VeeKee James Emerges Trendupp Awards — Force of Influence 2025 Winner
The fifth edition of the prestigious Trendupp Awards, Africa’s first and foremost awards platform for Influencers and Content Creators, concluded on Sunday, July 13th, 2025, with an unforgettable night of glamour, recognition, and pure creative energy at the Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event, themed “Still Explosive,” lived up to its name, celebrating the audacious talents shaping Africa’s digital space.
The night’s highest honour, the Force of Influence — Nigeria (the influencer/content creator who has commanded the highest impact in the Nigerian social media space between March 2024 to March 2025) was triumphantly awarded to the phenomenal VeeKee James. Solidifying her undeniable reign in the last one year.
Further adding to the night’s excitement, @SamuelBanks_21 clinched the Emerging Force category, an award for the next big deal in social media from March 2024 to March 2025. This unique public voting category, proudly sponsored by Sycamore Integrated Solutions Limited.
The Trendupp Awards 2025 Hosted by the multi-talented influencer, content creator, and TV host, KieKie (Bukunmi Adeaga-Ilori), for the fourth consecutive time, gathered the continent’s most influential digital creators, media personalities, brand executives, and exciting fans. Out of an impressive lineup of 104 nominees, 17 exceptional winners emerged across 17 categories and 7 African countries, each receiving their coveted gold statuettes.
Speaking at the event, Tiwalola Olanubi Jnr., Founder/CEO of Trendupp Africa, expressed his appreciation to nominees, winners, and the creators community:
“Tonight is a testament to the incredible talent and dedication within Africa’s creator economy. We thank all nominees and winners for their grit, audacity & most importantly consistent hard work which has helped push boundaries across the continent and beyond.”
Trendupp Awards is an initiative of Trendupp Africa, a platform where creatives receive support and build direct relationships with their fans across Africa. This fifth edition is presented by Trendupp Africa in association with DottsMediaHouse (Africa’s foremost media agency for leading brands across Africa). The award is proudly supported by Pepsi, Sycamore, Tramango, MTVBase, Africa Magic, POPCentral TV, CoolFM, Brand Communicator, Trace TV, Ameyaw Debrah, TheCable, MediaRoomHub, BlackDrum TV and Legit NG, Sniper Ajix Photography, Deenoh Xpression Photography and Ayo Asubiaro Photography.
