Transforming Culture into Strategy & Strategy into Impact

Strategist | Executive Leader | Entrepreneur | Speaker | Ecosystem Builder

Nikoa Evans is an award-winning strategist, TEDx speaker, and mission-driven entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience at the intersection of business strategy, marketing and community development.

As Founder of BNP Advisory Group, Nikoa’s groundbreaking work connecting entrepreneurship, culture, and community revitalization is built on a singular expertise: integrating impact into commercial strategy to preserve cultural identity and ensure stakeholders benefit from the value they help create.

Evans' rare 360-degree perspective has been earned at every level of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, not as an observer, but as a practitioner. She has been the retail developer sourcing and negotiating national brand expansions (Nicole Miller, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Steve Madden); the investment director funding retail & restaurant ventures during Harlem's early commercial revitalization; 6x founder behind a flagship NYC specialty retail store and multiple restaurants whose activations attracted media and entertainment personalities including Darryl McDaniels/Run DMC, Cicely Tyson, Kevin Hart, and Tamron Hall; and 16+ year founder and nonprofit director producing business development & marketing platforms for 300+ entrepreneurs.

As the Founder, Financier, Landlord, Community Advocate, and Ecosystem Builder, Nikoa's full-spectrum experience is a differentiator. Recognized at the NYC & NY State level as one of the architects of Harlem's commercial renaissance, Nikoa has advised national developers, city leaders, and corporate brands while executive producing landmark initiatives, including the BLM Harlem Street Mural (featured in the NY Times, Architectural Digest, and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian); The Renaissance Pavilion at Strivers Row, an award-winning outdoor dining program in partnership with Uber Eats; and the Harlem Local Vendor Program, a supplier accelerator serving 250+ CPG founders in collaboration with Columbia Business School and Whole Foods Market, transforming emerging brands from local shelf space at Whole Foods Harlem into national distribution across WFM stores and retailers throughout the U.S.

Nikoa now brings her integrated expertise to music & entertainment founders building legacies Beyond the Stage. As President of Walker Entertainment Group (WEG) & WEG Foundation, she leads business strategy, partnerships and impact across a global entertainment platform, from music collective The Rakiem Walker Project to the Foundation’s educational, business development, and cultural exchange initiatives.

Nikoa also serves on the Board of Directors for Maison 276, a leading beauty and skincare brand for mature women; and is a Charter Member of the Empire Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., where she serves on the Executive Committee as Foundation Chair. A member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. since 1990, she holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the Northwestern J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Entrepreneurship