In the third edition of its annual recognition, 9to5Chick, a career development platform for Africa’s most ambitious women has gone beyond Nigeria to recognize the outstanding achievements and remarkable impact of mid and senior-level female professionals across Africa.
Prior to this edition, the 9to5chick top 100 career women list had focused on celebrating only Nigerian women.
However, this latest issue takes it up a notch by amplifying the voices of African women in the corporate sector who are defying the odds and disrupting the status quo in their industries.
Aligned with the theme of the 2023 International Women’s Day, ‘Embrace Equity’, this list features women from 5 African regions across 18 countries who have been evaluated based on the influence of their role, their impact, including giveback initiatives both within and outside their careers, documented thought leadership, and career achievements.
The breakdown of the representation from the different African regions is West Africa (64), East Africa (16), Southern Africa (16), North Africa (3), and Central Africa (1).
After exhaustive scrutiny, the result is a list of 100 female professionals from close to 20 industries who are advancing excellence and professionalism in Africa’s corporate sector. These women are paving the way for the next generation of female leaders, and their achievements are a testament to their hard work, dedication, and commitment to their careers.
This evaluation was carried by an independent advisory panel also known as the judges comprising Yemi
Speaking about the latest recognition list, the president of the 9to5Chick, Glory Edozien PhD noted that the platform’s focus on Nigerian women in previous editions had inspired the team to take the initiative to the next level and recognize outstanding women from across the continent.
She added, “We are proud to celebrate African women on the continent working in the corporate sector. We believe that this list goes beyond celebrating these women, but is also wholly inspirational to women across Africa and diaspora. It’s not only about the power of the African woman but her drive, and her contributions on the continent.
Our goal is to amplify the voices of these women who have achieved so much but may not have received the recognition they deserve. We hope that this recognition will inspire more women to pursue their dreams, break barriers, and make a positive impact in their communities.”
SME, Agency banking and Partnership / Absa
Ghana
Audrey is the Head of SME, Agency banking and Partnership at Absa Ghana. She has over 16 years working relationship with Barclays Bank. Her Leadership has transformed the SME business from a non-performing state to a thriving business winning the best SME bank for 2019, 2020 and 2021. Prior to this role, she served as the Head of Service Excellence and was a member of The country management team for 4 years. She extensively championed customer service transformation to significantly improve the service experience.
As a multiple award winner, She has received 2 citations as the best SME personality of the year 2021 and Financial inclusion personality of the year 2021 at the 8th edition of the Women in Banking and Finance award 2021. She is a recipient of the prestigious Excellence in Corporate Leadership Award 2021at the SHE Awards in Dubai by Ladies in business magazine global.
Audrey is a human capital development coach with a strong passion to help people unlock their potential and discover their purpose through mentoring and coaching relationships. She is a training facilitator and has extensively trained leaders within Barclays and other organisations She is a motivational and conference speaker, a preacher, and workshop facilitator. She is the Board Chairperson of Rehoboth Foundation and also the President of the Women Network Forum at Absa, championing Gender D & I within the bank.
Head of Finance and Operations/Financial Sector Deepening Tanzania
Tanzania
Catherine is a seasoned Finance and Risk professional with over 11 years of progressive and diversified experience in both private and public sector across Eastern and Southern Africa. She is a demonstrated successful leader who has the ability to manage across the whole balanced scorecard within a business.
Catherine’s experience cuts across financial management and compliance, risk management, stakeholder management, corporate governance, strategy development and oversight, operations management, business process improvement, leading teams, project management, team building and organizational development.
She is a certified fraud examiner and has a strong academic background of finance having graduated in 2011 from Mzumbe University with a Bachelor of Accounting in Business Accounting and Finance and later on in 2022, pursuing a master’s in business administration at Eastern and Southern African Management Institute.
Catherine is currently overseeing finance and operations at Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT). Prior to FSDT, she worked as a Senior Manager, Risk Advisory at Deloitte Consulting Limited. At FSDT, she is currently responsible for all administrative, operational, and contractual aspects of the trust with oversight of finance, compliance, grants management, procurement, project delivery, program operations, talent management, and human resources. She is also responsible for ensuring that FSDT’s governance functions run smoothly, with appropriate communication between the board and management.
Head, Corporate Transformation/ARM Holding Company Ltd.
Nigeria
Carol Ariyibi is a people leader, who is adept at applying her extensive project development expertise to enable transformation through technology, collaborative ways of working and strong strategy execution skills. She believes strongly in intrapreneurship, and empowering individuals and teams through coaching and mentoring.
She is a certified Agile Coach (ICP-ACC), Digital Transformation delivery expert, PMO Director, Change Leader (PROSCI certified), and Career Transition coach. She also holds various certifications in project management, project development, product development and change management.
Carol currently leads Corporate Transformation at one of the Top Tier Asset Management companies in Lagos Nigeria where her team partners with subsidiaries within the Group to leverage technology & lean business models to transform their business. As part of various training faculties, she has co-organized and led training workshops for over 800 people on project management, Microsoft productivity tools (Power Platforms, MS Teams), business analysis, change management, and agile product development.
Carol also serves as the Director, Memberships for the Agile Practitioners Association of Nigeria (APAON), a non-profit focused on advocating for Agile in Nigeria and Africa as well as the organizer of the Agile Nigeria Meetup and Business Agility Meetup Nigeria. She is also a Conference speaker, facilitator and advocate for Business Agility as a transformation strategy for Africa.
Snr Director, Global Category Lead – Coffee, The Coca-Cola Company
South Africa
She is the Senior Director, Global Category Lead-Coffee, The Coca-Cola Company. Prior to this she was the Vice President of Marketing at Anheuser-Busch, Africa, where she led the disruption of the Nigerian market with the Trophy and Hero Lager brands.
Another exploit was when the Carling Black Label ‘Be the Coach’ campaign won the Grand Prix at the Loeries; an African and Middle Eastern premier award that celebrates creative excellence in advertising. She was the first female Marketing Director of South African Breweries (SAB), during which she led digital marketing for all SAB brands.
For over 20 years, she has been involved in the growth of marketing strategies and has for the latter years executed the acceleration and profitability of multi-billion-dollar beverage brands in Africa. Her experience traverses Unilever, Cell-C, SAB and Coca-Cola.
Head of Global Operations, Zenith Chain
Nigeria
Linda is a blockchain entrepreneur, educator and open-internet advocate. Linda is a highly accomplished technology executive and industry thought leader with a long history of driving high-growth mandates with more than 18 years of leadership in the technology industry,
Linda is the founder of TechonomyAfrica. This project-based learn-to-earn platform teaches Blockchain enthusiasts and students how to leverage blockchain and crypto education for investment, trade, build real products in areas such as NFTs, metaverse, tokens, blockchain, cybersecurity, data science, game development, and programming. All content is organized around projects where learners learn and earn from watching experienced curators, instructors, and developers that teach and build practical products.
She serves as Global Head of Operations at Zenith Chain a $36.5 million dollars backed Blokchain firm where she drives market actions , prior she Business Leader Nigeria for Farmcrowdy, the leading Agtech platform in West Africa focused on providing the necessary tools and technology for farmers and agribusinesses to boost food production with better yields, lower costs, and more innovative marketing.
She is a fellow at the Institute of Chartered Economics of Nigeria, and a mentor at the Tony Elumelu Foundation,the leading champion of entrepreneurship in Africa
She proudly sits on the boards of the Etionera and Techienation in addition to serving as the Chair of Women in Crypto Africa
Director of Exploration and Production, Gambia National Petroleum Corporation
Gambia
Cany Jobe is the Director of Exploration and Production at the Gambia National Petroleum Corporation. As head of the department, she advises on oil and gas exploration projects; and structures, negotiates and oversees the implementation of high-value exploration activities of the NOC/IOC joint ventures and partnerships.
Cany is a dedicated and strategic Petroleum Engineer with a passion for cleaner and renewable energy technologies who has worked on energy projects in West Africa, South America, East Asia and Australia over the past 14 years. She is an experienced project management expert in the energy, oil and gas, and construction industries and holds a Master of Engineering degree in Oil and Gas from the University of West Australia and an MSc. in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University with a previous B.Sc in Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering.
She is skilled in policy formulation, governance, administration and strategic planning having previously served as and Board Secretary for the national oil company and a Head of Administration & Procurement. Cany Jobe is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Association of Project Managers and is an alumni of Australia Development Awards, Commonwealth Awards and Mining for Development.
She is an international conference speaker and panelist, a thought leader passionate about sustainable development, renewable energy, institution and nation building, quality education, women in stem, women in leadership, elimination of harmful practices against women, and economic equality.
Chief Marketing Officer, Spur Corporation
South Africa
Vuyo is a seasoned business leader with over 13 years of experience in marketing having worked locally and globally. She has worked in consumer goods and recently entered the restaurant hospitality business with Spur Corp. She loves inspiring teams and creating collaborative environments to deliver business results. She has led brands like Knorrox, Robertsons, Rajah locally and she has worked on Unilever’s largest food brand, Knorr in the United Kingdom driving innovation and breakthrough communication development.
In 2020 she was selected to be a Dalai Lama Fellow; joining a selected cohort of emerging social innovators and change makers. She is passionate about women empowerment and nurturing women leaders of the future. She was involved in the DreamGirls Academy, providing mentorship opportunities to young girls from underprivileged communities. She was recognized as a Positive Role Model in the Western Cape and the Joint Winner of the accolade for South Africa at the 10th Gender Mainstream Awards 2022.
Managing Director, Weststar Associates Limited(Mercedes-Benz Nigeria)
Nigeria
She is the President of European Business Chamber (Eurocham) and Managing Director at Weststar Associates Limited(Mercedes-Benz Nigeria).
She is a focused and result oriented finance executive with over 20 years’ experience of which she spent 12 years working in the diaspora. She has worked in a range of senior and director level roles in the media and service sectors. She has a reputation for setting strategic direction and establishing robust working relationships with relevant stakeholders.
She started her professional career with KPMG UK and thereafter moved to Whitbread PLC, the largest hospitality company in the UK. At Whitbread PLC, she was part of the team that implemented change management and carried out the due diligence for the sale of 160 restaurants to a Venture Capitalist. Mary worked in the media industry for 12 years (British Broadcasting Company (BBC), CNBC Africa & Forbes). She worked in leadership roles at the BBC, CNBC Africa & Forbes providing strategic direction and ensuring short to medium and long-term plans for the companies were viable and implemented.
General Manager, Park Inn by Radisson Serviced Apartments
Nigeria
Rita Opiah is the General Manager, Park Inn by Radisson Serviced Apartments, Victoria Island, Lagos.
She is a hospitality veteran with nearly two decades of quality experience in the industry. Rita joined the Radisson Hotel Group in 2018, leading one of the swiftest transitioning and opening projects by the Group in Africa.
In her current role as General Manager, she oversees daily operations and executive management of a team with well over hundred employees, as well as the rollout of a multi-million-naira revamp and upgrade program which is well underway.
Through her years of service, she has become an asset to the Park Inn by Radisson brand, making her the first female Nigerian to occupy her current role as General Manager within the hotel group.
Rita holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a masters’ degree in International Relations from the prestigious University of Lagos.
Director of Outsourcing, Workforce Group
Nigeria
Nneka is a Human Resource Consulting Professional who enjoys greatly impacting and sharing knowledge with people as has therefore always been consumed by a passion for Learning and Development (Training and Capacity Building).
As Head, Human Resource Consulting she was involved in Talent Acquisition and Selection, Conducting Due Diligence and H.R Audits, Payroll processing and management, Organisational Development, organisation of Strategy Retreats, Board and Management Retreats for organisations and SIAO. Also, conducting Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Surveys for organisations. This helps organisations work on improving employee satisfaction and commitment and ultimately, drive effectiveness on their work.
She is also a seasoned facilitator and public speaker
Tech HR, Microsoft
Nigeria
With extensive years of experience building software engineering teams in hyper-growth startups and multinational organisations, Sophie prides herself as a Global Talent Recruiting Expert.
She commenced her career as an HR Consultant where she designed, developed, and delivered diverse HR solutions in Talent Management and HR Strategy. Garnering a deep interest in technology, she joined Microsoft as a Senior Talent Sourcer- Engineering, where she hires software engineering talents across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
When she is not busy identifying the next top talent, she enjoys coaching and mentoring Technical Recruiting experts through her virtual community- Technical Recruiters Africa.
Sophie regularly shares content online regarding recruiting.
Chief Marketing officer, Digital Jewels limited
Nigeria,
Kelechi Mbah is a Business Growth Strategist with 15 years of professional experience in the Telecoms, Media, Consulting, and Technology
Her forte is to help start-ups set sail in the market and to help existing businesses drive growth and profitability, through utilizing best practices in Marketing and Sales. She has an outstanding track record with brands that have made it to market and are thriving successfully
Kelechi is versatile due to her unusual knack for knowledge and being a solution monger, which has also enabled her to play across the private, public, and non-profit sectors. She prides herself on having core competencies that are conceptual and not just general to the Strategy and Business Growth domain but technically specific skills in accelerating sales with marketing tools and technology as the enabler.
She is skilled at Go-to-Market Strategy designs, Business Strategy Formulation, Marketing, Sales, Accelerating Sales Performance, Business Growth hack, Consultative Selling, Building and Managing high-performance teams, Creating and Presenting Business Proposals, Business Operations Management, Project Management, Public Speaking, etc
Kelechi has carved a niche in Technology and is often referred to by many as a Tech-Enthusiast and Evangelist.
Executive Director for Africa, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
Kenya
Faustina began her career as a nurse, a role that has had a significant impact on her ever since. She has 15 years in Senior leadership roles, her career has evolved from private health care management in London to Founder of Marie Stopes Ghana, Senior West Africa Advisor, Country Director of Marie Stopes Kenya, Director of the Women’s Health Project for PSI, leading PSI’s Reproductive Health and Rights portfolio in 25 countries in Sub Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America and the United Kingdom.
In her current role as the Executive Director for Africa and Child Health and Development, she leads on strategy, continental partnerships and CIFF investment portfolios in Africa. She oversees a vast portfolio from Child Nutrition, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Climate and Adolescent Reproductive Health.
