Grace Ladoja

Grace Ladoja is the founder and creative director of the agency Metallic Inc and the curator of the Lagos-based festival Homecoming. She is notable for her leadership at the intersection of music, fashion and youth culture, connecting creative communities across London and Lagos, and pioneering platforms that empower the next generation of African talent.

Born and raised in London, Ladoja’s career began in music, working closely with UK grime artist Skepta, eventually becoming his manager. Her intuitive understanding of youth culture and global influence led her to launch Homecoming, a three-day annual festival in Lagos celebrating fashion, art, music and sport, in 2018. Since then, the festival has grown into a vital cultural force, attracting international collaborators while spotlighting Nigerian creativity. That same instinct for cultural storytelling also drove her to establish Metallic Inc in 2017, a global culture studio that bridges brands and creatives, and has since distributed over £150,000 ($203,000) in grants to talent across fashion, music and film. It has also recently expanded to open a permanent retail store.

Ladoja’s impact has been widely recognised: she was awarded the Rising Star honour by Music Week in 2017, followed by the Entrepreneur award in 2021. In 2018, she received an MBE for her services to the music industry. Beyond accolades, Ladoja is driven by a larger mission: championing education and infrastructure to support Africa’s creative future. As she told Google Arts & Culture, “education will underpin Africa’s next wave of creative greatness.”