This year, women all around the world are standing to #BreakTheBias and squash the swathes of stereotypes that have for so long denied access to relevant opportunities and much-deserved seats at bigger tables. It is in this spirit that Leading Ladies Africa has for the 8th consecutive time compiled its edition of the annual 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria List.
This isn’t a fancy list of women who have settled for just enough. Rather, we prefer to see this as a chronicle of pathfinders, trailblazers and captains of industry who have chorused a defiant ‘no’ to the gaping gender divide in Nigeria and across Africa. Let’s now run through the list of these incredible women from different sectors making their mark on the world:
Abiola Adediran — She is the Group Chief Financial Officer at Coronation Group. She is the Founder of Midridge International, a pan-African social impact organisation that provides world-class business strategy and financial advisory support to growing small and medium-scale enterprises across Africa. She helps career professionals transition into entrepreneurship and coaches existing business owners to grow and scale their businesses without losing their personal freedom. She is a Chartered Accountant, a certified Management Consultant, a PRINCE2-certified Project Manager from APMG International, UK and she holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, with a major in Finance and Strategy. Abiola consults for leading organisations and high growth startups in Nigeria, where she is known to deliver bottom-line growth, unlock unmatched value, and foster enhanced long-term success for stakeholders.
Abisola Oladapo — She is the CEO/Co-founder Agnes Health, the world’s first AI powered multilingual midwife (Sister Agnes). She leveraged her medtech and software engineering knowledge to painstakingly and expertly co-create an intuitive technology called Agnes, designed by women, for women. Agnes is positioned to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths by providing essential health services to women and children in under-served communities. She is also the Founder of Mumspring where she employs a holistic approach to provide mental, emotional and economic support for women to create change across all spheres of their lives. MumSpring has been featured on Forbes as one of the organisations leading Femtech and Healthtech. Prior to entrepreneurship, Abisola was a software engineer and project leader at Medtronic, Microsoft and CNOOC. She is a member of the British Council – Future Leaders Connect, UK Department of Trade – Global Entrepreneurship Program and the US Department of State’s Academy of Women Entrepreneurs. Abisola is an alum of London Business School, Columbia University and Howard University.
Ada Nduka Oyom — She is the founder of She Code Africa and Co-founder Open Source Community Africa where she’s focused on matters bordered around Women in tech and Open Source respectively. Through She Codes Africa Ada has impacted over 10,000 women members across 17 African countries with her team and driven the growth of women in STEM in Africa while championing gender diversity in tech through it. Her expertise in Developer relations and staunch advocacy for developers within Africa has earned her roles in several top organisations globally including her current engagement as the Ecosystem community manager for Sub-saharan Africa with Google.
Adedoyin Jaiyesimi — is the Co-Founder and Chief Communications Consultant at The Comms Avenue, a capacity-building and networking platform for Communications Professionals. The Comms Avenue currently has over 750 communications professionals from 15 African countries in its mission-driven community. She is the Author of the book, From Clueless to Success – a collection of 20 backstories from her journey as a communications professional. Adedoyin has worked with organizations and senior executives in diverse industries to strategically communicate their brand message for impact and visibility. Developing expertise in creating and implementing communications strategy over her ten-year career, She has successfully executed projects for Project Ark, The ARK Coaching Company, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), the W Community, Heritage Bank, African Philanthropy Forum amongst others.
Adenike Ponnle — She is the Founder, The Cake Chancery, one of the biggest cake studios in Ibadan. She is a political scientist turned Baker and she is popularly known as ‘Ibadan Baker’. She was inspired to start the cake business after a baker disappointed her by baking a terrible cake and also as a way to make ends meet. She has since become an inspirational baker who bakes timeless and unique cake designs which leaves clients awed by the creativity she births and has trained several bakers to do the same. She has trained over 200 bakers within and outside Nigeria to adopt unique methods in baking, dessert making and sugar crafting.
Adetoke Oluwo — She is the founder and Creative Director of The SGTC BRAND. The SGTC brand is a global Afrocentric brand, that redefines the way African fashion is perceived by infusing the culture, vibrant, colourful and unbreakable spirit of Africa into the process of making her unique Ankara outfits in Nigeria. She made an unplanned switch from TV to Fashion Business in October 2016 when a Picture of her wearing an Ankara Piece on Instagram went viral and this kicked off her clothing business. She is also a TV and Film Producer, Met Film School UK Alumni(Screenwriting), International Fashion Reporter. She is known for always sharing Business Tips to help Entrepreneurs on Social Media in Sales and Strategic Marketing.
Aisha Gumel Farooq— She is the founder of playhouse daycare, a professional premarital coach and educator. Her professional coaching service aims to strengthen the family unit from the first set (intended couples) to newlyweds and their offspring (young adults). Through her coaching, she educates couples on how to build a marriage based on love, commitment, and spirituality.She guides young adults and children on choosing the best career path, overcoming anxiety, academic/peer pressure and discovering themselves amongst other challenges.
Ayo Awotona— She is the founder of Joy Uplifts, an education and training company raising tomorrow’s female leaders with healthy self-esteem & well-being alongside providing professional development training for staff in Education. She is also a Digital Content Creator on YouTube and a self-published Christian Faith Author of “A Young Woman’s Guide to Seeking God”. She is a female International Educational Speaker who specializes in confidence building for girls and young women (10-25 years old)
Anna Ekeledo — She is the Executive Director of AfriLabs, a pan-African network of 320 tech hubs in 51 African countries. She is leading AfriLabs to develop programmes and building partnerships that support innovation hubs and other stakeholders that raise high potential entrepreneurs that stimulate economic growth and social development in Africa. Prior to joining AfriLabs, Anna was involved in pioneering various impact-driven projects and new business units with organisations such as the Visiola Foundation, Wild Fusion Digital Centre, Google, Lagos Business School – Nigeria, and Ingenico – a French global financial technology company. Also, she is the Regional Innovation Lead – Africa at the EdTech Hub – the world’s largest education technology research and innovation project which seeks to help improve education technology in developing countries.
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi — She is the CEO of Above Whispers Limited, a platform aimed at providing an opportunity for women to engage in discussions about a range of issues such as politics, social justice, financial security, women’s rights, and other relevant areas. She is the co-founder of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), the first Pan-African grant-making organisation. She serves as a UN Women Nigeria Senior Advisor, and was appointed as a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College, University of London in 2017. She is a British-Nigerian feminist activist, writer and policy advocate. She’s also the Former First Lady of Ekiti state and was actively involved in a range of policy advocacy, grassroots empowerment and social inclusion programs in Ekiti State when her husband was the governor of Ekiti State. She led the campaign to enact a Gender Based Violence Prohibition Law , an Equal Opportunities Bill and a HIV Anti-Stigma Bill. Bisi is the author of Loud Whispers, Speaking for Myself, and an autobiography entitled Speaking above a Whisper. She also co-edited Voice, Power and Soul.
Blessing Adesiyan — She Is the Founder and CEO at Mother Honestly, a complete ecosystem reshaping the future of women and families at home and in the workplace, ensuring that women lead happier, healthier, and successful lives. She is a trusted expert in work-life solutions for working parents and has helped transform the role of mothers in the workplace and home, engaging over 500,000 women through the Mother Honestly platform. She has nearly two decades of working with major Fortune 100 companies in operations and business roles, consulting across North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and researching workplaces, operational excellence, and gender economics.