Faustina is a champion and advocate for women and girls’ rights and has worked to change policy on access to reproductive health services in West and East Africa. She believes in harnessing the potential of the girl child, through improved health, education and economic opportunities to contribute to a thriving self -determining Africa. She is passionate about growing leaders and was recognized and named as top 100 influential African women 2021.
Anchor, Arise News
Nigeria
Ayo Mairo-Ese (nee Thompson) is a multiple award-winning Broadcaster, Event Compere and Public Speaker. She is a News Anchor at Arise News Channel, co-anchoring Nigeria’s foremost breakfast show – The Morning Show.
She began her career in media on TV with Cool TV in 2014 as a co-host on the popular talk show ‘The Blog’. As part of her duties, she produced content for the daily show.
She went on to co-host a daily news and lifestyle program ‘Hello Nigeria’ on the same TV station (rebranded as WazobiaMax TV) where she had the opportunity to engage notable guests – thought leaders, captains of industry and other local and international high-profile guests.
She has had the privilege of interviewing CNN’s Richard Quest, Hollywood Actor, Eric Roberts and other prominent figures – local and international.
In 2016, Ayo won The Future Awards Africa Prize for On Air Personality of the year (Radio), the ELOY award for TV Presenter of the year and the 19ROM (Role Model) Awards for TV Presenter of the year.
As an Event Host, Ayo has hosted big-budget events and productions including the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Awards, Access Bank / Diamond Bank Brand Identity Launch, Annual UBA CEO Awards, Stanbic IBTC’s Arts and The Acts Event (for High Networth Clients), Arise Women’s Conference, Stanbic IBTC Young Leadership Series and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Awards.
Passionate about women, she serves as a ‘Super Mentor’ for the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) SheVentures program for women in business and is a role model to women and young people serving as an advocate for promoting and empowering Nigerian women, using her media platform to support women as much as possible. She is also a sought-after Speaker at conferences and has received high praise for her coverage of the Nigerian 2023 election.
She is an Ambassador at War Against Rape initiative and Founder of Praying Women Circle (PWC)
CNN African Voices Changemakers
Nigeria
Arit Okpo is a TV host and filmmaker. She hosts CNN African Voices Changemakers, where she tells the stories of Africa’s Changemakers.
Arit has produced documentaries for programs such as the United Nations African Allies Series and the British Council’s Creative Enterprise Program. She also produced Jesse, a documentary on a tragic pipeline incident in Nigeria’s history.
Arit was the voice talent for Swallow – a documentary on food security in Nigeria produced by the Yar Adua Foundation as well as for Marked, a documentary on Scarification produced by Naila Media and currently showing on Netflix.
Arit has moderated events around the continent for clients such as Ake Festival, the Ford Foundation, Google/IFC, Lafarge Africa, The British Council, the Heinrich Boell Foundation, Goethe Institut, the Black Feminist Fund and many others. She is an experienced panel
moderator, able to engage on a wide range of topics and to craft insightful conversations that resonate with her audience.
Arit explores culture and interactions around themes of identity and gender and seeks to tell Africa’s stories from a human, nuanced perspective.
Senior Attorney (In-House Counsel), ExxonMobil
Nigeria
As an in-house counsel for ExxonMobil (Nigeria affiliates), Busola maintains a rich perspective of the business operations side as well as a clear understanding of the legal framework. She is inspired by the notion that her work is critical to execution and enjoy delivering advice that helps her clients succeed. She reflects excellence and passion in her spheres of influence and seek to model integrity and professionalism.
Busola’s LL.M training at Harvard Law has empowered her to maintain a valuable network with the advantage of consistently gaining new insights and skills. Since joining the organization 14 years ago, she has advanced from contracting and contract management roles into her current legal role. This has been due to her expertise and tenacity in leadership, contract negotiations, and effectively managing key relationships. She is committed to being agile, versatile, and bringing a rich skill set to her work daily.
Medical Epidemiologist, Public Health Physician, Nigerian Ministry of Defence
Nigeria
Olukemi Olugbade is a multi-skilled Physician, multi-talented Public health specialist, and Healthcare industry expert with 15 years post-qualification experience as a Medical Doctor and 5 years post-training as a Field Epidemiologist and Researcher.
Her professional background to date has been focused on SDGs 3,5,6, and 9, General Medicine, Public Health, Community Health and Epidemiology with expertise in Public Health Data Analysis using SPSS, STATA, and QGIS for evidence-based health outcomes research, Project Management, integrated diseases surveillance and response (IDSR) for outbreak detection and response, advocacy and community engagement, maternal, child and adolescent health, reproductive health, occupational health, environmental health, public health nutrition, mental health, infection prevention, and control, antimicrobial stewardship, monitoring & evaluation, scientific communication, research proposals, and grants proposal writing.
More recently she has developed health technology, digital communications, digital marketing, medical content-writing, and copy-writing skills applied to health-oriented freelancing engagements.
With vast experience and practice in the Nigerian Healthcare space, working in resource-limited settings, with underserved and vulnerable populations in hard to reach, urban slums and rural areas; Over the years, she has provided live-saving affordable care, essential medicines, and vaccinations in these areas, and reduced mortality, morbidity and disability in these populations, whilst also working with stakeholders at all levels of the Nigerian healthcare system including the private sector, in-country, and international development partners to improve accessibility, affordability, availability, and quality of care, thus contributing to health systems strengthening.
She continuously contributes leadership, interpersonal and technical skills in her work and contracts, and these she has done in several positions. Professional certifications, and achievements she has garnered demonstrate attributes that make her an outstanding public health professional.
Dr. Olugbade has won several scholarly awards, presented her research findings in over 30 local, regional and international conferences, won research grants, granted several interviews, spoken at healthcare events, webinars, and seminars and has published 15 first and co-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals.
She also mentors medical students, early-career epidemiologists and health professionals.
Senior Special Assistant on Education to the Governor, Lagos State, Lagos state Government
Nigeria
Ms Adetola Salau is a social innovative entrepreneur, global educator, author and transformation agent. She is currently the Senior Special Assistant on STEM Education to the Governor in Lagos State. She is also an Engineer and the author of more than ten books, one of which is a roadmap for transforming mindsets of African children; “Re-engineering minds for innovation”
Previously she founded Carisma4U Educational Foundation, which is a social innovation enterprise in 2015 with a focus on breaking the poverty cycle in Nigeria and Africa at large by equipping African children with highly competitive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills essential for the 4th industrial revolution. Her purpose is to transform learning in Africa especially STEM Education for the economic prosperity and future readiness for over 2 million children in Africa by the year 2030.
She is working on engaging children, teachers and parents to boost 21st century skills that prepare African children for the future of work. She was selected to be a part of the 2018 Spring Cohort of the MIT innovation and Entrepreneurship bootcamp at Brisbane, Australia.
She worked for the City of New York Board of Education; has a permanent Math educator license for the State of New York. Also taught in California, South Carolina and North Carolina respectively. Is a STEM Certified Expert in STEM pedagogy. She has taught students from the 6th grade to teaching at Fordham University, College of New Rochelle, as well as several Polytechnics in New York and North Carolina as an Adjunct Lecturer. She is passionate about education and advocates for education reform in Africa.
Partner, TLcom Capital LLP
Nigeria
Eloho Omame is an early-stage investor and a strong advocate for gender & inclusion in VC in Africa. She’s a Partner at TLcom Capital, a seed-to-growth stage VC firm, and a Co-Founder & General Partner at FirstCheck Africa, an early-stage VC firm investing in tech startups founded or co-founded by women.
Eloho co-founded FirstCheck Africa in 2021. FirstCheck Africa’s investment portfolio includes startups in Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa & Kenya, led by female founders building in financial services, education, healthcare and retail/commerce. Through FirstCheck Africa, she is committed to helping Africa’s exceptional female entrepreneurial talent build great companies.
TLcom Capital invests in Africa’s best entrepreneurs tackling the continent’s biggest challenges. Its portfolio includes a number of impressive high-growth companies, such as Twiga Foods, Ilara Health, Pula, Shara, Okra, Ulesson & Autocheck. The firm’s TIDE Africa Fund I ($70M) was the first on the continent to meet the G7’s 2X Criteria for gender lens investing. TIDE Africa Fund II (target: $150M) is actively investing.
From 2018 to 2021, Eloho launched and operated Endeavor in Nigeria, serving as its inaugural Managing Director & CEO. Under her leadership, Endeavor Nigeria developed an impressive portfolio of services to support Nigeria’s growing community of high-growth entrepreneurs leading companies at the scaleup stage.
In 2017, on behalf of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, under the auspices of one of Africa’s largest sub-national governments, she delivered “Lagos Innovates”, a first-of-its-kind portfolio of programs that she conceptualised, designed and implemented. Lagos Innovates has helped thousands of entrepreneurs launch their technology ventures.
Eloho was a Vice President at General Atlantic, led Corporate Development at First Bank of Nigeria Plc and has served investment banking clients in the UK and Nigeria at Credit Suisse and Renaissance Capital.
Eloho holds a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics & Political Science and an MBA from the London Business School.
Executive Head, People & Marketing, Hollard Insurance
South Africa
Eve Banda Nkumbula has served on the World Vision Zambia Board since 2016 and is a Member of the People and Culture Committee where she previously served as Chairperson. She is a Human Resources Strategist and Operational Expert and currently works as an Executive Head of People and Marketing at Hollard International. Eve has also worked for Standard Chartered Bank, Konkola Copper Mines, Zamtel, and Zain.
Eve is a Human Resources Strategist and Operational Expertise specialising in HR, Talent Management, Organizational Development, Talent Acquisition, Organizational Transformation & Development. She has International experience in 15 African Markets – including Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, Kenya and Nigeria. She is a Change Agent and dynamic visionary with proven success in transitioning strategy into tactical action plans and guiding or nurturing teams towards peak performance goals. She is a certified executive coach with a bias towards creating performance improvement plans to meet the strategic goals of the organization.
Eve holds a Bachelor of Arts in Development studies and Public Administration from the University of Zambia and a Masters of Business Administration from Kaplan University.
Head, People & Culture, Stanbic IBTC Bank
Nigeria
Ezinne Chidi Anosike is the Head, Human Capital Business Partnering for Personal and Business Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Nigeria. She is a versatile, intuitive Human Resource Professional with about 17 years’ work experience of which twelve years have been in Human Resource Management which spreads across HR specialized roles; Learning & Development, Talent Resourcing, Management & Development, Leadership Development / Team Building & Training, Performance Management, Employee Engagement, Employee Relations and HR Business partnering.A lot of her skills and experience has been acquired working locally and internationally. Her substantial experience in the business provides her an edge and expertise in attracting talents, sustaining standards and delivering high levels of performance.
Ezinne is adept at dealing substantive issues involved in dealing with individuals at all levels from diverse cultural backgrounds and has excellent interpersonal communication skills gained from working and dealing with people in high paced corporate environments. Ezinne relishes challenges, has been an inspiration to others. She is flexible and fun to work with. She likes people and cherishes a high level of integrity and professionalism. Some of her past times include, photography, public speaking, writing/blogging.She draws her inspiration from people and is an inspiration to many and is always willing to take on new leadership responsibilities.
A member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management Nigeria as well as the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, United Kingdom. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and a Masters of Human Resource Management from the University of Wolverhampton West Midlands, United Kingdom.She is a certified trainer mostly in the areas of professional selling and customer service soft skills interventions and interviewing.
Principal Software Engineer, Microsoft
Ghana
Farida Bedwei is a software developer, software engineer and computer scientist. In her over 15 years of working in the development and implementation of mobile and enterprise software, Farida has made her name as one of Africa’s brightest and most successful technological minds. She has developed multiple mobility platforms and content management systems. Farida has also worked in the telecom software industry, developing mobile gateways and services for mobile networks and content providers and is known particularly for her expertise in software architecture.
In 2011, she co-founded Logiciel, a Ghana-based Fintech company that develops banking systems for the microfinance industry and provides technology solutions which promote financial inclusion for the unbanked. She serves as the Chief Technological Officer of Logiciel, where one of her many roles includes evaluating the banking industry and coming up with practical solutions which are easy for people with no formal banking training to use. In 2015, she led the creation and successful implementation of gKudi, a web-based banking software suite for the micro-finance industry which is currently used by 130 micro-finance institutions in Ghana.
Farida is also an author and a disability-rights advocate, and has been featured on many media platforms; notable amongst them is CNN’s African Voices in February 2015. She has also won a number of local and international awards, most recently at the World Youth Forum in 2018 where she was awarded for her remarkable achievements in technology in Africa. Her book, The Definition of a Miracle, is a fictional account of experiences she had as a child growing up with cerebral palsy in Ghana.
Indirect Channels Director, sub-Saharan Africa, GE Healthcare
Nigeria,
Folarinle T. Akinrinlola is the Channels Sales Director at General Electric Health Care.
Folarinle is the first Cardiac Physiologist in Nigeria and to date is responsible for training a significant number of physiologists within Nigeria. She began her career in the United Kingdom where she worked, over a period of eleven years, with several top-notch hospitals as a cardiac physiologist.
Since 2018, she has worked for General Electric Healthcare (a leading global medical technology and life sciences company) in Lagos Nigeria, as Channels Sales Director overseeing indirect channels business, which she has successfully made an essential and integral part of the entire General Electric Healthcare business.
Folarinle certainly is a seasoned, resourceful and results-oriented Healthcare Professional with wide-ranging 25 years+ experience, garnered in the United Kingdom and Africa, in clinical cardiology services, medical devices sales & marketing, business development, market development and senior-level management.
She is also sits as a various provaye sector boards as non-executive director and is a member of Rising Tide Africa (a group of women angel investors harnessing their power, network, passion and capital to positively impact and actively create a New Africa). Additionally, she is a founding member of GAIA Africa, Africa’s members only club dedicated to serving the top 5% of female executives, entrepreneurs, professionals and creatives.
Vice President, Corporate Development , West Titan Energy
Nigeria
As Vice President, Hadiza has the ultimate responsibility for the structure of the corporate organisation including corporate policies and processes, strategy definition and implementation, finance, business development, commercial contracts and strategic partnerships.
Hadiza is an Oil and Gas industry professional with a career spanning over 13 years’ in the commercial field, consulting for and working with companies in the oil and gas industry. She has expertise in incubating, managing and implementing complex projects as well as strategies for business growth and development.
She began her career as a Tax Advisor in KPMG Professional Services, where she worked in the Energy and Natural Resources unit handling tax compliance and advisory cases for Oil and Gas service companies and exploration and production companies.
