Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

Honored to have #BBCMGTai Inc.'s work featured in BusinessDay One of Africa's most respected business publications.

The conversation about Africa's data gap and the role of grassroots AI in closing the financing gap continues.

Link in comments.

1 week ago | [YT] | 2

View 0 replies

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

A few weeks ago I walked into the United Nations in my Edo native attire from Benin City, Nigeria. 🇳🇬🇺🇳

I've been sitting with what was said in that room ever since.

The session was about private business and finance as drivers of sustainable development.

A multitrillion dollar annual shortfall in global development financing.
The Sevilla Commitment calling for better SME access to finance, more effective blended finance, and stronger enabling environments for private sector growth.
All necessary. All important.
But one question kept coming to me that nobody was asking loudly enough —
Where are the grassroots fintech builders in this conversation?

Where are the indigenous financial innovators building solutions inside the communities these frameworks are supposed to reach?

The multitrillion dollar gap exists because the formal financial system was never designed for them.

And the risk is that the solutions being designed in those chambers repeat the same pattern — designing for communities without designing with them.

This is why BBCMGTai Inc. exists.
Not to observe the gap. To build inside it.
iBARE was built for the entrepreneur operating without institutional support — the grassroots founder in Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, or Houston's Third Ward & Sunnyside who needs business intelligence and financial decision support but has never had access to either.
The policy conversation at the UN needs a parallel conversation at the community level.

One that asks not just how to mobilize capital at scale — but how to make that capital legible, accessible, and culturally intelligent for the people it's meant to serve.
I wore my Edo attire into that room as a reminder.

The communities these frameworks are designed to reach deserve to see themselves in the spaces where decisions are made.

The gap closes one presence at a time.
One grassroots fintech at a time.
One indigenous founder at a time.

The work continues. 🙏🏾

#UnitedNations #ECOSOC #FinancingForDevelopment #SDGs #GrassrootsFintech #IndigenousInnovation #UnderservedCommunities #FinancialInclusion #BBCMGTai #iBARE #AI #AfricanFounder #EdoState #BeniKingdom #NigeriaInTech #HumanCenteredAI #TechForGood #FounderLife #GlobalDevelopment #SevillaCommitment #Bangkok2026

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

View 0 replies

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

The closing session of the 2026 #ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development focused on something that rarely makes headlines.

Data!

Not the exciting kind. The foundational kind.
Gaps in statistical capacity. Fragmented data systems. Uneven reporting.

These are the invisible walls that prevent financing commitments from reaching the communities they're supposed to serve.

The room was clear —
Without reliable data infrastructure, even the most ambitious global financing frameworks cannot deliver measurable outcomes.

That hit differently for me.

Because companies like @bbcmgtai was built for are often the same communities sitting outside those data systems entirely.

Operating in informal economies.

Making decisions without the tools larger enterprises take for granted.

This is not a peripheral problem.
It is the central problem.

And it is exactly why we are building iBARE 👇
AI-powered business intelligence and financial decision support — designed from the ground up for entrepreneurs systematically excluded from the data infrastructure everyone else relies on.

The Sevilla Commitment calls for targeted investment in data systems and capacity building.

We are building that capacity.
One entrepreneur at a time. 🙏🏾

Grateful to the @unitednations Financing for Sustainable Development Office for a week of conversations that matter.

The work continues.

#UnitedNations #ECOSOC #FinancingForDevelopment SDGs #BBCMGTai iBARE AI DataForDevelopment AfricanFounder HumanCenteredAI TechForGood NigeriaInTech FounderLife GlobalDevelopment SevillaCommitment AfricanEntrepreneur SustainableDevelopment ImpactTech Bangkok2026

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

View 0 replies

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

This arrived at my door today. I wasn't expecting it. 🦉

After weeks of back-to-back activities — IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, Forbes Under 30 Summit, United Nations ECOSOC Forum in New York, and speaking at the US Minority Chamber of Commerce —

I came home to find a packet from Western Governors University waiting for me.
Inside — an alumni lanyard, WGU pins, a notebook, and a letter nominating me for the WGU Distinguished Graduate Award.

Recognizing me as an outstanding example and ambassador of the university.

I sat with that for a moment.

My MBA at WGU didn't happen during an easy season. It happened while I was rebuilding — carrying more than most people around me knew. WGU made it possible when other doors weren't open.
Being recognized by the institution that walked with me through that — that means everything.

In a separate moment — while I was in Phoenix for Forbes Under 30, I made one unscheduled stop and walked into the WGU campus office. Not for a meeting. Not for content. Just to say thank you.
We celebrate institutions. We rarely celebrate the people inside them who quietly make the difference. They deserve to be seen.

Proud WGU Alumni. Deeply humbled. 🙏🏾
Gratitude isn't just something you feel. It's something you show up to express.

#WGU #WGUAlumni #DistinguishedGraduate #MBA #Grateful #Forbes30 #UN #ECOSOC #BBCMGTai #AlumniLove #Gratitude #WesternGovernorsUniversity #IMF #WorldBank #MinorityChamber #AfricanFounder #FounderLife

1 month ago | [YT] | 3

View 0 replies

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

Phoenix just poured into me.