Blessing Omakwu — She is the founder of The She Tank: a think-tank supporting the realization of equality for women of African descent. She is also the Deputy Director of Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers initiative. She is a Nigerian-American women’s equality evangelist, lawyer, strategist and writer. In 2017, She was recognized as one of the top 50 emerging global policy leaders by the British Council. In 2019, she served as the Co-Curator of Melinda Gate’s session on Gender Bias at Goalkeepers New York City. Her career has been dedicated to the public sector, and she has worked and consulted for various government agencies and international organizations including the ONE Campaign, the United Nations and the Nigerian Federal House of Representatives.
Bolanle Austen Peters — She is the Founder and Managing Director of the Terra Kulture Arena, a cultural hub for art, food, theatre and so much more. She is the CEO of BAP Productions; producing Nigerians top musicals and dramas like the Bling Lagosians.She is popularly described as “the Queen of Film and Theatre,” A veteran in the Nigerian art space, She recently directed Nobel Laureate; Wole Soyinka’s historical drama “Death and the King’s Horseman. She has been featured on Forbes Africa as one of the most influential women in Africa for 3 consecutive years.
Bukola Adisa— She is the founder and CEO of Career Masterclass, a leading online career development platform focused on enabling the career growth of ambitious professionals by teaching the practical skills that they can use to build and enjoy a successful career. Through her annual career development conference called STRETCH Conference, Career Masterclass has positively impacted the lives of thousands of career professionals. She also sponsors the careers of high potential BAME professionals and has provided promotion opportunities for them. She is also a Risk and Controls executive who has held senior roles at some of the world’s largest financial services organizations such as HSBC, JP Morgan, NatWest and Deloitte.
Capt. Chinyere Kalu — She is the first Nigerian female commercial pilot and the first woman to fly an aircraft in Nigeria. She served as the rector and Chief instructor of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology between October 2011 and February 2014. Capt. Chinyere’s contribution to the development of the country has earned her numerous awards, amongst which includes Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFR) 2006; Member, Nigerian Women Achievers HALL OF FAME; African International Achievers’ Merit Award 2007; Rare Gems Professional Achievements Award 2007; Member, Nigeria’s 50 Greatest Women of Democratic Administration of Ghana 2012.
Capt. Simisola Ajibola — She is a hero pilot whose shrewd judgement averted a crash at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. Flying about 133 passengers aboard the Air Peace Boeing 737 which lost its tyres after crash-landing at the Airport facility, She expertly brought the near-fatal incident under control, thus saving the lives of those aboard amid poor visibility and bad weather. The aircraft landed hard, causing the nose wheels to separate from the strut. All 133 passengers and six crew disembarked safely, although there was extensive damage to the runway and plane.
Chito Grace Mark — She is the CEO, Grace’s Hats Ltd – an international award-winning, Lagos based millinery business known for its creativity and brilliance in designing “one of a kind” hats. Chito Mark is a leading Milliner in Nigeria. She is also one of the pioneers in the industry. Chito has been in the business for over 40 years and is still inspiring a new generation of hat makers with her innovative designs and fashion flair.
Confidence Staveley — She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Cybersafe Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization on a mission to facilitate pockets of human behavioural and capacity changes to ensure a safer internet for everyone with digital access and resident in Africa. Confidence is also contributing to combating cyber-fraud through Cybersafe Foundation’s “NoGoFallMaga initiative” which has launched cybersecurity awareness campaigns reaching over 10,000,000 people in Nigeria. The foundation has organized cybersecurity training for over 4,500 SMEs in partnership with the UK Government. The foundation has also equipped 2000+ women and girls across Nigeria with intermediate level digital skills required to participate in the Digital Economy and launched the first truly Pan-African Cybersecurity awareness toolkit designed for senior citizens published in 8 languages spoken in Africa.
Cynthia Chisom Ezechukwu — She is the Founder and CEO of The Aboki Africa, a social enterprise focused on creating sustainable livelihood for internally displaced persons in Nigeria. She started with a shoe repair space in Nigeria then innovated, rebranded and redefined the value for a new target audience which allowed her to create job opportunities for internally displaced persons in Northern Nigeria.
Cynthia Obioha — She is the quiet force behind the localisation and growth of Meta’s products in emerging economies since 2017. Cynthia leads a diverse team from Africa and also the Middle East, passionate about building and bringing meaningful products to people across the region, helping them build community and leveraging the power of the internet to find value. Prior to Meta, she worked at Google Nigeria then the United Kingdom as a Technical Account Manager and Solutions Consultant, driving partner integrations with Google products. Cynthia is currently pursuing an MBA at the prestigious IESE. With a heart for constantly bringing joy to the less privileged, in 2016, Cynthia founded the Bloom Story Organisation, a charity that hosts an annual Christmas Bloom Party for orphaned and vulnerable children and offers them a complete Christmas makeover and fun experiences. Cynthia’s curiosity about various life topics and her desire to spread knowledge led her to launch and host ‘Time With Neriah’, a vibrant Instagram Live conversation where her guests based on their life experiences, provide practical tips on topics such as financial awareness, building relationships and leadership. She now dedicates her time to coaching and mentoring young African leaders, especially women, to pivot their careers and grow rapidly and steadily in their professional journey.
Dami Elebe — She is an award winning screenwriter who rose to fame for writing known blockbuster web series like Skinny Girl In Transit and the nation’s favourite; The Mens Club and also Rumour Has It. Time and again Dami has proven to be the best at what she does. She is also an on-air personality, artist and sometimes, a musician.
Damilola Solesi — She is the Founder of Smids Animation, Nigeria’s foremost animation studio. Smids Animation focuses on developing creative content for kids and family entertainment meant for audiences around the world. At SMIDS, she leads a team of artists and animators who create 3D computer animation, 3D content production, motion graphics and visual effects.
Damilola Teidi- Ayoola — She is the Director of Start-up Support at Co-creation Hub (Cc HUB) where she manages all start-up related programs at the innovation centre and works with entrepreneurs from various sectors to build and/or scale solutions that meet a real need. She has led the implementation of over 22 startup programs and projects that have supported over 150 technology startups in Africa and managed strategic relationships with both local and international partners like Google, Meta, Airbus, GIz and more. Some of the programmes in her portfolio include: The Facebook (Deeptech) Accelerator, Africa4Future Programme III, PitchDrive Asia and The Women in Business programme. She is passionate about using technology to solve problems and interested in the entire process involved in bringing new technology solutions to market.
Demi Samande — She is the Founder and Creative Head of Majeurs Chesterfield, one of the biggest furniture companies in Nigeria that specialises in restoration and manufacturing leather and fabric furniture. Majeurs Chesterfield also advocates young enterprise and the empowerment of the youth through its CSR programs Majeurs academy. In 2015, Majeurs Chesterfield caught the attention of Prince Charles who had an interest in creatives visited her London studio and in the same year, she was invited to showcase her work at 10 Downing Street. She also met David Cameron, the former British Prime Minister, at the event and this was a major boost for her business profile.
Denise Mobolaji Ajayi-Williams — She is the CEO/Cofounder of Silicon Valley- Nigerian Economic Development Inc. (SV-NED), an accelerator that bridges the connection between Silicon Valley and the rest of the world. Over the last decade, the SV-NED Inc. empire has acquired 1 billion reaches and built strong relationships with 50 thousand business owners and professionals with an interest in technology. She is also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WorkingMomin20s.com (WM 1920s Magazine). WM is described as a place where women go to gather motivation, embrace the feminist’s agenda, draw inspiration, connect with relevant cultural matters, and a forum to reflect on social, political and economic topics that impact their daily lives. She is also the Author of Akiti the Hunter, the first African Action Superhero which is being reworked into an animation series and animated motion picture movie.