Following this, she moved to Petrofac International Nigeria Limited to establish the Nigerian subsidiary of the International Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company, Petrofac Limited. She worked with the global sales and marketing team in the UAE and UK as Business Development Manager. She was responsible for developing the EPC business in Nigeria and Ghana, while establishing new and managing existing local partnerships.
She holds a BSc. Economics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and an MSc. Oil and Gas Enterprise Management from University of Aberdeen, Scotland. She is an Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a member of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and an Associate of Women in Management and Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ). She is also a Project Management Professional (PMP) and PRINCE2 Foundation certified.
Executive Vice President, Chocolate City Music
Nigeria
Ibukun “Aibee” Abidoye, Esq. is a Nigerian Music Business Executive. Trained as an attorney in New York, Aibee has logged several years of transactional experience, with particular focus on the music business.
She is a recognized expert in the licensing, distribution and publishing of indigenous music content for film and television and has collaborated with platforms such as YouTube, 9Mobile and Apple Music in advancing the growth of the creative industries within Nigeria.
She is an active advocate for the rights and recognition of Artists, Songwriters and Producers in the content value chain and is a vocal proponent for the need to restructure the Collection Management processes in Nigeria. Ibukun was also instrumental in initiating and formalizing the multi-million dollar landmark partnership between Warner Music Group, and the Chocolate City; the first of its kind in Nigeria.
In her current capacity, she sits as the first female Executive Vice President of Music at Chocolate City as well as the only female on the Board, following her involvement in the ground-breaking partnership between Warner Music Group and Chocolate City. She is also a Trustee on the Boards of Music Publishers Association of Nigeria, Record Labels Association of Nigeria, and Women in Music, Nigeria.
She is the founder of The Nahla Initiative – an organization that seeks to bring awareness around gender inequality in the entertainment industry and provide opportunities for skills acquisition, human capital development, access and economic empowerment for young women. Their goal is to reach 500,000 young women in five (5) years.
Chief Marketing Officer, Heirs Insurance
Nigeria
She is the Chief Marketing Officer of two of the most ambitious insurance companies in Nigeria, Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life.
She is the co-founder for a few passion projects such as FigoCard, a company changing the way people network, Tribahl, the first pan-African influencer marketing company and GapX, a company on a mission to realize a corporate Africa where 50/50 representation of females in leadership is the norm.
Ifesinachi is also a writer, marketing communications professional, screenwriter, artist and an advocate for working women. She has managed the marketing portfolios of pan-African companies across sectors spanning investment, technology, real estate, media/production, philanthropy, and most recently, insurance. She has served as a jury member and script consultant on the Nigeria Film Integrity Awards for up-and-coming creative talent, Homevida. She has also served thrice as a jury member of Africa’s most prestigious movie awards, Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, AMVCA.
She was recently listed as one of top 50 African corporate women by Leading Ladies.
Payroll Benefits Manager, Total Energies
Nigeria
Juliet Okene is a certified mindset coach and relationship counsellor for business and career-focused women. She has over 20+ years of experience in human resource, relationship counselling, and stakeholder management, as well as expertise in finance. Juliet is the Lead Strategist at The Audacity Network, a personal development life coaching firm; and Founder of The Growth Club, a thriving closed community for successful business and career professionals who want to achieve work-life success.
Juliet is a highly sought-after speaker at leadership conferences, women-focused seminars and host of practical workshops where participants leave with a renewed determination to explore life’s opportunities. Apart from her Bsc. in Accounting from University of Benin in Nigeria, she holds a certificate from the John Maxwell Team as a Coach, Speaker and Trainer, and is an author of several e-books on leadership and career growth. She is a Life member of WIMBIZ, a Nigerian female-only network that advocates for increased representation of women in leadership positions, and a Fellow Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
Head Talent Management, WEMA Bank
Nigeria
Jumoke is a seasoned People Practitioner with wealth of experience spanning over a decade of interfacing with the C-Suite, HR Leaders & Hiring Managers on all issues as it concerns the HR function, with Talent Management, Emotional Intelligence, Organizational Design, Learning, Agile, Organizational Culture & Employee Engagement being my core.She has facilitated Career Development Trainings, Emotional Intelligence Trainings, Employability Skills Trainings as well as Personal Development Trainings in several fora.
She is also passionate about the ways continuous Employee Engagement can boost Productivity, Building Agile, Positive and Healthy Organizational Cultures – ways to achieve toxic-free workplaces and using Emotional Intelligence to win in all areas of life, especially at work.
She has a degree in English from Babcock University, Nigeria with an MBA from BSN. She is a Certified Agile Coach from International Scrum Institute. A Full Member (MMCDI) of the Mentoring & Career Development Institute of Nigeria, An Associate Member of the CIPMN. An Emotional Intelligence Certified Specialist (EQCS). She is also a Certified Career Development Coach (CCDC) from Holistic Coach Academy, Canada.
Jumoke is also the founder and lead coach of WorkplacewithJAM, a platform where she shares valuable resources to help individuals thrive in their Careers and Lives as a whole.
Jumoke has been awarded one of “Africa’s Most Talented HR Leaders” at the Africa Leadership Awards, Mauritius in 2019, Top 50 Career Influencers in Africa 2020 by Work-Booth Magazine, Nigeria, one of the Most Inclusive HR Influencers in 2020&2021 by www.socialmicole.com, 30 Leading Women in HR in Nigeria by Worden HCD in 2021, one of the 100 Power Woman in Nigeria, 2022 by The Power Woman Network and recognized as one of the Top 50 Agile Leaders 2022 by LeadersHum.
She was recently named a LinkedIn Top Voice in 2023.
Partner, ENR Advisory
Nigeria
Jumoke Fajemirokun has extensive transactional and project development experience in the energy, infrastructure and mining space. She was formerly key member of the energy, natural resources and infrastructure practice of a leading full-service law firm in Nigeria. She later worked with the World Bank in Washington DC where she provided support to the World Bank Group’s Sanctions Board in reviewing integrity compliance issues that arise in the procurement and execution of infrastructure projects financed by the World Bank. In 2019, she led a team constituted by the Rural Electrification Agency to support the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in fast-tracking the licensing of mini-grid developers under the solar-hybrid mini grid programme of the Nigerian Electrification Project.
Jumoke routinely advises clients on policy, regulatory, transactional and project development issues across the energy sector value chain. Her recent deal experience includes advising a project sponsor on the development of a $3.5bn integrated gas and methanol production facility, a global LNG midstream infrastructure company on the development of an integrated LNG-to-power project; a Nigerian exploration and production company on the negotiation of production sharing contracts with the Government of Uganda during the first competitive licensing round in Uganda, a gas producer on the supply of gas produced offshore Nigeria to a power plant in Ghana via the West African Gas Pipeline, and a Fortune 500 global oil service company on its contractor financing transactions with a number of upstream oil and gas operators. She has also provided support to government agencies in Nigeria on formulating policies and reforms that promote infrastructure development through public-private-partnerships.
She is a recipient of the “40 under 40” Nigerian Rising Star Award for 2019 in recognition of her contributions and commitment to the legal profession.
MD, ARM Investment Managers
Nigeria
Kai is a financial planner, wealth advisor, youth development specialist, human capital development specialist, personal and business development trainer and coach.
ARM Investment Managers provide professional global asset management services across a wide range of traditional and alternative investment options, including equities, fixed income securities, cash and real estate. They offer optimum investment opportunities to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, high-net worth individuals, and small savers.
Kai is also the Executive Director, CORE Development Initiative. CORE development Initiative is a Non for profit organisation that assists the young generation to discover their strengths, focus their energies appropriately and awaken the hidden talents that reside in them.
Country Director/USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program – Procurement and Supply Management
Angola
Ladi Agbenu Stephen currently serves as the Angola country director for the Global Health Supply Chain program – Procurement and Supply Management project. In her current role she provides leadership and strategic oversight to Angola’s GHSC-PSM Country Program, driving fundraising initiatives for program expansion and deepening.
She is a public health supply chain system strengthening specialist, pharmacist, and certified project manager with more than 16 years of experience in healthcare supply chain development in sub-Saharan Africa on malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, maternal & child health, and essential medicines programs.
Ladi was part of the team that fostered the development of the National supply chain integration project, which entails Curriculum for supply chain and detailed processes for the malaria program under supply chain that was integrated into the Food and Drugs services unit in Nigeria. She also oversaw the first PPP process implemented by Ministry of Health to ensure pharmaceutical storage in Nigeria, which provided critical structure on how commodities get delivered to the last mile
Ladi has technical experience designing capacity building programs including applying the Human Centered Design approach, public-private partnership initiatives, health commodities quantification, international procurement for health commodities, project grant negotiations, and supply chain technical strategy development. She previously served as country director for Pharmaceutical Systems Africa in Nigeria, representing the organization on the board of People that Deliver. Prior to her role as country director, Ladi was a director of health systems strengthening for the GHSC-PSM project in Nigeria and Angola.
Chief Digital Officer, FBNQuest
Nigeria
Lola is a Digital and Innovation specialist with over 17 years of experience in the industry. She started her career as a software engineer at Investec Asset Management, London where she was responsible for the development of digital solutions in the asset management portfolio. Since then, she has worked in various capacities across different roles in the financial services industry in Europe and Africa at companies including Dresdner Kleinwort, Commerzbank and BNP Paribas.
In Nigeria, Lola has played a major role in the digital readiness and transformation of two of Nigeria’s oldest and foremost financial institutions to ‘Digitally-Led’ retail banks. Lola spearheaded the Digital Innovation Labs initiative at FirstBank Nigeria, Nigeria’s oldest financial institution (125 years old). She was responsible for formulating and implementing the bank’s digital transformation and innovation Labs strategy thereby accelerating its digital transformation journey for its over 13M customers and 16,000 employees in Nigeria and across its African subsidiaries.
Lola has also pioneered key initiatives designed to empower early-stage tech start-up companies through corporate accelerator programs, mentorship and capital in the bid to grow the African ecosystem and solve important problems in the Nigerian economy through private sector and industry collaborations.
Lola is the founder of Techstart.africa and serves as a mentor and on the Tech and Women Capital Committee of WIMBIZ Organisation, the Digital Transformation Committee of JA Nigeria, the Innovation/Tech committee of Osun State Development Association, Faculty Member at the Fintech Institute, Elev8 global academy for digital leaders and She Leads Africa as a mentor.
Lola has travelled to over 30 countries and has seen the value of efficient utilisation using innovative technologies across different sectors and some of the best methods of implementing new technology in the world at large.
Director of People and Culture, Mercy Corps
Kenya
She is the Director of People and Culture, Mercy Corps. She is also a Non Executive Director at Predictive Analytics Lab. She also sits on several boards such as; CBM Kenya, EWD Foundation.
With more than 18 years of progressive global experience in international development organisations and collaboration with Ministries of health in Africa, she has led large teams and turned around People and Culture departments into strategic business partners that become an integral part in achieving business objectives.
She is an Internationally certified professional workplace Mediator and Trainer, certified Professional of Human Resources International and Society of Human Resources Management Certified Professional and a seasoned and active SPHRi and CHRBP Certifications Trainer, International and local Board Director, Board Evaluator and a Transformative leader. She is also a Fellow at the American Academy of Project Management ( AAPM), a member of the Kenya Institute of Directors Kenya (IoD-K), The Institute of Human Resources Management (IHRM), The Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) and MTI East Africa.
Lucy is an East Africa Acumen fellow and the founder of the True North Society, addressing mental health for soldiers and their families at a bigger scale. In 2015 she collaborated with IT and Tech professionals to design the diagnostic game app True North, which is available on Google and Windows play stores. Recently, she ran the first ever residential program for soldiers and their families. Some of her work has been featured via BBC and being leveraged to use the international platform to bring awareness, healing and care. True North also works with the government on trauma healing for families whose sons joined Al Shabab and the police.
Lucy is a member of the Kenyan Psychological Association and chair of the innovations and events committees.
An author and writer, she has published one of the series of the children’s book Mutenyo and Friends. She was featured in 2016 among Kenya’s Top 40 women under 40 years.
Education Consultant and Communications Consultant, The World Bank
Sierra Leone
Mariama is an international development professional (now specialising in public education sector building), a communications specialist, and a freelance journalist and multimedia producer. She had also once been the founder and business development lead of a start-up ethical biz-dev and communications consultancy firm in Sierra Leone. The Instagram blog turned firm, Foodies Salone, succeeded in bringing ethical and sustainable local sourcing, hiring and design practices to Sierra Leone’s foreign-dominated hospitality and tourism sectors.
After having obtained a BA in International Development and Political Science from McGill University, Mariama worked across local and international NGOs in her home country, Sierra Leone, on a progressive career track from program officer/advocacy and communications roles, to program coordinator and finally program consulting/leadership roles. These NGOs were largely in the fields of women’s and girl’s educational, professional and psycho-social services, as well as, the public health sector.
People Operations Business Partner, Maruchi Global
Nigeria
Mojisola is a Global Career Coach that has helped 1000+ professionals in private sessions globally to build thriving and fulfilling careers. In over a decade of her career, she has garnered requisite skills in People development , Brand & Marketing Communications, Customer Service, Executive Coaching, Training and Development, Events Management, Social media marketing working with private and public sectors.
Mojisola Olurotimi obtained a B.Sc in Estate Management from Obafemi Awolowo University between 2005 and 2010. In 2012, they obtained a Certified Customer Service Professional (CCSP) from the Service Quality Institute. In 2014, they obtained a Digital Business Management certification from Google. In 2017, they obtained a Professional Diploma in Public Relations from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations in Lagos. In 2019, they obtained an IADT- International Award in Delivering Training from Training Qualifications UK. In 2021, they obtained a Certified Career Coach certification from Transformation Academy and a Certified Career Analyst certification from Edumilestones.com.
Mojisola authored #TheGiftofPeople, a personal development book on developing #Networking skills for career and business professionals.
Special Adviser to Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget & National Planning, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nabila Aguele is a lawyer, public policy professional, and gender equality advocate with 17 years of combined experience. A global citizen, Nabila was born in Nigeria and raised in Nigeria, England, Qatar, and Canada.
