Pearlena Igbokwe is now Chairman of Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal. She is responsible for all aspects of creative affairs and production for NBCUniversal’s three powerhouse studios: Universal Television, Universal Content Productions (UCP), and NBCUniversal International

She is the first woman of African descent to head a major U.S. television studio, this promotion makes her one of the most senior black women in the entertainment business.

Currently, Pearlena oversees the production of over 2500 hours of programming currently airing or streaming around the globe and manages a slate of ambitious storytellers including among numerous others.

Pearlena Igbokwe is also the VP of the Hollywood Radio and TV Society board and a member of the Television Academy Executive Committee. Since 2016, she has been president of the Universal Television, where she oversaw all aspects of the studio business and helped shepherd popular TV shows such as “The Good Place”

Congratulations Pearlena! Stay winning!

#PearlenaIgbokwe #Leadingladiesafrica #Womeninentertainment #womenincareers

Sudan has Criminalized carrying out Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), making it punishable by three years in jail.

According to UN, about 87% of Sudanese women aged between 14 and 49 have undergone some form of FGM. In Sudan it is not uncommon for women to get the inner and outer labia, and usually the clitoris, removed and FGM can result in urinary tract infections, uterine infections, kidney infections, cysts, reproductive issues and pain during sex.

Before now, there has been a global trend towards banning the practice. However, according to a Unicef report carried out in 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East, the practice is still being widely carried out, despite the fact that at least 24 of these countries have legislation or some form of decrees against FGM. FGM was already illegal in some Sudanese states but these bans were widely ignored.

BBC Sudan analyst Mohaned Hashim notes that there have been previous attempts to ban FGM across the whole country but parliament under long-time leader Omar al-Bashir rejected the recommendations. Women were at the forefront of the movement that toppled Mr Bashir in April 2019. Campaigners accused the former government of discriminating against women in various ways – including preventing women from wearing trousers.

In November, Sudan repealed a restrictive public order law that controlled how women acted and dressed in public. The FGM amendment to the criminal law was approved on 22 April, Reuters news agency reports and under the amendment, anyone who performs FGM either inside a medical establishment or elsewhere faces three years’ imprisonment and a fine.

Source: BBC

In commemoration of Worker’s Day (May 1), Leading Ladies Africa presents the definitive list of 50 Nigerian women who are showing their expertise, professionalism and excellence in successfully leading regional and global businesses. 

“Nigerian women, through their tenacity, hard work and vision are turning things around especially within the corporate sector” says Francesca Uriri, Founder Leading Ladies Africa.

“We have a two-fold objective in publishing this list: first, to make a case for gender diversity and inclusiveness within the corporate sector, and secondly to highlight the women who are leading successfully across different business sectors. This year we have an even greater representation of women from different backgrounds, and will continue to press for that diversity to be reflected, especially within the C-suite and across the entire value chain.”

Adaeze Udensi is the Executive Director (Business, Operations, IT & Corporate Services) and Executive Compliance Officer of Titan Trust Bank. With over 23 years of banking experience across Retail, Commercial, Public Sector, e-Business, Private Wealth Management, Credit & Marketing, Business Development; she brings to the table a deep knowledge of the market and business fundamentals relevant to the financial services industry. Prior to joining TITAN, she was the Executive Director in charge of the South-South/South-East Directorate and Executive Compliance Officer for Heritage Bank.

Adaeze’s sector experience also includes 16 years working in different capacities at Zenith Bank where she oversaw the growth of its Oil & Gas, Public Sector, Commercial and Retail Businesses taking it to the second-largest portfolio in the bank before leaving as a General Manager in 2014. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Banking and Finance from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology and MBAs from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology and the University of Bangor, Wales as well as a Doctor of Philosophy in Credit Management from the University of Panama. 

Adepeju Adebajo is the CEO of Lumos Nigeria. Adepeju has nearly three decades of multi-sector experience in the public sector, Industry, Consulting and Finance. In her previous roles, she served as the Commissioner of Agriculture in Ogun State; MD/CEO Mouka Limited; MD/CEO UTC Nigeria Plc, CEO-Cement for Nigeria at Lafarge, and as Managing Director at WAPCO Nigeria Plc; former Managing Director, Project Management Office & Geocycle at Lafarge Africa Plc. She formerly headed strategic planning, brand management and product development at leading financial institution, UBA Plc. 

She previously headed strategic planning, brand management, and product development at United Bank for Africa (UBA), was a qualified case leader at Boston Consulting Group and a financial analyst at Citibank. Adepeju holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical Engineering) from the Imperial College of Science & Technology, London; a Master of Engineering (Chemical Engineering) from the University of London; and a Master of Business Administration, Harvard University, Boston. She is an alumna of INSEAD.  

Anita Aiyudu Adesiyan is the Country Manager, MTV Shuga at The MTV Staying Alive Foundation. As a Public Relations Consultant, Anita cut her teeth in Marketing Communications while working at Black House Media as a PR Consultant. During her 6-year stint at the company, Anita championed the publicity and communications for top brands and events including Fayrouz L’original, Hennessy Artistry and MTV Africa Music Awards among others. 

