#IWD2023: Ibukun Awosika, Mary Njoku, Zuwaira Isah-Ikharo, Yewande Zaccheaus, Ada Osakwe, Tara Fela Durotoye, Samiah-Oyekan-Ahmed, Chioma Ikokwu, Lisa Folawiyo, and more! These are Nigeria’s 100 Most Inspiring Women for 2023!

 

 

 

For the 9th consecutive in a row, Leading Ladies Africa presents its annual 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria List — in recognition and celebration of the impact and contributions Nigerian women are making all over the world. Tagged “The Enterprise Edition,” this particular list highlights the specific impacts Nigerian female entrepreneurs have made and continue to make in the world of business and commerce. 

“We did something different this year,” says Francesca Uriri, Founder Leading Ladies Africa. “Nigerian female entrepreneurs are a special breed — you will find them in every sector where they continue to make an impact in the face of countless challenges and daunting socio-economic and political obstacles. From Lagos to London, from New York to Milan, all over the world, they are making an impact, and we are choosing to recognize them today on International Women’s Day and beyond.”

In  no particular order, here are the doyennes of big business who have contributed their part in enabling enterprise:

 

Achenyo Idachaba

Achenyo Idachaba-Obaro— She is the Founder of MitiMeth,a company that makes handcrafted accessories from the weeds. MitiMeth is now a formidable company that provides job opportunities for many Nigerians. She discovered invasive aquatic weeds and agro waste in Ibadan, Nigeria and started MitiMeth. To date, MitiMeth has trained over 600 women from communities across Nigeria and Ghana to make eco-friendly home décor and lifestyle products from these natural fibers. She is passionate about creating sustainable textiles and decorative home accessories from renewable natural fiber materials and working with designers to push these into the mainstream.

Ada Osakwe

Ada Osakwe She is the Chief Executive Officer of Agrolay Ventures, an agribusiness investment company based in Lagos, which invests in African agricultural food-related companies. In 2015 she launched “The Nuli Juice Company” which is invested in producing fresh, all-natural beverages using only locally-grown fruits and vegetables with over 8 branches in Lagos. The business aims at  increasing produce yields for African farmers to create consistent, sustainable offtake for what they harvest. Her passion to make a difference in Africa’s agriculture industry led to the establishment of the business.She was employed by the Tony Elumelu Foundation as senior investment adviser to Akinwumi Adesina, Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, from 2012 to 2015, advising on all agribusiness and food investment-related activities involving private-sector investors. She has also led the development and launch of the $96 million Fund for Agricultural Financing in Nigeria (FAFIN), an innovative private equity fund focused on small- and medium-sized agribusiness processing companies in Nigeria. Ada is a strong proponent for climate justice in the world’s most vulnerable regions, particularly Africa. She focuses her efforts on the agriculture sector, where over 50 million smallholder farmers are climate vulnerable. She serves on the Boards of One Acre Fund, a global non-profit that serves farmers in Africa with financing for inputs and climate adaptation, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA),a non-profit transforming African food systems, Factor[e] Ventures, a unique venture capital firm linking smart technologies in climate, energy, agriculture & mobility to Africa’s emerging markets, and Infinite Foods, the leading plant-based food company in Africa. She’s an Independent Non-Executive Director and Advisor of fintech start-ups Kippa, Traction and Notto, is a member of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Presidential Youth Advisory Group, and serves on the Advisory Board of Generation Africa, an initiative to invest in young African entrepreneurs (co-founded by Econet and Yara International). Ada actively champions initiatives that promote fairness in social and economic systems, and has led Committees on two of her Boards to drive organizational transformation in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Adaora Mbelu

Adaora Mbelu She is the co-founder at Lumination, an Afrocentric Transformational Learning Company. She is also a brand strategist & Chief Storyteller who is passionate about helping individuals & organisations own and tell their stories – she has worked on projects with multinational brands including Google, Guinness, Johnny Walker, Microsoft, Hennessy, Fenty, Pepsi Co, Zipline, Adidas, Bolt, amongst others. Her professional background spans across various industries – Adaora has served as a content developer on high profile government events, such as the International Conference on Peace & Security and the United Nations World Tourism Organization Conference to name a few. She was also the project manager for Fremantle Licensed TV Shows, Nigerian Idol and Nigeria’s Got Talent, and worked on X Factor Nigeria. Adaora was the Corporate Communications Manager for OSMI during the 2010 World Cup managing all communications on the broadcast rights for Nigeria. She has been mentioned in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “11 Africans that are changing the business landscape in Africa.” She is a two time Future Awards Africa Nominee and a recipient of the Royal Leadership Award by His Imperial Majesty, The Ooni of Ife. Adaora has been featured among Nigeria’s Under 40 CEO’s, and Top 30 Under 30, and was awarded “Most Inspiring Woman of the Year” 2019. In 2020, Adaora was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent in support of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.  She is also the author of “This Thing Called Purpose”, a book that helps people understand the true essence of living with and through purpose. Aside from her academic and professional work, She has a super-passion for community development. She is a founder at Socially Africa (@sociallyafrica), a foundation that gives back to the community through several initiatives.

Adebola Adefila

Adebola Adefila — She is the CEO of Ire Dire, a premium fashion brand specialising in custom Adire attire for high-profile women, with clientele across Nigeria and the globe. She is a renowned manufacturer, businesswoman, speaker, and author with over 20 years of experience. For over a decade, she served as the Chief Operating Officer of Banrut Rolls Nigeria Ltd. A family business she co-founded and Nigeria’s second-largest tissue manufacturer in Nigeria with product brands visibly represented in all 36 States of Nigeria and in some West African countries. Today, In the past 5 years, she’s coached and mentored thousands of entrepreneurs, and manufacturers across Nigeria and Africa, helping them to make sense of their manufacturing business through her signature program “The Profitable Manufacturer”, her book PROFIT and other programmes showing manufacturers how to navigate the business terrain to ensure they are profitable. She knows, first-hand, what it is like to be burdened with the day-to-day running of your business operations while dealing with suppliers, vendors, Government policies and unpredictable economic situations. She has a B.Sc in Business Administration, an MBA and Entrepreneurial Management Certification. She is a high-sought after thought leader and speaker at events and who has been featured on Channels TV, Arise TV, Silverbird TV, Guardian newspaper, and Bank of Industry-initiated programs. She was also on the Y-Naija 2017 power list, Business category, Richer Woman’s list of 100 Most Impactful Women, 2022 among others.

Adedamola Ladejobi

Adedamola Ladejobi She is the Founder/CEO of ASKDAMZ, a PREMIUM weight management company, and the Askdamz Wellness Institute, a Virtual health, and wellness Institute with a global Wellness Community of over 2000 members. The Institute presently runs a total of 18 courses which include Basic knowledge on calorie counting, first aid, Juicing for health, fundamentals of natural medicine. As a wellness enthusiast, She works full time as a wellness Coach using her successful lifestyle change and platform (both physical and social media) to touch the lives of thousands of people around the world.  She is a Health and Wellness Speaker who has been invited to speak at reputable events and locations (virtually and physically) such as Excel Woman Conference 2021, the Master’s Place for Ladies workshop, Homecoming Women’s Conference, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), WIMBIZ, All Ladies League and Women Economic Forum, the Richer Woman Club, United Nations, PricewaterhouseCoopers Nestle, British American Tobacco, Flourish Africa Conference, The Evolving Woman 2.0, 10000 girls Initiative, Three Crowns and many others. She has been a Judge on numerous reality Television shows like Fastest Shredders, Streetz Food Fest, and Three Crowns Mum of the Year program. She is a Weight Management Specialist Consultant at Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre and Specialist Hospital and, a United States Department of State Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Alumni Community Lifetime Member. She belongs to the Borderless Trade Network which is an initiative for African Women in Business in conjunction with the United States Consular General Office. She is a Nominee for the Feminine Nigeria Achievement Awards, 2022. In 2021, Coach Damz was featured by Business Day as one of the 50 most inspiring Nigerian women and was also nominated as a Force of Wellness for the Trendupp Awards. Currently, she is the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Representative and the Secretary to the United States Government Excos Alumni Association (USGA), Lagos Chapter, 2020 cohort. She was awarded Wellness Entrepreneur 2022 and Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 by Eloy Awards, nominated for the award of a woman of the year (social media) in 2017 by HER NETWORK, and also received an award of recognition from Global Leadership Institute for her contribution towards socio-economic development in the Nigerian Health Sector and the Nigerian Military Force after speaking to them on health and wellness in 2019. Coach Damz as she is popularly called has been featured on the Vanguard newspaper, Guardian newspaper, Punch newspaper, Leadership new, paper, and a host of other media houses.

 

In 2017, the brand, ASKDAMZ was featured as one of the 100 Most Innovative Female owned businesses in Nigeria due to her wealth of knowledge and experience in her area of expertise. In 2019, she received an award for excellence from NHN and, was awarded for Integrity and Excellence whilst also being named the Atlantic Hall Ambassador for the decade in 2020. Adedamola Ladejobi has built her platform from her passion to help people achieve their desired weight loss/gain and nutrition goals. She is a philanthropist using her NGO, SMILE EXPRESS FACTORY to put smiles on faces touch lives, empower, promote, encourage support, and finance small startup businesses.