As a Special Adviser to Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, she leads on international development cooperation and performance management. Her work includes the development of Nigeria’s Integrated Financing Framework to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (a pioneer achievement); women’s economic and social empowerment through the advancement of gender-responsive fiscal policies and budgets; and international cooperation initiatives focused on regional stabilization and climate finance.
A firm believer in the power of education to advance inclusive and sustainable development, Nabila serves on the Board of Directors for INSEAD and for Girl Rising, a global non-profit focused on girls’ education and empowerment. She has also been a member of the INSEAD “Force for Good” Campaign Board since 2019, and a member of the INSEAD Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Taskforce since 2020. Nabila also sits on the Advisory Board for Talentx Africa, a film financing marketplace that is leveraging technology to empower filmmakers and investors.
Before moving to Nigeria in 2016, Nabila practised law in the United States, representing Fortune 500 companies in complex civil patent litigations. Her passion for impact-driven lawyering and leadership development led her to also complete a two-year term as a Practitioner-in-Residence and professor in the Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic at American University Washington College of Law.
Nabila has a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto, a Juris Doctor from the American University Washington College of Law, and an MBA from INSEAD. She is a proud mum of three vibrant children 6 and under, and an acrylic artist.
Head, Employee Service and Wellness/Premium Trust Bank
Nigeria
Nkem is a graduate of Psychology with a Special Executive Management Program (SEMP) MBA from Metropolitan School of Business and Management, UK.
A certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHRi®) and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (ACIPM) with 14years+ experience in Human Resources, Product Management and Business Development in Financial Services and Consulting Industries, she is currently the Head, Employee Services and Wellness at PremiumTrust Bank.
As an Integrative Life Coach and Behavioral Change Therapist, Nkem founded The Work-Life Organisation Global Ltd, a Human Capital & Organisational Transformation Consultancy, where she works with organisations to provide Coaching, Therapy, Employee Wellness Programs, Corporate Training as well as Human Resource Advisory. Through her organisation, she has worked with brands such as NNPC, Oriental Energy Resources Ltd, Access Bank Plc, UBA, Union Bank Plc, LASWA, HerVest, etc to redefine their culture and concept of workplace flexibility, employee wellbeing and organisational effectiveness.
Nkem is the author of The Harmonised Life, a Personal Leadership & Organisational Transformation book, written for busy professionals who are burned out and unable to prioritise but wants to take charge of their personal and professional realities to achieve work-life harmony.
She serves on the board of 2 NGOs and 1 EdTech and was the Vice Chairman, Coaching, Mentoring and Counselling Committee for Association of Elite Human Resource Professionals in 2022.
She has been featured on Vanguard, Power Woman Network, TVC, PlusTV Africa, She Leads Africa, etc with global recognition as Top 40 HR Leaders and Innovators in Nigeria and Top 50 Leading Ladies in Corporate Nigeria by Leading Ladies Africa in 2020 where she also served as a mentor.
Marketing Director South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa at Pernod Ricard
South Africa
Nthabi Motsoeneng is the Marketing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Pernod Ricard, where she oversees brand strategy and innovation. She began her marketing career as a Marketing Manager at 3M and then moved on to become a Marketing Lead at Kimberly-Clark. Following this, she served as Marketing Director at Tetra Pak for over two years before joining Pernod Ricard.
Motsoeneng’s career started in 2000 at SABMiller as a Sales Coordinator. She later became the National Merchandise Coordinator and eventually left the company as the Assistant Brand Manager for Amstel Lager after five years. She continued her career as a Brand Manager and Senior Brand Manager at The Coca-Cola Company. She also worked as a Brand Manager at GlaxoSmithKline and as a Senior Brand Manager at Tiger Brands. With over 20 years of experience in branding, marketing, and sales, she is an expert in her field, having acquired experience from top retail companies in South Africa.
West Africa Media Manager, Unilever
Nigeria
Oge Maduagwu Is the West Africa Media Manager For Unilever. She is a consummate media & marketing communications professional with a bias toward innovative, insight-driven end-to-end media & communications for brands. With about 13+ years of experience under her belt, Oge is always poised to go above and beyond for the brands under her purview. Infusing the much-needed positive energies in teams to ensure staying power in spite of constraints.
She currently heads the Media team for the Unilever West Africa business and has a proven track record from both the agency and client sides. Prior to joining Unilever, she had spent 7 years with one of the largest media independent agencies in Lagos, Nigeria working across FMCG, Telco, Banking & Tech brands exiting as Team Lead of one of the business units. She executed and is still executing impactful marketing campaigns and strategies to turn in revenue in 9 figures.
Oge is a certified Digital marketing professional and currently holds memberships with APCON, NIMN & NIM. She is a One Young World ambassador, two-time jury member for Cannes Young Lions (Nigeria) Media competition & had cliched first place twice in 2010 & 2012 to represent Nigeria in Cannes, France in the Young Lions Media category for both years.
She was recognized as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women in Marketing and Communications in Nigeria by WIMCA in 2022
Program Officer, Ford Foundation
Nigeria
CShe is the Program Officer for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Justice at Ford Foundation, where she leads work on ending violence against women and girls. She is a gender and development practitioner with almost two decades of experience from government and civil society focusing on public policy, gender advocacy, civil society strengthening and governance.
Prior to joining Ford, she was the Civil Society and Media Specialist in the Peace & Democratic Governance Office of USAID/Nigeria where she designed and led multi-million-dollar civil society strengthening projects.
She has led several social policies and reforms in Nigeria and has served at various times as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund, a technical and financial resource for women in governance in Nigeria; Program Officer at the defunct Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund and National Poverty Eradication Program (NAPEP); Gender Advisor at the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs; and as a Technical Assistant Research, Policy & Planning in the Ministry of Communication Technology.
Corporate Communications Manager, Anglophone West Africa, Meta
Nigeria
Since she started her career as a Public Relations & Communications professional 11 years ago, Sola has steadily climbed through the corporate ladder to become the Corporate Communications Manager for Anglophone West Africa at Meta (formerly called Facebook) overseeing the brand’s communications across Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Gambia, and Sierra Leone.
Prior to this, she was the Senior Communications Manager for Africa at Andela. She joined the Andela team in January 2018 as the Communications Manager for Nigeria, and in her first 6 months, she led strategic PR efforts that brought a significant increase in the brand’s visibility and also created the internal communications pillar, so she was promoted to build and lead the Comms team in Africa (Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Egypt and Ghana).
Before her move to Andela, Sola was the Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Red Media Africa and was previously the Senior Account Manager for Facebook, Union Bank, Uber, HP, Intel WestAfrica, Maltina, Heineken, British Council & Unilever. During this time, Sola coordinated the publicity and press viewing event of Mark Zuckerberg’s 2016 visit to Nigeria. In 2015, she worked with Waggener Edstrom Communication in South Africa where she handled the market roll out of various projects and PR campaigns for Microsoft, Intel Africa, and Samsung.
She graduated with a B.A Degree in Dramatic Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University and holds a Master’s degree in Communications Studies from the University of Ghana, Accra Ghana with a major in Public Relations and Advertising. Sola is also a certified member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and a certified management consultant + fellow of International Management Consultants (FIMC, CMC).
She is very passionate about the girl child and has championed causes, geared towards promoting equality and inclusion for women. Sola is also a vocal advocate for women rising to the peak of their career while having work-life-balance.
Sola was recently named one of 35 under 35 Marketing professionals in Nigeria by Africa’s No 1 brand and Marketing magazine in 2022 – BrandCommunicator.
Global Head of Finance, Program FP&A , Mastercard Foundation
Nigeria
Oluwatoyin Aralepo is a first-class Accounting graduate. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Fellow of the Institute of Information Management of Africa and an Alumna of the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF), with over 15 years of experience across banking, telecoms and fintech. Her expertise includes finance strategy and business partnering, financial planning, analysis and reporting, audit and business assurance, financial controls and governance.
She was the Head of Budget in United Bank for Africa – responsible for over 400 business offices, budget preparation and consolidation. She was Commercial Controller and Financial Controller at Airtel Nigeria, where she managed a portfolio of over US$1bn and supported cost initiatives that saved millions of dollars. She was also former Chief Financial Officer of Cellulant Nigeria.
She is the founder of Africa Finance & Strategy Hub to support businesses, especially SMEs, with access to professional financial management skills and tools that will assist them in understanding, managing, and scaling their businesses. She wants to help companies build sustainable financial structures for profitable growth and become investor-ready. She has trained over 5,000 business owners on different platforms like She Leads Africa, Keystone Bank, Leap Africa, Wema Business School, FCMB SheVentures and so on. She is a passionate and unassuming entrepreneurial role model to young women. She is a mentor at WIMBIZ, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Techquest STEM Academy and so on. She is the Author of ‘How to Attract Billion Dollar Investors.’
Chief Marketing Officer, FNB Eswatini
Eswatini
Zethu is an experienced communications executive and entrepreneurial game-changer. She is also a lecturer and communications consultant.
Prior to her role as the CMO of FNB Eswatini, she served as the Non-Executive Director of The Corporate Gap and provided strategic oversight with the Directorship of the Company. She also served as Head of Marketing at FirstRand.
For over a decade, she has specialised in providing marketing, communications, branding and events management solutions for leading public and private enterprises within Swaziland. She has also created valuable content for publications ranging from commemorative national magazines for regional summits (SADC & COMESA,) to sector based publications for Swaziland’s international trade fair, the accountancy sector, women-owned businesses as well as SMEs.
Carbon Monetisation Cluster, Built by Nature
South Africa
With 13 years of experience, Vere Shaba is a multi-award winning engineer and green building consultant who has worked for multinational engineering consulting firms including Volkswagen, AECOM and WSP before founding Greendesign Africa in 2016.
For green buildings, her career began in 2010 when she was a part of the WSP-LUC-DHK winning team for the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies international design competition where the institute was to be carbon-neutral. Since then, she has been passionate about net zero green buildings that do less harm to people and to the climate and environment – understanding that Africa is the most vulnerable continent to climate change with women in Africa being disproportionately impacted.
As an ESG and green building consultant, Vere is experienced in green building certifications of office, hospitality, healthcare, retail, education, industrial, museum and precinct projects across the continent. The first Green Star project that she submitted to the Green Building Council South Africa as the Green Star Accredited Professional was awarded a South African Property Owners Association award for Overall Winner and her most notable project to date is the Green Star precinct certification of 600,000 sqm of Waterfall City in South Africa that is currently being targeted. As South Africa’s largest property development and the largest mixed-use development in Africa, Waterfall City is located on 2,200-hectares of land and has a Science-Based Target for greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030.
In 2020, Vere was invited to support the Middle East & Africa Regional Networks of the World Green Building Council. In 2021, she was then appointed as the Head of Africa Programmes for the World Green Building Council. In this role, she led the World Green Building Council’s Africa regional programmes with the African Union, C40 Cities, International Finance Corporation and UNFCCC High-Level Climate Champions. She developed a Middle East & North Africa focal point for Egypt and Tunisia and facilitated the membership of Nigeria, Ethiopia, Botswana and Zimbabwe resulting in the Africa Regional Network growing from 9 to 15 GBCs and 300 million to 700 million people represented across the continent in her one year tenure at World Green Building Council – before stepping down in 2023 to refocus on green building certifications and to support Member States of the African Union with the first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement at COP28.
Head, Legal & Compliance/Branch International
Nigeria
Tolulope is a financial services and digital economy professional with experience spanning across Africa, UK and US. She has led multi million debt financing, working with lenders/borrowers in the Financial Services, Entertainment, Technology and FMCG Industries, managed significant equity/debt investment into leading Fintechs in Nigeria while actively contributing to the growth and development of the African Fintech Ecosystem through my participation at various industry initiatives.
She has over twelve years experience working with Startups, Founders, Investors and Ecosystem Enablers. This has seen her lead and collaborate on industry initiatives through the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Fintech Association of Nigeria etc; while also serving as a mentor, advisor and facilitator to accelerators and innovation hubs.
Tolulope has published several articles and facilitated trainings on Banking, Fintech and Technology topics. She also regularly speaks at Fintech and Startup events in Africa including the Nigerian Fintech Week.
She currently sits on the Governing Council of Fintech Association of Nigeria as the Secretary and Head of Accelerate Committee.
She is passionate about raising awareness for non- technical women in tech and diversity.
Country Manager / International Beverages Consultancy
Nigeria
Tolu is a versatile business leader and an aviation executive, with over 17 years of cross-functional experience in multi industries including Aviation and FMCG with unique expertise in stakeholder management, managing high-impact projects, and enterprise solutions development for the operational and strategic, needs of governmental, private and multinational organizations globally.
Currently, she is the country manager of International Beverages Consultancy a multinational Group, which provides a broad spectrum of services specific to the food processing and beverages manufacturing industry., where she successfully drives the adoption of global business strategies for continued sustainability, as well as leading and advising organizational leaders on various business strategies, and critical partnerships to amplify the business’ impact, boosts revenue targets and increases shareholder value in a truly significant way.
Before her foray into organizational management, she had successfully worked her way to the aviation industry’s top, championing operational initiatives, Corporate Governance, and Policy in the industry, in collaboration with global colleagues. In 2018, she successfully participated in a change management project involving an operations process to ensure seamless operations of Nigeria’s aviation entities under the NCAA during the COVID-19 period.
Tolu sits on the Board of a school (SIS) and a fully Integrated Aviation Specialist CopterJet International as an Advisor to the Board and she was an Adviser to the Nigerian Member of the Flight Operations Panel, ICAO Nigerian Member of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) Policy review team. Aside from her professional engagements, she is a member of WIMBIZ and NIM.
Managing Director / Kigali Innovation City
Rwanda
She is the Managing Director at Kigali Innovation City. She manages what one can easily describe as the ‘silicon valley’ of Kigali. Managing all tech innovations and investment by local and international institutions.
Before becoming Managing Director of KIC, she was a Senior Consultant-Strategy & Operations at Deloitte, San Francisco. She worked to develop academic scientific innovations to profitable business ventures.
She has worked in the Office of the President of Rwanda in the Economic Policy & Strategy Unit and also in the Bank of Kigali as an Investor Relations and Business Developer. Her expertise is in angel investment, start-up management, and economic policy development. She is also a Founding Member of Business Angels Rwanda, working to fund tech ventures in Rwanda
Director, Internal Audit and Risk Management / IHS Towers
Nigeria
Temitope is a seasoned business leader and finance professional, with over eighteen years of financial experience, with exposure to both local and international organisations. Her varied experience in providing core business transformation, strategy, auditing, risk management and corporate governance services provided her with a well-rounded perspective necessary to meet the business and financial needs of organisations.
