Five months after winning the coveted Top 100 Africa Travel Women award at the 18th Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos in 2022, the Director of Sales and Marketing, Eko Hotels and Suites, Mrs. Iyadunni Gbadebo, has been nominated for entrepreneurial skills award.
According to Thisday, Gbadebo was among the few entrepreneurs and hospitality directors in Africa to receive the prestigious continental award, raising Eko Hotels’ profile high. Gbadebo’s latest nomination for award by The Lekki Post Newspaper, stated: “Mrs. Iyadunni Gbadebo, amongst four other entrepreneurs, are nominated for the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award. Her nomination was due to her impeccable entrepreneurial skills, the spontaneous growth of her businesses and her unmatched marketing skills.”
Gbadebo, who keeps a low profile, said on the recognition. “I’m delighted to have been honoured. I’m truly humbled.” While thanking God for the recognition, Gbadebo said the credit also goes to the ever innovating Eko Hotels & Suites which is truly a leader in the hospitality industry. According to her usual statement, “Eko Hotels is highly rated for its genuinely personal attention, international standards and service details.”
People who know Iyadunni are hopeful she will emerge the winner of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award. One of them said, “You remember Iyadunni was one of the winners of the 2022 edition of Africa 100 Travel Women Awards. I’m delighted to know she is being recognised again. Another, a banker who is a guest at Eko Hotels said: “I’m exceedingly happy for Iyadunni. The nomination is well-deserved.”
Gbadebo’s personality and bearing may have shaped the sales department of Eko Hotels in the past decade. No wonder, she quickly rose from her position of Head, Sales & Marketing to Director, Sales & Marketing, becoming a part of the Eko Hotels’ success story, being a leading hotel in West Africa. Publisher of ATQ News, the organisers of the ‘Top 100 Africa Travel Women’ awards, Mr. Ikechi Uko was elated. He said most of the women listed in the “Top 100 Africa Travel Women” are doing very well. Commenting further, he said Iyadunni Gbadebo is also great. “She is most deserving of the award with her experience and achievements in sales and marketing of travel products in Nigeria.”
Indeed, it was a double celebration for the young female affectionately called Iyadunni as she joined the African stars of aviation, tourism, and hospitality at the red-carpet reception in Lagos to receive the Top 100 Africa Travel Women award on October 31, 2022.
Interestingly, Gbadebo’s Eko Hotels, Victoria Island was the venue of the awards. The prestigious and coveted Africa Travel and Tourism 100 Award that recognises exceptional women in the industry, involved African women from 20 African countries who have excelled in areas such as tourism leadership, travel and tours, aviation, hospitality, conservation, and media.