Anita is a vibrant and result-oriented PR and Marketing professional, with a proven track record of wins in complex supervisory roles she has held. This has seen her responsible for securing strategic partnerships and overseeing campaigns geared towards behavioural change among young people. She’s the first country manager for MTV Staying Alive Foundation in Nigeria. While the MTV Shuga franchise has no doubt enjoyed a significant amount of success in Nigeria for almost a decade now, Anita’s appointment is the first time the show’s producers MTV Staying Alive Foundation would be getting a manager for its operations in the country.

 Anu Adasolum is the Chief Operating Officer at Rensource — a renewable energy company that provides and powers the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises. She drives the engine room of Rensource’s operations – providing day-to-day leadership and management, empowering the operational team to meet business goals and projections. Her role includes driving growth strategies, managing talent and refining processes to realize the company’s ambition to deliver off-grid power solutions to millions of Nigerians. Having worked in diverse industries ranging from Manufacturing, Private Equity, Real Estate and E-Commerce, Anu has carved a niche for herself in Organizational Management and Transformation.

Ashim Egunjobi is the Head of Business Development, Africa, Tek Experts. A Global Manager with over twelve years of professional experience in the financial services and technology industry, Ashim has worked in business development and as a financial analyst in a number of sectors including financial institutions, corporate and tech across Africa, Germany, the Middle East and Asia, giving her a global perspective and local insight into the opportunities and risks multinational organisations face in a today’s quickly moving landscape.

She is a strong advocate for equal opportunities and building a more diverse workforce, having championed the Diversity and Inclusion Committee during her time at Standard Chartered Bank and also has led the launch and establishment of the Tek Experts Women’s Network in Nigeria. She is an Associate Member of the Nigerian Management Association and holds a degree in International Business and Finance. Ashim is fluent in both English and German. She is also one of the founding members of the Bake For Change Development Foundation, a non-governmental and not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to raising awareness about the development and uplift of disadvantaged children and youths in Lagos, Nigeria. 

Ayodele Otujinrin is the Head of Marketing, West Africa, at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. With over 10 years of experience, Ayodele is a consummate marketing professional with experience in strategic brand building. Her experience in the communications industry has seen her managing brands, interactive digital and non-digital marketing projects for global brands, conceiving and delivering new ways to use technology to connect with consumers to consistently deliver profit and brand equity. Her core specialities include brand building, team building And motivation, integrated marketing solutions, digital strategies, financial planning, marketing And ROI Analysis, content management/strategy, digital marketing and event-triggered programs.

Bina Idonije with over 15 years’ corporate experience, Bina is GE’s Senior Counsel for Labour & Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa, covering nearly 20 Sub-Saharan Africa countries in scope. In this role , she takes the lead in providing legal advice across the full range of labour & employment issues, including employment litigation; mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; employee discipline, grievances and termination; restructuring, outsourcing; equal opportunities and other related employment issues across all GE businesses within SSA – which includes: Power, Healthcare, Renewable Energy, Capital and Aviation. 

A Masters degree holder in Innovation, Technology & The Law, from the University of Edinburgh, Bina has a keen interest and deep domain expertise in the intersection of new technologies and law. 

As a prolific writer and thought leader, Bina has guest-written technology- related legal editorials for Business Day Newspaper Nigeria, and has been invited to speak as an expert panelist at several employment conferences around the world.

Bisi Adeyemi is the Managing Director/CEO of DCSL Corporate Services Ltd. In her role, Bisi is responsible for providing strategic direction to the team, developing the business and leading Board Evaluation and other Governance Engagements. Bisi joined DCSL in December 2010 with a charge to turn-around the fortunes of the Firm (which was operating as a Unit of the Tax Practice of Deloitte) and create a distinct brand identity. DCSL Corporate Services Ltd (which is now fully independent of Deloitte) has recorded significant strides under her leadership and has an impressive client portfolio.

Prior to joining DCSL, Bisi was the Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary with Acorn Petroleum PLC. Before then, she was the General Counsel with Dredging International – a multinational dredging company. She’s also a member of the International Bar Association, the Institute of Directors and Deputy President at the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce. Bisi holds an MBA from the Lagos Business School, has attended Leadership Training at the Harvard Business School, The Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania and the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University Illinois. She’s passionate about Corporate Governance and facilitates Board level training on the subject. 

Bisi is an Executive Council Member of the Women in Management, Business & Public Service (Wimbiz) and an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of Vogue Web Solution Limited (VoguePay).

Bisi Lamikanra is a Partner and Head of Advisory Services of KPMG in Nigeria and doubles as the head of the financial services sector across Africa. As Head of Financial Services in Africa, Bisi leads the Financial Services team in harnessing the Pan-African opportunities existing in the Financial Services Industry landscape, as part of KPMG’s Project Africa initiative. The initiative is a platform to build a strong KPMG brand in the continent while proffering high-value solutions to clients in the region. Bisi champions e-payment services in KPMG in Nigeria, in line with the vision of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Bisi has garnered over 35 years of professional experience that spans diverse industries and sectors of the economy including financial services. She has provided business advisory services for various public and private sector clients within Nigeria, Africa and globally and has led several advisory projects in the financial services space, majorly in the banking sector and for other financial services entities on strategy advisory, corporate planning, enterprise-wide transformation, business integration, customer service delivery improvement and transformation, retail and wholesale banking repositioning, etc.

