Steve Babaeko, Founder, X3M Ideas

Think of a revolutionary. How do we picture him? Loud. Disruptive. Creating a sensation across the internet. Steve Babaeko does not fit that picture. In Lagos, Nigeria, Steve built an advertising agency. Not with a loud manifesto, but with a quiet, stubborn belief that reshaped how African creativity shows up in the world. His revolution wasn’t about tearing things down. It was about lighting a beacon. He wanted to build a creative lighthouse, one that would shine African stories out to the world, with clarity, authenticity, and craft. This is the story of that slow, steady burn. And how it changed the view for everyone.

The First Spark: Eight Chairs & A Single Belief

It was 2012, and the Nigerian advertising landscape was awash with flashy ideas, vibrant outward but a dime a dozen beneath the surface. Repetitive patterns, safely fenced in. Steve grew weary of such innovation with guardrails. He wasn’t interested in refining the familiar; he wanted to break the mould and rewrite the playbook. To choose courage over convention. Grit over gloss. To step beyond inherited patterns and create work that moved to a different rhythm, one as bold, layered, and unapologetically diverse as Africa itself. So, on August 1st, Steve launched X3M Ideas with a team of just seven members. 

“There were no safety nets, only belief and persistence.”

Inside the cabinet, every client pitch felt like a life-or-death moment. Every win was hard-earned. Every setback forced them to rethink, refine, and push harder. They weren’t just selling ads; they were selling a new idea that an African agency could be culturally rooted yet globally brilliant. They invested in people and ideas when money was tight. They chose the long game. “What sustained us was a shared mindset. We were driven by ambition, but also by a deep sense of purpose,” Steve said, reflecting on his becoming.

That small, hot room forged their DNA. It taught them that resilience is a currency. And that a lighthouse needs a deep, solid foundation.

The Blueprint: No Silos, Just One House

As the agency grew, Steve began to see a flaw in the traditional agency model. Creativity, strategy, and execution, the three pillars of a single creative act, had been fractured into separate fiefdoms. The result was work that felt disjointed, stitched together rather than conceived as a whole. Assembled, but not authored.

But his vision was a single, unified house. X3M Ideas evolved into a full-service home. While he went further. Steve built specialized “rooms” within itancillary companies for media, production, and digital. All under one roof. All speaking the same language. “We recognised that strong ideas only reach their full potential when they are backed by equally rigorous strategy and flawless execution,” Steve reflects.

The writer chats with the media planner. The strategist debates with the designer. This isn’t a production line; it’s a roundtable conference. Consequently, it produced work that isn’t just creatively stunning but commercially sharp. Clients were no longer handed fragments of solutions. They received stories that connected every moment from the first thought to the final touch, moving seamlessly from idea to impact, without dilution.

The Bridge Builder: Building by Bricks, Not Fanfare

When it came to expansion, Steve avoided the splashy, ego-driven playbook. No fireworks. He consistently focused on careful bridge-building. On building relationships that lasted longer than campaigns. People came before the scale. Culture before expansion. These choices slowed growth at times. But that shaped the spine of the company.

Africa’s creative landscape was also changing. Digital platforms altered how stories traveled. Audiences fractured. Borders softened. Steve chose not to wait. Expansion followed intention. Johannesburg came first. Then Zambia. Lusaka offered something quieter but stronger. A base to serve South Central Africa with agility. Congo Brazzaville opened Francophone doors. A partnership with Ikigai 360 unlocked Lusophone markets.

“Each move was intentional, driven by the belief that Africa’s diversity is its strength.”

Technology became the thread tying it all together. It lets a creative in Lagos brainstorm in real-time with a strategist in Lusaka. “Technology has become both our connective tissue and a key competitive advantage,” Steve notes. In a world chasing “global at speed,” he proved that being thoughtfully local is the ultimate advantage.

The Coach: Guarding the Flame

Steve’s stepping into the world of creative intelligence was never a cakewalk. Advertising is not a venture-funded playground. Capital was scarce. Growth is earned slowly. Steve chose bootstrapping early. That choice shaped everything. It forced discipline. It demanded governance. It favored sustainability over speed. During uncertain cycles, this restraint kept the business upright.

Talent was restricted. A decade ago, a wave of skilled professionals began leaving Nigeria. Many agencies panicked. Instead of lamenting the drain, Steve leaned in. He invested inward. He built culture deliberately. Having started as a copywriter and later a creative director, Steve has lived the doubt. He has felt the hunger. It is why he leads today as a coach. “I am deeply passionate about expanding the talent pipeline,” he says.

He visits universities, demystifying the industry. In his agency, he focuses on the environment. “I focus on creating a safe and supportive environment where people feel trusted, heard, and empowered.” He gives the tools, the guidance, the freedom. Then, like a coach, he steps to the sidelines, allowing talent to express itself. For him, this isn’t corporate charity. It’s how you protect your flame and let it light up the world.

The Proof: When a Story Shakes the World

All these principles, truth, craft, humanitystitched together in one campaign: Soot Life Expectancy. Port Harcourt, Nigeria, was choking on soot from illegal refineries. An abstract environmental issue. Steve’s team made it heartbreakingly personal. They collaborated with a German environmental agency, modelled data from 41 countries, and created a tool showing residents how the soot was cutting their lives short.

“The results were sobering and deliberately confronting, translating an abstract environmental issue into a deeply personal human reality.”

It was creative advocacy at its most potent. And the world took notice. The campaign earned Nigeria its first-ever shortlist at the prestigious D&AD Awards. Then, it won the country’s first Cannes Lions. “For us, those milestones were validation that African-driven ideas, when rooted in truth and purpose, can compete and win on the world stage,” Steve shares.

The lighthouse beam had reached the global shore. It was proof that an African story, told with rigour and deep empathy, can stop the world and make it listen.

Steve Babaeko’s story isn’t about a lone genius or a viral moment. It’s a masterclass in the quiet build. In holding a standard, even when no one is watching. In building a house where talent can grow, and from which authentic stories can travel. He didn’t just build an agency. He built a lighthouse. And now, its light guides a continent’s stories home to the world.