Currently, she serves as the Director of Internal Audit and Risk Management of one of the largest telecommunications infrastructure providers globally, and her work involves providing strategic leadership and direction in the planning, execution, and management of risk management and internal audit activities across IHS Africa (Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia, Rwanda, and South Africa).
Temitope leads the organisation across a variety of global operational standards, which enables them to make efficient sound financial decisions, in line with global practices.
She is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants(ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), an alumna of IESE Spain, with an MBA from the Lagos Business School.
As a consummate business professional, she possesses a drive to create and implement robust solutions that bring about sustainable impact, transforming the businesses of professionals and business owners.
Temitope recently won the Positive Role Model Award (West Africa) organised by Accenture in 2022.
Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO)/Sterling Bank/
Nigeria
Temi Dalley is a seasoned professional with over 18 years of exceptional performance in the HR space where she has built core expertise in strategic leadership, businesses management, people management, talent management, career development, transformational change, and project management with a track record of outstanding organizational, communication, consultative and influencing skills. She is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Sterling Bank Plc where she is responsible for building and managing a competent workforce to meet the growing demands of the workplace.
In addition to the traditional role covering employee benefits and compensation, training and development, employee engagement, recruitment and exit programmes at the bank, she also leads a team of Human Capital Experts whose mission is to create an enabling work environment in a highly demanding digital space.
Before Sterling Bank, Temi Dalley worked in various HR capacities at First City Monument Bank Limited – FCMB (January 2013 to June 2017), Katchey (January 2010 to December 2012), Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (June 2008 to December 2009), EDF UK (June 2007 to June 2008), and Santander UK Corporate & Commercial (January 2004 to January 2007).
Temi obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Ahmadu University, Nigeria, and a Master of Arts degree in Human Resource Management from the Middlesex Business School, UK. She is an alumna of the Wharton School, a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) UK, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), Nigeria among other professional bodies.
Temi was named among the 101 Most Influential Global HR Leaders by the HRD World Congress in 2018, HR Leader of the Year 2020 by the HR People Magazine Awards and was listed among the 122 Top Chief Human Resources Officers of 2022 by PeopleHum.
Sports Producer/Presenter / SMOOTH FM 98.1
Nigeria
Tega Onojaife is a renowned Sports Caster for Radio and Television. She started a career in financial portfolio management but made her career switch to sports production in September, 2006.
Tega is well known for her versatility and in-depth knowledge of a wide range of sports; NBA, Tennis, Formula 1, Athletics, Boxing and, of course, Football. She has worked with reputable Radio and Television stations in Nigeria ; Rhythm 93.7fm, Classic 97.3fm, Cool fm, Nigeria Info, Silverbird TV, TV Continental, NTA, HITV Cable Network and OSMI.
She currently works with Startimes, Smooth 98.1fm and has independent productions with Upfront and Personal airing nationwide.
In 2013, Tega featured in a reality TV show as a Judge in the search for a pidgin english sports commentator for Supersport. She also has print media experience. Her articles are also featured on a daily sports newspaper “dailysports” and “Nigeria, the good news”, a Federal government rebranding publication. She is also the creator of sports blog “tegastake.blogspot.com”.
Tega Onojaife is the founder of Ladies in Sports conference also known as the LIS conference and Sports Unusual, a Federal government approved Unity Cup in secondary schools.
Director of People and Partnerships/NIYEL
Senegal
Tasha Mills is a passionate Human Resources business partner who works closely with unit leaders to plan and implement Human Resource solutions aligned to the business. Beginning her professional career in the Accounting field, she quickly advanced to several leadership positions. None the less and true to her “never settle” mentality she realized her natural behavioral style was more suited for dealing with issues surrounding people therefore switching career paths and began work in the Human Resources field.
With 15+ years of progressive relevant experience, Tasha has demonstrated broad Human Resource management expertise and support for business objectives which includes: Talent Acquisition management, Leadership development, succession and workforce planning, compensation and benefits, performance management, employment law, HR technologies, employee relations and employee advocacy.
Naturally adept at building quality relationships with employees and management at all levels of the organization; Tasha quickly establishes connections with the general employee population to Executives, to gain knowledge of their business, issues they face and the dynamics of the team.
CEO / MTN Uganda
Uganda
Sylvia is the CEO of MTN Uganda, a telecommunications company whose intent is providing telecommunications and digital solutions for Uganda’s progress. It provides a diverse range of voice, data, digital, fintech, wholesale and enterprise services to approximately 16 million subscribers.
She is a purposeful and impact driven leader who is passionate about transforming customers’ lives using technology as an enabler of positive change that impacts communities and empowers women.
Previously, she served as the Chief Consumer Business Officer at Safaricom PLC where she was instrumental in increasing brand equity metrics for Safaricom, making it the most loved Brand in Kenya. She also spearheaded the growth of Consumer Business revenue resulting in revenue market share growth of 86% between 2018 to March 2022.
Over the last 22 years, Sylvia has developed a strong track record in strategic thinking, brand building, new business development, commercial execution, as well as people growth and development in the Telecommunications and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sectors.
Representing Africa in the Meta EMEA Client Council, Sylvia is part of a group of leaders from influential brands and agencies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Sylvia is the recipient of several awards, with the most recent one being the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear 2022. In 2020, she was named as one of the 100 Most Influential African Women, and was feted as one of Kenya’s Top 25 Women In Digital in 2019. She has also been cited as one of Kenya’s Top 40 under 40 Women for 3 consecutive years, and is a ‘2015 Young Global Leader (YGL) recipient.
Sylvia is currently serving on several boards including her most recent appointment in 2022 as the Chairperson of the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancy Association. In 2019, she was appointed to the Presidential Award Scheme, a self-development programme in Kenya. She also serves as a board member for Food4Education and SHOFCO. Previously, she served as a board member of Endeavor Kenya, and as one of the four Global Vice Chairs of the Unstereotype Alliance for four years since her appointment in 2019.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nairobi where she graduated with the highest distinction of First-Class Honors.
Sylvia is a certified executive coach and mentor in both her personal and professional life. She operates on the principles of partnership, humility, openness and professionalism.
Country Director/CARE
Tanzania
Prudence is a versatile public health specialist leader with rich experience of over 19 years in executing needs-based strategy, change management, business development, monitoring and evaluating people’s management and coaching, and public relations with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry.
She is one of the known Champions in the integration of sexual reproductive health (SRH) information and services in maternal and child health, nutrition, HIV, cervical cancer, malaria, youth, gender and other non-health programs in Tanzania .
Prudence is a strong professional with a Master of Science focused in Public Health in Developing Countries from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U. of London.
She has been recognized as one of the 50 Women in Top Management in Tanzania in 2020 (WIMA), Pioneering Woman Leader, Mumbai, India, in 2020, East African Woman Leader, Dar es Salaam Tanzania, in 2019 by World Women Leadership Congress (WWLC)
Prudence sits on the Board of Cardinal Rugambwa Hospital as a Board Chairperson and she is a Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Fellow.
Corporate Affairs Manager/Electoral Commission of Zambia
Zambia
Patricia is a premium and highly sort after corporate communications expert in Zambia. She combines high levels of intellect and outstanding leadership skills in her professional and personal growth. She was appointed Corporate Affairs Manager for the Electoral Commission of Zambia in December 2020. Prior to that, she worked as Head Public Relations at National Savings and Credit Bank Zambia where her role was to reposition the Bank’s brand and earn its share of voice on the market.
She has held similar roles at FNB (Zambia) and in the water and sanitation sector. Patricia has also served in mainstream media at the helm of news management. She is Zambia’s first specialized Financial Journalist having attained a Master of Arts Degree in Financial Journalism from City, University of London, in the United Kingdom.
She also holds qualifications in Mass Communication and International Relations from Cavendish University and Mulungushi University respectively. Patricia is a 2017-2018 recipient of the prestigious Chevening Scholarship, administered by the UK Government which enables emerging global leaders to study in the UK whilst joining a global community of professionals who are creating positive change around the world. During the course of study, she gained both academic and professional exposure. For instance, visits to top tier global financial hubs especially Shanghai helped her gain first-hand awareness of the global economy.
She also held several discussions with global leaders who include renowned Economist Dambisa Moyo. Her thought leadership moments include delivering a keynote at the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa workshop where she shared on Financial Journalism Landscape in Southern Africa and its role in economic development.
Additionally, she was nominated for the 2019 World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders. In April 2022, she was among the six Zambians who were nominated by the US Department of State to undertake the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) on election management. The IVLP is the US Government’s premier leadership exchange programme where respective embassies nominate candidates who have contributed to critical sectors of a country to focus on professional development in a given area.
Later in May 2022, Patricia was named the Best Public Relations /Communications Practitioner of the Year 2021 by the 3 of 6 Zambia Public Relations Association in recognition of her professional conduct and well as a positive role model contribution to the PR industry in Zambia. These awards stand as proof of her leadership credentials that span over 10 years as a communications expert.
Perhaps one interesting aspect about Patricia is how she has evolved to provide strategic communication, at the pinnacle of one the country’s governance and elections management body – the Electoral Commission of Zambia. She was appointed to this role seven months before the 2021 General Election and at the time the Commission was undergoing a serious credibility test. For many, she has revolutionized the work of the Commission. She played a key role in the successful conduct of the 12th August 2021 Zambia General Election.
Executive Director / Policy Innovation Centre
Nigeria
Osasuyi has over 18 years’ experience in implementing research and development projects in Agriculture, Education, Social Sciences and Public Health working with a wide range of donors. She has led a wide range of interventions and research projects working with hard to reach and vulnerable populations to improve access of women, children and vulnerable groups to health, inclusion and social empowerment. Her work has explored social determinants of health behavior in the context of poverty, norms, social inequalities and gendered issues to develop evidence for improving health outcomes using innovative strategies to work in complex/conflict settings requiring keen consideration for context and cultural sensitivity. recommendations.
She has conducted social norms assessments, gender analysis and GBV risk mapping for several donor-funded projects in Nigeria. She led the social norms exploration for the Nigeria for Women Project in Nigeria to facilitate an understanding of gender norms that influence joint house hold decision making for women empowerment. She also led the GBV risk assessment/action plan for the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project in Nigeria.
Osasuyi co-led the evaluation of Breakthrough ACTION’s Advocacy Core Group Model for Integrated Social Behavior Change (SBC) Programming in Nigeria and led the UNDP Pillar 5 (data component) of the EU-Spotlight Initiative to eliminate inequality driven by gender norms. She also led the design and implementation of a groundbreaking research study that explored barriers to uptake of clinical management of rape (CMR) services in conflict settings in Nigeria. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she led development of the National Gender Based Violence Dashboard, an innovative data management and visualization platform for the collation of validated, real-time GBV data in Nigeria.
Renewable Energy Consultant / Energy Commission of Nigeria
Nigeria
Peace is an Agro-Physicist with over 13 years of experience in Energy audit, Energy Research and Climate Advocacy. For almost 2 decades, she volunteers her time training the next generation on the role of physical sciences and energy sector.
Peace is a STEM career Counselor with a degree in education, through which the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Suisse Cooperation (SDC) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAMEU) via Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA) funded member research works culled from a call for submission of proposals upon which she and her team emerged 1st at both national and regional levels. She Led the Research work on ‘Restoring Quality Science Education in Nigeria for Improvised Practical Training. She is a Renewable Energy Consultant with Energy Commission of Nigeria.
She is a Johnson & Johnson ‘Champion of Science’, an NGO invited guest of the Schlumberger Foundation Gender gap in STEM in Nigeria collaborative meeting. She is a scholar of; IITA-IFAD Agri Hub, Future Females BS UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Tech-Women, USA, the Enterprise Development Center of the prestigious Lagos Business School on SSM to mention a few.
Partner/Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures
Kenya
Ory is currently a Partner at Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, a pan-African focused venture capital firm that backs exceptional founders in and from Africa. Previously, Ory was the Managing Director, Omidyar Network and Luminate Group in Africa, both impact investing arms of The Omidyar Group.
She serves on the Board of Directors of several organisations including the Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company, the East African Breweries Limited, Deloitte Africa, the Board of Trustees of the Van Leer Group, the Adecco Group Foundation, the Harvard Africa Advisory Group and is the Chair of the Stanbic Bank Kenya Foundation. She is also an Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) Fellow.
Prior to this, Ory was Google’s policy and strategy manager for Africa. Ory was also at the forefront of developing technology innovation as a founding member of Ushahidi. She was the organization’s Executive Director from inception until December 2010. Ory is also the co-founder of Mzalendo, a website that tracks the performance of Kenyan MPs and Asphalt & Ink, a strategic advisory firm. In 2011 Ory was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and one of Africa’s most Powerful Women by Forbes Magazine. In 2014 she was named Time 100’s most influential people in the world. She was also a TED Talk Speaker.
Ory earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A in political science (summa cum laude) from the University of Pittsburgh.
Senior Director – Strategy (Africa Middle East and South Asia)/ PepsiCo
South Africa
Onemhinye Bayode is an experienced strategist and management consultant specializing in growth strategy, market entry strategy, and customer strategy across multiple industries like the financial, telecommunications, and public sectors in Africa and the Middle East. Onie currently holds the position of Senior Director – Strategy (Africa Middle East and South Asia) at PepsiCo. She has worked with leading global firms such as Accenture, Nokia Siemens Networks, KPMG, Visa and PepsiCo
She has supported C-level executives of prominent companies across Africa and Middle East to solve burning issues on growth and market entry strategy, customer strategy and digital transformation. Onie is a strong advocate of supporting and equipping small and medium enterprises in Africa with the skills and tools to access institutional finance to enable them to dominate the African and global markets.
Her qualifications include executive courses in strategy and leadership from INSEAD, London Business School, Harvard Business School and Oxford Said Business School.
She has co-authored several thought leadership publications on the financial services landscape in Africa covering topics such as market entry strategy, trends in eCommerce and business banking, as well as customer experience excellence in banking and insurance
African Union Permanent Observer to the United Nations, NY.