Bridget Oyefeso-Odusami is currently the Head, Marketing and Communications for Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC. She is a multifaceted marketing professional with more than 23 years of global experience in brand strategy, sponsorships, digital marketing, data analytics and all elements of communications. She has a proven track record in running internal and external corporate communications, as well as products Integrated Marketing Campaigns (IMC) across various countries and sectors including aviation, financial services and non-governmental organizations.

Before joining Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, Bridget was Head, Sponsorship and Events for over 7 years (2010- 2017) at First Bank of Nigeria Ltd (now FBN Holdings Plc). She had the responsibility for institutionalising sponsorships and scope of engagement frameworks for the First Bank Group.

Bridget holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany from Lagos State University and a Post Graduate degree from the University of Leicester, UK. She is also a member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), UK, an associate member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), an associate member of the African Public Relations Association (APRA), currently the 2nd vice president for ADVAN (Advertisers Association of Nigeria) and a member of WIMBIZ (Women in Business and Management). She has also participated in various global business and economic summits.

Her achievements during her career includes winning the Standard Bank 2018 Marketing Mark of Excellence award and receiving the highest ratings for creativity, innovation and dedication for functional responsibilities at British Airways Plc and the best of British Airways community volunteering award. She effectively managed the British Airways Plc brand, corporate image and reputation in Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Mauritius, and Uganda between 1998 and 2008.

Buki Azaria Osunkeye is the Head of Retail Products Marketing at Sterling Bank. With more than 17 years’ experience in advertising, digital media, Corporate comms, experiential, media relations, sponsorships and entrepreneurship; Buki is a professional Chartered Marketer passionate about digital transformation, developing brands, connecting the under-connected & mentoring start-ups; and is a successful strategist and innovative thinker with demonstrated effectiveness in running marketing campaigns for brands at budgets from as low as $100 to over $1 million. Prior to joining Sterling Bank, Buki was General Manager, Team Mindshare at Algorithm Media Limited.

Before that, she was Head of Marketing and Communications at Bloomberg TV Africa and also founded Azaria, her own textile and leather goods business. An Accounting graduate of the University of Wales and a Master’s degree holder of Marketing Management from Aston University, Buki Osunkeye began her professional career with STB McCann as a Client Service Executive and also held the same position during her time at Tequila Nigeria. She later joined the brand management team of Econet Wireless Nigeria as a manager before moving on to YDx as General Manager/Chief Operating Officer of YDx. 

Bukola Adisa is the MD, Head of Framework, Design and Execution, at Barclays. She is a senior risk and controls expert who has held leadership roles in global organisations such as HSBC, RBS, JP Morgan and Deloitte. She is passionate about equality and inclusion and dedicated to giving back to her community. Apart from her day job, Bukola is the founder/CEO of Career Master Class (a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to enabling the progression of Black and Minority Ethnics (BAME) professionals in the workplace).

Bukola founded Career Masterclass in 2015 to share her considerable expertise with aspirational professionals who are seeking the best ways and strategies to utilize in building fulfilling careers. Through webinars, live events and the annual STRETCH conference, Bukola teaches practical career tips to a varied BAME audience which has resulted in tangible career progress for the participants. She was listed in the 2018 PowerList which celebrates the achievements of senior professionals from an African and Caribbean background. She was also listed in the 2017 Empower Financial Times List of the top 100 Ethnic Minorities in the United Kingdom.

Bunmi Adeniba is the Marketing Director of Unilever Homecare Division across Ghana and Nigeria with the responsibility for the overall performance of the multiple brands in the division. She also sits on the Unilever Homecare Leadership Team for Africa. A key part of her role involves engineering the purposeful expression of the brands through its marketing activities, one of which is taking a stance on women empowerment.

Her work experience spans across brand building, innovation design and quality management systems. She started off in the supply chain and quality management system before making a career change after several years of being a mid-level Quality Control Manager to begin afresh in marketing as an Assistant Brand Mana Outside Unilever, she holds the position of the 1st Vice President of the Advertising Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) and holds a membership with the Institute of Directors (IOD), Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), American Society of Quality (ASQ) and a 2018 CSC Leader, which is a global programme for exceptional senior leaders selected from government, businesses and NGOs across the 53 countries of the commonwealth. In April 2020, Oluwabunmi was appointed as the Vice-President of the World Federation of Advertisers, Africa.

Chidum Ayeni is MD, Heineken Burundi. Chidum is experienced at Operational and Strategic level, with a strong track record in developing, driving and managing business process improvements and optimization. Chidum’s specialities include Business Process Management, ERP Implementation, Demand Planning, Supply Chain Management, Inventory Control, Maintenance Management. Before her recent appointment, Chidum Ayeni was the Head, Digital & Business Transformation at Nigerian Breweries PLC.