Doja Allen — She is the MD/CEO of City 105.1 FM. Under her leadership, City 105.1 FM has grown to become a renowned radio for lifestyle information with remarkable ratings by listeners. In 2012, She became the first female CEO of an electronic media company in Nigeria. She is said to have a unique approach to journalism, which has been adopted by other media houses. She is also the CEO of City Media Academy, where she empowers individuals with or without university degrees with skills required to work in media houses.
Dr. Adun Okupe — She is the Executive Director of the Sahara Centre; an NGO that is committed to advancing sustainable development in Nigeria through research projects, initiatives and workshops. One of her initiatives is INDIGO; an eco-friendly coworking space that caters to the needs of creators who crave serenity amidst the hustle and bustle of Lagos. It is also the first fully solar-powered co-working space in Lagos. She has over ten years of research and advisory experience in infrastructure, tourism and sustainable development projects in sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. She is passionate about tourism as a tool for sustainable development with its focus on socio-cultural development and potential for contributing to national identity. She is also an expert at UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab and a Senior Advisor at Redclay; an advisory practice, focused on harnessing the potentials of sustainable tourism in West Africa.
Dr Adrienne Tikolo — She is the Managing Director of Dyslexia Nigeria; an NGO that supports children and adults with dyslexia in school or at work empowering them to attain their full potential. She is involved with dyslexia screening, tutoring and teachers training. She has been a voice driving awareness and intervention on dyslexia in Nigeria. training for teachers in the educational system in Nigeria. She opened a dyslexia centre in Lagos where screening, tutoring and teacher’s training takes place. In 2019, she received the Women of Merit Gold Award for her tireless efforts to quality delivery in the educational sector in Nigeria.
Dr Funmi Adewara — She is the Founder and CEO of Mobihealth International. Mobihealth International is said to be Africa’s first fully integrated telehealth start-up and has an app that utilises the services of diaspora, local doctors and medical service providers to deliver primary health care services. Through the Mobihealth International varied initiatives, they are able to serve rural communities, schools and organizations. She received the World Bank’s SDGs and Her Global 2020 Award for her role in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).This coveted award, a first for Nigeria since its formation, earned her a congratulatory message from Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari GCFR at the celebration of Nigeria at 60, in October 2020.
Dr. Ndijeka Udochi — She is the CEO/Board President of Summit Medical Group, a multidisciplinary hospital that harnesses technology and research to provide evidence-based culturally sensitive medical care to patients. Summit Medical Group has a staff strength that speaks over 12 different languages. Their practises are in family medicine, paediatrics, internal medicine, nutritional medicine, psychotherapy and occupational medicine. The excellence of her work earned her the first black woman to be named Maryland’s Family Physician of the Year 2021 by the Maryland Academy of Family Physicians in the United States. She was also listed as a Top Doctor in Baltimore Magazine, 2019. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She has been featured on CNN and FOX News among others.
Dr. Rebecca Oluwayemisi Adeyeye — She is the Co-founder/MD, Lifefount Hospital, a leading hospital in cancer care surgery and endoscopy in Kwara state. Through its initiatives, Lifefount has educated over 3,000 secondary school students on lifestyles that ensures physical, mental and sexual wellbeing and has given clinical breast examination, mammography and ultrasound to over 1500 women in different states in Nigeria. She also cofounded Lifefount Foundation to run social impact projects that includes business trainings, peer to peer business funding and the school social impact project on emotional intelligence, genotype education and prevention of sexual and drugs abuse that has so far reached 35 trainers who have trained 3,086 in 13 secondary schools in different communities of Kwara state. She is the author of ‘Entrepreneurship is a beautiful thing’- a book guide that teaches managerial skills to entrepreneurs. She is also a fellow of institute of management consultants and the pioneer president of Academy for Women entrepreneurs (AWE) Alumnae which is a part of the white House led women’s global development and prosperity initiative (W-GDP).
Dr. Shakirat Gold-Olufadi — She is a consultant Physician, Dermatologist and genitourinary medicine specialist at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. She is a Fellow of the National Postgraduate medical College of Nigeria with expert training in clinical and general dermatology and management of sexually transmitted infections. She is the author of Medi-Thrive, a book containing pieces of advice for young minds aspiring to read medicine and on how to excel in the medical profession. She is also hugely popular on Twitter where she shares useful tips and information on how best to care for ones’ skin.
Elizabeth Solaru —She is the Founder of Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium, one of the best luxury cake companies in the world. She is also the author of the bestselling artisan cake book; Opulencia. She has made her appearance on TV by hosting competitions such as the Cake and Bake Show and judging the Championnat de France de Cake Design, the French cake championships and the Italian Wedding Awards. As a sugarcraft expert, who is the best at what she does, she has appeared on Sky Living’s “Who’d Be a Billionaire” with her cakes appearing in films such as “My Best Friend’s Wedding” by Sony Columbia Pictures. She was also named as one of the world’s “Masterful 100”, a select list of the most excellent and masterful luxury experts and brands in their field and recently won Bridelux’s Best Luxury Cake Maker award at the first ever global luxury wedding industry awards at The Savoy, London.
Emmanuella David-Ette “Mystique Evolving” — She is the Founder of Dynamic Initiative for Healthcare and Human Rights (DIHHR), an organisation that advances and advovates for the rights of trangenders, intersex persons and non-comforming individuals in Nigeria. She is also a transgender/intersex counselor and her work address violence on individuals based on perception of sexual orientation.
Eniola Edun — is currently the CEO and Co-founder of Gamr, a gaming platform that helps gamers discover and organise tournaments, build communities, increase viewership and get rewarded while projecting Africa’s latent talents to the world. In her previous role as a General Manager at TechPlus Nigeria, She led the strategy development and operations of arguably, Africa’s largest tech event which connects, fosters and enables tech inclusion among the youth population for social change and enterprise via Events, Esports, bringing together thought leaders around the world on a centre stage annually with tens of thousands in attendance including gamers, innovators & investors. She is also the co-founder of AWARRI, a Robotics and AI startup whose mission is to enable the development and adoption of advanced AI & Robotics technology on the African continent.
Eniola Mafe— She is the lead of 2030Vision- an initiative Co-shaping the strategic direction of the Forum’s thought leadership on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, global commons and sustainable development. She is the co-founder of SecureFarmer.com, a social enterprise developing the next generation farmers through precision data, mechanization and technology. She is also co-founder of The W Collective (TWC) – a platform of over 300 members changing the narrative of how gender equality is viewed in the workplace across corporate Africa. She managed the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative (NDPI) Foundation, a $90 million corporate social enterprise that applies a market-based approach to development, builds partnerships, and develops innovative projects for sustainable development.
Fisayo Longe — She is the Creative Director of Kai collective. Through Kai, she wishes to inspire young independent black women to create their own wealth. She is a fashion and lifestyle blogger at “Mirror Me” which has been nominated by Instyle UK as Travel and Lifestyle blog of the year 2016. Kai Collective has been featured severally on Elle & Beyonce. She was named among Forbes 30 under 30 Forbes, Europe class, 2021.
