LAGOS/Nigeria: The News Agency of Nigeria and Harde Business School have opened talks on a broad-based partnership designed to deepen capacity building, expand digital learning, and enhance communication expertise across sectors.
The proposed collaboration emerged during a high-level engagement in Lagos, where both institutions outlined a shared vision to combine media strength with executive education to drive professional development and institutional growth.
At the meeting, the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Harde Business School, Dami Oguntunde, presented the school’s training architecture, highlighting its focus on executive education, digital platforms, and tailored corporate programmes.
He explained that the institution’s Business Leadership Executive Programme blends soft skills such as communication, emotional intelligence and public speaking with innovation-driven competencies like design thinking and critical thinking, alongside core business disciplines including strategy, finance and negotiation.
Oguntunde disclosed that the programme, which also incorporates emerging modules such as Artificial Intelligence for business leaders, has trained over 3,000 mid- to senior-level executives across sectors including banking, telecommunications, oil and gas, construction and media.
According to him, the school adopts a hybrid learning model combining self-paced online courses hosted on a Learning Management System with interactive weekend webinars led by industry leaders, including Abubakar Suleiman.
He added that the institution has extensive experience delivering cohort-based learning and customised training solutions tailored to organisational needs.
Discussions at the meeting also identified areas of mutual benefit, with Harde Business School expected to provide structured capacity-building programmes for NAN staff, while the agency would contribute its expertise in media, branding, communication and public relations.
Both parties further explored leveraging NAN’s nationwide network and multimedia platforms to boost visibility for educational initiatives, including digital campaigns and broader public engagement strategies.
Speaking on behalf of NAN, the Managing Editor and Head of its Lagos Directorate, Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole, underscored the agency’s operational footprint across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
She noted that NAN’s expansive reach, supported by its headquarters in Abuja and sub-headquarters in Lagos, positions it as a critical channel for information dissemination and public communication.
Omowole added that the agency’s platforms—ranging from traditional wire services to digital outlets including YouTube—offer partners significant visibility and credibility.
She reaffirmed NAN’s commitment to factual, development-oriented journalism anchored on professionalism and public interest.
Both organisations agreed to advance the discussions through a formal proposal, with plans for a follow-up meeting to define the framework and implementation strategy for the partnership.