Earlier this year, Chidum made history as the first female African Managing Director in the history of Heineken, an appointment which took effect from April 1st, 2020. In the course of her over a 20-year career in Nigerian Breweries, Chidum has consistently demonstrated dexterity, simplicity and pragmatism in her approach, starting within NB Plc’s departments. She cross-functioned to its Procurement department as Business Process Improvement Manager where she developed and embedded very impactful business-wide procedures before returning to head the IT department.

Chienye Ogwo is a Communications and Development Professional, and Lawyer, with over nineteen-years’ combined experience in for-profit and not-for-profit enterprise. Her experience spans Management, Strategic Communication, Organisational Transformation, Change Management, Sustainability and Legal Practice across development, banking, capital markets, telecommunications and international broadcast news.

She is the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Initiative for Governance, a nonprofit foundation with a mission to be a catalyst for public sector transformation in Africa. Africa Initiative for Governance works with governments, academic institutions and other partners to improve governance and transform public sector performance. Amongst the organisation’s programmes are scholarships for graduate study in Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and Fellowships for outstanding public service officials also at Oxford. 

Immediately prior to Africa Initiative for Governance, Chienye was Head of Change Management for the Transformation Programme of Nigeria’s second oldest bank – Union Bank – following capital injection by a consortium of international and local investors. While at the Bank, she successfully advised the Chief Executive and Executive Management on communication, reputation management and stakeholder engagement for new initiatives resulting from the Bank’s new direction, developing communication and stakeholder management strategies for inevitable disruptions in structure and technology.

She has a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, a Law degree from the University of Lagos and a Barrister-at-Law qualification from the Nigerian Law School. 

Chioma Okolie is the Lead, CSR, Airtel Networks Limited. In her role,  Chioma is responsible for creating & driving the vision for Airtel Nigeria’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy which is focused on Education, Health, Empowerment and Employee Volunteerism.

She’s an experienced Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability expert with a proven track record of leading teams through complex initiatives by leveraging skills in Communication, Negotiation, Business Planning, Market Research, Strategic Planning, and Business Development, and has positioned Airtel Nigeria as a responsible company through several initiatives, social impact projects and sustainable practices.

Chioma is also an expert at Sustainability Reporting in line with GRI Standards, Stakeholder management, conflict resolution, project management and Employee relations with experience across various sectors.  

Christabel Onyejekwe is the Executive Director, Business Development at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) PLC. Prior to this role, she served as Executive Director, Technology & Operations where she handled several strategies for businesses, projects and new payment products & solutions for NIBSS and the Industry. With over 25 years of cognate banking and broad executive management experience, she is a proven change and results-oriented professional with strong business drive and leadership qualities.

Christabel holds a Bachelor of Law degree and an MBA. She is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and an alumnus of Lagos Business School (LBS), the renowned INSEAD Business School, Wharton Business School, Harvard Business School and MIT Boston, USA.

Cynthia Ikponmwosa is the Managing Director/CEO at LAPO Microfinance Bank. Cynthia is a consummate business professional with over eighteen years of experience in Business Management, Programme Management, Corporate Governance, Legal and Regulatory Compliance. Prior to her appointment as MD-Designate of LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited (subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria), she was the Executive Director, Corporate Services of the bank with responsibility for people, facility and procurement management. She joined Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO NGO), the precursor of LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited, in 2001 as a Senior Programme Officer.

She anchored the corporate transformation process of Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) from an NGO to a regulated entity – LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited from 2008 – 2010. Cynthia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the Ambrose Alli University, and a Master of Laws in Corporate Governance and Law from the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administration (ICSA) London; a Certified Microfinance Banker (MCIB) of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria; and a member of the Compliance Institute, Nigeria.  

Derin Adefulu is the Group Company Secretary, Chief Compliance Officer and Head of the Legal team at Old Mutual Nigeria. She is an experienced legal professional with expertise in Corporate Governance and her career spans in in-house legal and compliance with experience in Digital Marketing, Banking and currently in the Insurance sector. In her various roles, she is responsible for the corporate governance framework in Old Mutual and provides effective oversight and implementation of the right compliance culture and drives adherence with and awareness of all regulatory requirements.

She is also responsible for the company’s secretarial, legal and property management. She has over 17 years’ experience gained in various roles including as a Solicitor in Union Bank of Nigeria Plc; Group Head Legal (including compliance) at Multibanc Savings & Loans Ltd; Head Legal and Corporate Affairs at Naijasounds limited; Associate at the leading law firm of Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie; and a brief stint as a Service Consultant at Halifax Bank of Scotland, UK. Derin graduated in 1992 from Queens College Lagos, where she obtained her secondary education; she then obtained an LL.B (Hons) degree in 1999 from Cardiff University of Wales, United Kingdom.  She subsequently qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002 (BL.). Her interests include women’s advocacy, healthful awareness and legal reform.