Adedoyin Odunfa

Adedoyin Odunfa — She is the CEO, Digital Jewels Ltd a leading Afro-centric IT Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Consulting & Capacity Building Firm in Africa; with deep competencies in Cyber/Information Security, Information Assurance, Governance, Project Management, e-business, and Knowledge Capacity Building. She is also an IT professional with over 20 years’ experience, focused on enhancing the strategic value of IT in organizations. Adedoyin has led industry initiatives to strengthen and enhance IT Governance, Risk and Compliance processes, practices and skill sets. Over the past 15 years, she and her team have successfully strengthened governance and risk management processes as well as built professional capacity across a wide range of IT-related disciplines by conducting more than 100 implementations of global best practice standards. She joined Phillips Consulting to start up the Information Systems and e-business practice and resigned as an Executive Director in November 2007 to start up Digital Jewels in February 2008.

Adeola Adeyemi

Adeola Adeyemi — She is the Founder of Beauty by AD, a fast growing cosmetic brand fitted to cater for every woman. Her mission is to offer an ever-expanding range of exquisite, high-quality, and one-of-a-kind beauty products to suit and improve the confidence of every woman. The brand provides an array of products ranging from the finest setting powders for every skin tone, lip glosses, pigmented eye shadows, smooth brow pencils and beautiful highlighters to boost every woman’s confidence. Beauty by AD is committed to producing an expanding variety of luxurious and unique beauty products to suit and boost the beauty of every woman.

Aderoju Ope-Ajayi

Aderoju Ope-Ajayi — She is the Founder of Dolphin Aquatic Centre and Dolphin Swim School which trains families and mostly women and children in swimming skills while also helping young athletes achieve their professional goals. She is a FINA-certified swimming instructor and Lifeguard instructor. In 2018, Aderoju was announced as one of the 13 winners of the 2018 African Entrepreneurship Award. She was one of three award recipients in the sports category funded by the BMCE Bank of Africa. Aderoju is a Federation Internationale De Natation (FINA) certified expert. She’s also a certified water safety instructor and lifeguard instructor from LifeGuard – Pro.

Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes

Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes —She is the Founder/Managing Partner, Aruwa Capital Management (A principal investment company that provides growth capital to the untapped SME sector in Nigeria and across West Africa). She founded Aruwa Capital in order to make an impact in society with her skills and track record and change the narrative for women and small businesses across Africa. Adesuwa is one of the youngest female private equity fund managers in Africa having launched Aruwa Capital at 29 years old. She is the first female solo GP to raise more than $10 million in an institutional first fund in Nigeria. In 2022, Adesuwa was named as one of Top 100 African leaders under the age of 40 by the Institut Choiseul, set to play a major role in the economic development of the African continent, as one of the top 40 black women in asset management under 40.

 

Affiong Williams —She is the CEO/Founder of ReelFruit, the largest fruit processing, packaging and distribution company in Nigeria. After working for a small business incubator in South Africa, Affiong Williams returned to Nigeria to set up the fruit company. She is passionate about agribusiness and looking at innovative, market-driven solutions to add value to local produce given Nigeria’s unique agricultural landscape. In 2022, she was named the first winner of the esteemed Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award. Affiong is passionate about entrepreneurship, agriculture and politics. 

 

Aishetu Dozie — She is the Founder and Chief Executive of Bossy Cosmetics Inc. a beauty line company that ignites confidence in self-identifying ambitious women through high-quality cosmetic products, topical content, and essential services. The company launched on International Women’s Day 2019. She announced her recent partnership with Bozoma Saint John on the launch of her book “The Urgent Life”. She is a former global finance and capital markets executive with two decades of experience from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Standard Chartered Bank, The World Bank, and Rand Merchant Bank. She has provided advice to CEOs seeking to leverage public/private capital markets in their growth objectives across consumer products, non-Rx pharmaceuticals, banks and financial institutions, infrastructure, and oil and gas. Aishetu has built multi-jurisdictional businesses within large international corporations as well as scaled two businesses as a mission-driven entrepreneur. 

Dr. Amy Jadesimi

Dr. Amy Jadesimi — She is the founder and CEO of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base – LADOL, the largest logistics and engineering facility operating in a free trade zone in West Africa. A medical doctor herself, Amy joined the Venture Strategies for Health and Development (VSHD) organization where she worked with other Nigerian doctors and birth attendants to reduce the high rate of maternal mortality in Nigeria. LADOL provides services to a wide range of industries outside the oil industry to help achieve the UN’s  Sustainable Development Goals by creating tens of thousands of jobs. Amy has been the recipient of several distinguished awards and recognitions including the Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Young CEO of 2018 by African Leadership Forum, and World’s Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes.

Audrey Joe-Ezigbo

Audrey Joe-Ezigbo — She is the Co-Founder of Falcon Corporation Limited, a wholly indigenous midstream and downstream Gas outfit. A seasoned entrepreneur with 25 years experience in the Oil & Gas industry, she is the Group Managing Director of other companies within the Falcon conglomerate. Audrey is currently President, Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) – the umbrella association and voice for businesses and professionals in Nigeria’s Gas industry; the first female President in the NGA’s 20-year history. Using her LinkedIn platform she has built a series of conversations that are targeted toward business owners and how they can achieve their desired goals in their businesses.She has won several awards for her contributions to building entrepreneurial capacity in the industry and Nigeria at large which includes the Women in Maritime and Energy, Energy Trailblazer Award 2022, the Women in Energy Network (WiEN) Hall of Fame ‘Winning with Women’ Award 2022, and the 2022 Centre for Values in Leadership Award for her transformational work in the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector.

Ayodeji Megbope

Ayodeji Megbope — She is the Founder, MD/CEO of NO LEFT-OVERS NIG LTD. A business that started with a takeoff capital of N1,000  with the sale of local bean cakes known as “moin-moin”  but has grown the  into a thriving Catering Outfit.  Ayo was one of the first women worldwide to benefit from the 10,000 Women Initiative sponsored by Goldman Sachs- a programme set up to empower 10,000 underserved women worldwide with formal business skills and education in 2007. Today she is an ambassador of the 10,000 Women Initiative; she has graced numerous local and international platforms and thus become an inspiration to many. Ayo is a graduate of the Enterprise for Development Centre (EDC) where she completed her Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management program.  She is also a graduate of the Manchester Business School where she earned a Diploma in Business Administration. She is committed to spreading and sharing the importance of women empowerment and inspire others on the possibilities and advantages of starting small and growing big.

Banke Meshida-Lawal

Banke Meshida-LawalShe is the CEO of BMPRO makeup, and also has a cosmetic make-up range with the same name. If you want to have your makeup done by Banke, you probably have to book a year in advance. One of the pioneer makeup artists in Nigeria, she has shown that you can have a thriving career through make-up. BMPRO makeup are not only known for their flawless makeup, they also have their line of beauty products such as the foundation, primer, powder, face tools, lip liner and color, mascara, 3d loose powder for eyes and 3d eye shadow. In addition to this, Banke was appointed the Creative Cultural Committee Vice chairman at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce in 2022, saddled with the mandate to explore the many opportunities in the business world and Nigeria’s economy as well as to help harness the economic potential of the Nigerian creative industry.

Bidemi Zakariyau

Bidemi Zakariyau —She is the Founder of LSF PR, a Pan-African PR agency with core competencies in corporate communications, technology, and consumer brands. She has grown the agency from being one of the fastest growing PR agencies in Nigeria, to expanding the agency’s offering across Sub-Saharan Africa. Bidemi brings over 10 years’ experience at agency leadership level. Over the years, Bidemi has shown a passion for strategic excellence and communications effectiveness to her role at LSF, unlocking success and growth for clients through work that matters. She’s listed as an innovator in communications on PRovoke Media’s 8th Innovator 25 EMEA list, an annual initiative that features remarkable innovators who are addressing the industry’s challenges with ingenuity and creativity to make meaningful and lasting change at time when it’s needed more than ever.” Recently named one of the Top 50 PR Professionals in Nigeria and Top 50 women in marketing and communications, Bidemi is a three-time SABRE Awards jury member – the world’s largest PR awards programme, dedicated to benchmarking the best PR work from across the globe. In 2018 she was listed on Forbes Africa’s annual 30 Under 30 list (Business Category)  Bidemi chairs the LSF career development programme, working directly with undergraduates and entry level jobs seekers to sharpen their skills to make them employable or forging an entrepreneurial path. A fierce advocate for women empowerment, Bidemi runs a “mentor me”, mentorship programme for women covering entrepreneurship, financial literacy and mental health. She sits on the board of Rele, a leading art gallery focused on exporting local African talent to the rest of the world, with locations in Nigeria and the United States.

 

Bimbo Ipaye — She is the Founder of Traditions by Bimms, known as Bimms 24 on social media. An Aso-oke and beads merchant, Bimbo has carved a niche in producing show-stopping pieces, especially for brides. She’s the one-stop destination for bedazzled aso-oke pieces in Nigeria. She is definitely a great Aso-Oke merchant in Nigeria. Her Aso-Oke is unique, classy and timeless, especially the bedazzled Aso-Oke which is a mix of so many accessories. 

