Garden Space’- The Social Place in 2011 before shuttering it in 2018. Prior to this joint entrepreneurial venture, I had worked with an aviation start-up that built the first city centre helipad in Lagos, Nigeria. My career has taken me from environment, technology, healthcare, emergency services, aviation, events & corporate hospitality and latterly, consulting on public-private partnerships. Little did I know that impromptu grammar lessons would open the door to what would become a new career ‘Communicating with Clarity’.
Lifestyle
Fashion
Travel
Business
My Mission
The world is increasingly VUCA: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous; Africa, with its complex history even more so. Elevate your brand and business by communicating with clarity
My Journey
TM Today
How it’s going
As a strategy and communications professional working in Lagos, Nigeria; I lead a multi-disciplinary team supporting small businesses and government agencies in achieving their business objectives. Alongside my professional passions, I also work as a Business English coach for aspiring business leaders to allow them “communicate with clarity”. I am a community builder and I celebrate the creativity, artisanry and craft that goes into creating global pieces with a uniquely Nigerian slant through #buynaijaweareverywhere. I run a women’s peer mentoring group Soconnected which is part of a thriving ecosystem of women in fashion, finance, farming, tech and many more industries. In 2023, I launched Africurate- advising MSMEs on business development and market penetration through collaboration and diversification.
I run a women’s peer mentoring group Soconnected which is part of a thriving ecosystem of women in fashion, finance, farming, tech and many more industries. In 2023, I launched Africurate- advising MSMEs on business development and market penetration through collaboration and diversification.
TM Directory
Where some see clothes, I see dignifying work, importing, exporting, straight (sometimes wonky) seams, battling with customs, with PHCN, with big generator, small generator, with dodgy promises and a determination to tell a different narrative of our exuberance, savoir-faire and our #naijanodeycarrylast spirit.
There’s no accident that our Nigerian excellence shines through in areas of creativity and imagination free from external stressors (and the occasional state-sanctioned homicide. I have collaborated with a number of small brands and businesses in paid partnerships on social media.
Moderated a conversation for style house files on creativity and intellectual property. And actively foster and mentor up-and-coming brands across budgets in the fashion, home, parenting and lifestyle spaces.