Dewunmi Alugbin is Partnerships Manager, Tony Elumelu Foundation. In her role, she works to forge local and international strategic partnerships to scale the $100m TEF Entrepreneurship Programme across Africa. She works with Development Organisations & Finance Institutions, Multilateral Organisations and the Public & Private Sector to promote and support an enabling environment for entrepreneurship in Africa through a concept she calls collaborative philanthropy.

A Development Practitioner and Strategic Partnerships Manager with proven International Civil Service, Philanthropic, Governmental & Community Relations experience spanning almost 10 years, Dewunmi has worked for private and public sector organizations to develop their social position and identify opportunities to bridge the gap between profit and purpose while measuring for, and reporting on impact and return on investment. She has experience in research, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programming aimed at promoting development and governance with civil society participation. 

Dupe Akinsiun is the Head, Leadership & Capabilities Centre of Expertise, Coca Cola. Modupe is a versatile Human Resources professional with over eleven years of continuous progressive practice. She is the Lead Consultant with Passionate Pursuit Company, a Professional Training & Coaching Company. Prior to her current position, she had served as a strategic HR Business Partner across multiple African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Madagascar and Namibia). Modupe has worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers as an HR Consultant in the Advisory practice where she delivered HR & Corporate Governance solutions to clients across multiple sectors.

She also had a stint working for some indigenous companies in the Investment Banking and Consulting space Modupe is a certified member of the John Maxwell Team of Coaches, Speakers and Trainers around the world. She is also a certified Human Resources Management Professional (HRMP) and a Senior Certified Professional by the Human Resources Certification Institute and the Society of Human Resources respectively in the USA. She is an accredited Personality Profile Analyst with Thomas International and a recently certified member of the HRMA, Canada with the CPHR (Chartered Professional of Human Resources).  

Esiri Agbeyi is a Partner at PWC’s Tax and Regulatory Services Unit. She became a partner (and the first female partner) at 36 years old.  Esiri holds a Bachelor’s in Microbiology (and certifications in Tax & Accounting), and has over 16 years’ + experience in providing international tax services to multinational companies in various industry sectors including the oil and gas, private equity, retail and consumer sector.

She also has extensive experience in providing tax appeal support, companies income tax planning & compliance, withholding tax planning & management as well as various advisory and compliance work in the oil and gas industry. Prior to re-joining PwC Nigeria in 2015, she was assigned to the African Tax Desk in New York where she provided cross-border restructuring, tax planning for mergers and acquisitions including deferred taxes for group audits and compliance focusing primarily on Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Angola and Ghana. 

She also heads the Private Wealth Client Services team which provides specialised services to high net worth families, next generation family members and entrepreneurs. The team ensures they are well structured for current day realities and succession.  Esiri mentors, writes articles and speaks regularly at conferences.

Ezinne Ubosi is the Regional Ethics  & Compliance Director at Walmart. In her role, she is responsible for creating custom-tailored strategies for regulatory requirements through engagement in relevant professional efforts. She’s promoted regulatory compliance improvement and conducted 240 on-site audits per year, successfully minimizing risk exposure and raising compliance metrics by 10% for over 180 Walmart, Inc. facilities located across the North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia regions.  

With 10 years of experience, Ezinne is a detail-oriented, customer-focused Compliance and Ethics leader highly regarded for successfully managing a large portfolio of facilities in a region that employs 36,000 associates and generates over $9B in sales. She’s also a Compliance Professional and Attorney who offers expert risk management and cutting-edge solutions in a highly regulated industry and informs company business strategy and regulatory change management by providing root cause analysis to executive leadership utilizing results from risk-based audits. 

Fola Laoye is the CEO of Health Markets Africa — an organization that provides bespoke business and financial advisory services to public and private sector healthcare clients across Africa. Fola has almost two decades of business experience — both locally and internationally. She trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. She was previously the Director for West Africa Investments at the Investment Fund for Health in Africa (IFHA). Fola is also the former CEO of Hygeia Group Nigeria (promoters of Hygeia HMO and Lagoon Hospitals) and is a member of the board. 

She is a trustee of the Harvard Business School Alumni in Nigeria and a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Lagos Chapter. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, Cambridge, USA. She is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. In 2011, she was nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and was awarded the Harvard Business School Africa Business Club Leadership Excellence Award in 2013.

Folake Ani Mumuney is the Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications and General Manager at First Bank of Nigeria. Prior to her current role, Folake served as the Chief Marketing and Communication Officer at Dangote Industries Limited. A seasoned Marketer and Communicator, she was also responsible for Brands Policies and communications at British Airways PLC, across the Europe & Africa region made up of 59 countries. She covered many regions where she managed portfolios as Business Analyst, Strategy & Business Planning Manager, New Business Development Manager and Head marketing & Communications Manager Africa. She holds several management certificates and belongs to many professional bodies. She also has degrees in Philosophy and Law and a diploma in Business Computing Systems Analysis and Design.