 

Bisola Adeniyi — She is the Founder/CEO of Lady Biba, a made in Nigeria multi award winning women’s ready to wear clothing brand that caters to the Modern Corporate woman. Her love for fashion and a desire to see an off the rack indigenous brand mixed with a strong passion for women empowerment gave rise to the birthing of the brand in 2013. The Economist turned fashion designer has made a name for herself in the fashion industry. In 2014, Bisola won the Fashion Business Challenge award amongst others. She speaks on how she surmounted challenges in the fashion industry, vis-à-vis her resilience in carving a niche for her brand against all odds.

Bisola Borha

Bisola Borha — She is the CEO of Trendy Bee Events and has planned many high profile weddings and corporate events like the launch of MAC cosmetics and Clinique. When it comes to making events memorable and exquisite, Bisola Borha is well known for that. She went from planning a friend’s introduction to becoming one of the most sought after event planners in the country in a few years. 

Prior to launching her event company, she worked cumulatively in the Nigerian corporate space for 5 years, first at The Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas ( NLNG ) then, Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited (CDIL). For her contributions to the Event Planning Industry in Nigeria, Bisola has been awarded several awards notably Top Event Planners in Africa in 2016 by the Dubai Tourism Group, Award for Business 2017 by The Future Awards Africa (an Award recognized by Forbes as the most important Award for the Outstanding Young Africans), Event Management Company of the Year 2018 (MAYA Awards).

 

Bolanle Austen Peters — She is the Founder/Managing Director of the Terra Kulture Arena, a cultural hub for art, food, theater and so much more. She is the CEO of BAP Productions; producing Nigerians top musicals and dramas like the Bling Lagosians.

Bolanle 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.

Bola Balogun

Bola Balogun — She is the Founder of Glam Brand Agency, an agency that helps position brands, personalities and their products for exponential growth with effective brand strategy and public relations services. She is one of the pioneers of lifestyle and beauty PR consultancy in Nigeria. Bola created and produced several popular lifestyle and fashion shows, some of which aired on Mnet. She will be sitting as one of the judges for the “Future is Female Award” Africa 2023 and was also listed on the PR Power List 2022 as one of the top PR and Communications Professionals in Nigeria. In 2018, the Lancôme My Shade My Power campaign celebrated African excellence with 46 Nigerian change makers, advocates that introduced 40 shades of Lancôme’s Teint Idole to the African market.. The campaign celebrated the
diversity of the African skin colourscape, including women of all shades, tones, and ages. Lancôme’s sales increased and made the brand the number one selling luxury skincare brand in Nigeria.
But she did not stop there, with the momentum garnered by the campaign Bola sought to solidify the success with a symbol around which further dialogue with the African market could occur. This led to Beauty Queen Powede Eniola Awujo becoming Lancôme’s first ever Nigerian Global Partner. Later this year (2019) Powede will join other women from around the world as part of the Lancôme My Shade My Power global campaign. 

Bukky George — She is the CEO of HealthPlus Limited and CasaBella International , a one-stop store for grooming and beauty solutions for men and women, Bukky has been described as the queen of retail pharmacy in Nigeria based on the steady success of her pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies. She has built her company to almost 90 retail outlets across Nigeria and employs over 750 people and is the largest employer of pharmacists who dispense medicines, provide counseling and perform free health screenings.She is also the first recipient of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria Board of Fellows’ Award for Excellence in Community Pharmacy. Bukky is a role model for high-impact entrepreneurship.

Bukky George-Taylor

Bukky George-Taylor — She is the Founder of Robert Taylor Media. Bukky George-Taylor is a Strategic Communicator, Special Events Manager, Public Speaker and an Entrepreneurial Coach. For well over a decade, Bukky has consulted for both local and global organizations, personalities, and the tourism industry; conveying relatable and unique brand stories to targeted audiences, communities and stakeholders. She leverages on her strong network and partnership with local and international media who work with her to tell positive brand and industry stories. She is also the brain behind travels and tourism tech start-up “Crawl app”.

Bunmi George

Bunmi George— She is the Founder of ShredderGang, a professional nutrition and fitness company committed to helping individuals lead healthier and happier lives. She is an alumni of the University of Toronto, where she obtained two degrees. One of Africa’s youngest and brightest in her field, Bunmi established ShredderGang without financial capital at the age of 24, drawing inspiration from her own personal weight loss journey and subsequent transformation. She has since grown the organization to be Nigeria’s largest commercial health and fitness community, replicating her testimony in many other people. A well-celebrated expert, Bunmi was recognized as One of Nigeria’s 100 Most Inspiring Women by Leading Ladies Africa in 2017. In 2019, she was recognized as Top 25 women to look out for by Genevieve Magazine. She was also awarded by TSC as one of the Top 40 entrepreneurs in Nigeria. In 2022, the Governor of Lagos state recognized Bunmi as one of the EKO100 women contributing the economy of Lagos state. Ranks Africa awarded Bunmi in 2023, as 100 Top Female Founders in Africa.Her passion to help people discover healing emotionally and physically motivates her to speak regularly on various platforms like Wimbiz Annual Conference, Fate Foundation Conference, The Richer Woman Conference to name a few. She was a contributor at The Guardian Newspaper, Guardian Life Magazine and TW Magazine where she furthered.

Chiamaka Obuekwe

Chiamaka Obuekwe — She is the CEO and Founder of the Innovative tourism company Social Prefect Tours. Social Prefect tours is a notable tour operating company that promotes African tourism and
connects people. Social Prefect tours organizes unique travel experiences, group tours, school excursions, corporate retreats, team-bondings, holiday packages and also offers tour guide services within Africa, especially in Nigeria to educate people about the beauty within. The company also creates packages for foreigners who come into Nigeria and take them on tourism expeditions. She is a pioneer in the Nigerian group tourism market having inspired and helped a lot of Tour operators to start their own group tour companies. Chiamaka was recognized on the 2018 list as one of Nigeria’s 100 most inspiring
women according to Leading Ladies Africa, also named as one of the Africa’s top 100 women in tourism in 2017 and Top 100 Tour operators in Africa in 2018 by Akwaaba Travel market and Africa Travel quarterly. She was a recipient of the prestigious ELOY award in 2017 as the woman who inspires in tourism and winner of Her Network Woman of the Year awards in the Hospitality category in 2017. In 2018, Social Prefect tours won Best Tour Operator at the Pyne Hospitality awards. She has been nominated for several other awards. She is a travel expert who is really passionate about changing the face of tourism in Nigeria. She has travelled to most states in Nigeria discovering beautiful tourist
attractions and sharing them with the world. She has also worked on tourism projects such as Explore Bauchi with the Bauchi state government. She has also worked with various top brands as an influencer like Skechers, Samsung, South African tourism, Smile communications, Malta Guinness and more.

Chioma Ikoku

Chioma Ikoku She is the Co-founder and CEO of award-winning businesses, Good Hair Ltd, Brass and Copper Restaurant and Lounge. She is also the founder of The Good Way Foundation an organization that focuses on sickle cell disease awareness as one of its major focus areas and aims at eradicating poverty, improving healthcare, education and living conditions for the underprivileged people in Africa. The Birmingham-trained lawyer boasts of a broad clientele that includes royalty, celebrities, global influencers, and socialites from all over the world. Chioma’s cutting edge fashion and impeccable sense of style is also one of the things that make this multi-entrepreneur stand out.  

 

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, and has created custom-made hats for several distinguished clients including Michelle Obama and Florence Ita-Giwa. Over the years, she has shown indomitable resilience while facing several challenges, one of such being a fire that burnt down one of her stores. Chito has been in the business for over 4 decades  and is still inspiring a new generation of hat makers with her innovative designs and fashion flair.

 

Deola Sagoe— She is the CEO of Deola Sagoe Limited and a Nigerian born fashion designer popularly known by her design name, Deola Sagoe. She began designing in 1988 when she joined her mother’s business with a view of expanding the label’s repertoire to encompass more contemporary designs for the ever-developing, cosmopolitan high-brow society. She has continued to make use of African hand-woven materials in which she brings to life a range of distinct cultures and contemporizing almost-lost traditional African techniques through this she has quickly became an icon in her field. Deola is well known for her uncanny attention to detail, her expert handling of a diverse range of fabrics as well as her exemplary grasp of a wide range of female body types. The Sagoe designs have continued to stand out with the use of authentic African fabrics from antiquity and have continued to incorporate it into contemporary designs.

Doubra Emein

Doubra Emein— She is the Creative Director of BradE Events, an events management and decoration company based in Warri, Delta state. She transitioned from Accounting into the events industry field seamlessly by establishing her own company in 2010. Doubra is well known in the South-South region of Nigeria, where she has planned and executed mind-blowing and incredible events. She is also the Founder and convener of The Business Women Connect (TBWC) —  an initiative born out of the need to motivate, teach, encourage and form a community of business women in the Niger Delta region. 

 

Ehime Eigbe — She is the CEO and founder of Sweet Kiwi, the award-winning food brand that produces frozen yoghurt and protein and probiotic granola. Ehime launched Sweet Kiwi in Lagos, over a decade ago, to balance her dietary needs with her sweet tooth. She has since grown the business from an event-catering venture for family and friends to a highly successful brand with products stocked in over 1700 stores across the United States and several outlets in Nigeria. Ehime is working to position Sweet Kiwi as a social enterprise to improve the nutrition chain in Nigeria’s local dairy industry as she has realized that a lot of nutritional value is lost during local dairy production. In 2022, she was selected as a semi-finalist for the Black Ambition Prize, an initiative created by Pharrell Williams and Virgil Abloh to provide mentorship and funds for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. Sweet Kiwi was named one of Nigeria’s most innovative companies in 2017 and 2018, and was the winner of the 2020 Black Girl Ventures Pitch Competition in Washington D.C.