Fiyin Toyo— is the CEO and Lead Trainer of EmpowerU Career Consulting founded in 2012. The organization is focused on helping individuals accelerate their careers and get global job opportunities . Fiyin Toyo is a woman of substance doubling as a 9-5er with renowned multinational companies with the latest being the Senior Innovation and Equity Manager for West Africa at Mondelez International as well as her pursuit for excellence and impact through the EmpowerU community where she has trained over 25,000 individuals on gaining visibility in the workplace, career mapping, acing interviews, as well as landing a job at the multinational being the unique selling proposition for the brand.
Folake Soetan — She is the CEO, Ikeja Electric (IE) plc, becoming the first female to hold this position. IE is the largest privately run Distribution Company in Sub-Saharan Africa and the foremost in Nigeria by revenue and innovation. She leads the improvement in the quality of power supply, from an average of 12 hours to about 16 hours daily across IE Franchise areas. She was also in charge of the team that delivered the Bilateral Power initiative in August 2019 – a Willing-Buyer-Willing-Seller scheme, which for the first time in Nigeria, witnessed the provision of a minimum of 20 hours of power supplied through the National Grid to customers. She is a speaker on gender equality and empowerment in Africa.
Folayemi Agusto — She is the Co-founder and CEO of tix.africa, an online self-service ticketing platform for event organisers to list, manage, and securely collect payment for live and virtual events.She is a self-taught user interface designer, a passionate event organiser, and Co-founder of Eat Drink Media; the publishers of EatDrink Lagos, the premier food and drink guide in Lagos and host of the annual EatDrink Festival; which celebrates foods and drinks in Nigerian culture and holds in major cities in Nigeria.
Funkola Odeleye — She is the Co-founder and CEO at DIYlaw – a legal technology company committed to empowering Nigerian entrepreneurs through the provision of accessible and affordable legal services and free legal and business resources. Funkola was the 2019 Sub-Saharan winner and Global Finalist of the Entrepreneurial Award of the British Council Study UK Alumni Award. She is a 2019 Africa 35.35 Laureate, a 2019 Obama Africa Leader; an Innovating Justice Fellow of The Hague Institute for the Innovation of Law (HiiL) and has been named as one of Nigeria’s 100 Most Innovative Persons in Technology. In 2020, she was awarded a laureate by Cartier Women’s Initiative.
Hauwa Abbas Hadejia — She is the Founder and President of Silver Lining for the Needy Initiative (SLNI), an NGO that provides aid, support and training to impoverished communities to improve health and standard of living of women and children. With initiatives and programs that improve maternal and infant health, She and her team are working tirelessly to reduce mortality rate in Nigeria. In 2012, she created Pearls Act; a support group that empowers and connects over 100+ women living with HIV. She is the Commissioner, North West region for the Hepatitis Zero Nigerian Commision, which aims to reduce Hepatitis cases in Nigeria to zero.
Ifeyinwa Nasiah Okoye — She is a Senior Magistrate in the Anambra State Magistrate House, Nigeria. She has achieved this as a person with a disability. Despite the stigma associated with her condition, she never lets that put her down. The senior magistrate started her law journey after studying sociology first and instead of proceeding to NYSC, she went back to bag her law degree. Her strong desire to study law is because of her long-nursed dream to be a voice for physically challenged persons like herself and society’s downtrodden.
Ifueko Omoigui Okauru — She is the first and only female (till date) to chair the Nigeria Joint Tax Board (JTB) between 2004 to 2012. The Joint Tax Board has over the years continued to contribute to the advancement of the tax administration in Nigeria, especially in the area of harmonization of Personal Income Tax administration throughout Nigeria. In 2002, she became one of the founding members of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), a non-governmental organization that aims to promote women’s entrepreneurship and advancement across all sectors
Jackie Aina — She is the Founder of Forvr, a self care brand that encourages women of colour to embrace luxury as part of their lifestyle. She launched her candle line; Forever Mood and seeks to expand into other luxury products. She is a creator and disruptor; she is a former US Army veteran turned beauty guru. A leading beauty content creator on YouTube. Her platform inspires confidence in women. She was a powerful voice against injustice; she is an advocate for diversity and inclusion of black enterprises in the media space. In 2020, she went viral for calling on popular brands to speak against racial discrimanation during the Black Lives Matter movement. She also used her platform to call for international donations to the EndSARS Protest in Nigeria.
Jife William — She is the Co-founder of MN Environmental Services Ltd, where they address the problem of open defecation in high density areas like urban slums by providing clean, modern, functional, culturally sensitive toilets and showers. MN is working to reduce pollution and promote sustainable health through strategic partnership with Local and State Govt’s. MN facilities are located in markets, motor parks and low income housing areas where the need is great to ensure maximum social impact and profitability. She was also one of the laureate winners for Cartier’s 2009 Women’s Initiative Awards, an international competition that supports women-owned and -led businesses that are driving social change.
Judith Kanayo (Judikay) — She is a gospel artist and Entrepreneur. She began her career as a backup singer and debuted with the song “Nobody Else”. Although it was her song “More than Gold” established her as a voice for hope and inspiration and an artist to reckon with in gospel music. In 2021, she won African Artist of the Year in the Impact Gospel Awards. She founded Eyewear by JDK; a quality eyewear brand in Nigeria. Judikay as she is fondly called has made her mark as one of the most gifted and anointed gospel singers of our time.
Kafayat Sanni — She is a Flight Lieutenant of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF). She made history when she became the first female fighter pilot in 2019. This record has not been held by any female for 55 years. She has a track record of being the best at what she does; she was the overall best pilot at the NAF 401 Flying Training School, Kaduna State. In 2017, she was trained at the US Aviation Leadership Program. She was the first that went through regular combat training at the Nigerian Defence Academy to be winged for a fixed wing fighter aircraft. She was deployed to combat against the Boko Haram terrorist group in Borno State, Nigeria.
Khadijah Okunnu Lamidi — She is the CEO and Lead Strategist at Slice Media; an international brand consulting firm. They integrate emotional intelligence, cultural inclusion and the diverse experience of the team to create a remarkable branding strategy. They have worked with prestigious brands such as Microsoft, Dangote, Coldstone, and Bouch. She started the WaterRelief NG, a social project of Slice Media Solutions; set up to provide potable drinking water in underserved areas across Lagos State and Nigeria. So far, WaterRelief has served a total of 16 communities. She is a Presidential aspirant for the coming elections in 2023 and was the first female to declare her interests in the 2023 presidential elections in Nigeria.
Kike Oniwinde — She is the Founder & CEO of BYP Network, an organisation on a mission to change the black narrative and elevate the staus of the black man. Her organisation connects black professionals with each other and with international opportunities; the platform has since grown to over 150,000 members and over 1000 corporate clients including Facebook, Burberry and Goldman Sachs. BYP members have been upskilled through mentorship, thought-leadership events and industry specific insight along with an enhanced network. Her proudest moments include the annual BYP Network Leadership Conference attended by thousands of Black professionals as well as the BYP $1m crowdfund that saw 1200 community investors. She is a Forbes 30 under 30, Maserati Top 100 Most Innovative Founders and a Computer Weekly UK Top 50 women in Technology. She is also an ex-Great Britain javelin thrower.