Folake Soetan is the Ag. Chief Executive Officer at Ikeja Electric Plc. With over 20 years professional experience in the management of startups, sales, marketing, project and change management and a proven track record of the successful transformation of struggling businesses into growing, competitive and profitable companies, she leads the largest privately run Distribution Company in Sub-Saharan Africa.  She oversees the ongoing transformation at Ikeja Electric, which has earned the company the remarkable recognition of the ISO9001 & OHSAS18001 certification – a mark of IE’s commitment to high safety and quality management standards. Her journey to the role commenced in 2015 when she joined Ikeja Electric as Deputy Chief Commercial Officer.

 Folake and her team introduced several initiatives that engendered the improvement of the quality of power supply in the Ikeja franchise areas, from an average availability of 12 hours to about 16 hours supply daily. She was also in charge of the team that delivered the Bilateral Power initiative in August 2019 – a Willing-Buyer-Willing-Seller scheme, which for the first time in Nigeria, witnessed the provision of a minimum of 20 hours of power supplied through the National Grid to customers.

Funmi Oyetunji is the CEO of Abitos Financial Services Limited – a real estate development and investment company. In her role, Funmi manages the company’s real estate portfolio and financial investments and provides financial advisory services to clients. Prior to this, she worked in the banking sector in foreign operations and treasury. Her banking career culminated in her role as the Bank Treasurer of First Bank of Nigeria. Much earlier in her career, Funmi worked in Accounting practice between 1981 and 1992 in the firms of Coopers & Lybrand in Nigeria and KPMG at the London office. Her experience in practice was in audit, business advisory and banking supervision.

She has been appointed to the board of Ecobank Nigeria Limited where she chairs the Risk Committee and serves on both the Credit & Audit Committees, the board of American Towers Corporation in Nigeria where she chairs the audit committee; the board of Prestige Insurance Plc. Nigeria; as Chairman of LASAL Foundation (For Social Mobility through Scholarships and Grants) and a trustee of the Save A Life Charity; and to the council of BDAN (Bank Directors Association of Nigeria) where she’s currently the Vice President of the council. 

Gbemisola Atimomo is the Head, People Organization, Middle Africa, Novo Nordisk. In her role, Gbemi is responsible for the People and Organization agenda in Middle Africa – 49 Countries divided into 4 distinct regions, Nigeria, West Central Africa (French West Africa & Ghana), Eastern and Southern Africa. It also involves counselling on people issues, talent acquisition/development and organizational structure and agility; consistently putting forward P&O issues on the management team agenda; driving change in the region, by informing and convincing the region management team of required changes and agreeing on responsibility for the practical implementation of these changes and facilitating region management team development as a team and individually; amongst other responsibilities.

With over 10 years of experience as an HR Personnel, Gbemisola is very passionate about human capital development and talent management. She has strong capabilities in learning and development, talent, performance & change management. Vast experience in the multinational environment (manufacturing and life sciences/pharmaceuticals) while working across various functions – sales, marketing, supply and logistics, operations.

She is also a certified HR business partner from the Society For Human Resource Management US (SHRM, PHRi). She spends her limited spare time coaching and mentoring young people about life and helping them define their career paths.

Halima Buba is the MD/CEO of SunTrust Bank. Appointed in January 2020 as the CEO of Sun Trust Bank, Halima Buba is a seasoned financial services expert with nearly two decades of cognate experience spanning diverse functions in the banking industry. She rose to the level of Deputy General Manager at Ecobank Nigeria Limited before resigning to take up the appointment as a pioneer Executive Management staff at TAJ Consortium Nigeria Ltd., a group of young dynamic technocrats.

She is currently sitting on the board of Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as a non-executive director and participates amongst other key stakeholders in making critical decisions to ensure that the nation’s wealth is being channelled to optimum use for the future generations of Nigerian. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (B.Sc) and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maiduguri. Ms Buba is a Fellow Chartered Institute of Finance and Control in Nigeria, Institute of Capital Market Registrars and Institute of Loan and Risk Management of Nigeria, and an honorary member of the Nigerian Chartered Institute of Bankers and has attended various courses.

Helen Iwuchukwu is the Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc and was appointed to the Board 12th February 2020.

Prior to her appointment; she was the Group Company Secretary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) where she served as Company Secretary to Transcorp, Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels Plc and other Companies within the Transcorp Group. She joined Transcorp Plc in 2006 and has held a number of sensitive and key positions at Transcorp and its subsidiaries in different capacities. She was previously the Company Secretary / Legal Adviser for Transcorp Group from October 2009 to February 2012. Helen holds an LL.B (Hons) degree in Law from Abia State University.

She was enrolled as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigerian in 1993 (BL Hons) and holds a Master of Laws degree (LLM) from Middlesex University Business School, London. She specializes in Employment Law. Helen is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and has acquired over 25 years post-call professional work experience both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom in legal advisory, corporate law, corporate governance, administration, human capital management, and government relationship management. She has attended numerous professional trainings locally and internationally.

Ibukun Aibee Abidoye is the Executive Vice President at Chocolate City and a trained attorney who has built an outstanding reputation as general manager of Chocolate City Group. Ibukun has logged nearly 10 years of transactional experience in the field of intellectual property, with a particular focus on music and copyright law. She is a recognized expert in the licensing, distribution and publishing of indigenous music content for film and television, and collaborates with platforms like Facebook, Apple Music and YouTube and mobile network operators like Etisalat and MTN as the future of digital media unfolds.