Ejiro Amos-Tafiri

Ejiro Amos-Tafiri — She is the Founder and CEO of eponymous female-wear brand, Ejiro Amos Tafiri. Established in 2010, the Ejiro Amos Tafiri brand has a keen knack for layering, a multi-texture fusion of fabrics and embellishments reminiscent of African royalty while keeping elegance, complex simplicity and fluidity as the watchword. The brand seeks to challenge and push what is inherently traditional to mainstream fashion through innovative applications of fabric, modern cuts, and drapery technique while celebrating feminine curves.
Ejiro has participated in several exhibitions and fashion shows such as Stars on the Runway and the Creative Academii reality T.V show where she emerged the winner in the Fashion category. Ejiro is passionate about the proper education of  the  upcoming fashion professionals  in  Nigeria.  She  is  alumnae  of the  US.  Consulate s  Academy  for Women Entrepreneurs, Claire Blair Foundations Road  to growth  training for Women   2017, regional winner for the Federal Government Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN) grant in October 2014

 

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. Elizabeth 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.

Elohor Isiorho

Elohor Isiorho — She is the CEO of Beth Model Management, Prive Luxury Wedding and Event company, Prive Atelier, and the Creative Director of Elite Model Look Nigeria. She is an astute businesswoman who has made her mark in the industry and has not looked back since she started since she secured a franchise deal with Elite Model Management Paris. She has consistently churned out thousands of commercially successful models till date. Her company is known by all the top agencies and casting directors in the world. As the Founder of  Future Face Africa, she takes  applications from models all over the world and gives  them the chance to be placed with top agencies worldwide and to work with top casting directors. To ensure that it is all-inclusive, her team has embarked on a casting tour to nine different countries, Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya, Rwanda and the United Kingdom. Perhaps, one can argue that her drive to see women succeed stems from her belief that women should open the door for other women to thrive. 

Femi Olayebi

Femi Olayebi — She is the Founder of My World of Bags and FemiHandbags, she creates beautiful leather masterpieces with ethnic infusions that have graced international runways. She is also the brain behind the Lagos Leather Fair, a purely private initiative designed to promote Nigerian leather designers, bring together the major players along the leather value chain and attempt to unlock the massive potential within this niche industry. She is a translator turned designer and manufacturer, her entrepreneurial journey started over 3 decades ago when she tried her hands at making a diaper bag for her first daughter. Since then, she has poured all her energies into building her business, consistently pushing the boundaries and emerging as a leader in the Nigerian leather space. Renowned for her statement, color-drenched pieces, Femi has received several awards, and in 2013, her business became a case study for MBA students at the prestigious Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos.

 

Folake Coker— She is the CEO of Tiffany Amber label, a brand that has been  revolutionizing the way women see themselves, and fashion for nearly three decades. Her timeless, feminine and floaty pieces are considered fashion must-haves.
After her education in Switzerland and the United Kingdom, Folake earned a postgraduate degree in petroleum law and returned to Nigeria to pursue her fashion interests. Her fashion brand, “Tiffany Amber” was launched in Lagos in 1998. The brand has four stand alone stores and boutiques in Lagos and Abuja. Recently she launched a first-of-its-kind experiential flagship store, The Tiffany Amber Gardens in Lagos, setting a standard for luxury fashion retail in the country. Alongside this was the Tiffany Amber Heritage collection presentation, with each piece reminding guests why the brand has over time, become a prolific success.She has staged several fashion shows in Africa, Europe and the United States.  

Funke Awobokun

Funke Awobokun— She is the CEO of Cocktails In and Out and Grill In and Out and has carved a niche for herself in the events industry. Her cocktail company is at the forefront of introducing new ideas and trends with their variety of exciting drinks and creative delivery. We love how she’s constantly innovating and staying ahead of the pack. She is a results-driven, dynamic and accomplished professional restaurateur and caterer with over a decade managerial experience in operating high-end and upscale restaurants, she has continued to have a solid track record of outstanding performance in large-scale event planning, preparation, logistics and management in social and corporate markets. Funke is also one of the visible and highly successful female entrepreneurs based in Abuja, Nigeria.

 

Funke Bucknor-Obruthe— She is the Founder of Zapphire Events and a wedding planner extraordinaire, Funke Bucknor definitely has an impressive resume to keep tabs with. After practicing law briefly, she was employed at Tie Communications, an advertisement agency, where she worked for a short period. In 2003, her love for event planning made her start Zapphaire Events, an independent event planning enterprise. 20 years later, she has since gone on to plan and organize several high-profile events within and outside Nigeria and has won awards and recognition including being featured in CNN’s Inside Africa for planning a Nigerian royal wedding. Funke is also the convener of The Event Xperience Africa –TEXA, the largest annual gathering of event professionals in Africa geared towards equipping them with the right tools to thrive in the industry. TEXA’s third edition, themed ‘The Reset’, was recently held on the 17th-19th of January, 2023. 

 

Funmilayo Victor Okigbo— She is the CEO, Production Designer of No Surprises, an events architecture company. Her ability to deliver with professionalism has brought clients like Google, EbonyLifeTV, Diamond bank and a lot of others her way. Her corporate client base spans industries as diverse as technology, entertainment, banking, government and consumer goods across sub-Saharan Africa. No Surprises Events practices an in-house methodology termed “Event Architecture” which they hold delivers world class events in a predictable on-time and on-budget fashion. With her event management skills she has created an exclusive party series called “The Unofficial Christmas Party” which is a list of things on how to make Christmas a really special one. The series discusses top tips on planning the perfect Christmas dinner party for the holidays.

Funto Ibuoye

Funto Ibuoye— She is the CEO of Five28 interiors and Founder of The Beautified Network – a for-purpose and faith-based initiative aimed at inspiring women to live their best lives. Five28 Interiors is a top-tier Design and Property Development Firm globally recognized for their innovative and timeless approach to creating aesthetically pleasing and beautiful spaces, it is not just an interior design firm but also a catalytic tool for nation building and kingdom advancement, where Funto passionately leads a team of resourceful interior design professionals, architects and project managers  She hosts two life changing events – The Becoming Annual Conference and The Beautified Diva Series. We love that she’s living her faith out loud and re-inventing herself.

 

Huda Fadoul Abacha— She is the Creative Director of Huddaya Bridal Emporium, a leading Bridal Couture company, her eye for detail and ability to create bespoke wedding dresses and exquisite luxury pieces is what sets Huda apart from the crowd. Huda has created dresses for several high profile clients that have left fashion lovers speechless and breathless. She’s also one of the prominent female entrepreneurs in the Northern part of the country creating value. Her designs were featured in  the just concluded 20th edition of the Arise Fashion Week & Jazz Festival, which took place in Lagos , Nigeria.

 

Ibukun Awosika— She is the Founder and Chairperson of The Sokoa Chair Centre Ltd, a market leader in the office furniture and banking security systems industries. Ibukun exemplifies the Nigerian entrepreneurial spirit, represents the true face of Nigerian business and highlights the opportunities that Nigeria presents to entrepreneurs. She is the host of the “ International Woman Leadership Conference” which has been held for two years consecutively. The rationale behind the International Woman Leadership Conference is to impact women and empower them to be the best in all areas of life and to take women to the top and also create a deliberate strategy that needs to be deployed. Ibukun continues to sit on the board of many high profile companies such as the Binance Advisory board and also a previous board member of First Bank as Chairperson of the board.

 

Ife Agoro— She is the CEO of Dang!, a brand that started as an anonymous blog discussing controversial societal issues, and has now metamorphosed into the lifestyle brand, Dang! Lifestyle, with products comprising skincare, scented candles,  and fragrances. She is also the Editor of Diary of a Naija Girl- an online digital platform that houses her contemplations on various issues including lifestyle and social commentary. With a form of creative storytelling that has endeared her to her readers, she has developed a staunch following on social media. She is also the Executive director and founder of DANG Network- a revolutionary storytelling company that specializes in solid, growth-centered content creation and media production. 

 

Ife Durosinmi Etti— She is the Founder of Herconomy, Nigeria’s largest community empowering women with resources to succeed, save money, and enjoy discounts.The startup shocked the tech ecosystem with its funding story in 2021, within 24 hours of an Instagram post by Ife Durosimi-Etti, the community-based startup raised $600,000 in funding to scale its SaaS product that offered women continued access to career opportunities and discounts from selected brands. Now, Herconomy is taking another big step: pivoting to a fintech company and discontinuing its former product and model. She is an Author, Entrepreneur and young global leader with over 10 years of management and leadership experience working in the fashion, marketing and manufacturing Industries. Ife holds a first degree in Biochemistry and an MBA in Global Business. 

Ijeoma Balogun

Ijeoma Balogun–  She is the CEO and founder of Redrick Public Relations Ltd, a PR agency specializing in designing strategic campaigns that support startups and enterprises to innovate, accelerate, and grow. She is an award-winning communications expert with over 10 years of experience working with brands in Africa’s largest economy. In 2019, she was named in the Forbes ’30 under 30′ list. Under her leadership, Redrick PR has been honored with the SABRE Awards EMEA Certificate of Excellence and received an Honorable Mention at the Global Content Marketing Awards.

