The Communicators Mentorship Hub (CMH), a new initiative dedicated to empowering the next generation of communications professionals in Nigeria and beyond, has been launched.

According to the initiative’s Founder, Olumuyiwa Akande, who is also the Group Head, Corporate Communications, SIFAX Group, the mentorship programme is designed to provide structured guidance to early-career professionals in navigating the communications industry.

He said: ‘Over the years, I have observed how many young professionals struggle during the early days of their career, without support and encouragement. This programme has come to fill this void. CMH seeks to equip emerging professionals with practical knowledge, strategic insight, leadership confidence, and industry networks needed to thrive in a fast-evolving communications landscape.

“CMH will be positioned as a comprehensive career development ecosystem, combining learning sessions, mentoring programmes, peer networking, and the facilitation of connections between emerging communicators and seasoned industry experts.

Akande further noted that the primary target of the programme are professionals with five years or fewer of industry experience, those transitioning to a communications career as well as university communications students, while maintaining a broader mandate to eventually address the needs of mid-career and senior-level practitioners.”

The maiden event of CMH took place on Monday, April 6, 2026, with the theme “Building a High-Impact Communications Career” with featured three distinguished practitioners who collectively represent decades of frontline experience in Nigerian marketing communications industry.

Chidera Onyekuru, a first-class graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Lagos and a marketing and communications expert, opened proceedings with a session titled “Internship: The Pathway to Building a Sustainable Communications Career.” Drawing on her own trajectory, Onyekuru made a compelling case for intentional, proactive internship pursuit.

Ihechukwu Ibeji, a strategic communications expert with over 20 years of experience across banking, manufacturing, and telecoms, and currently leading the communications and product development team at SANEF Limited, delivered the second session on “Skills That Will Define the Future Communications Leader.”

Ibeji examined four defining shifts reshaping the industry: digital dominance, trust deficit, artificial intelligence, and real-time engagement. He urged practitioners to develop core skill pillars including strategic thinking, digital literacy, AI fluency, and soft skills — noting that effective communication remains fundamentally human, even as technology transforms its delivery.

Closing the session was Bolaji Abimbola, Managing Director of Indigo PR, who spoke on “Career Growth and Transition to Strategic Communications.”

He distinguished between vertical growth (advancing through seniority) and horizontal growth (deepening expertise), and urged participants to move beyond execution into strategic thinking — the art of seeing the end from the beginning and measuring impact, not just activity.

About the Communicators Mentorship Hub (CMH)

The Communicators Mentorship Hub is a professional development initiative for communications practitioners in Nigeria and the African diaspora. Founded by Olumuyiwa Akande, CMH provides mentoring sessions, expert-led learning, peer community engagement, and career opportunity sharing for professionals at all stages of their communications careers. The CMH community can be joined via its Telegram group, the Communicators Mentorship Hall.