Council for Business Innovation and Excellence: Evaluating Visionary Business Leadership Across Sectors

Every year, the Council for Business Innovation and Excellence (CBIE) assembles a cross-section of Nigeria’s most driven minds in entrepreneurship, product strategy, and enterprise development. But beyond the excitement of ideas and ambition, the event is defined by something more foundational, its discipline.

With decades of combined experience, they were selected not for their celebrity or affiliations, but for their consistent track record of leadership, fairness, and constructive engagement. These individuals are from fields like finance, product innovation, operations, logistics, and enterprise strategy, such as Jumoke Raji-Ayoola, Tajudeen Asemota, Musa Danjuma, Ama Bediako, Yakubu Nwachukwu, and Temisan Olorunfemi, are on this year’s panel. They all bring a lot of business knowledge to the table.

The CBIE event isn’t just another stage for presentation; it’s a structured space where innovation must meet scrutiny. This is what elevates its relevance year after year: an insistence on substance over spectacle, and a judging framework that prioritizes readiness, impact, and practical insight.

Judging was guided by a five-pronged lens that prioritized:

• Problem-Solution Fit: How clearly does the venture address a pressing need with a relevant solution?
• Execution Capability: Does the team demonstrate the discipline, insight, and capacity to implement the idea effectively?
• Resource Efficiency: How well are time, funding, and partnerships being used or projected for scale?
• User and Stakeholder Focus: To what extent does the innovation incorporate user needs and ecosystem realities?
• Growth Logic: Does the venture’s expansion plan make sense in terms of timing, traction, and model evolution?

Each judge received a detailed pre-briefing on the evaluation format. This ensures not only fairness, but a unified understanding of what the Council expects from standout ventures.

By maintaining high expectations and offering targeted feedback, CBIE doesn’t just celebrate innovation, it cultivates it. The event continues to serve as a filter and a platform: separating short-term noise from sustainable direction and ensuring that those who emerge from the process are better equipped to lead, grow, and impact. Through thoughtful judging and a principled approach, it preserves the integrity of what business innovation should be: grounded, bold, and capable of enduring change.