Jadesola Rawa

Jadesola Rawa— She is the Founder and Creative director of the ready- to- wear Afrocentric fashion brand, Melia by Jade. Melia By Jade is a clothing brand that uses Adire, Tie & Dye and Kampala, Batik to design contemporary outfits such as shorts, jackets, playsuits, etc for the modern-day woman. In a short period of time, she has been able to not only carve a niche for herself but become a household name.
Jade has successfully made fashion that cuts across all social status and also gives a percentage of her sales to organizations that look after women with breast cancer, and that’s what makes her stand out.

 

Joke Bakare — She is the Founder of Medplus Pharmacy, Nigeria, a successful brand that has become one of the biggest retail pharmaceutical chains in Nigeria. She is a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and a reminder that we can achieve what we set our mind to achieve. She pioneered the chain pharmacy concept in Nigeria, and has built an organization patronized for genuine and trustworthy products, while providing a superior service experience. Today, Medplus is credited as one of the most innovative sources of health and beauty products, with 42 outlets nationwide. Joke Bakare is quietly and steadfastly building a chain of reputable pharmacies in Nigeria.

 

Joycee AwosikaShe is the CEO of ORÍKÌ Group, a leading wellness spa known for its only all-natural farm to skin brand in Nigeria which operates a luxury spa chain coupled with its own product line. The ORÍKÌ spas comprise of an array of services from head to toe which is inclusive of massages, facials, body treatments, hammam baths, a nail studio and more. She has been able to build the ORÍKÌ brand which now exists to display that they do not just remain local but also stand for international best standards and quality. From her skin care brand that has its raw materials sourced from Africa to her luxury spa, Joycee and the Oriki brand are a standard of class and excellence. As an organic skin expert, she is empowering farmers and maximizing the use of natural ingredients Africa is blessed with. As the former Curator of the World Economic Forum Abuja Global Shapers Hub a highly selective group of young people around the world, creating valuable impact in their communities, Joycee led a team comprised of 21 entrepreneurial young leaders, on a number of community initiatives focused on education, youth unemployment, and entrepreneurship. One of the staple initiatives during her tenure as Curator was the development of Employability & Entrepreneurship Workshops, which have reached over 2000 young people in Nigeria thus far.

 

Jumoke Dada— She is the Founder of Taeilo, a brand that makes exquisitely crafted furniture using Aso Oke and Ankara fabrics. She is passionate about incorporating Africanism into her own style of architecture. The ‘Ikea-styled’ Taeilo brand is quickly becoming a favorite of the young, upwardly mobile groups because of its style, affordability and quality.
In 2016, the solo founder started Taeillo and began experimenting with local textiles like ankara, a colorful cotton fabric with vibrant tribal patterns and motifs and aso oke a hand-woven cloth. To her, it was a good market entry in an age-long and competitive business.

Kemi Lewis

Kemi Lewis— She is the Lead Stylist/Creative Director of Nigeria’s pioneer Natural Hair salon KL’s Natural Beauty Bar, she is described as the queen of natural hair. Kemi Lewis is a Lawyer turned Natural Hair Stylist and loves the fact that more ladies are embracing and wearing their natural hair with confidence. Because she desires to see many women excel in natural hair, she trains stylists and salons in natural hair practices using Design Essentials’ products. She is also an Educator with a passion for Teaching and in 2018 she founded KLS Natural Hair Academy – an online training school for Natural Hair Maintenance and Growth, Creative Natural Hair Styling and Structure for a successful Salon business. The online school has gone on to train stylists from various countries around the world including South Africa, Ghana, The UK, U.S.A, Israel, and Canada.

 

Keneke Daisy Wagbatsoma — She is the Founder of Jayke Closet, a Lagos and Warri-based fashion design hub that she launched in 2014. With an innate talent for creating voguish African-print dresses, her goal is to expand till a Jayke design is in every woman’s closet in Nigeria. She has trained many young female fashion designers, enabling them in launching their own fashion businesses, and has continued to create unique designs for women of various sizes. We also love how she infuses humor into her playful reels on her personal IG handle. 

 

Kehinde Smith— She is Co-Founder of My Extensionz natural extensions beauty company. Kehinde is that melanin go-getter that gets you on your toes! After graduating from Northern Illinois University in 2012 with her degree in International Business, Kehinde went on to run her own business as CEO and Co-Founder of My Extensionz since 2012 in the United States and recently, in Nigeria. She further expanded My Extensionz Nigeria into a full-blown hair & nail salon as well as laser teeth whitening center. Under her leadership, My Extensionz has proven to be one of the top-ranking salon & hair shops in Nigeria. Her page has in a short time received recognition & endorsements from international brands such as Revolve, Oh Polly, Simmi and many others. She intends to use her role as a brand ambassador of Revolve Clothing to advocate for more diversity & inclusivity in any way possible by working with both local and international brands.

 

Kofo Akinkugbe— She’s a visionary and the CEO of Secure ID – a market leader in smart card technology and digital security. Fusing technology and cutting edge service delivery, Secure ID serves 16 countries across Africa and is fully verified by VISA, Verve and MasterCard. The company has increased export revenues for Nigeria and is contributing to creating and promoting local sufficiency across Africa. Kofo is one of the few women in Africa, pushing the call for innovation and I.T. Recognized internationally for her inspiring entrepreneurship journey, and enviable business record, she is Africa’s Industry leader in card manufacturing and technology. In 2022, Kofo was awarded the National Productivity Order of Merit Award (NPOM), and the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by the Nigerian government. 

 

Kunbi Oyelese

Kunbi Oyelese — She is the Creative Director of female apparel brand, April by Kunbi. You’ve definitely seen her dresses on several notable women in Nigeria. Her ingenious designs have been featured on many runways and notable fashion shows. Kunbi was one of the judges of the Fayrouz L’Original fashion competition alongside Mai Atafo and others. In 2021, Kunbi announced a strategic relaunching of her brand which she renamed, April by Kunbi Lifestyle. The relaunch included her ready-to-wear line, KUNBÌ LAGOS, a multifunctional and sustainable luxury collection set to cater to all fashion conscious individuals. 

Lara Rawa — She is the Founder/CEO of Eventi Cocktails and an award-winning mixologist. She is also a lawyer, entrepreneur, and Founder of the Lagos Cocktail Week (LCW); an annual event that celebrates the arts and craft of cocktail making and is the biggest cocktail festival in Africa. Lara 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 organizing 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.Her latest work was with the Schweppes team; to launch their new variants into the Nigerian market she created 30 recipes using local herbs and spices.

 

Laylah Ali Othman — She is the CEO and Founder of L&N Interiors – an Abuja-based furniture design and interior design company, L&N Kitchens – an African cuisine restaurant located in Abuja and Kano and Almat Farms – an agricultural site that also provides tourism and equestrian services. Laila started her first business at the age of 19 and has since garnered a wealth of experience working with about 6,000 clients over the span of a decade. She is also a published author, TV host and the founder of the NGO, Laylah Initiative for the Boy and Girl Child Foundation, a charity that sponsors the education of the Almajiri children population in Northern Nigeria. Her publication, L magazine, is a periodical that  features content in Interior design, health and lifestyle.

 

Lisa Folawiyo — She is the Founder and Creative director of eponymous fashion label, Jewel by Lisa. The Lisa Folawiyo brand has shown collections on international platforms in Lagos, Johannesburg, London, Paris, Milan and New York, as well as been featured in publications such as international editions of Vogue, The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle. The brand counts with various diffusion lines including The J Label and Pretty Precious. The brand is stocked at MatchesFashion, Moda Operandi, Temple Muse, Shop McMullen, Industrie Africa and Aby Concept. Lisa’s  brand has captivated celebrities — Lupita Nyongo and Solange Knowles— from Lagos to Cape Town, London, Paris, New York and Hollywood. Despite several moments of doubt, Lisa Folawiyo chose fearlessness and left her job as a lawyer to pursue a career in fashion.

 

Lolade Cameron-Cole — She is the Founder of My Namaste Organics, a proudly Nigerian natural skin and hair care brand created in 2010. The brand currently has an impressive product line of Body Butterss African Black Soap, Oils and Scrubs. She sources most of its ingredients locally in order to support local businesses, traders and manufacturers. Lolade  is also a globally renowned photographer, with several of her photographs on display at famous art galleries and online platforms. In 2022, she announced the expansion of Namaste Organics to the U.K. 

 

Mary Njoku— She is the CEO of Rok Studios, a film production studio in Nigeria, that delivers content showcasing the origins of Nollywood in the UK, on DSTV, a network airing across Africa and globally. With over a decade of input in the movie industry, Mary became Chief Content Officer at IROKO Partners in 2015,  the same year she held her first world premier for her film Thy Will Be Done at the BFI IMAX London, the first ever Nollywood film premiere in IMAX. In 2019, she oversaw ‘the largest deal in Nollywood’ when French TV company, CANAL+ acquired ROK studios and retained her as its CEO, giving her maximum creative freedom and autonomy. 

