In a move hailed as “a watershed moment for Africa’s data economy,” the Institute of Productivity and Business Innovation Management (IPBIM) has elevated Dr. Ibukun Aina to its prestigious Fellowship rank; an honour reserved for the top ten percent of professionals driving tangible transformation in productivity, data innovation, and business strategy on both national and global scales.
For many within the data analytics and tech communities, this recognition comes not as a surprise but as a long-overdue validation of Dr. Aina’s impactful work. As the Founder and Director of Smart Approaches, Dr. Aina has trained and certified 2000 data professionals across various sectors, helping to grow the country’s digital workforce and extend data literacy far beyond urban centers. His flagship innovation, the DABRIA™️ (Data & Business Analysis Readiness & Impact Assessment) Tool was a critical factor in IPBIM’s decision to award him a Fellowship. The tool, which helps organizations accurately assess their analytics maturity and readiness, is already being used by several institutions to avoid costly missteps in data investment and strategy.
“His work turns abstract talk of ‘data readiness’ into hard metrics leaders can act on,” remarked Innocent Daniels, Chairman of IPBIM’s Membership Committee. Indeed, DABRIA™️ has helped organizations measure their data capability and determine the potential return on investment from proposed analytics projects. By offering a structured framework that evaluates governance, data culture, infrastructure, and skill gaps, the tool empowers both small and large businesses to make better, evidence-based decisions about their digital futures.
Beyond his technical contributions, Dr. Aina is a respected thought leader with media recognition in top Nigerian outlets such as VanguardNGR, Thisday and Nigerian Tribune.
In addition to joining IPBIM’s elite cohort of Fellows, Dr. Aina has been appointed as Chairperson of the DATA4SME Project – an ambitious IPBIM-led initiative that aims to equip Nigerian small and medium enterprises with the education, tools, and regulatory frameworks needed to manage and leverage data responsibly and profitably. Under his leadership, this project is expected to promote digital trust, improve data infrastructure, and foster long-term growth among grassroots businesses across Nigeria.
In an interview following the announcement, Dr. Aina expressed his excitement and sense of duty. “This isn’t a finish line; it’s a launchpad,” he said. “With IPBIM’s platform, we can democratize sophisticated analytics so that a five-person agritech start-up in Kaduna has the same decision-quality data as a Fortune 500 in London.”
Dr. Aina’s Fellowship not only celebrates past achievements, it signifies the beginning of a broader, more inclusive data movement.
