{"id":4405,"date":"2020-12-30T01:54:38","date_gmt":"2020-12-30T01:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/30\/lanre-ajakaiye\/"},"modified":"2020-12-30T01:54:38","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T01:54:38","slug":"lanre-ajakaiye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/30\/lanre-ajakaiye\/","title":{"rendered":"Lanre Ajakaiye"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lanre Ajakaiye<\/a><\/p>\n

By John Taraborelli<\/p>\n

L<\/span>anre Ajakaiye is a bit of a Renaissance man. The Providence native, a child of West African immigrants, is head of membership for the National Fire Protection Association and before that director of marketing operations for AAA Northeast. From 2014-2017, he founded and ran the New England Family Fun Festival<\/strong><\/a>. In 2018, when he learned that Providence didn\u2019t have a boys travel team in the Rhode Island Youth Basketball Association<\/strong><\/a>, he started one; last year the sixth- and eighth-grade teams won their respective state championships. He works alongside his wife, Hilina, on the R.I.S.E. Women\u2019s Leadership Conference<\/strong><\/a>, which she founded.<\/p>\n

Oh, and he was elected homecoming king for his graduating class at Classical.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not what Ajakaiye has done that put him on our radar \u2013 it\u2019s what he\u2019s about to do. He recently acquired 25 Bough Street<\/strong><\/a>, a blighted former jewelry factory in Olneyville that he will transform into a multi-purpose anchor development for the neighborhood. When Ajakaiye\u2019s plans are complete, the building will host everything from coworking to after-school programs to quincea\u00f1eras.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be the place that connections are made and networks happen,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ll accelerate the success of businesses of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan is to fill several gaps in the community under one roof. Twenty-five Bough Street will include an event venue and coworking space. While Providence has no shortage of either, those that exist are often not diverse and culturally competent enough to truly serve the entire city. That\u2019s where Ajakaiye believes 25 Bough will offer something different and necessary.<\/p>\n

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