Mfon Ekpo

Mfon Ekpo — She is the CEO of The Discovery Centre, a training organization that specializes in developing effective strategies, systems and structures for organizational and individual development with the sole aim of expanding their influence, impact and income. An avid scholar and a development strategist, Mfon holds multiple degrees in Public and International Law, Business law and Social sciences, Journalism, Neuro-linguistic Programming. Mfon launched her ‘The Blueprint of How’ seminar in 2016 which helps women to navigate the maze of success. Today, the seminar has been held in many countries, reaching about 300,000 women-driven businesses across the world, thousands of who testify to receiving clarity after attending the seminar.

 

Mo Abudu —She is the CEO/Founder of Ebony Life TV, she has created a platform for Africa to tell its own stories in a way that resonates with audiences all over the world.  Mo Abudu is globally recognized as a leading media icon and entrepreneur in Africa. Through EbonyLife Films, she’s constantly redefining African cinema, and pushing bold and audacious narratives. Mo is the producer of several Nollywood box-office hits including ‘The Wedding Party’, ‘Chief Daddy’ ‘Oloturé’ ‘Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman’‘. Regarded as one of the most influential and inspiring names in the Nigerian media and entertainment industry, Mo is constantly fueled by her passion to help change the narrative about Africa. She was listed by Forbes in 2021 and 2022 as one of the World’s Most Powerful Women. 

Modupe Emmanuel

Modupe Emmanuel — She is the Founder of The Salt Lagos, and  has been melting hearts with delicious treats across the globe. After quitting her full time job, Modupe enrolled for a culinary course at the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, qualified  as an international chef and hasn’t looked back since. Using her culinary skills, Modupe aims to bring the Nigerian and African Cuisine to the limelight by creating a fusion between African and Western Cuisine. A sought-after speaker Modupe also shares lessons learned from her entrepreneurial journey at key seminars, symposiums and events.

Morenike Molehin

Morenike Molehin—  She is the Founder and Creative Director of Oak & Teak, an award-winning interior design and furniture manufacturing company for residential and commercial spaces. With a fiery passion for nation-building, Morenike has hosted free seminars training over 200 budding interior designers to build sustainable design businesses. Through her focused leadership, Morenike has succeeded in positioning Oak and Teak as a leading interior design company in almost 10 years. While the company is based in Lagos, it has served clients across multiple states in Nigeria and in Dubai. Her clients cut across industries in finance, hospitality, non-profits, schools. Morenike has led her team to execute several projects of various complexities. As part of her contribution to nation-building, she has hosted free seminars and trained over 100 people on the business of interior design.

 

Nancy Umeh — She is the Founder of Radiance Cookware, a safe cookware company in Nigeria and co-founder of Cium Current Nigeria, Nigeria’s leading warehousing, supermarket and shopfitting company. When she’s not setting up warehouses and shipping out safe cookwares; she films and shares healthy family recipes on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Nancy has helped hundreds of families reverse picky eating, prevent and cure illnesses by sharing tips on healthy and safe cooking while using locally grown fruits, vegetables and produce. She is also a registered nurse, public health consultant (England) and a professional chef.

 

Nelly Agbogu — She is the CEO of Nellies Foods. Nelly’s journey to entrepreneurship was birthed from her postnatal experience of body shaming. She took control of her life by exercising, and eating healthy, and started her own food empire with Nellies Foods, a healthy snack and food company, with remarkably indigenous food options, clientele spanning countries all over the world. She is also the founder of Naija Brand Chick, an online resource platform that connects SMEs with resources and tools to grow their businesses online, make sales and retain customers. As an offshoot of the learning platform, she created the NaijaBrandChick Trade fair in 2018 and it has since become the largest SME trade fair in Nigeria. In 2022, she collaborated with Access Bank for the 5th edition of the trade fair and successfully provided over 200 SMEs the opportunity to reach a larger network of customers. 

Nike Majekodunmi

Nike Majekodunmi — She is the Founder and CEO of Nuts About Cakes. Established in 2010, she has been making mouth-watering and delectable baked custom cakes, pastries and bread till date. She has a degree in Political Sociology from the University of Reading and a Masters in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Nottingham. Nike is also one of the first beneficiaries of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), and it’s very clear that she has put the resources to good work! She also runs The Bakers Academy, a coaching program created specifically for young bakers to help them create and manage a successful baking business. 

 

Nike Ogunlesi — She is the Founder of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, a children’s clothing line in Nigeria. From a tiny shop with her and her mother as the main staff, Nike turned Ruff ‘n’ Tumble into an instantly recognizable, international brand. She has built a reputation for being one of the best manufacturers of children’s clothing from Nigeria. She studied the Nigerian local market for children’s ready made clothes and discovered that children’s clothing was either poorly made or imported and extremely expensive. She saw an opportunity and founded Ruff ‘n’ Tumble. Today, Nike has grown her clothing line into a national brand that is highly respected and recognised on the instant. Ruff ‘n’ Tumble presently operates a warehouse, a factory and has many retail outlets in major cities in Nigeria –Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Ilorin, Abuja– as well as several distributors around the West African Coast. 

Nkechi Harry Ngonadi

Nkechi Harry Ngonadi — She is the Founder of NHN Couture, a Nigerian women’s wear fashion brand. According to her, “NHN Couture is an inspiration from God and this is rooted in our vision and mission statement –‘Bringing decency back to church first and the society at large, covered yet sexy, fabulous and simply classy.” She is passionate about inspiring and encouraging women to be their best and more importantly, to embrace a Godly womanhood. Nkechi is also the author of the War room prayer journal and she has a platform called ‘Mentorship with NHH’ where she mentors ladies in the way of God. On her Instagram, she shares inspiration, wisdom and loads of fun moments to her community.

Ogwa Iweze

Ogwa Iweze — She is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Dzyn Couture, A Women’s Clothing brand in its 15th year. Aside from running this successful brand, Ogwa founded Runway Abuja which has held the biggest fashion shows in Abuja with a track record of providing an international standard fashion show for new, existing and well-established fashion labels. Ogwa also  founded a Fashion Strategy Class called Fashion for Profit, the idea behind Fashion for Profit is to change the narrative regarding Fashion businesses not being financially viable in Nigeria. ​A favorite feature of the Lagos Fashion and Design Week, Dzyn Couture is constantly setting new standards in Fashion, Retail and Business. Ogwah continues to facilitate young and successful female entrepreneurship in Abuja through training and mentorship sessions.

 

Ojoma Idegwu — She is the CEO of Dear Curves. She experienced a “cultural shock” when she moved to the UK from Abuja, Nigeria over a decade ago and realized that plus size women in general were heavily marginalized, and that  shopping as a plus-size woman was a nightmare. This led her to birth the brand “Dear Curves” where she relieves other women of that challenge with her fashion brand for plus-size women. She recently launched her capsule collection, Nojima, a luxurious and minimalistic ready-to-wear line that doubles down on the brand’s promise of size inclusivity and sustainability. 

 

Oke Maduewusi — She is the Founder of beauty and makeup brand, Zaron. Together with her formidable team, she has painstakingly built a hitherto unknown and small brand into an enviable and competitive makeup, skincare and hair range. She has been very focused on delivering sleek premium quality products at affordable prices to enhance the lifestyle needs of African women. Oke has been working in the cosmetics industry for a little more than a decade, and through the years, she has delivered sleek, affordable yet high-quality cosmetics. In Nigeria, Zaron currently has 25 franchise outlets, and the brand’s products are sold in almost all the cosmetic retail stores nationwide, with a growing number of online Independent Beauty Consultants and with presence in 10 African countries, North America and the UK.

 

Oladunni Obata — She is the CEO of Dooneys Kitchen. Oladunni graduated with a degree in the sciences from the University of Lagos, one would expect that she would build a career in that field. She dashed those expectations and ventured into the food business. The beautiful thing about Oladunni is, she does food REALLY DIFFERENTLY! Through her business —Dooney’s Kitchen, she is redefining and promoting Nigerian food, giving Nigerian food the identity that it deserves. She believes that for too long, Nigerian food has hidden under the umbrella term “African food”.n a bid to change that, she is tweaking the conventional Nigerian staples and creating new recipes to change the global narrative of Nigerian Cuisines.

 

Olajumoke Olufunmilola Adenowo —She is the Founder of AD Consulting, a holistic architecture and design firm based in Lagos, Nigeria. An award-winning Nigerian architect, entrepreneur, and  philanthropist, as well as a speaker, radio host, and author, CNN described her as “Africa’s Starchitect” while The Guardian (Nigeria) as “the face of Architecture in Nigeria”. She has shown laudable devotion to creating social impact through her Awesome Treasures Foundation, a faith-based, NGO raising youth and female leaders in Nigeria. The foundation has hosted several summits for women and youth since 2008, one of them being the global Awesome Treasures Summit.

Olori Boye-Ajayi

Olori Boye-Ajayi — She is the Founder of the Katie Wang Company, a growing global export fashion trading company with operations in four continents. She is an International Trade Consultant, and staunch advocate for female entrepreneurs. One of her major objectives over the years has been to make African indigenous products renowned by connecting and creating opportunities for local designers in the global market. Olori  is also co-founder of Ark Coaching Company, a global firm focused on human potential and enablement across Africa, and Borderless Trade Network, a trade advocacy network that collaborates with key players in the trade sector to boost the participation of women in international trade. She was named the ‘International Woman of the Year’ by Women4Africa UK and awarded the ‘Female Entrepreneur of 2020’ by The Entrepreneur Africa Awards. In 2023, Olori was recognized as one of Africa’s Top 30 leading women in Africa’s Supply Chain industry. She was also listed by Ventures Africa as one of the Top 20 African Women of Impact; for her enormous contributions to Africa’s women’s entrepreneurship and development ecosystem and its global impact.