Nigeria
Fatima Kyari Mohammed serves as the African Union Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York. Before this role, she worked as the Senior Special Advisor to the ECOWAS Commission, drawing on over 20 years of experience with various institutions in roles related to peace and security, regional integration, and organizational development. She previously held positions such as Executive Director of West Africa Conflict & Security Consulting (WACAS), Programme Manager for Regional Cooperation for West Africa at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, and Regional Project Manager for Security Policy Projects in West Africa with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
Her areas of expertise include peace and security, conflict prevention and transformation, gender, regional integration, and socio-economic development. Additionally, she founded the non-profit organization LikeMinds Project in 2006, which focuses on volunteerism and initiatives to improve livelihoods and promote peace among vulnerable communities such as women, children, and youth. The organization launched the IDP Support Project in North East Nigeria in November 2014.
Fatima Kyari Mohammed received academic degrees in peace, security, development, and conflict transformation from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and in sustainable economic development from the UN University of Peace in Costa Rica. She also holds an MBA in Business Communication from the European University in Switzerland and a BA in Environmental Design from the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria. She is fluent in English, French, and Hausa.
United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
South Africa
In 2007, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng earned her MBChB degree from UKZN. She was recognized and awarded for her contributions to the medical field, including winning the 120under40 New Generation of Family Planning Leaders award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute in New York in 2016, being named one of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans in 2016, and being nominated by the South African Medical Association for the Young Doctor’s Awards in the same year. She was also featured in Destiny Magazine’s Power of 40! and participated in an Enterprise Development Program sponsored by Norton Rose and Beyond Coaching in 2010 and 2012.
Aside from being a medical consultant for various productions like Endemol SA’s Big Brother Africa 2011 and Red Pepper Productions’ Bootcamp Celebrity Edition 2014, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng is also a writer, contributing articles to Tame Times Newspaper, Destiny Man Magazine, Sowetan Newspaper, Cosmopolitan SA, Choma Magazine, and ANOVA’s Women’s health Booklet. She also wrote a sexologist column for Sunday Times Newspaper and a four-part series on Reproductive Justice for Radio 702 and Cape Talk Weekend Breakfast.
Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng has appeared on various channels such as SAFm, Power, 702 Talk Radio, Cape Talk, and Al Jazeera. She has been a panelist on the Feathers Awards, participated in community work and campaigns, and has been featured in various publications such as Afroelle Magazine and Destiny Magazine.
In July 2020, Fatima Tlaleng Mofokeng was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health by the United Nations Human Rights Council. She is known for advocating for universal health access, HIV care, youth-friendly services, and family planning. Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng is also a member of the boards of the Safe Abortion Action Fund, Global Advisory Board for Sexual Health and Wellbeing, and Accountability International, and chairs the board of the Soul City Institute. She has also worked as a commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality in South Africa and an advisor to the Technical Committee for the National Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Framework Strategy in South Africa.
Minister of Tourism, Malawi Government
Malawi
Vera Kamtukule is the current Minister for Tourism in the Malawi Government, previously serving as the Labour Minister since January 2022 and as a Deputy Minister since July 2020. With over 15 years of experience in programme management at senior level, Vera has worked with local NGOs, public sector, and donor organizations in Malawi. Her experience includes designing and implementing development projects in both rural and urban settings, gained from working with CCODE, a local NGO in Malawi supporting the urban and rural poor in housing, water, sanitation, and income generation.
Vera has skills in policy analysis and planning, obtained from working with the Malawi Government and donor agencies. She is also experienced in strategic planning and execution at the organizational level. As an award-winning writer, motivational and keynote speaker, and communicator, Vera is skilled in presenting issues to various levels of people with ease and efficiency.
Prior to her current role, Vera worked as the Public Relations Officer for the National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) for one year and seven months. She was also the CEO for Malawi Scotland Partnership, an organization that coordinates, represents, and inspires civic links between Malawi and Scotland. Vera is the Founder and Director of Patch Malawi Trust, a social enterprise set up to balance and strengthen linkages among social, economic, and psychological needs of people in Malawi.
Vera is passionate about women and girls’ empowerment and has published five books on the subject, including “Made To Bloom,” “More Than A Pastor’s Wife,” and “The Professional Woman.” She also embarked on an ambitious program in 2019 that saw the distribution of her book, “Made to Bloom,” to all secondary school girls across Malawi. Vera was the African Writers Award winner in the Women Empowerment category in July 2020 and won the African Achievers Award in the Social Advocacy Category in December 2020. She serves on the Board of Malawi Housing Cooperation, Central Region Water, Possibilities Africa, Timveni Radio and TV, and Exploits University.
Regional Senior Procurement Officer,
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
COTE D’IVOIRE
Carine Toure Yemitia has over 20 years of experience in Operations, specifically in Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Asset Management, and Quality Management, serving both the private and public sectors. Throughout her career as an expert, she has led various teams in Distribution, ICT, Automotive, Agricultural, and international public fields, which has helped her enhance her managerial skills, leadership qualities, and develop strategies and policies in an international environment.
Her vast global experience has enabled her to closely collaborate with all components of a company, including Finance, Marketing, Sales, Production, HR, and Legal. As a Senior Manager, Carine has been able to understand their respective constraints and offer adequate support.
Carine is passionate about creating new strategies, empowering staff and stakeholders, building capacities, measuring results, and enhancing customer satisfaction levels. Her expertise positively impacts all stakeholders involved in the processes.
Director, Peace Fund Secretariat, African Union Commission
Ethiopia
Dagmawit Moges Bekele currently serves as the Director of the Peace Fund Secretariat at the African Union Commission. Previously, she held various roles in the Ethiopian government, including Deputy Mayor and Communication Affairs Bureau Head of Addis Ababa City Government, Cabinet Member of the City Government, and Board Chairperson of Addis Ababa Mass Media Agency. Moges is an FDRE Cabinet Member and a Member of the House of Peoples’ Representatives of Ethiopia (HoPRE). She has also served as Board Chairperson of Woldia University and the Ethiopian Postal Service Enterprise. In addition, she is a Board Member of Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise, Ethiopian Investment Commission, and Ethiopia’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) Board.
Moges obtained her bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Development Management (PADM) and her master’s degree in Public Management and Policy (MPMP) from Addis Ababa University, where she also worked as a Graduate Assistant Lecturer. She has worked in various capacities in the Addis Ababa City Government, including as General Manager of Kolfe Keranyo Sub-City and as Deputy Bureau Head of the Trade and Industry Bureau and the Capacity Building Bureau.
Head of Pharmacy Department, National Ear Care Centre, Kaduna
Nigeria
Head of Pharmacy Department at the National Ear Care Centre in Kaduna, Ramatu Abdulkadir is a seasoned public servant and recognized expert in public health supply chain management systems. She previously served as the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Health Supplies Management Agency (KADHSMA), where she led the transformation of Kaduna State Health Supply Chain systems, serving over 10 million people. Ramatu coordinated and supervised the upgrading of the first government-owned and operated Pharma-grade warehouse valued at around NGN 250 Million.
During her time at KADHSMA, Ramatu successfully delivered supply chain operations excellence, equitable access to health products and supplies, audit-ready transparent procurement, sustainable last-mile distribution, and end-to-end supply chain visibility. She also managed a health products procurement portfolio valued at over 5 billion Naira between 2016 to 2020, utilizing her extensive experience in strategic leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Ramatu facilitated and coordinated the Kaduna State Government’s strategic investments in developing human resource capacity in logistics and supply chain management, resulting in 17 civil servants obtaining MSc degrees in Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the United Kingdom. She has contributed significantly to product and system value chain challenges in low- and middle-income countries, serving as a keynote speaker, policy analyst, development strategist, circular economy champion, subject matter expert, and researcher locally and internationally.
Ramatu holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria and an MSc. degree in Pharmacology from Usmanu Danfodio University in Sokoto. She is an accredited preceptor, supervisor, and a Fellow with the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacist in Public Health. She is a member of the Nigerian Health Research Ethics Committee and has published scientific articles in several peer-reviewed research journals. Ramatu is currently conducting her PhD research work in logistic and supply chain management at Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom, focusing on the integration of public health supply chains for better performance. She is an alumni of the University of Oxford in Strategic Leadership and a Fellow of the International Program in Public Health Leadership from the University of Washington, USA. She is also a certified academic trainer in logistics and supply chain management from the Kuehne Logistic University in Hamburg, Germany.
Marketing Manager, International Premium Spirits & Reserve Brands, Diageo
Nigeria
Ifeoma Agu is a marketing professional and Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants who has over ten years of experience in brand and marketing strategy and trade marketing. Currently, she serves as the Marketing Manager for International Premium Spirits & Reserve Brands at Diageo in Nigeria. Agu leads a team of talented Gen Z and Millennial professionals who are responsible for driving growth and sustainability for the Diageo spirits portfolio to keep the brands vibrant, desired, and talked about in Nigeria. Her team does so with unmatched creativity, rigor, and flair, always keeping in line with Diageo’s purpose of celebrating life, every day, everywhere.
Throughout her career, Agu has demonstrated her proficiency in marketing and has worked with notable blue-chip organizations in Nigeria in the banking, telecommunications, advertising, and food and beverage industries. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her great performance, which attest to her deep sense of professionalism and responsibility. Agu is passionate about building great brands and developing strong relationships. Additionally, she leads the Progressive gender portrayal workstream for Diageo in Nigeria and is committed to driving the inclusion and diversity agenda in our world today. Agu’s specialties include marketing strategy development and implementation, new product development, trade marketing, commercial planning and activation, customer relationship management, portfolio strategy development, channel development, and retail sales strategy
Plant Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc
Nigeria
Dolapo Oshiegbu is an exceptional business operations manager who possesses specialized knowledge in end-to-end manufacturing processes. Her area of expertise is delivering premium quality brands to customers and consumers while maintaining the right efficiencies and cost in a safe, sustainable, and engaging environment.
With over 13 years of experience at Diageo, Oshiegbu has worked in various positions at Guinness Nigeria and Diageo Australia. In her current role at Guinness Nigeria, she is responsible for overseeing all site operations at the brewer.
Oshiegbu is a seasoned manufacturing professional with expertise in different manufacturing areas, such as manufacturing excellence, process improvements, safety, quality assurance, sustainability, production planning, packaging & brewing operations, people, and stakeholder management.
Throughout her career, she has combined her knowledge of strategic planning, world-class best practices, and problem-solving techniques to deliver business objectives in a timely, cost-efficient, customer-driven, safe, and ethical manner.
HR Director – Guinness Nigeria
Nigeria
Ayodeji Ajibola is a highly experienced Human Resources professional with a Legal background. With over 16 years of experience in various HR functions, including 12 years at Senior Management level, she is a specialist in local and multi-country HR strategy and management, leadership coaching and development, employee engagement and relations, compensation and benefits consulting and benchmarking.
Ayodeji began her HR career at Phillips Consulting and subsequently worked in the Human Capital Management Group at Oando plc, one of Africa’s largest integrated energy solutions providers at the time and the first African company to have a cross-border listing on the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchange. She then spent five years at GE, where she served as GE’s first Employee Services Leader in Nigeria and then as the HR Compliance and Localisation Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa before joining Microsoft. At Microsoft, she served as a HR lead in the Middle East and Africa’s Multi-Country Cluster, overseeing HR operations in 19 diverse countries.
In April 2020, Ayodeji joined Guinness Nigeria, bringing with her a wealth of experience from various industries and global companies. She has demonstrated her ability to be a strong partner and trusted advisor to other leaders, a champion for talent development, a strong advocate for inclusion and diversity, and a believer in the principle of “bringing your whole self to work.”
Councilor, New Voices Council, Apolitical Foundation
KENYA
Nadia Ahmed Abdalla is a prominent communication strategist, international consultant, and global speaker. At the age of 29 years, Nadia became the youngest Deputy Minister (CAS) to serve for almost 3 years in the cabinet of the 4th government of Kenya under the leadership of H.E Uhuru Kenyatta. With a wealth of experience in governance and policy around youth, digital transformation, and young women, Nadia possesses an industrious and resourceful knack for delivering quality results and outputs for international corporations, development institutions, and non-profits across Africa and globally.
Nadia is a seasoned product and program ecosystem builder who derives pleasure from building diverse and inclusive networks for various industries. Her unconventional problem-solving skills enable her to accelerate growth impact across different spaces she occupies. She is a practical expert in developing and implementing public policy communication strategies, lobbying and advocacy campaigns, capacity building programs, designing and implementing resource mobilization strategies.
Nadia’s vast experience in Millennial and Gen Z Leadership has led her to grace global spaces to speak on Millennial and Gen Z Leadership strategies, build female databases for equitable networks, and advocate for mental health across the board. As a two-time author, Nadia enjoys writing, cycling, and cooking. She takes pride in being an avid champion for teenage girls and young women in Africa, shining a light on opportunities for young women, digital equity, advocacy against GBV and teenage pregnancy along the African ecosystem. In 2022, she was recognised as one of the LinkedIn Top Voices for Africa
Tutor, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)
SOUTH AFRICA
Niven Postma is an experienced, pioneering leader with a strong belief in human potential and a talent for connecting with people from diverse backgrounds. She has a healthy sense of humor and is passionate about creating engaging work environments.
Postma partners with leaders as a consultant and facilitator to reignite the energy and creativity of teams, build an enabling culture, and develop meaningful strategies. Her clients are global and come from diverse industries, including financial services, professional services, technology, oil and gas, media, and retail.
She is an expert in organizational politics and the author of the best-selling book, “If you don’t do politics, politics will do you – A guide to navigating office politics ethically and successfully.” Postma is also a keynote speaker and has addressed audiences of up to 60,000 people. She contributes to Harvard Business Review and Inc. Africa and is a visiting lecturer at Henley Business School and on global leadership programs. In 2022, she was recognised as one of the LinkedIn Top Voices for Africa
Postma is South African by birth, African by choice, and has a global outlook and impact. She is happily married and loves hitting the open road in a campervan and traveling the world.
Group Head, Emerging Businesses Africa/ Access Bank Plc
Nigeria
Ayodele Olojede is a transformational leader with more than two decades of experience in the finance markets of Africa and North America. She is a renowned thought leader in the MSME Banking and Fintech industry and is frequently invited to speak at global platforms, where she provides unique insights to support emerging businesses through digital transformation.
Olojede holds board appointments and serves on the governing council of the SME Finance Forum, steering global conversations to create an enabling environment and improve access to funding and finance methods for small businesses.