Lara Rawa — She is the Founder/CEO of Eventi Cocktails and an award-winning mixologist. She is a lawyer, entrepreneur, mixologist and Founder of the Lagos Cocktail Week (LCW); an annual event that celebrates the arts and craft of cocktail making which is the biggest cocktail festival in Africa. She and her partners have brought on board some prestigious liquor; Fayrouz, Desperados, Absolut Vodka, Star Radler, Jameson, Olmeca Tequila, Beefeater Gin, Johnnie Walker, and many others for an exhilarating experience when organising their events. She is also the owner of Smashbox cocktails, a ready to drink cocktails brand available in several stores around Nigeria. She is the first female Tales Attaché in Nigeria for Tales of the Cocktails in New Orleans, Louisiana USA. She has been a guest judge on the Baileys Bake-fest three times and many other shows.
Lois Auta — She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cedar Seed Foundation, an organization fighting for the rights of People Living with Disability (PWDs). She has received awards for her role in promoting disabled sport globally in the U.S. She is also a support staff member with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Lois has advocated for the betterment of persons with disabilities in Nigeria for over five years. She is a Mandela Washington Fellow, and Vice President of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association, Nigeria.
Lola Odedina — She is the CEO of Day Dreams Marketing Ltd, a strategic brand communications & reputation management shop with a deep bench of expertise garnered from first-hand experience leading concept development and launch of iconic Nigerian brand properties from Politics, Financial services, Fintech startups as well as transnational multinational consumer Brands. Prior to this, She served as Chief Communications Officer & Divisional Head, Communications, Media, & External Affairs Division, GTBank. During this time, She and her team led the development & execution of the first GTBank Social Media & Digital Marketing programme, which today has positioned the GTBank digital brand as the largest social media brand in Africa, and number three globally. She also led the launch of GTBank’s lifestyle consumer engagement programmes, NDANI, GTBank Food & Drink, GTBank Fashion Arts 635, SME Market hub & Autism awareness CSR initiative. For over 2 decades, She served in senior roles across Nigeria’s financial services industry.
Maryam Augie- Abdulmumin — She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Illmi Children’s Fund (ICF), which focuses on advocacy and outreach programmes for child education especially in the most remote regions in Northern Nigeria. Through its projects and initiatives, ICF provides scholarship programs, community cluster learning model centres, livelihood and psychosocial programs. Since its inception, ICF has provided access to basic education for about 24.8% of the children on its database. It’s mobile and web app leverages technology and grassroots driven crowd funding to reduce the number of Nigeria’s more than 10 million out-of-school children. In Kebbi State, the organization’s micro finance scheme aimed at empowering and inspiring financial literacy in women has had encouraging results. Furthermore, the organization, via its Gift basket outreach programme provided literacy opportunities for 150+ internally displaced children in Abuja and Adamawa.
Mirabelle Morah — She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of BlankPaperz, a digital publishing platform that amplifies the voices of young African writers working to address issues in their communities. Through BlankPaperz, Mirabelle and her team published Z’axis Magazine to remind young, African social entrepreneurs that they are not alone in their changemaking journeys. In 2021, she also started the BlankPaperz GC Fund to support the education-based needs of several individuals and organisations in Nigeria. Her honours include Ashoka Changemaker and Youth Champion, an Obama YALI Alumni, and 2018 British Council Study UK Ambassador. She was also selected as one of the thirty three 2018 Global Teen Leaders for her contribution to peace and education. She has been featured on BBC and the UN foundation spotlight.
Molara Wood — She is the author of Indigo, a book of stories that represents a myriad of ideas which include feminism, tradition and modernity, urban and rural interactions, diasporic realities amongst others. She is currently the Chief Editor at Ouida Books and the One Read Africa Initiative. She also hosts ART for the People podcast; through which she tells stories of art and culture in Nigeria. Molara is an international journalist and critic, who is described as “one of the eminent voices in Nigeria’s Art space.” She previously served as a judge for the Etisalat Prize for Literature.She is on the advisory board of the Aké Arts and Book Festival, a participant at many literary events including the Lagos Book & Art Festival.
Morenike Fajemisin — She is the co-Founder Whispa; a mobile application that allows young people to privately access sexual and reproductive health information, products and services. She is also a Pharmacist and the 2016 winner of the BMGF/Bayer 120 under 40 award and in 2019. She also won the Ingenuity fund grant and her innovative mobile app WHISPA was selected by World Health Organisation Africa as one of the Top 30 Innovations to look out for.
Nicole Chikwe — She is the Founder of the Mummy Summit and Creator/Host of Mum’s Worst Day Podcast. The Mummy Summit is a community that empowers, connects, and serves African millennial mothers. It currently holds the biggest online conference for mothers in sub-saharan Africa, hosting over 1200+ attendees from over 14 countries. On Mums Worst Day Podcast, Nicole hosts honest conversations where African mums share stories and trials of motherhood and also encourage other mothers. Her podcasts have hosted celebrities like Stephanie Busari and Osas Ighodaro, where they share their experiences of motherhood.
Nkechi Idinmachi — She is the Founder of Machi Earth Foods, an allergen free food company that is on a mission to create healthy and tasty allergy free foods that provide great nourishment for everyone using only African super foods such as Bambara and Egusi. She was inspired to start her company after her first child landed in the hospital on several occasions due to severe allergic reactions to some other foods. She decided to help other mothers and families who are experiencing the same by producing safe alternatives they can feed their children with. Her products such as the Gusi seed butter and Grounded Malted Bambara are very unique, innovative and highly nutritious. Her brand is giving children and families dealing with allergies a chance to enjoy all kinds of food recipes without missing out on foods they can’t eat.
Odion Oseni — She is the Creative Director of Odio Mimonet (OM), a brand that serves as an inspiration to others in the Nigerian fashion industry. Odion Mimonet is an established brand with over 18 years of relevance under the belt. As the Creative Designer of the label, she exhibits finesse in each of her collections. Her work has been mentioned on Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), featured on Vogue and walked the runway at the Canex Presents Africa @ Portugal Fashion Week 2021. Her work was worn on the cover of Essence Magazine by Ciara, Teyana Taylor & Iman.
Ofunne Kate Osamor — She is a British Labour Co-operative politician who has served as Member of Parliament for Edmonton since 2015. In 2016, she was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for International Development by Jeremy Corbyn. She was an active campaigner for the Remain campaign during the EU referendum and a prominent member of the ‘Love Socialism, Hate Brexit’ group. Osamor has served as the chair for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Nigeria since 2015. She is also an advocate for funding for women to close the gap of inequality and poverty.
Ogochukwu Maduako — She is the CEO of Igenious Farm (iFarm) Group, an agricultural waste recycler company that repurposes agricultural waste into bio fertilisers with the goal of ensuring safer food and cleaner environment. Her fertilisers provide plants and animals with calcium supplements for healthy growth. In her commitment to sustainable development, she began recycling eggshells and launched ISCOUR, an all purpose cleaning powder for pots and pans. As a business development expert, she keeps pushing the bar and created IFarm- You Eat; where she processes and exports food products from Nigeria to the UK and the USA.
Ogholi, Alero Sandra — She is the Founder of Rural Development and Reformation Foundation (RUDERF), a nonprofit organization committed to investing in women and children towards ending extreme poverty. She is also an experienced gender equality and social development professional with over 7 years of full time experience leading diverse teams to implement and manage social innovation. Alero also founded a social enterprise called OLEJU; a fast rising FINTECH company committed to bridging existing financial and digital inclusion gaps for rural entrepreneurs by developing tailored finance resources to accelerate economic growth, and providing access to loans and grants. Through OLEJU’s work 1250 MSME’s have been equipped. She is currently serving as a Beijing champion with UN Women in the Intergenerational Dialogue Program and a steering committee leader for the National Youth GEWE Network in Nigeria.