 

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 5 years of production, Natural Girl Wigs has now reached $1million in revenue, with customers in over 70 countries across the world. Oluremi is also a professional content specialist and when she’s not at work for Natural Girl Wigs, she’s creating online content to share her entrepreneurial journey and help online businesses achieve the next level of success. 

Oluwatosin Ajibade

Oluwatosin Ajibade — She is the Editor of Olorisupergal, an entertainment and lifestyle website with Nigerian and South African versions . The site kicked off as a blog in 2010 and later transformed to a website in 2012. Known as one of the early adopters of social media in Nigeria she is also the convener of the New Media Conference which has been held annually since 2015. The conference focuses on new media capabilities, especially in online/digital possibilities. She also founded Media Exposure, a digital marketing arm of Olori SuperGal Limited, where she has provided over 300 clients with services and expertise on event coverage, media consulting, and trainings. In her book ‘From Social Misfit to Social Media Hero’, she shares her come-up story while supplying a guideline for young entrepreneurs to build a successful business via social media. 

 

Oluwatoyin Onigbanjo —  She is the founder of August Secrets, an innovative child nutrition company created to reduce the rate of malnutrition in African children with traditional, tasty and natural cereals. Starting out with a Kid’s nutrition blog where she shared recipes, she has been dubbed the ‘picky eater specialist’ and her August Secrets Meal Plan is arguably the best selling recipe book for children in West Africa. August Secret’s leading product line, Jaden’s Meals, named after her son, is a collection of African-inspired, natural cereals for children and is sold in more than 300 stores worldwide. In 2019, she organized the first ever, August Secret’s Kiddies Food Fest, a family-centered event that exhibited the brand’s new and existing products, and provided free consulting sessions and workshops with nutritionists. Toyin is also a recipient of the Graca Machel Gender Lens Award for impressive work in child nutrition and women empowerment in West Africa. 

Onyeka Michael-Ugwu

Onyeka Michael-Ugwu — She is the CEO and Founder of Hello Perfect, a leading skin aesthetics and laser clinic in Nigeria. With over a decade of experience as a licensed Medical Aesthetician and Senior Laser Technician across three continents, she is recognized as a pioneer of the medical aesthetics industry in Nigeria. Onyeka’s mission is to empower people to live whole lives by rebuilding their self-esteem and restoring their confidence through her work. Her latest initiative, Pay Perfect, ensures essential beauty treatments are more affordable and accessible for women in Nigeria

 

Ore Lawani — She is the Founder of Arami Essentials, a natural beauty brand that not only offers simple beauty solutions but is centered 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 labor challenges and make lasting impact within disadvantaged communities through their CSR initiative ‘Mind Body Soul’.

 

Samiah Oyekan-Ahmed  — She is the Founder/CEO of three different, thriving businesses; Fusion Lifestyle Ltd, The Gift Source and Jewelscent Nigeria. Starting out her businesses was first about passion, then about meeting obvious gaps in the market, then about customer satisfaction. A medical doctor turned serial entrepreneur and self acclaimed book-lover, she is also a published author of several books. Samiah has become a renowned advocate for entrepreneurship, eager to share lessons she has learned over the years with budding entrepreneurs. She facilitates business classes with over 150 students and is the founder of The Pearl Muslim Network, a community for Muslim women striving for success. With Fusion Lifestyle Ltd, she has created a platform for entrepreneurs to display their products and services with trade fairs held in Lagos and Abuja

Sandra Tubobereni

Sandra Tubobereni She is the creative Director of TUBO – an emerging Nigerian designer, best known for her creativity in redesigning the traditional African bridal outfits, wedding dresses and chic prêt-à-porter fashion clothing. As an MBA student, she interned at Ecoluxe Fashion, London, a U.K. Based eco-fashion exhibition and promotion company where she helped take advantage of the 230,000 clicks on the company’s website to create an online boutique in order to sell the company’s ethical products. Her ready-to-wear line, TuboRTW has become a staple in the closets of celebrities. In 2022, she held her premier impact session ‘Impact Day with Tubo’, where she hosted 100 fashion entrepreneurs in an educative and interactive event. 

 

Saudat Salami — She is the founder of EasyShop EasyCook, an online grocery business started in 2005. Also known as ‘The Mother of E-commerce’, she launched her online store –the first of its kind– at a time when online shopping was not only a novelty but also distrusted by Nigerians. Saudat created a practical business model for EasyShop EasyCook where she partnered with large corporations that understood the significance of employees maintaining a healthy work-life balance as that creates an inclusive workplace environment that fosters productivity. She is also the founder of IFOODS, a social enterprise and initiative for food safety. She runs a women empowerment initiative that trains at least 50 women every quarter on how to run successful home shopping businesses. 

 

Shileola Ibironke — She is the Managing Director and CEO of Micromedia Group of Companies, a group that entails Nigeria’s foremost Broadcast Content Production & Distribution company and a Retail product chain – Shopping Malls, Cinemas, Superstores/Bakery & Sports Lounge. A multipreneur to the core,  Shileola became the first woman to independently own a Cinema Franchise in Nigeria, Heritage Cinemas, in 2019. She launched Heritage Superstores & Bakery as a supplementary service to the Cinema. Shileola started her career in Media with CMA Africa, an international Media Production Company as the Brand Manager in charge of the company’s music channel, SoundCity. She launched SoundCity as the first indigenous Nigerian music channel and grew the business to a Multi-Billion Naira Company, leaving CMA after a decade, as the Group Head, Marketing Manager. Shileola is also a serial philanthropist with several empowerment projects that provides mothers in disadvantaged communities with capital to start small businesses and their children with yearly scholarships.

 

Sophia Ike-Onu — She is the founder and CEO of the5kshop.com; an online retail store, stocking fashion and home solutions all under the price cap of 5000 Naira. With a diverse skill set, Sophia is also a social media strategist and an architect. According to her: “The5kShop was created to provide a safe and convenient way for Africans to shop quality fashion items at the BEST possible price.” A serial entrepreneur of sorts, Sophia is also the Co-Founder of DRYV.Me, a tech-enabled automobile service provider.  Not resting on her oars, in 2016, Sophia won the British Council Enterprise Challenge, where she got the unique opportunity to be coached and mentored by Sir Richard Branson.

 

Tara Fela Durotoye — She is the CEO of renowned international make up brand, House of Tara International and is highly regarded as the pioneer of the bridal make-up profession in Nigeria. We love Tara because she’s such a strong and positive mentor to thousands of Nigerian women, including Arese Ugwu of Smart Money Africa. In 2015, collaborating with her own mentor, Ibukun Awosika, she launched the TFD Series – a platform to engage and mentor other women, and has reached over 1000 women in different continents since then.
In 2016, she turned around a major business challenge into triumph with the #IStandWithTara campaign to discourage people from buying counterfeit products. House of Tara also recently relaunched the ‘Gold Premium Skin Foundation’, with an improved lightweight formula and a redesigned packaging. 

Tayo Bolodeoku

Tayo Bolodeoku — She is the Founder of Hans and Rene- the first ‘made in Nigeria’ Gelataria company. Hans and Rene has become a household name when it comes to Gelato and Ice-Cream. With several outlets in Lagos and a recently launched outlet in Abuja, the company continues to expand. Tayo bagged a certification from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy in London which makes her a qualified pastry chef, she also attended Caprigiani Gelato University in Italy has an MBA from Webster University, London and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Sunderland. Tayo has taken a globally-enjoyed treat and put her creative ‘African’ spin on it by introducing the custom made ‘Agbalumo’, ‘Cashew fruit’ and ‘Zobo’ flavors. She is also a passionate advocate for autism awareness and education.

 

Temie Giwa-Tubosun — She is the Founder and CEO of Lifebank Nigeria, a platform that tackles blood shortage in the country. She is a healthcare manager who is passionate about saving lives and making blood available when and where needed in Nigeria. Her humanitarian and social enterprise led to the establishment of LifeBank in 2015, following a near-death experience, and the difficulties she faced giving birth to her son. Using an app, LifeBank provides records of blood banks available all over Lagos, which allows health centers to find the relevant blood types and order for delivery. Her lifesaving initiative has earned her a commendation from Facebook Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, as well as a feature on ‘CNN’s Africa Start-Up.’ She was awarded the Global Citizen Prize in 2020 for Lifebank’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Temitope Olagbegi

Temitope Olagbegi — She is the Founder of Sixth Sense Ltd, an interior design and furniture company that specializes in the design, decoration and enhancement of living spaces. She has well over 9 years of experience in interior design, event management and contemporary furniture design.
Tope is the visionary behind the Orange Butterflies Foundation, a virtual Christian ministry designed to serve as spiritual support for today’s multi-dimensioned women through prayers, sharing of life’s experiences and networking. She is also the convener of the TOCI movement, a group of women who desire to make an impact in every sphere of human existence, through spiritual insight, self-discipline and fostering a strong network to effect changes in their lives, families, sectors, nation and ultimately globally.

