Foluke Akinlose MBE is founder of PRECIOUS, the leading online network and resource for women of colour in business and leadership (www.preciousonline.co.uk)
Foluke is a trained journalist and editor with a strong background in digital and traditional media. Her career has taken in roles as Internet Europe Editor at Moreover.com; a Reuters backed technology start-up which provided business intelligence and news aggregation products for enterprises and consumers. She also served as editor of ATE Online, the world’s leading provider of business information and services to the international gaming, coin-operated and electronic amusements and leisure industries. She has also undertaken editorial roles at the Natural History Museum, Sport England and David Lloyd Leisure Group.
She launched PRECIOUS in 1999 when working in the New Media Department at ITN. It was the first digital publication aimed at women of colour to launch in the UK, pre-broadband and wireless and was hailed as a pioneering initiative.
Foluke has a genuine passion for showcasing the achievements of women of colour, which in 2007 led her to launch The Precious Awards (www.preciousawards.com) a unique annual awards event that celebrates women of colour in business and leadership. Endorsed as ‘vital’ by former PM David Cameron, and an incredible opportunity by PM Teresa May, the awards celebrate the achievements of women of colour in business and entrepreneurship, across a range of industries.
In 2010, Foluke launched the PRECIOUS Girls project which works with schools to encourage, inspire, support and promote the next generation of women of colour by increasing entrepreneurial attitudes and provide access to positive female role models. Foluke is also publisher of The PRECIOUS Book of Quotes, a book featuring quotes and advice from 50 inspirational women.
In 2018, Foluke launched The PRECIOUS Lifestyle Awards, a platform that highlights the achievements of women of colour in the Creative Industries. The event hosted at Google put the spotlight on women creating products and services in digital, hair, beauty, publishing and tech.
In 2008 Foluke was named in the top 100 in Courvoisier’s “The Future 500” a list of the country’s top achievers across ten wide-ranging categories. She was honoured with an MBE in the 2010 New Year’s Honours List for services to the Creative Industries. In 2011 she was listed on One World Actions List of One Hundred (Unseen) Powerful Women who change the World and in 2012 Foluke was awarded a Media Pioneer Award at the Specialist Media Show awards.