Ojy Okpe — She is a co-host on the Morning Show with Arise TV, where she analyzes diverse socio political, cultural and economic issues of the day. Ojy is also an international model who was discovered at the age of 17 by talent scout Jan Malan who entered her into the Face of Africa competition. She was once the face of L’Oreal Mizani. She created Third Mainland Productions, a film production company after working on multi-million dollar films such as The Devil Wears Prada, Spiderman 3 and Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Olayemi Wonuola Keri — She is the Chief Executive Officer of Heckerbella Limited, a technology business transformation company that enables African businesses to simplify their processes and define the future. A Chair, Non-Executive Director and Advisory Board member of various organisations and an award-winning commercially minded technologist with 20 years’ experience in the Information Technology and Telecommunications industries, operating at CEO and C-suite level across the public and private sectors. She is the co-founder of Rising Tide Africa, a women’s movement initiated with a vision to increase women’s participation in angel investing as an asset class and promote education, cross-border investing and investor-mentoring across Africa. She is a Director of the Lagos Angel Network and serves on the Board of Africa Business Angel Network (ABAN) as well as the Investment Committee of Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF); managed by Acumen Capital Partners. She is a mentor to various digital and technology-enabled start-ups.
Olorunfunmi Adebajo Olafimihan — She is the founder of Kindle Africa Empowerment Initiative, a non-profit organisation aimed at improving educational access and outcomes as a tool to promoting equitable economic advancement and ultimately eradicating intergenerational poverty for women and children in vulnerable communities In 2017, she built her first school named the Center for Women’s Integrated Education and in 2018 she founded the Waterfront Adult Education Center in Makoko, Lagos. In 2021, Kindle Africa established a digital literacy center to provide females in the Isolo community with free digital literacy skills in preparation for their final examinations and post-secondary school employment. In 2016, she was selected as one of the 100 outstanding young leaders from Nigeria to participate in the Mandela Washington fellowship for Young African Leaders. She works from her office on a dumpsite in Makoko- the World’s largest floating slum.
Oluremi Martins-Areola — She is the Founder of Natural Girl Wigs. She started this brand with the sole aim to help black women embrace their true texture and live the best authentic life. Oluremi started her business with an Instagram page where she built a community of black women who wanted to care for their hair and also get access to wigs made just for them. In 3 years of production, Natural Girl Wigs has now reached $1million in revenue.
Olivia Onyemaobi — is the CEO of Pad-Up Creations Limited, a social enterprise that produces Nigeria’s first certified washable and reusable sanitary pads as a sustainable solution for girls/women in rural and low/no income in Africa. With over 3.5million distributed through over 18,000 women sales agents, her company currently employs 232 permanent staff with products distribution across 18 African countries. Her products won the 2021 African quality achievement award for reusable pads. Her company supplies across 18 African countries with existing partnerships with international organizations. She currently employs 232 Nigerian youth with focus on the ones at the lower pyramid of education, who may not have qualifications to get formal jobs, but have previous experiences to get jobs. She also founded Kommmb innovations, a company that recycles fabric waste from Pad-Up Creations Limited into educational toys and soft furniture. She is committed to seeing that every girl irrespective of economic class or location, finds pride in their period
Oluyemi Orija — She is the founder of Headfort Foundation, a non-profit that creates access to justice to indigent members of the Nigerian Society and victims of police brutality across Nigeria. In less than three years of the foundation, it has helped secure the release of 265 inmates from prison, it has created an App that connects victims to pro bono lawyers and it has expanded its presence to three states in Nigeria. She was named one of the 100 BBC most inspirational and influential women across the world in 2021, and she was recently given an award for creating hope, freedom and safety net to Nigerians by Macaulay Heritage Foundation. She is a legal practitioner with a broad spectrum in general civil law, corporate and commercial law, personal injury matters and real estate.She is a goal getter and is enthusiastically efficient in rendering her service to all clients irrespective of their economic or social status in the society. She also founded the Headfort Chambers, a law firm in the heart of Lagos Nigeria.
Omawumi Ogbe — She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief at GLAZIA – a lifestyle digital magazine that tells authentic African and global stories, creating holistic experiences for its teeming readers across the globe. She is also the Managing Partner at one of Nigeria’s fastest growing PR & Communications agencies, GLG Communications. Ogbe currently serves as an executive member of congress and head of PR, Branding and Communications at the Life Coaches Association of Nigeria (LCAN). She is also the co-founder of highly acclaimed events platform, 10X Thrive – a global initiative that brings world class speakers from across Africa, America, Europe, Asia and Australia to one spot, to equip career professionals, entrepreneurs, and organisations with practical tools that will help them thrive in their personal and professional lives.
Omowunmi Akinnifesi — She is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ellepoise International and Omowunmi™ fashion stores. She is also the founder of Global Women Africa, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) focused on young women empowerment through entrepreneurship training and skill acquisition. She is a businesswoman and an environmental ambassador for Lagos State Government. She was also appointed tourism and environment ambassador and represented Nigeria in Jordan where she promoted Nigeria’s tourism and launched a waterfall in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Ghana.
Onome Ebi — She is a Nigerian football player currently playing for FC Minsk in the Belarusian Premier League and the Nigerian national team, Super Falcons. She is one of Nigeria’s most accomplished and famous female footballers, a model and an influencer. She became the first African footballer to play in 5 FIFA World Cup Tournaments in 2019. She played for Bayelsa Queens FC in the Nigerian Women’s Championship before moving to Piteå IF and Djurgårdens IF in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan. She then played for Turkish sides Düvenciler Lisesispor and Ataşehir Belediyespor at the First League. She made her Champions League debut in August 2012 while playing for Ataşehir Belediyespor. In both club and international competitions, she plays as the number five in the team due to the significance it holds for her. She currently plays for Chinese second division side Henan Jianye.
Ore Runsewe — She is the founder of Founder Arami Essentials, a natural beauty brand that not only offers simple beauty solutions but is centred on beauty with integrity. She encourages people to make better decisions for their body, being mindful of it as a sacred place. Despite the repeated challenges she faced with accessing trusted beauty essentials in Nigeria, she was resilient and quick to adapt to build on some of her existing DIY routines which amazingly led to the discovery of a whole new world of natural, African beauty solutions. With Arami, she is positioning Africa at the forefront of the global beauty industry and promoting other thriving African brands. Additionally, the brand aims to boost awareness around locally sourced ingredients, change Africa’s underpaid labour challenges and make lasting impact within disadvantaged communities through their CSR initiative ‘Mind Body Soul’. Prior to founding Arami, she served as Digital Marketing & Online PR specialist at FBNQuest and as a Communications Officer at Women In Management, Business & Public Service (WIMBIZ).
Owen Omogiafo — She is the President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), a diversified conglomerate with strategic investments in the Power, Hospitality and Oil and Gas sectors. She is the youngest and first female to occupy the position at Transcorp. Before her appointment, she served as the MD/CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc where she was responsible for driving positive transformation both in Transcorp Hilton Abuja andTranscorp Hotels Calabar. Also, she was once the Chief Operating Officer at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, before joining theTranscorp group, where she oversaw the $100m Programme aimed at identifying, mentoring, and funding 10,000 entrepreneurs over 10 years. She seats on the Board of Avon Healthcare Limited in a Non-Executive capacity and is a member of various notable organizations including the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK; Institute of Directors, (IoD) Nigeria; and the Board of Trustees of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) Nigeria.