Titilope Adewusi

Titilope Adewusi — She is the Co-founder of 9ijakids alongside two of her sisters with a vision of developing learning games and resources that make learning fun. She is a seasoned Management Consultant with over 18 years of working experience. She started working in the banking sector before she joined one of the Big Four Multinational Audit and Consulting firms where she worked for over a decade of providing business solutions to clients spanning a number of industries. With over 120 educational games on Nigeria, Mathematics, Science, English, Geography, History, Bible, Values and Financial Literacy, 9ija Kids is the one-stop place for children and parents. Titi is currently the Chairperson of Bethesda Child Support Agency, a Lagos based NGO that provides free education to children in poor communities in Nigeria.

Tokunboh Ishmael

Tokunboh Ishmael — She is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Alitheia Capital, investment management and advisory firm focused on channeling private equity investments into businesses and real estate assets to enhance access to finance, energy and housing for the excluded at the base of the economic pyramid. Tokunboh is a global voice for creating wealth and impact by unlocking the potential of businesses that provide essential goods and services that address the accessibility, affordability, and inclusion needs of underserved markets to drive shared prosperity. She is also the co-founder of Alitheia IDF, the first African women-led private equity fund solely investing in African women. With the gender-lens fund, she is solving the funding problem that is peculiar to African female entrepreneurs in comparison to their male counterparts. Alitheia IDF has invested in female-founded startups like Reelfruit, SweepSouth and Jetstream Africa. 

Toyin Odulate

Toyin Odulate — She is the Founder of Olori Cosmetics, an African organic affordable beauty brand that produces hair, bath and body products. Toyin is one of the pioneers of organic beauty products made with African ingredients. For over a decade, she gained experience in the international beauty industry working as a Senior Executive for L’Oreal, a leading beauty brand, and managing multiple beauty brands across Africa and the Middle East. She developed a passion for blending natural products from her grandfather, Jacob Sogboyega Odulate – the inventor of the Nigerian household remedy Alabukun Powder. Her passion for cosmetics started when she was seven, it morphed into the idea for Olori Cosmetics when she was in university. Using her wealth of experience, Toyin’s goal is to put Olori beauty products, a proudly African brand, on shelves in big American and European chain stores. 

Tricia Olufemi Olumide

Tricia Olufemi Olumide — She has been recognized as one of Nigeria’s leading Business coaches and Brand strategists. To boost the competitiveness of small businesses, Tricia launched TriciaBiz in April 2017 where she hopes to translate her recorded success working with multi-nationals to MSMEs (Micro small and medium enterprises). Her focus is on working with high performing individuals interested in starting a business or growing existing businesses into profitable and sustainable brands.
Tricia  has created some digital products – Materclasses, Ebooks, templates and videos – to help entrepreneurs achieve their business goals. She hosts a series on her YouTube channel called ‘How They Did It’ where she facilitates a conversation with successful African entrepreneurs eager to share their come-up stories. She was also awarded as one of the Top 20 marketing coaches by Coach Foundation. In the same year, Triciabiz was recognized as one of the 100 most impactful women by the Richer woman. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate degree in Marketing and Communications by Myles University in 2022.

 

Uche Majekodunmi— She is the CEO of Newton & David, a Nigerian-based Event Management, Flora Decor, and Set Design Company. With credentials from the renowned Mary Adams, of Knightsbridge London, England and Paula Pryke, in Islington, North London where she did a brief course, Uche has carved a niche for herself, not only as a pioneer of the event and decor industry but also as a Florist extraordinaire. With over  3 decades of consistently creating mind-blowing designs, and planning exquisite events, Uche Majekodunmi is most definitely an industry leader and a clear inspiration. With an impressive list of clients and a slew of both local and international awards, she is focused on continually growing the N&D brand, and expanding the business.

 

Udo Okonjo — She is the CEO/Founding Partner, Fine & Country West Africa, a real estate consultancy firm located in Lagos. She is also a Possibilities Igniter, Wealth Strategist and Passionate Teacher whose life’s vision is to democratize success by creating platforms and experiences that get people to transform their lives through changing their minds. Participants who have had the opportunity to attend an event championed by Udo Okonjo, or heard her speak, testify to having had a transformational experience.
Udo is also the founder of ACE Business Club, an E-learning community for entrepreneurs and business leaders. In 2022, she was accepted into the Forbes Business Council, the leading growth and networking organisation for successful business owners and leaders worldwide. 

Uduak Odungide

Uduak Odungide — She is the Founder of Udy Foods and CEO of Udy Foods Kitchen. Udy Foods is the popular and go-to place for quality NAFDAC- certified unadulterated palm oil, Oron crayfish, Peppersoup spice, Nsala spice, Banga spice, Uziza spice, Cameroon pepper, Chilli pepper, Cocoyam thickener, Barbeque and Grills spices. What makes her stand out as an entrepreneur is her ability and frequent use of pidgin English to promote her business. Uduak is also a video content creator who creatively produces energetic video contents to keep her audience glued and video jingles for other entrepreneurs with her page ‘ogbongetowncrier’. Uduak is an inspiration to upcoming entrepreneurs on what it takes to grow a start-up into a successful business.

 

Valerie Obaze— She is the Founder of R&R Luxury, a business that was set up in 2010 when what started out as a hobby for making natural, homemade, scented luxury candles morphed into something more. The business evolved further, according to her, when she had an ‘aha’ moment, based on certain needs she had while pregnant, and thereafter expanded the R&R product range. With a vision to share 100% Natural, Made in Africa products with the rest of the world, the products contain no parabens, artificial colors or mineral oils. The R&R Luxury range of products is fast becoming a staple for those who desire its luxurious and natural products. Valerie also launched the AfriStyle Lounge collective in 2019 to serve as an incubator and draw global attention to emerging African fashion brands. 

Victoria James

Victoria James– She is an award-winning fashion designer, Founder and Creative genius of the VeeKee James Fashion brand. With sheer talent, business acumen, strategic marketing, and dedication, Victoria ‘Veekee’ has become the fastest-rising Nigerian fashion designer. Coming from humble beginnings in Lagos, she dropped out of bagging a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Uyo to focus on her fashion business, which she has built into the Luxury fashion behemoth that it is today. Some of her clients include Mercy Chinwo , Chioma Ikoku, and Osas Ighodaro. 

Viola Ogbunude

Viola Ogbunude — She is the Founder of Body Organics, a store retailing organic skincare products for all skin types and tones. The main idea behind the products retailed by the store is the promotion of healthy and clear skin. Starting out as a small business, Body Organics has grown into a successful brand with stores across Africa; Lusaka, Nairobi and Accra. The Body Organics brand continues to expand its range of products while placing inclusivity and skin confidence at its core. With her motto being resilience and persistence, Viola focused on using innovative ways to scale Body Organics from an SME to a vital part of the African beauty scene, despite the many challenges she faced.

Yagazie Eguare (Gazmadu)

Yagazie Eguare (Gazmadu) — She is the talent behind many Bella Naija Wedding pictures. She is an award-winning wedding storyteller; and is the head photographer and CEO of Gazmadu studios, a wedding and portrait photography company that is committed to photographing beauty in the everyday woman. Yagazie helps other women create images that empower, transform and change the way they see themselves . Since 2019, she has collaborated with fashion designer, Lady Biba on the ‘Lady Boss Portrait Series’, a campaign that photographs corporate/professional women in a bid to encourage and empower more female bosses to own their stories even with the failures.

 

Yetunde Shorters — She is the Founder of ICY Public Relations, an international PR company launched in July 2007 in Miami, Florida. The company was created from the desire to give an international representation (Africa, Europe, Caribbean, North America) to emerging business owners who want to reach a global world audience with their products or services.
Yetunde has managed the public relations for Grammy Award-winning artists and renowned fashion entrepreneurs. She also hosts her 10-year-old Purpose Brand Audit workshop where she has helped over 500 entrepreneurs get crystal clear on their purpose to show their best selves to the world. 

 

Yewande Zaccheaus — She is the Founder of Eventful, a leading event planning, venue management and consulting company in Nigeria. With a passion for redefining the events and entertainment landscape in Nigeria, Yewande is the convener of four entertainment fairs; The Food Souk – a world class food and beverage fair, The Beauty Souk – a niche fair for beauty enthusiasts, The Fashion Souk – a fashion fair showcasing the value chain of the Nigerian fashion business and The Street Souk – a fair for millennials featuring urban street wear. These fairs have become annual staples on the Lagos social calendar. After retiring from managing Eventful in 2021, Yewande launched a hospitality firm called Z Beach, a relaxation spot that boasts of state-of-the-art facilities for thrill seekers. In 2015, she received the Game Changer Award by THISDAY Newspapers for her pioneering contributions to the event planning industry in Nigeria. 

Zuwaira Isah-Ikharo

Zuwaira Isah-Ikharo — She is the CEO and Founder of Amal botanicals, an African inspired and natural baby skincare line for skin inflammations like Eczema, Cradle Cap, Diaper rash, Dry skin in babies and toddlers. With a passion for excellence,  Zuwaira has built a team in Amal botanicals that truly cares about babies. She is deeply committed to childcare and motherhood support, taking up several projects on grassroots sensitization and education against baby skin bleaching, a prevalent ill in our society. Zuwaira’s goal is to place the natural, Nigerian-made baby skincare products on par with international brands. 

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