Early work in Nigeria Alimi began his advocacy career in the late 1990s in Nigeria when a number of his friends died from HIV/AIDS. After two years of community mobilization work (including
condom distribution and safe-sex education) for gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Nigeria, he joined the Alliance Rights Nigeria (ARN) in 2002 as a Programme Director, developing and providing HIV/AIDS and sexual health services and support. In his capacity as ARN Programme Director, he was at the heart of developing the Nigerian MSM HIV prevention framework in 2004. He was trained by the International AIDS Alliance in 2004 as an HIV project designer, Community Mobiliser, Care, Support and Treatment. In early 2004, Alimi attended the 4th National Conference on HIV/AIDS held in
Abuja where he voiced HIV concerns amongst Nigerian gay men. He was later to become a Nigerian gay rights activist, leading several peaceful protests and social dialogues to demand acceptance of homosexuals in Nigeria. Alimi publicly disclosed his HIV-positive status in 2004 during a televised interview on
New Dawn with Funmi, hosted by Funmi Iyanda, becoming one of the first Nigerians to do so.
Television appearance and after-effects Alimi gained notoriety in 2004 when he became the first Nigerian gay man to appear on Nigerian national television as a guest on
Funmi Iyanda's show
New Dawn with Funmi, a talk show on the
NTA. That same year, Bisi had been diagnosed with HIV, and on the show Alimi confirmed his sexuality as a homosexual and asked for social acceptance from the public. His decision to come out of the closet generated both admiration and death threats. Consequently, Alimi was disowned by his family and most of his friends - including some in the gay community - and ejected from his home. Also, ''New Dawn's'' live format was cancelled. Future guests on the pre-recorded version were screened by NTA executive producers to avoid what was considered "causing public offence". The motion for this controversial "Anti-Same Sex" bill was presented before the legislative house three times between 2006 and 2011. In 2005, Alimi co-founded The Independent Project (later,
The Initiative for Equal Rights) with a group of friends. He was granted asylum in 2008 by the UK, where he has been resident since. On 8 December 2014, he was conferred with British citizenship.
Work in the United Kingdom In
London, Alimi continued his advocacy on gay rights within migrant African communities. He has worked for organizations in the UK including Naz Project London, Michael Bell Research and Consultancy, and
HIV i-Base. He has also worked with AHPN, and he was selected a member of the IAS youth for Mexico 2008 and was a member of the
AmfAR review panel for the international grants for African MSM AIDS initiative 2009 and 2011 respectively. From 2007 to 2011, Alimi worked as African MSM Project Co-ordinator at Naz Project London. Alimi is a co-founder and director of Rainbow Intersection, as well as co-founder of the
Kaleidoscope Trust for which he served as Director for Africa from 2012 to 2013. He has been a visiting lecturer at
Freie Universitat Berlin and
Humboldt University of Berlin. Apart from sexual rights advocacy, Alimi has also organised protests against UK policies that are capable of inciting racial prejudice. In 2015, Alimi founded the
Bisi Alimi Foundation (BAF), registered in England and Wales, but operating in Nigeria as a result of the
Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2013. Its goal is to accelerate social acceptance for LGBT in Nigeria. He is the executive director of the foundation. In 2024, he resigned as the Executive Director of the Bisi Alimi Foundation after 10 years of service. Judith Airiohuodion was appointed as the new Director. In 2025, Alimi was appointed as the executive director of Wikimedia LGBT+, becoming the organisation's first executive director. ==Awards==