Ozinna Anumudu —She is the Founder Ozinna.Com, a home-grown, independent social enterprise with focus on fashion, lifestyle and culture. She offers new and exciting ways to experience the best in fashion from West Africa. She also founded a communications agency, TSC Agency, which caters to creatives & businesses in the fashion & lifestyle industry. She was also the costume supervisor for the popular movie “Lara and the Beats”. Her unique taste in fashion has positioned her as a style icon just as she continues to inspire a community of individuals to be confident, creative and their most authentic selves.
Princess Modupe Ozolua — She is the Oyimizé of Ososo Kingdom and founder of Empower 54 Africa Countries Initiative, a non-governmental organisation which offers humanitarian programmes to underprivileged women and refugees in various countries including Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is actively working to rehabilitate women and children survivors of Boko Haram insurgency in North Eastern Nigeria, through self-employment and education for the children at the Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps. Over the years, she has received several international awards such as “Humanitarian Recognition” Official Proclamation, City of Atlanta, Georgia and “Princess Modupe Ozolua’s Day” Official Proclamation, City of Houston, Texas. She is also the Special Adviser on NGOs (including People With Disabilities) to The Deputy President of the 9th Senate, National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and an Alumni, Alpha Pi Epsilon, Phi Theta Kappa district (Honorary Students Society), USA. She pioneered plastic cosmetic surgery in Nigeria, West Africa.
Salt (Abimbola) Essien-Nelson — She is popularly referred to as the “Chief Errand Girl” at the Shola Adefolalu Gaska Foundation aka the Sholly Smile Factory, a nonprofit organization in Lagos bringing smiles to the faces of people in need (especially women and children) by providing financial, emotional and spiritual support. In June 2021, the Foundation opened the doors of the Sholly Serenity Place, a safe home for vulnerable women and survivors of domestic abuse/violence. This shelter also known as Sholly’s Safe Home provides temporary accommodation and feeding totally free of cost for its residents. It seeks to create an enabling environment where residents feel loved and cared for in a way that re-ignites hope in them for their future. She also hosts “Salt Talk” a weekly podcast via which Salt talks about her life, her journey as a woman desperately seeking to be an Authentic Christian.She is a blogger and author of the Desperate Naija Woman Diaries; a blog-to-book series about her life and relationship with God.
Serah Kassim —She is the CEO of Serah Kassim Clothing Brand Made in Africa Retail Brand that uses Afrocentric clothing to promote African Textiles for Women. She is a Pattern Maker who came into the spotlight In 2017 when the Serah Kassim brand was listed amongst the 1000 successful business ideas selected from about 100,000 applicants in Africa by the Tony Elumelu foundation. She launched the Free Yearly “Learn a sub skill with SerahKassim”- a yearly empowerment initiative which inspires and supports young vulnerable women living in slums by providing free fashion creative and design training opportunities for informal education towards employment to young women. This initiative has empowered about 500 women and partnered with Kindle Africa in 2019, a women Empowerment Integrated Education Center, Makoko Lagos, Nigeria to empower more women yearly. .
Seyi Oluyole — She is the founder and Executive Director of the Dream Nurture Foundation, focused on transforming the lives of girls experiencing homelessness, abuse, neglect, and economic hardship by providing them access to free quality education, a safe place to live (a home), welfare, arts education, life skills and leadership skills to equip them for financial independence. In 2020, She and her team at the Dream Nurture Initiative began building the first free educational and arts academy in Nigeria. This academy will provide free education and housing to 100 indigent girls. Through her works, has supported over 200 women and girls in suburban areas of Lagos, Nigeria. Her work at Dreams Nurture Foundation has caught the attention of several celebrities like cardi B, Naomi Campbell and Rihanna. She has also been featured on prestigious media outfits like Al-Jazeera and CNN among others. Her short film ‘Gbera’ won the Eko international Festival award in 2018.
Sharon Ooja — She is an award-winning Nollywood actress. She came into the limelight after she played the role of ‘Shalewa’ in the web series- Skinny Girl in Transit. She has gone on to act in more award-winning Nollywood films. She received a special recognition award from The Eko Star Film & TV Awards in March 2021. She was the lead actress in the movie “Oloture”, a movie that addressed the difficult realities of women who are sexually exploited while looking for opportunities that would earn them more money.
Simi Esiri— She is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of the Award Winning SCHICK Magazine, a Pan-African fashion, beauty and lifestyle publication. She is an Intellectual Property Lawyer turned Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. She started her career in Fashion over 10 years ago, whilst in University through her fashion and style blog – RubysView.com. Her view was famously liked on Twitter by La La Anthony and Kim Kardashian West’s long-time stylist Monica Rose. She then went on to style celebrities such as Rihanna and Alexandra Burke to name a few. The one time ‘Fashion Magazine of the Year’ recipient boasts of highly-acclaimed, global talents such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Bonang Matheba, Pearl Thusi, Asa and Maria Borges as cover stars.
Solape Akinpelu — She is the Founder of HerVest, a women-focused and inclusive fintech platform for the underserved and excluded women in Africa. HerVest enables women to participate in savings, impact-investments and credit, credit particularly for small holder women farmers in Nigeria. She is also a Certified Financial Education Instructor and a member of the Personal Finance Speakers Association (USA). Solape is the Nigerian chapter director of Women in Tech® an international organization with a double mission: to close the gender gap and to help women embrace technology. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK). She has attended impactful executive programs at prestigious institutions including The Lagos Business School and INSEAD, France.
Tari Taylaur — She is currently the Secretary of a Lekki subzone and an active member of the Environment Committee for Lekki Estate Residents Association (LERA). Last year, Tari was a Councillorship Candidate for Ward A, Eti-Osa Local Govt (2021). She was appointed as the party Ward Chairman of Youth Party, Eti Osa Local Government Area effective November 10, 2021.
She is also a media professional and TV producer with fourteen years’ experience serving clients in the private sector, social development and government. She is passionate about improving the welfare of young people and has served as a volunteer in projects across education, food security, voter enlightenment and environmental advocacy.
Temi Marcella Awogboro — She is the Executive Director and a member of the Founding Management Team & Founding Board of Directors at Evercare Hospital in Lekki, Lagos State. She is also Co-founder and Partner with Kairos Angels, where she works with visionary entrepreneurs to build scalable businesses and sustainable innovation ecosystems. Temi sits on the Nigerian Health Sector Reform Committee under the Chairmanship of the Vice President of Nigeria. She is a Kauffman Venture Capital Fellow; an African Leadership Institute Tutu Fellow; and previously a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and Alumni Ambassador. She was the recipient of the Future Awards Africa Prize for Professional Service, M&A Advisor’s European Emerging Leaders Award and has been recognized as the Female Lead’s Top 20 Women under 20; and, Management Today and The Telegraph’s 35 Women Under 35 in the UK. She has committed over half a billion dollars of private partnership capital in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Temilade Salami — is the Founder of Ecochampions, one of Nigeria’s largest networks of professional environmentalists leading change through planting trees and waste management. She is constantly advocating for tree planting,ocean conservation and environmental education. She is the author of MamaDunia kids, a book that educates kids on the environment and climate change. She is a Chevening scholar and is currently the Deputy chair of the University of Sussex Student sustainability committee.