As the Group Head, Emerging Businesses for one of Africa’s largest banks, Access Bank, Olojede is responsible for deploying Pan-African solutions for MSMEs in emerging markets, with a focus on increasing exposure, impact, and value for access to quality financial services for women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises. She drives capacity building for entrepreneurs with the aim to accelerate market growth, digital transformation, and expansion into new segments.
Olojede pioneers projects that unlock revenue growth in emerging businesses and is widely recognized for his expertise in market entry as well as penetration and business transformation strategies. He has experience in providing direction and assessing growth potentials of MSMEs in new markets, ensuring cross-functional synergy, growth and profitability, customer success, and exceeding business potential.
Some of her career highlights include being widely recognized as a pioneer for MSME/emerging businesses in Africa, building strategic partnerships with donors and foundations to set up a $1bn fund in 4 thematic areas; funding, risk sharing, capacity building, and technical assistance to impact 10 million MSMEs across Africa, introducing innovative methods and strategies that have positioned Access bank as the number 1 bank for emerging businesses in Africa, and deploying a payment solution to ease the challenges during the COVID-19 lockdown, using social media as a channel without having a web page.
Technical advisor Ministry of mines and steel
Nigeria
Lumun Amanda Feese is a renowned expert in the mining sector with more than 22 years of experience in developing and executing private sector development, legal, institutional, regulatory, and governance (demand and supply) reforms and strategies. Her primary focus is to encourage private sector participation in the mining sector and to revive a dormant mining sector to contribute to economic development.
Throughout her career, Lumun Amanda Feese has achieved many significant milestones, some of which include domesticating the African Mining Vision (AMV) in Nigeria’s National Development Plan for 2021-2025, conceptualizing the strategy to restructure the Nigerian Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), playing a vital role in developing a new technical assistance partnership to diversify the Nigerian economy away from oil through mining, and designing and implementing a strategy that led to the successful privatization of the state-owned petrochemical subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Minister of International Cooperation, Egypt
Egypt
Rania Al Mashat is Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation since December 2019, and previously served as the country’s first female Minister of Tourism. Prior to that, she was Advisor to the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC. She specialized in central banking issues and designing monetary policy frameworks.
Her other former roles include serving as Sub-Governor for Monetary Policy at the Central Bank of Egypt, Senior Economist at the IMF, Deputy Project Director for the Institutional Reform and Informal Sector Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Al-Mashat has several publications on monetary policy, financial stability and institutional reforms in transition and emerging markets. In 2022, she was recognised and one of the LinkedIn Top Voices for Africa
Egypt Country Advisor, Mediterrania Capital Partners
Egypt
Noha El Ghazaly is currently serving as the Egypt Country Advisor at Mediterrania Capital Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on Africa and has €450Mn in assets under management. The firm has six offices located in Europe and Africa. With more than fourteen years of experience in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions across the MENA region, Noha has led and participated in the origination and successful execution of over 25 transactions, with a total value of more than USD 1.4 Bn across diverse sectors.
Before joining Mediterrania Capital Partners, Noha worked as the Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking at Pharos Holding for Financial Investments. She also served as the Executive Director at HC Securities and Investment and was a Board Member at HC Brokerage. Additionally, she serves as an Independent Investment Committee Member for Sanad Fund ESF II, a KfW-backed impact investing fund that focuses on the MENA region, providing equity financing to MSME-focused financial institutions and fintech startups. Noha is also an Independent Board Member at Middle East Glass Manufacturing Company and Raya Holding for Financial Investments.
Noha El Ghazaly has been featured by Forbes Middle East as one of the Top 100 Power Businesswomen (2020) and Most Influential Women (2018) in the Middle East. She has also been recognized by Financial News London, a Dow Jones Company, as one of the Top 50 Women in Middle East Finance in 2019. Noha holds an MBA degree from Edinburgh Business School.
Corporate Communications Manager, Vivo Energy Ghana
Ghana
Shirley Tony Kum has led Vivo Energy Ghana to win several awards and recognitions. In 2021, Vivo Energy Ghana was inducted into the Hall of Fame for excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the Ghana Oil and Gas Awards. Additionally, their #roadsafety campaign, named Stop, Think, & Drive, won the Reputation Award Category across the Vivo Energy Group. The company was also adjudged the most promising organization in Learning and Development Practice at the 2021 HR Focus Awards. Moreover, Vivo Energy Ghana won the Employee Communications Category of the 2020 #SABRE Awards at the African Public Relations Association (APRA) Conference in September 2021.
Apart from being a senior communications executive, Shirley is also a mentor and speaker. She has secured speaking engagements at several events and mentored many others. Shirley has spoken at the Today’s Woman Empowerment Summit, Africa Corporate Lounge, UKGCC press Freedom Day roundtable event, Agrihouse Foundation AG-STUD Africa Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue Bootcamp, and several other events.
Shirley Tony Kum was appointed as a member of the Governing Council of the African University College of Communications. She also serves as the Honorary Secretary of the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana. Shirley has a solid track record of effectively managing the company’s reputation by demonstrating a deeper understanding of the interrelationships between the PR function and sales growth. In 2021, she was recognised as one of the top 10 PR Women in Ghana by Women in PR Ghana
Head of Communications and Partnerships – UNDP Ghana
Ghana
Praise (Dogah) Nutakor is a result-driven communications expert responsible for developing and implementing communication strategies.
Throughout 2021, Praise has actively supported her organization’s efforts and amplified information on her social media pages, particularly LinkedIn and Facebook. Her outstanding leadership has earned her recognition and an award from her organization.
Praise, affectionately called the SDG woman, has an exceptional track record in leadership. She has led multinational projects, including the YouthConnect Africa conference, which brought together over 2000 young delegates with high profiles from across the continent. Praise has also organized strategic communication training for district assemblies and led a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) training program for journalists, among other achievements.
Praise participated in the Global Women in Public Relations International Women’s Day Mentorship Program and currently serves as an Advisory Member for Women in PR Ghana. She possesses excellent leadership and mentoring skills and is passionate about development communications for change, particularly the SDG Goals. In 2021, she was recognised as one of the top 10 PR Women in Ghana by Women in PR Ghana
Head of PR & Communications, Vodacom Tanzania
Tanzania
Annette Kanora is a seasoned leader with over 10 years of management experience in helping organizations build strong brands and communicate effectively. She specializes in fusing branding and communication to promote the presence of a sustainable and trusted brand. Annette assists businesses in leveraging their expertise as a unique selling point that sets them apart in the market. She uses communications to shape perceptions and positively influence key stakeholders, offering services in reputation management, external communications, and strategic communications.
Annette is adept at translating high-level agendas into day-to-day measurable goals. Her areas of interest include corporate affairs, brand and marketing communications, digital communications, stakeholder relations, corporate social investment, public relations, and internal communications.
77. Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuo
Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Hollard Ghana Holdings
Ghana
Since she assumed her role as group head of marketing and corporate affairs at Hollard Ghana Holdings, Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuo has brought her award-winning brand communications experience at Ogilvy in West Africa to disrupt a conservative industry with her local translation of an international insurance brand, while instigating a vibrant company culture and spurring excitement, growth and competition.
Regularly recognised as one of the most influential African PR practitioners, Ofori-Dwumfuo’s innovative approach has helped to position the insurer as an innovator itself, in a market where less than 30% of the population has insurance. She has transformed the traditional firm’s internal and external communications activities and campaigns, encourages the team to look beyond the expected, and has shown how creative strategy and execution can deliver impact despite regulatory and budgetary constraints.
And she’s not averse to getting stuck in herself: Ofori-Dwumfuo is involved in all aspects of the business, including support for business development, product development and distribution, and takes a leading role in Ghana’s wider communications industry through mentoring young PR professionals. In 2021, she was recognised as one of the top 10 PR Women in Ghana by Women in PR Ghana
78. Moky Makura
Executive Director, Africa No Filter
SOUTH AFRICA
Moky Makura is a multi-talented individual with an extensive professional background in various fields. She was born in Nigeria, raised and educated in England, and has lived in different cities such as London, Johannesburg, and Lagos. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of Africa No Filter, a donor collaborative focused on changing the African narrative. Moky previously held the position of Deputy Director for Communications Africa at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where she was responsible for building and managing the foundation’s reputation on the continent. She also served as the foundation’s Country Representative to South Africa in 2017, where she oversaw government relations and internal program coordination. Before her time at the Gates Foundation, Moky was the Communications Director for the Tony Elumelu Foundation in Nigeria.
Aside from her work in communications and philanthropy, Moky is a well-known TV presenter, producer, author, and publisher, as well as a successful entrepreneur. She holds an Honours degree in Politics, Economics and Law from Buckingham University in the UK. Moky’s passion for presenting a positive image of Africa led her to create one of the first websites dedicated to showcasing the continent’s achievements and heroes. Moky established the first storytelling networking event for women called Herstory Joburg. She also serves on the advisory boards of two non-profit organizations, Junior Achievement Africa and the Houtbay Partnership.
79. Keneiloe Molopyane
Scientific researcher, University of the Witwatersrand
South AFRICA
Keneiloe Molopyane is an experienced Associate Lecturer in the higher education industry, with a demonstrated history of working in this field. She is skilled in Archival Research, Photography, Biological Anthropology, Anthropology, and Public Archaeology. Molopyane has a strong educational background, holding a Master of Science (MSc) degree focused on Bioarchaeology from the University of York.
Molopyane’s passion for exploring the secrets of the earth began at a young age. Born in Benoni, a mining town in Gauteng, South Africa, she knew she wanted to be an archaeologist after watching The Adventures of Tintin when she was just seven years old. Molopyane has been dubbed as one of South Africa’s underground astronauts and was named one of 15 Emerging Explorers for the National Geographic Society and in in 2022, was featured by AMAKA on ‘
10 African Women in STEM You Should Know’
Molopyane gained global attention as part of a crew of six female scientists who discovered an unknown human species, now known as Homo naledi. This discovery was a significant milestone in the scientific community, and Molopyane is the first post-doctoral research fellow at Wits University’s Centre for Exploration of the Deep Human Journey. As a Black academic, Molopyane feels that her experience allows her students to see archaeology and anthropology from a new perspective.
80. Funke Jaiyesimi
Marketing Manager, Janssen Pharmaceutical Company
Nigeria
Funke Jaiyesimi is a trained pharmacist and currently holds the position of Marketing Manager,at Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson. With over 13 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry across different multinationals, she is an erudite commercial leader who is dedicated to optimizing treatment outcomes for individuals and empowering people to achieve total wellbeing.
Jaiyesimi is a strong supporter of mental health campaigns and is an advocate for strategic partnerships that aim to reduce the burden and morbidity caused by mental health disorders.
81. Angela Mensah-Poku
Director of Digital and Commercial Operations, Vodafone Ghana
Ghana
Angela Mensah-Poku is a Commercial Director and Managing Director with over 10 years of leadership experience in Africa and Europe. Her expertise lies in influencing large-scale internal transformations to capture revenue, profitability, and customer experience improvements. Currently, she serves as Director for Digital and Commercial Operations for Vodafone Ghana, leading an organization of more than 500 employees across 6 teams to advance the company’s digital transformation agenda, mobilize and deliver commercial and customer experience through customer-facing teams, and deliver significant commercial results.
Previously, Angela was the Director of Vodafone Business and Managing Director of Vodafone Wholesale, where she propelled Vodafone Business Solutions to the #1 market position in Ghana by positioning the company as the #1 ICT-trusted partner for all digital solutions. She also established partnerships with leading global organizations and stakeholders to advance the digital society agenda and drive digital inclusion in underserved areas.
Angela is recognized for defining the strategic direction of the business, developing the long-term commercial strategy, and defining the go-to-market approach, commercial model, and investment requirements for digitalization partnerships with multinational customers as well as local businesses. She won special recognition for her outstanding contribution to the Enterprise sector at the ninth edition of the Ghana Information Technology and Telecoms Awards (GITTA) held in Accra, July 2019.
Angela is passionate about taking on tough business challenges and turning around underperforming organizations. She is a catalyst for change, motivating teams and influencing stakeholders to achieve both short- and long-term goals.
82. Angela Ndambuki
Regional Director Sub-Saharan Africa, International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)
Kenya
Angela Ndambuki is the Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). She is a Kenyan music industry executive and advocate who has been instrumental in promoting the rights of artists, fighting piracy, and improving copyright legislation across the African continent.
Angela began her career as a singer and songwriter in the 1990s and has held various leadership positions in the music industry, including serving as the CEO of the Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRiSK). She has been recognized both locally and internationally for her outstanding contributions to the music industry and is widely regarded as one of the most influential women in the industry in Africa.
83. Debra Mallowah
Vice President, East and Central Africa Franchise,
The Coca-Cola Company
Kenya
Debra Mallowah is a highly accomplished leader with a wealth of experience gained across general management, marketing, innovation, and sales functions in Blue chip multi-national companies with a strong presence in Africa. She possesses strong brand building and commercial acumen, as well as superior understanding of customers and markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Previously, she served as the Chief Business Development & Strategy Officer of Safaricom plc (Vodafone Group), General Manager of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare East Africa & West Africa, Vice-President of the Personal Care Division of Unilever Africa, and Group Marketing & Innovation Director of Diageo East Africa. She is currently the Vice President, East and Central Africa Franchise, The Coca-Cola Company.
Debra holds a Business degree (Hons) with a major in marketing and has completed an Advanced Management Program (AMP) from IESE Business School, Spain and the Oxford Fintech program, Said Business School, Oxford University. Mallowah has been honored by the Marketing Society with a warrior award for her successful marketing and driving growth of world-class brands in the region. She is a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce (Kenya chapter) and Art of Music Foundation, and a member of the Africa Leadership Council.
84. Evelyne Dioh Simpa
Managing Director, WIC Capital
Senegal
Evelyne Dioh SIMPA is an investment professional and the Managing Director of WIC Capital, which is the first investment fund in West Africa that solely focuses on financing small and growing businesses led by women. Through customized funding, tailored technical support, and business networks, the fund aims to unlock the complete potential of women-led businesses in Africa, fostering collaboration between local private and public sector actors to shape the gender-lens investing landscape in the region.
Before joining WIC Capital, Evelyne led transactions worth more than €100 million in various sectors, including industry, renewable energy, and agriculture, as an investment professional at FONSIS, Senegal’s sovereign wealth fund. She also worked previously at the General Inspection of the Société Générale Group.
