At the helm of the affairs of 6ix:45 Events Limited, Nigeria’s fast-growing event planning company is Jennifer Anuiyiagu, a young woman blazing the trail and navigating the everyday challenges of running a thriving company in a highly demanding industry.

For Jennifer, her journey into event planning wasn’t a direct one. She studied Computer Science in school but her love for the culinary arts led to her working as a chef and this set off her flare for creating curated experiences.

“It began when I worked as a Chef, catering and hosting dinners for high networth individuals and then I transformed into being a restaurant manager where I planned mini events and birthdays. This experience allowed me to learn large-scale management and planning.”

Jennifer’s earliest efforts at curating events for her friends’ and families’ birthday parties was an opportunity she grabbed with both hands.

“Planning birthday events for my friends and family members, I can remember doing my best to ensure they all had a great memory of the event,” Jennifer shares in her early beginning.

After years of balancing being a Chef, managing a restaurant, and planning events on the side, Jennifer decided to go into event planning full-time; and shortly after taking the bold step of starting her company, she started positioning herself as an event planner while retaining the services of people in her network.

“Getting a big client wasn’t easy as I had no portfolio, so I decided to build my competence by working for people in my circle and after a while, someone in my circle gave me the opportunity to curate the Live In Concert Brunch.”

Jennifer’s first major gig came with a whole set of pressure as she needed to showcase her ability while also repaying the faith of a dear friend. Jennifer would deliver beyond expectation and her feats saw her score her second big client at her first major event.

“There was a lot of pressure on me to succeed and I’m grateful that the event was well executed and on the spot one of the sponsors Lagos Ride hit me up and asked me to curate a booth for them at the event.”

Successfully delivering on her first major gig was a huge morale booster for Jennifer and that event invariably opened the door for future events including a recent one for TikTok where she curated a Nollywood-themed event.

Working for a global brand like TikTok comes with its unique challenges and Jennifer described it as a job that left no room for errors, as she had to ensure every detail of the event was painstakingly covered.

“Working with TikTok was eye opening because there was no room for errors. It brought out a lot of innovation from my team because we had to get the branding and every detail correctly. We were able to create a seamless event that combined the vibrant spirit of TikTok and the rich storytelling of Nollywood.”

Working with different companies means 6ix:45 Events under Jennifer’s leadership always has to shape-shift and innovate around the client’s demands. Jennifer shares that her background from university and her work experiences has armed her with the critical thinking skills and the work ethic required to be a successful event planner.

“I have put myself through a lot of processes and this prepared me to be the event planner that I am today,” Jennifer says. “The principle for me is to always tailor every event to the vision of my client and this calls for critical thinking and a thorough understanding of the objectives of each client.”

This ability to adjust according to the needs of her clients has helped Jennifer in choosing the right team to work with her company to deliver on the vision of each client.

“I work with people and brands that hold themselves to the highest standards because it takes a village to put an event together, and as a company, we prioritize working with the best.”
Consistently delivering on a client’s visions comes with unique challenges and for Jennifer, this is not mainly about funding. She considers getting the best-skilled people as the major challenge because, without the right team, money spent is essentially wasted.

“My superpower lies in my selection criteria for vendors and people I work with because my success as an event planner relies heavily on the team behind the scenes.”

While Jennifer considers skills and work ethic to be the major challenges, she also admits to facing occasional economic challenges. She tackles this by making contingency plans for unforeseen events and also working with innovative people who can find their way around unforeseen financial constraints.

The lack of structures is one of the issues limiting the growth of entertainment in Nigeria and as an event planner, Jennifer believes that everyone needs to be innovative.

“We need to explore more unconventional spaces and get innovative and work with what we have,” Jennifer opines on ways the entertainment industry can find its way around the limited availability of suitable event centers in the country.

“We can also give these event centers ideas about ways they can innovate to improve their venues,” She says as she advocates for partnership between event planners and event venues.

Since launching 6ix:45 Events circa 2020, the company has gradually made a name for itself as an innovative powerhouse that brings ideas to life.

Jennifer’s vision for her company is to help it become a leader in event planning and innovation globally.

“Our goal is to become a global leader in event innovation contributing to industry trends, and monetization of real estate for events, content creation, and production set.”

For Jennifer and her company, the vision is clear – excellence can never be compromised – and it is this mantra that has placed them on the fast path to becoming a major player in event planning in Nigeria.