She is an active member of the Copyright Society of Nigeria representing Chocolate City at the COSON board meetings. She was selected to join a fifteen-man committee tasked with studying the state of Digital Music dissemination and consumption within Nigeria. She is a staunch advocate for the rights and recognition of songwriters and producers in the Nigerian content value chain. Prior to joining Chocolate City, Aibee worked as a summer law clerk for Hon. Sterling Johnson Jr. (US District Court), and at the Johnny Cochran Law Firm. She received her B.A. in Political Science at Pepperdine University, a Music Business and Management certification from UCLA and her J.D of Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School in New York. 

Ifeoma Dozie is the Director, Marketing & Communications at Mastercard. Before her appointment by MasterCard in 2019, she was at Heineken, a company she joined since 2002 and stayed for most of her career. In her current role, Ifeoma is responsible for leadership, business strategy, stakeholder management, marketing strategy, brand building, building high-performance teams, business development and innovation.

She joined the global beer brand as a Senior Brand Manager for Heineken, a position she held for four years. In 2007, she was elevated to the position of Marketing Manager – Non Alcoholic drinks where she developed and implemented marketing strategies and plans on advertising, media planning, sponsorship, and promotions as well as improved the equity growth, sales performance and profitability of the non-alcoholic drinks category in line with the company’s overall profit and portfolio objectives. Four years later, she was elevated and moved to the Amsterdam office of the company as the Global Marketing Manager, Specialties.

In 2014, she became the Brand Director for Mainstream Beers, a brand under Heineken, UK. There, she was responsible for the strategic development and implementation of marketing strategies for the company’s mainstream beer portfolio (namely Foster’s, Kronenbourg, Amstel and John Smith’s brands) in the United Kingdom including full P & L responsibility.

Ijeoma D. Agboti-Obatoyinbo is the Managing Director/CEO at FBNQuest Funds Ltd. A seasoned global investment manager with 20 years’ experience in private equity and other alternative asset classes, Ijeoma is the Managing Director and CEO of FBNQuest Funds, the alternative investments business of FBNQuest and a part of FBN Holdings Plc., which at 125 years since inception, is one of Africa’s oldest and largest financial services conglomerates. She is also a member of FBNQuest’s Executive Leadership Committee and sits on a number of company boards. Prior to joining FBNQuest, Ijeoma ran her own alternative investments consultancy, OAI Alternative Investments.

She was also formerly the head of The Abraaj Group’s Investor Coverage and Corporate Business Development activities for Africa. Previously, Ijeoma spent 13 years at JPMorgan Chase & Co. including 11 years with the JPMorgan Asset Management Private Equity Group in both New York and London. There she led the group’s business development activities in EMEA performing broad functions across investment selection, portfolio management, investor relations and product development. Ijeoma holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Lagos, a CSS from Harvard University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Joyce Folake Coker is the Group Human resources Director at PZ Cussons. Her role at PZ Cussons involves providing the business with HR Leadership from Strategy to Execution to deliver the business growth agenda, working in a complex matrix organisation at the corporate level with 2 independent National Unions to manage varied categories ranging from Personal Care to Home Care, Food & Nutrition to Electricals; as well as a responsibility to over 3500 permanent employees across Africa. Joyce holds a first degree in History from the University of Lagos and a Masters Degree in Human Resources Management from the University of Westminster, London. She has worked in many companies within and outside the Country as a Human Resources officer and has undergone both local & international trainings. Before her appointment with PZ Cussons in 2011, she was Human Resources Business Partner, Central Africa Region with Unilever Kenya. 

Lola Cardoso is the Head, Retail Bank and Digital at Union Bank of Nigeria. Lola Cardoso joined Union Bank in August 2013 to drive the Bank’s strategy, anchor its overall transformation and support execution bank-wide. With over 17 years of experience providing strategic advice to corporates, start-ups, and public sector organisations, she continues to drive Union Bank’s strategic growth priorities and support critical efforts aligned to growth including sustainability and innovation. Prior to Union Bank, Ms Cardoso was the Director of Strategic Planning at A.T. Kearney – a global management consulting firm advising the world’s leading organizations on CEO-agenda issues focused on strategy, operations, and technology.

She also worked at Dupont where she advised businesses and equity affiliates on financing strategies. She started her career as an investment banker in New York at Solomon Brothers and also worked at Lehman Brothers. Lola obtained an MBA from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Business Economics (Summa Cum Laude) from Ohio University.

Mimi Omokri is the Head of Business Development, SSA at Uber.  With 10+ yrs leading teams to build and scale market-defining technology products at today’s most innovative companies including Uber, Mastercard, Jumia, IrokoTv, and American Express, Mimi Omokri is the Head of Business & Corporate Development for Uber across Sub-Saharan Africa, one of the fast-growing regions for the company.