Timi Edwin — She is the Founder and CEO of Crimson Bow Sickle Cell Initiative. She is a sickle cell warrior with 15 years experience in the corporate field that cuts across HR, Finance, Business Development, Procurement, Administration and Consular duties. She is the PR Head of the Coalition of Sickle Cell NGOs, the NCD Alliance non communicable diseases Ambassador, the editor-in-chief of “Our Views, Our Voices” Newsletter for People Living with Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs.) She has tirelessly worked to ensure that thousands of sickle cell individuals are medically, emotionally and financially impacted.
Titi Ogufere — She is an exceptional Nigerian interior designer, critical design thinker and publisher at Essential Media Group. She is the Creative Director at Essential Interiors Consultancy, a pioneer interior designing company in Nigeria. President of the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria. She recently produced a documentary series for Netflix worldwide on African design called Made by Design. The documentary series highlights the impact and work of architects, interior and product designers in Africa.
Toju Oluwatoyinbo— She is a relationship mentor, vlogger and speaker and has been invited to speak at various events and conferences. She popularly known as “The Preacher’s wife” hosts online sessions on ‘Understanding Marriage’, and has authored a book titled ‘Zero to Ten, Rate Yourself: 10 Reasons You Might Be Wrong About Mr.Right’. Toju has a community of over 40,000 followers on social media where she teaches marriage values. She counsels young women on topics ranging from handling Godly Relationships, heartbreaks and rebounds. She is the creator of “How to be a lady” She is also a certified marriage relationship Counsellor.
Tokunbo George-Taylor— She is the Managing Director of Hill+Knowlton Strategies Nigeria. Tokunboh draws upon over 25 years of experience in public relations and corporate communications to guide the office in providing strategic insight and counsel to clients. She was Director of the Oando Foundation, establishing the foundation in Nigeria, US and UK and developing its framework and partnerships. Whilst at Oando Plc, She led the communications team for local and international fundraising and the listing on the Johannesburg stock exchange. She is one of Nigeria’s female amazons in the Public Relations space in Nigeria.
Tola Onigbanjo— She is the Co-Founder of Women4Africa, ‘one of the largest gatherings of African Women in Europe’ a platform created to celebrate ordinary women who are doing extraordinarily well and excelling in their different fields. She is also the Founder of The Listeners101, a non-profit organization designed to help young people (11-26) by giving them a place to talk without judgement. She is also the founder of The Solid Woman, a platform empowering, inspiring, and encouraging women. She is a Visibility Coach and Author of ‘STEPS – it’s time to quit stepparenting and become a parent’.
Tolulope Olorundero — She is the Founder and Principal Consultant at Mosron Communications, a boutique public relations consulting practice in Lagos, Nigeria. Amongst their impressive clientele, she has led the Mosron team to sign on and consult for Landmark Africa, Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company, Outsource Global, The Sahara Centre, and many others. She is also the Founder and Chairperson of Nigerian Women in Public Relations, registered as the Public Relations Women Foundation, an organisation set up to advocate for, and support female PR professionals of Nigerian descent across the world.Tolulope is an adroit public relations and communications consultant for c-suites as well as board advisor.
Tolu Micheals — She is a Digital Entrepreneur, Best-selling Author, and Educator committed to helping young women show up purposefully, persuasively & profitably, without losing themselves. She trains thousands of entrepreneurs through her training series, with over 10,000 email subscribers weekly, and a wider audience of over 50,000 across several digital platforms. She is also the author of “Show Up,” a book she published to help women create a profitable brand doing work they love.
Tomilola Adejana — She is the Co Founder and CEO of Bankly, a fintech company that digitizes cash and provides micro businesses/individuals working in the informal sector a safer path to savings. Bankly is the “bank to the unbanked,” meeting the needs of the financially excluded by providing the personal and technological touchpoints they require to digitize their cash and grow their income in a safe and simple way.
Tomi Otudeko — She is the Director at Itanna, a venture investing platform for tech-enabled Nigerian startups. The Itanna’s accelerator programme prepares cohort companies for business. She is also the Head of Innovation and Sustainability at the Honeywell Group where she is responsible for Honeywell Group’s CSR strategy and oversees corporate services for the company. She joined the Honeywell Group in November 2017 to help set up Itanna, Honeywell Group’s corporate venture investing platform.
Prior to joining Honeywell Group, she led the implementation of integration activities for First Bank of Nigeria across 6 African countries and was Head, International Banking Coordination for its International Business: coordinating the implementation of strategic initiatives, business development and group management activities across multiple regions.
Tomisin Ogunnubi — She is the Founder of an app called My Locator, a mobile tracking app which she developed at the age of fifteen in 2016 . The mobile app, which is available on the Google Play Store, has already been downloaded more than 1,000 times since its debut. My Locator is a mobile tracking app that helps lost children find their way back home. The app allows kids to share their current location with friends and family for meetup purposes or browse the map around their location. More amazingly, My Locator App’s alert button is connected to the Lagos State Emergency Service number (767). When that button is pressed, the emergency number is called and a message showing the child’s current location will be sent to them for help. The app is compatible with all android phones which is another comforting feature that stands out.
Tope Omotolani — She is the co-founder and CEO of Crowdyvest, an impact-driven community focused on creating interdependence between individuals and businesses. She is one of the co-founders of Farmcrowdy, Nigeria’s First Digital Agricultural Platform that launched in November 2016. Under Tope’s leadership, Crowdyvest has raised over $35 million through savings and investment for multiple businesses from a community of over 100,000 members in over a year.
Tosin Adefeko — She is the Founder/Managing Director of AT3 Resources, a Lagos, Nigeria based specialised consultancy with expertise in strategic communications, special events, media interventions and training. An award winning company with key clientele such as META (formerly Facebook), local conglomerates like NIBSS and influential private clients using strategic communications. A corporate executive and entrepreneur with over 25 years of multi-sectoral experience in Nigeria, she has led and delivered outstanding business results in financial services, print/broadcast media and marketing communications industries.
Toyosi Etim-Effiong — She is currently the Global Director for Media Content, as well as Head of Films and Series Production at Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) – another testament to her outstanding work producing for film, TV, radio, and digital publishing platforms. She is also an influential media executive whose expertise reverberates across the media space with a wealth of experience garnered across 3 continents. Her NGO, The Good Friends Zone is a real and relational platform dedicated to helping young people build healthy lasting friendships necessary for a truly wholesome life. She also heads her own boutique Media company, That Good Media, a company that specialises in offering excellent Media and public relations services to public figures in Africa.
Weruche Opia — She is a Nigerian film and stage actress and entrepreneur. She is best known for the roles she played in I May Destroy You (2020), a series, which aired at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, triggered a crucial dialogue on the way Race and ethnicity contribute to the perception of trauma, within the context of assault; as well as thoroughly dissecting the ambiguous aspects of consent in a way that had not been seen on-screen before. She is also known for Bad Education (2012) and Sliced (2019). She currently serves as CEO of her clothing line – Jesus Junkie Clothing, a brand she built after her recovery from cannabis addiction.
Yetty Williams — She is the Founder of Nigeria’s premier and first parenting blog, LagosMums.com she has grown from passion, purpose to profit and built a brand from scratch by following her passion and using digital media to create an engaged following. She is the convener of the LagosMums Parenting Conference which is an annual gathering of thousands of parents and experts discussing pertinent topics relating to parenting and family matters. She is a social entrepreneur, parenting and abundant living for mums coach and neuro linguistic programming practitioner. As a life coach she helps women live their most abundant lives. Through her brand “Slay with Digital” she helps businesses grow with digital media using her proprietary “7C’s”.
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