Bola Agbonile

Bola Agbonile is a multi-venture entrepreneur and product strategist building AI-powered, culturally rooted platforms that strengthen human connection and preserve heritage languages. As Founder and Product Lead at Zabbot LLC, Bola leads the development of a fast-emerging language technology platform focused on heritage preservation, beginning with Yorùbá. Zabbot combines natural language processing, text-to-speech, and speech recognition technologies with cultural intelligence to create intuitive learning experiences that reconnect diaspora communities and language enthusiasts with their roots.

In addition to Zabbot, Bola co-leads Beacon VIP Concierge Limited (BVCL), a premium lifestyle and travel concierge in Nigeria, and NaijaSparks, a culturally aligned matchmaking platform for Nigerians in the diaspora. Prior to founding these ventures, Bola held senior technology and product roles at Starbucks, earning a U.S. patent for an AI-driven customer experience solution, and worked at Microsoft as a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET). Her experience spans innovation leadership, agile development, cross-functional team building, and delivering enterprise-scale products from concept to market.

Bola is deeply committed to blending technology with cultural insight and community engagement. She actively participates in AI ethics and standards discussions, advocating for inclusive, responsible AI frameworks that amplify voices often ignored by mainstream technology. With a background in electrical engineering and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Lagos, Bola combines technical rigor with strategic vision, building ventures that empower communities, celebrate culture, and create meaningful impact.