Evelyne is committed to promoting the growth of small businesses in Africa and is passionate about gender issues in modern African societies. In recognition of her leadership and achievements, she was ranked in The Choiseul 100 Africa in both 2021 and 2022, which identifies 200 young African leaders under 40 who will have a significant impact on the continent’s economic development in the near future. Additionally, she was recognized on the Black Women in Asset Management (BWAM) 40 under 40 list, which honors black women who are shaping the future of asset management.
85. Naomi Wanjiru Njeri Monobolou
Senior Programme Budget and Policy Officer / African Development Bank Group
Côte d’Ivoire
Naomi Wanjiru Njeri-Monobolu is an astute, incisive, and highly influential professional for international development organizations, corporations, and academia.
Naomi has a wealth of experience having worked with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations (UN), and on regional projects in East, West, and Central Africa spanning structuring development projects, financial innovation for inclusion, result-based budgeting, negotiation and arbitration resources.
Naomi serves on several Boards including the International Community School of Abidjan, Impact Direct Foundation, and AISA Women in Leadership, and is a member of the Women on Boards Network, the Boardroom Africa and the Institute of Directors.
She is also the Founder of Exponential Growth Channel for Mentorship and Coaching, and the Author of “Unlock Your Body Budget”.
86. Fathima Ebrahim
Head of Marketing,
Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa
South Africa
Fathima Ebrahim is an experienced Head of Marketing with a proven track record in the telecommunications industry. She possesses a diverse set of skills, including expertise in journalism, corporate communications, management, social media, and digital media, gained from her experience working in both corporate and agency environments. A graduate of Henley Business School, Fathima is a seasoned communications professional with a strong marketing background. Her outstanding contributions were recognized when she was nominated as one of 50 Leading Ladies in Corporate Africa in May 2021 and named one of the 700 Most Influential Africans in the World in 2022.
87. Jocelyn Muhutu Remy
Managing Director, Spotify Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa
Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy is the Managing Director of Spotify, Sub-Saharan Africa. Before assuming this role, she served as the leader of Meta’s Strategic Media Partnerships across Sub-Saharan Africa. With experience spanning across several industries, Jocelyne has held various positions at Disney, Viacom, and Thomson Reuters. In these positions, she played a crucial role in bringing entertainment programming, television channels, and international news to media platforms across the continent. Jocelyne began her career as a journalist, mainly at Reuters television. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco) at Sorbonne University.
88. Lilian Onyach
Head Consumer and High Net Worth, Stanbic Bank Kenya
Kenya
Lilian Onyach is an experienced marketing leader with expertise in P&L leadership, consumer and retail marketing, stakeholder and agency relations management, and marketing communication. She is skilled in market research, customer segmentation, budgeting, mobile money marketing, product development, and project management.
With a focus on multi-country marketing communication, Lilian has a proven track record of delivering effective marketing strategies and plans, both above-the-line and below-the-line, across various industries. She also excels in marketing planning and analysis, business partnering, and media and digital marketing.
89. Monali Shah
Board Advisor,
Pixis
Nigeria
Monali Shah is a Global Brand & Marketing Communications professional with over 22 years of experience in various industries including FMCG, Telecommunications, Banking, Advertising, Communications, Media and Entertainment. She has a motto of hiring people bigger and better than herself and has a proven track record of building high-performing and highly engaged teams through great team culture. Monali was named as one of the Global 100 Under 40 Most Influential People of African Descent in 2020 and in 2021 she was honoured as part of the top 50 Leading African Corporate Women.
Monali is passionate about Creativity, Culture, Entertainment & Tech and using it to transform businesses and people’s lives. She has had an experience-led career, starting in the entertainment industry and graduating to the advertising and marketing world, which has made her an avid learner and teacher at heart. With a left and right brain, Monali is able to bring together curiosity, creativity, entrepreneurial mindset and analytical skills to ensure everything she does leads to better value for consumers and business results for the company.
She is multi-lingual and has lived and worked in a fast-paced multi-country environment for most of her career, which has made her adaptable and versatile. She is also a Cherie Blair Foundation Ambassador
90. Temitope Iluyemi
Senior Director,
Procter & Gamble
Nigeria
Temitope Iluyemi is a versatile and visionary business leader with over 20 years of experience in Sales, Business Development, Market Strategy, Supply Chain Operations, External Relations, and Government Relations across several African countries and the USA. She has a strong focus on corporate governance and a wholistic and credible track record of leadership roles.
Temitope is a result-driven leader who is adept at building and developing great teams in strategic alignment with organizational goals. She has developed new businesses for multinationals and expanded their reach into new markets while building strategic relationships with key stakeholders to promote a competitive and enabling environment for such businesses.
Passionate about developing leaders and creating a well-aligned and inclusive work culture, Temitope advocates for gender parity, diversity, and inclusion within and outside her immediate sphere of influence. Her Government Relations role was expanded to include Northwest Africa after her assignment in Washington D.C and today spans across 54 countries in Africa. As the Government Relations Senior Director, she is responsible for improving P&G’s investment viability across the region, advocating for policy reforms that enable business operations, deepening Africa’s integration, building P&G’s reputation across the countries they operate in, and supporting company communications.
Temitope is a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and sits on the Board of Directors for P&G Nigeria. She also serves as an advisory board member for Montserrado Holdings BV, AGOA Civil Society Organisation in Washington D.C (2015-2019), and Chairs the Taskforce on Trade Facilitation at the US Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, she is a member of the Trade Commission of the NESG.
Believing that there is no substitute for excellence, Temitope Iluyemi is genuine and treats others as she would like to be treated. She encourages people to chart their own path, carve out their destiny, and not be bystanders on issues that affect them
91. Yolanda Cuba
Group Regional Vice President Southern & East Africa, MTN Group
South Africa
Yolanda Cuba is a Senior Executive with extensive experience in various industries such as FMCG, Telecoms, and Diversified Services. She has a strong background in Operational Management, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Global Strategy, and Private Equity. Yolanda has also served as a non-executive director for a range of listed and unlisted companies for over 20 years. She is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Masters in Commerce with a focus on Financial Management from the University of Pretoria. With her proven track record, Yolanda is considered a strong operations professional in her field. In 2022, she was recognised as one of the LinkedIn Top Voices for Africa
92. Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh
Strategic Partnerships and Multinational Corporations Lead Africa
Microsoft
Morocco
Angela is the Strategic Partnerships Lead for the African Continent for Microsoft’s newly formed Africa Transformation Office. Prior to taking up this role she spent 10 years with IBM in different roles. She was the Executive Director/Regional Head for IBM North, East and West Africa. She was the first woman and the first African to serve the role, and an inspiring thought leader in the technology space for the continent. She led the organization’s business and strategy, enabling clients to grow and transform, and has been a key player in advancing IBM’s Hybrid Cloud and AI momentum across 35 countries in Africa.
She has over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing across the financial services and technology industry, balanced between global and local stints. Prior to joining IBM, she worked for UBS Investment Bank and ABN AMRO in the UK. She was also Head of Consumer Banking for GT Bank Ghana and Head of Prestige Banking for UBA Bank Ghana. Since joining IBM Ghana in 2011, she has worked across various business units in East and West Africa and served a global role for IBM in the United States of America. In 2015, she became the first female Country Manager for IBM in Africa, a role that saw her broker some of the largest deals in East and West Africa.
Angela continues to be recognized as a strong advocate of ‘women supporting women’ among her peers and is an avid mentor for women in the corporate sector. She is also a philanthropist at heart, supporting the development of the lesser privileged in rural Ghana. She is a recipient of the US African Women Forum’s Global Impact Leadership Award, African Achievers Awards for Excellence in Business and is also ranked as one of Africa’s most influential women by Avance Media. Angela has served on many boards and is currently a board member of the Central Bank of Ghana.
She is a proud mother to two boys and an Alumna of the Harvard Business School.
93. FATOUMATA DORO
Managing Director Vlisco, Ghana
Ghana
Fatoumata Doro is a seasoned professional with vast experience in the Fast-moving consumer goods industry, having worked in Dubai, Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal. Her portfolio includes managing multi-brands across different continents. She holds a master’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics, and possesses a strong business acumen, with expertise in sales and brand-building management. A visionary leader, Fatoumata excels in business transformation.
94. ELIZABETH WATHUTI
Head of Campaigns and Daima Consortium Coordinator,
Wangari Maathai Foundation
Kenya
Elizabeth Wathuti is an environment and climate activist, a full member of The Greenbelt Movement and the Head of Campaigns and Daima Consortium Coordinator,Wangari Maathai Foundation. Elizabeth is a recipient of the Wangari Maathai scholarship award and has been recognized as a Green Climate Fund Climate youth champion. She was also a regional finalist for Africa for the UN Young Champions of the Earth 2019. In addition, she serves as a board member of Elephant Neighbour’s Center and is a youth council member of International Reserva, the youth land trust.
95. ANNA EKELEDO
Executive Director at AfriLabs Foundation
Nigeria
Anna Ekeledo serves as the Executive Director of AfriLabs, a network organization comprising of 400 Technology and Innovation Hubs across 52 African countries. In her leadership role, Ekeledo is committed to realizing AfriLabs’ vision of “an innovation-driven economy in Africa, driven by the power of our community.”
Ekeledo’s primary focus at AfriLabs is on leading a diverse team across Africa and collaborating with various stakeholders to support innovation hubs and their communities in building successful innovators and entrepreneurs. She firmly believes that by doing so, it will stimulate economic growth and social development in Africa and foster the African digital, innovation, and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Ekeledo is passionate about leveraging technology to create social and economic opportunities that promote social impact and inclusion for all. She also has a strong interest in driving enabling policies and implementing strategies that will lead to the digital transformation of African nations.
96. CAREN WAKOLI
Interim Executive Director, Emerging Public Leaders
Kenya
Caren Wakoli is a certified leadership coach, transformational leadership trainer, and a certified 7-Habits of Highly Effective People trainer. She is passionate about mentoring young women and men to reach their full potential in life. As the Interim Executive Director of Emerging Public Leaders, she manages the global EPL team and works with their in-country partners and board of directors to support EPL’s network of fellows in Liberia, Ghana and Kenya and grow the organization’s impact on governance and public service delivery in Africa.
Caren has over 17 years of experience in youth empowerment work across Africa and has participated in various policy formulation and implementation processes both locally and internationally. Her dedication to youth and women empowerment, democracy, and good governance has earned her several accolades, including being recognized by the 44th President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama, for her work in promoting dignity and ending poverty through raising youth leaders as positive agents of change in society.
Caren was profiled by the East African Standard Newspaper as one of the most influential women in East Africa in 2017. She also serves on various boards where she advocates for youth voice and effective representation. She holds a Master’s degree in International Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Sociology, both from the University of Nairobi.
97. CHIDO CLEOPATRA MPEMBA
Special Envoy on Youth,
African Union Chairperson & Cabinet
South Africa
Chido Mpemba is the African Union Special Envoy on Youth and holds the distinction of being the Youngest Diplomat in the African Union Chairperson’s Cabinet. Her role is to represent the voices of over 870 million young people in the 55 countries and governments in Africa, focusing on youth affairs. Ms. Mpemba’s outstanding work has earned her recognition as one of the 100 Most Influential African Women and Top 100 Under 40 Most Influential People of African Descent by CNN New York. She is a Pan-African youth advocate and a public policy expert who has worked with various institutions to coordinate activities focused on social equity and policy advocacy in areas such as education, climate change, and public health. She is also an advocate for the ratification of the AU Youth Charter and the promotion of the continental framework on Youth, Peace & Security in Africa.
Mpemba is an alumna of the Emerging Security Sector Leaders (ESSL) Program from the Africa Center of Strategic Studies, National Defense University, U.S Department of Defense. She is also a Global Leadership Council (GLC) Member of the Generation Unlimited and a Leadership Council Member for AFRICA Reach. Mpemba is a Climate Reality Leader and a Mandela Washington Fellow Alumni. She holds an MBA Degree and has strong private sector experience, having started her career as an International Banker for 7 years before becoming a diplomat.
98. Jemimah Jatau
Consultant – Gender and Social Inclusion Consultant
USAID | Power Africa Nigeria Power Sector Program
Nigeria
Jemimah Jatau has a decade of experience in strategic communications, partnerships development, government liaison, equity and inclusion, and community development, spanning both the private and public sectors. She has a proven track record of leading and collaborating with senior teams across various industries, including education, health, entrepreneurship, and governance, to achieve results even in challenging environments.
Jemimah’s expertise lies in public administration, inter-governmental relations, development, and corporate communications, with a keen eye for business development. She is also skilled in feature, article, and copywriting, as well as presentation and public discourse.
99. YAWA HANSEN-QUAO
Director,
Ashesi University
Ghana
For over a decade, Yawa Hansen-Quao has worked to unlock opportunities for women and youth in Africa. In May 2012, at the World Economic Forum on Africa, Yawa was recognized as one of Africa’s Rising Leaders and in 2016 was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship in honor of her pioneering work nurturing emerging women leaders.
From July 2018 to June 2022, Yawa served as Executive Director for Emerging Public Leaders—an international nonprofit committed to driving Africa’s development by creating a new generation of public servants committed to social impact.. During her tenure, Yawa led EPL’s expansion across West and East Africa while catalyzing $16million USD in support of the organization’s pan-African expansion plans.
In addition to being a founder, speaker, and author, Yawa served for three years on the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Foundation board; and is currently a Director of Ashesi University; a leading liberal arts university in Ghana. She previously served as a leadership consultant to UN Women helping to develop leadership curricula to enhance the capacity of women leaders in East and Southern Africa. Additionally, Yawa served for two years as a member of the Advisory Board of the Women’s Institute for Global Leadership at Benedictine University.
100. Abena Osei-Poku
Managing Director, Absa Bank Ghana Limited
Ghana
Abena Osei-Poku is an accomplished corporate leader who has made a significant impact in her career through her expertise in risk management, governance, strategy, client coverage, business, and change management. She has an impressive track record of serving on multiple boards across diverse sectors, including telecommunications, banking, and commerce.
Abena is a council member of both the Ghana Association of Bankers and the National Banking College. Her fluency in English, coupled with a working knowledge of French, has undoubtedly contributed to her success as a versatile leader.
