Agunbiade Emerges 13th Recipient Of 7Up Harvard Business School Scholarship

Nigerian carbonated soft drink brand, 7Up, has officially named Ms. Oreoluwa Agunbiade as the recipient of the coveted 7Up Harvard Business School (HBS) MBA Scholarship for the upcoming academic session of 2023/2024.

In a statement, the company said that this accolade marks Ms. Agunbiade as the 13th individual to receive this prestigious scholarship since its inception in 2010.

SBC’s Chief Marketing Director, Mr. Norden Thurston, elaborated on the scholarship’s origins, explaining that it was launched in 2010 by Mr. Faysal El-Khalil, SBC’s Chairman, in commemoration of the business’s 50th anniversary. El-Khalil’s vision aimed to raise and inspire a new generation of Nigerian leaders by providing them access to high-quality global education, fostering the right mindset for their success.

Mr. Thurston also highlighted the scholarship’s track record of cultivating a cohort of young business leaders who have contributed to innovation and positive change across various sectors of Nigeria’s economy.

Expressing his thoughts on the 7Up HBS scholarship, Mr. Ziad Maalouf, Managing Director of SBC, emphasized the company’s commitment to excellence, diversity, and inclusion. He extended a warm welcome to Ms. Oreoluwa Agunbiade and expressed confidence that she would uphold the tradition of hard work and excellence demonstrated by past scholarship recipients. Mr. Maalouf commended Agunbiade’s existing efforts to make a positive impact and expressed hope that she would leverage her gained insights to contribute to Nigeria’s growth upon her return.

In her response to being selected for the 7Up HBS scholarship, Ms. Agunbiade expressed gratitude to Seven-Up Bottling Company for granting her the opportunity to fulfill her lifelong dream of studying at Harvard. She pledged to utilize her education and training to advance the cause of women’s empowerment by establishing an impact fund to support female-owned businesses in Africa.