Abuja, Nigeria — Leading Ladies Africa (LLA), a pan-African platform dedicated to amplifying the voices, stories, and leadership of African women across sectors, today announced The Gathering: Women in Leadership Forum, a brand new flagship convening taking place on Saturday, June 20th, 2026, in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Gathering is convened by Francesca Uriri, Founder and Executive Director of Leading Ladies Africa, whose platform has directly impacted over 320,000 women and 80,500 girls across more than 250 communities in Africa. Francesca was named by the United Nations as one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent for her contributions to advancing equity and justice for African women and girls.
Themed “Power, Purpose, Collaboration,” The Gathering is a full-day summit bringing together senior women leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and changemakers from across Nigeria and the continent, alongside the male allies who champion them. It marks LLA’s first major convening of this scale held in Abuja, and is designed not as a conventional conference, but as a working forum where influence is activated, stories are shared with honesty, and the structures that hold women back are named and challenged.
Event Structure
The Gathering runs from 11:00 AM and is structured around two panel discussions and a closing keynote fireside chat:
- Panel One: Women’s Leadership in the Workplace — an honest examination of what senior leadership for women in Africa truly demands, what it costs, and what it enables.
- Panel Two: Women Building Businesses — centred on the realities of scaling enterprise within the Nigerian and broader African business environment, from access to capital to operational resilience.
- Closing Keynote Fireside Chat: “Power, Policy and Progress — Building the Infrastructure for Women’s Leadership” — an intimate, unscripted conversation closing the day at its highest register, moderated by Uriri herself.
Confirmed Speakers
LLA has confirmed an initial line-up of speakers for the forum, including:
- Jane Egerton-Idehen, MD-CEO of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT)
- Toyin Akinniyi, Regional Portfolio Director for Africa at Luminate
- Serah Makka, Executive Director for Africa at ONE
- Zainab Bashir Yau, Director of DermaRx, Africa’s first Molecular Spa
- Ogwa Iweze, Founder and Creative Director of DZYN Clothing Limited
- Ameera Abraham, Founder of The Nail Bar and Amali Cosmetics
- Uloma R. Nwosu, Founder and Group Managing Director of UL Group
The Women Building Businesses panel will be moderated by Doosuur Tilley-Gyado, Founder of Small Business Big World.
About The Gathering: Women in Leadership Forum
The Gathering is Leading Ladies Africa’s flagship convening, a high-impact, purpose-driven summit bringing together some of the continent’s most influential women leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and changemakers. Rooted in LLA’s mission to advance women’s leadership, economic justice, and gender equity across Africa, the forum is designed to surface the lived experiences of women leading at the highest levels, equip mid-to-senior level women with frameworks and networks that shorten the path to greater impact, and create a rigorous platform for male leaders to demonstrate genuine allyship.
Event Details
Date: Saturday, June 20th, 2026
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Tickets available at tix.africa
About Leading Ladies Africa
Leading Ladies Africa is a women-led, non-profit storytelling platform advancing women’s leadership, economic justice, and gender equity across Africa through media, leadership programmes, and advocacy that shift narratives, build power, and drive systems change.
For media enquiries, partnerships, and accreditation requests, please contact:
hello@leadingladiesafrica.com