Days at the 2026 Forbes Under 30 Summit representing BBCMGTai Inc. among 2,000+ of the world's most innovative founders, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders.

Here's what I'm carrying forward 👇
🤖 AI reinvention is not optional
Howie Liu of Airtable made it plain — companies adding AI to existing products will be outpaced by those designing around AI from day one. 500,000+ organizations. Half the Fortune 500. That's validation. #iBARE was built AI-native from the ground up.

🧠 Human readiness is the next frontier
Andrew Powell of Ethos reframed everything. The bottleneck in AI isn't the algorithm. It's the human operating it. Mental readiness. Emotional regulation. Whole-person wellness. These are now strategic assets. Not soft skills. iBARE was built on this exact belief.

💰 Democratizing access is a shared mission
Ezra Kebrab of Caliza Technologies is building financial infrastructure for everyone regardless of where they live. His mission and ours are the same sentence written differently.

❤️ Founder wellness is a business strategy
DeAnna and Kurt Mangum of CoupleyFit created something rare at Forbes — honest space for the inner work of building. You cannot pour from an empty vessel. Sustainable impact requires sustainable founders.

Grateful to the entire Forbes Under 30 and Forbes team for building a summit worthy of the people you convene. Thank you. 🙏🏾

Next stops 👇
📍 United Nations Headquarters, New York — ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development
📍 US Minority Chamber of Commerce — Panel Speaker on The Digital Future of Entrepreneurship

The work continues. 🙏🏾

#Forbes30 #ForbesUnder30 #Forbes #BBCMGTai #iBARE #AI #AfricanFounder #HumanCenteredAI #FounderLife #TechForGood #ECOSOC #UnitedNations #MinorityChamber #WomenEntrepreneurs #DigitalEntrepreneurship #HumanReadiness #SDGs #ArtificialIntelligence

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

View 1 reply

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

Participated in the 2026 IMF & World Bank Spring Meetings this week representing BBCMGTai Inc. as Founder & CEO 🌍
Here's what I want to say that most people in those rooms don't —
I didn't arrive at these conversations through a Wall Street office or an Ivy League fellowship.

I came through the other side of the systems being discussed.
The World Bank talks about financing for development.

I didn't just study it.
I lived the other side of it.

I know what it costs when the systems fail the people they're supposed to serve.
That's not a disadvantage. That's my qualification for being in the room.

BBCMGTai Inc. and iBARE exist because of that lived reality — building AI that puts business intelligence, emotional support, and economic access into hands that have been locked out for too long.
Next stops 👇

📍 Forbes Under 30 Summit — Phoenix, Arizona
📍 UN Headquarters New York — ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development
📍 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings — Bangkok, Thailand October 2026
The work continues. 🙏🏾

#WorldBank #IMF #BBCMGTai #iBARE #AI #AfricanFounder #NigeriaInTech #Forbes30 #UN #ECOSOC #FinancingForDevelopment #BlackEntrepreneur #ImpactTech #SDGs #Bangkok2026 #FounderLife #HumanCenteredAI #TechForGood #DiasporaEntrepreneur

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

View 0 replies

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

Thrilled to see it featured in the Guardian Nigeria! 🎉

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA joins Truist Foundation Fellowship by Watson Institute

Check out the article for an inspiring story of growth and opportunity!

guardian.ng/art/agbonavbare-joins-truist-foundatio…

#TruistFoundation #Leadership #artificialintelligence #incubator #Opportunity

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

View 0 replies

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

Excited to share that I’ve been selected for the 2025–2026 Truist Foundation Fellowship powered by the Watson Institute!

This opportunity will help me scale the work we’re doing through BBCMGTai Inc. and platforms like iBARE and ADollarClass—using AI and digital tools to expand economic opportunities for underserved communities.

Grateful, honored, and ready to build.

#AI #Impact #Entrepreneurship #TruistFellowship #Innovation

2 months ago | [YT] | 1

View 0 replies

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

✨Exciting News! ✨ I’m honored to share that I’ve been selected as a 2025–2026 Truist Foundation Fellow. 🎉

Through this Fellowship, powered by Watson Institute, I’ll receive intensive training, mentorship, and access to a powerful network to help scale the impact of BBCMGTai Inc. in #Texas

Over the next 4.5 months, I’ll also lead a community workshop — called a Basecamp — a 1-3 day event designed to empower earlier-stage small business owners in my community.

I am grateful to both the Truist Foundation and Watson Institute for this opportunity and excited to learn alongside inspiring small business owners, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit founders across the country.

👉 Learn more about the Fellowship: watson.is/truist-foundation-fellowship

2 months ago | [YT] | 2

View 0 replies

Osaretin Agbonavbare, DBA

Thrilled to be featured by @westerngovernorsu for Black History Month! 🎉

As a leader in Human-Computer Interaction and AI, I'm grateful for the education that fueled my growth.

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 2

View 0 replies