Raise the bar, together
Give every barber — from the roadside shop in Onitsha to the studio in Victoria Island — verified identity, fair pricing, structured training and a dependable savings culture.
Est. 2019 · Multi Barbers Association
Who we are
A registered trade association for Nigerian barbers — founded by barbers, governed by barbers, and answerable to the 2,480 members who wear the badge.
Our story
Twelve barbers in Surulere, one shared problem
In March 2019, twelve barbers meeting after close of trade on Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Surulere, put ₦2,000 each into a bowl and registered the Multi Barbers Association. They were not short of customers — they were short of proof. No licence a customer could check, no shared price list, no way to recover money when a client walked out, and no collective voice when clipper prices doubled overnight.
Seven years later that bowl has become a national structure: a published standard for the trade, a public verification directory covering 36 states and the FCT, gift hair-cut vouchers settled through licensed payment partners, a member money box, an association store and a training curriculum that ends in a certificate carrying your M.B.A number.
We are a non-profit trade body. Surplus from the store and from membership fees goes back into verification visits, chapter operations, dispute mediation and the emergency fund. Our accounts are tabled at every Annual General Meeting and published to members in the dashboard.
What we are not: we are not a salon chain, we do not employ members, and we do not take a cut of a barber's walk-in trade. Membership is a credential, not a franchise.
Mission · Vision · Values
What we are here to do
Three commitments written into the constitution, reviewed at each AGM and tested against every decision the national council makes.
A recognised profession
A Nigeria where barbing is a respected, licensable trade with national standards, portable credentials and a directory customers can trust with their confidence.
Craft · Trust · Uplift
We protect the craft, we publish what we verify, and we put money back in our members' pockets through group buying power, savings and shared customers.
Value 01
Craft before hype
Skill is tested, not claimed. A portfolio alone does not earn the badge.
Value 02
Publish what we verify
If a member is in good standing, customers can see it. If they are suspended, we say so.
Value 03
Nobody eats alone
Overflow work, group buying and the emergency fund keep small shops standing.
Value 04
One member, one vote
Pricing guidance and constitutional changes go to the floor, not the boardroom.
History
Request the full record
From a bowl of ₦2,000 to a national badge
Seven years, recorded the way the secretariat keeps the minute book.
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The Surulere meeting — association founded
March 2019 · Lagos
Twelve barbers pool ₦24,000 and register the Multi Barbers Association. Alhaji Rasheed Adeleke is elected first president; the first constitution runs to four pages.
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First 300 members and the Abuja chapter
August 2020 · Lagos · Abuja
Membership passes 300 despite the pandemic. Chapters open in the FCT and Oyo, and the first written trade standard — hygiene, single-use blades, gown laundering — is circulated.
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Public directory and verification numbers launch
February 2021 · Nationwide
Every member is issued an M.B.A number and a public profile. Chapter officers begin shop visits; the first 412 barbers are verified inside six months.
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Gift vouchers go live with Paystack
June 2022 · Nationwide
₦5,000, ₦10,000 and ₦20,000 hair-cut vouchers launch, delivered by WhatsApp and settled weekly to barbers. ₦42.6m has been redeemed since.
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The member money box opens
January 2023 · Nationwide
A segregated trust account, flexible or locked targets and a 6% p.a. bonus on 12-month plans. 18,940 deposits have been posted to date.
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Association store and the training curriculum
September 2024 · Lagos · Kano · PH
Trade pricing on clippers, blades and aftercare, plus a nine-module curriculum ending in a verifiable certificate tied to your M.B.A number.
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2,000 members and NDPR-aligned data policy
April 2025 · Nationwide
Membership crosses 2,000. The association adopts an NDPR-aligned privacy policy and begins publishing annual accounts to members.
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Where we are today
2026 · 36 states + FCT
2,480 registered members, 1,860 verified barbers, 37 state chapters, an average directory rating of 4.86/5 and a 2026 intake open to apprentices and shop owners alike.
Leadership
The national council
Six elected officers, all working barbers or shop owners, serving two-year terms. Council decisions are minuted and published to members after each quarterly meeting.
Alhaji Rasheed Adeleke
National PresidentOpened his first shop on Lagos Island in 1998. Chairs the national council, signs off the annual budget and represents the association at skills-sector conferences.
M.B.A 0001 Lagos Island, LagosChief (Mrs.) Ngozi Umeh
Deputy National PresidentRuns a six-chair salon in Enugu and the association's women-in-barbing programme. Leads on chapter expansion in the South-East and on member welfare cases.
M.B.A 0014 New Haven, EnuguBola Adeniyi
National SecretaryKeeps the minute book, the membership register and the verification queue. Answers membership and verification queries from the national desk, Monday to Saturday.
M.B.A 0027 Bodija, IbadanEmeka Obi
Director, Standards & VerificationFormer salon inspector turned barber. Owns the trade test, the hygiene protocol and the 12-month re-verification cycle that keeps the directory honest.
M.B.A 0108 Wuse II, AbujaHalima Yusuf
Director, Training & SkillsWrites and audits the nine-module curriculum, certifies chapter trainers and signs the certificates that carry a member's M.B.A number.
M.B.A 0142 Sabon Gari, KanoSegun Alabi
National TreasurerHandles dues, voucher settlement runs and the emergency fund. Tables the association's accounts at the AGM and publishes them to members.
M.B.A 0203 Ikeja, LagosCouncil elections are open to every member in good standing
Nominations open 60 days before the AGM. Any member with two years' continuous membership and no active sanction can stand. See the membership tiers →
Chapter network
Open a chapter in your state
37 chapters across 36 states and the FCT
Every chapter has a chairperson, a treasurer and a verification officer. Chapter dues stay with the chapter; only the national portion reaches the secretariat.
37
Active chapters
2,480
Members on register
112
Chapter officers
1,024
Shop visits in 2025
Lagos
Members612
FCT Abuja
Members318
Rivers
Members226
Kano
Members198
Oyo
Members184
Enugu
Members157
Kaduna
Members143
Anambra
Members131
Ogun
Members119
Edo
Members96
Delta
Members88
26 more chapters
Members combined208
No chapter in your state yet?
Ten members in good standing is the threshold. We will send a founding pack, run the first verification day with you and cover the registration cost. Write to chapters@mbabarbers.ng.
Partnerships · Skills · Sponsorship
Partner with the badge barbers trust
We work with skills agencies, equipment suppliers, payment providers and state governments to place trained barbers into decent work. Bring us a programme — we will bring the register, the chapters and the reach.