Prior to Uber, Mimi led commercial payments and built the Sub-Saharan Africa enterprise business at Mastercard from the ground-up at a time when startups were chipping away at incumbents and new technology was creating opportunities for all players. Name an innovation that’s changed commercial payments—mobile, e-commerce, AI, virtual—and Mimi has been there in the trenches. All through, she has focused on building value through third-party partnerships. She has a fervent passion for entrepreneurship and disruptive technology, and completed a degree from the University of Sussex and later furthered at the Harvard Business School.

Nkem Offonabo is the HR Professional & Business Development Manager, Transaction Banking (Wholesale Channels and Emerging Markets) at FCMB. In her current role, Nkem supports the Transaction Banking Division, leveraging on the Bank’s Corporate Banking Structure as a Business Partner; building Partnerships with Corporate Organizations, Fintech, Mobile Money Operators to deliver Value-Add Electronic Solutions and solving Banking Challenges, and initiating a new relationship with corporate customers on various alternate channel platforms and solutions. 

Nkem Offonabo is a graduate of Psychology and a globally certified HR Practitioner (SPHRi®, HRPL, ACIPM) with over 10years experience that cuts across Human Resource Management, Product and Business Development in the Financial Services Industry. She also runs her consultancy alongside her corporate career. She is the founder of The Work-Life Organization, a Professional Coaching and Human Resources Management Consultancy. She is the Host and Convener of Work-Life Conversations, a highly sought-after offline group coaching community of working professionals and entrepreneurs. 

Omolara Awoyemi is the Operations Program Manager at Facebook. She’s a technology professional with years of experience in the e-commerce and fintech sectors. Before her current role, she was the Managing Director of SureGroup. She previously served as Country Manager of JumiaPay – Jumia’s payments, financial services and financial inclusion company, and the Head of Partnerships for the Jumia Group. Prior to SureGroup and Jumia, Omolara worked at leading African technology companies such as Iroko TV and MTech Communications.

Lara serves on the advisory board of Nigerian Women Techsters and is an associate member of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) and Women-In-Tech Africa. She is an Obama Foundation African Leader (the inaugural class of 2018). She is very passionate about building tech for women and supporting women in tech and as a result founded Girls In Technology, an initiative where girls are funded to get trained in web design and software engineering. Fund sources include personal funds, friends, and corporate organizations who desire to support females in tech as part of their CSR. After training, they are mentored and placed in supporting organizations for hands-on experience.

Onyeche Tifase is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Nigeria, a position she assumed in 2014. She is the first Nigerian to hold that position.  Tifase started her career with Siemens in 2001 as an Electrical engineer in the Power Distribution Division of Siemens UK and thereafter moved to other roles in power transmission & distribution, sales and marketing divisions in Siemens Germany and Siemens USA.

She came back to Nigeria in 2006 and worked with Accenture Nigeria in the area of management consulting up till 2009 before returning to Siemens as Deputy General Manager, Medium Voltage and Transformers for Siemens Ltd Nigeria. She became the first Nigerian Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Nigeria effective November 1, 2014. In July 2018, she was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. She was previously a Non-Executive Director of the company. In July 2019, she was appointed President of the Nigerian-German Chamber of Commerce.

Rashidat Adebisi is the Chief Client Officer at AXA Mansard. Before her appointment to her current role, Rashidat was the Head of Distribution in charge of the delivery of the company’s retail strategy. Prior to this, she was CFO for 6 years, strengthening finance, HR and procurement. In addition, she is well respected in the insurance industry being the past Chairperson of the Accounting Technical Committee of the Nigerian Insurers Association. She joined AXA Mansard in 2005.

Rashidat is a graduate of Business Accounting, Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ACA) as well as Associate of Chartered Insurance Institute, London. She has experience in different areas of the financial services industry ranging from Customer Service, Financial Advisory, Accounting to Audit Services with over 19 years of work experience. 

Sanyade Okoli is the Chief Executive Officer of Alpha African Advisory Limited (formerly Travant Capital). She has over 25 years of financial advisory; private equity; corporate, commercial and management finance; and auditing experience. Sanyade has led numerous advisory transactions in areas such as fundraising, mergers & acquisitions, capital restructuring and strategic advisory. Sanyade joined the company as one of the founding Directors in 2007 and was a key member of the team that raised and partially deployed a US$107m private equity fund. She currently sits on several boards.

Sanyade holds an MA in Mechanical Engineering from Cambridge University, UK and trained as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen (UK). Before moving to Nigeria in 2006, Sanyade also spent six years at British Telecom in the UK where she held various management and commercial finance positions. She was on the company’s High Potential list for most of the time she was there.

Sanyade is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England & Wales and is currently the Contact Member of the Institute in Nigeria. She is also a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-West Africa and a Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Sanyade is currently a regular Analyst on Arise TV’s Global Business Report show discussing business and economic issues arising across the African continent.

Shayo Imologome is the CEO and Co-Founder of StratNovate Consulting. In her current role as CEO and Co-Founder of StratNovate Consulting, Shayo provides businesses with the needed support. This involves strategy review, support and advisory, operational and financial performance management as well as identification of potential threats and suggested lines of action to mitigate against them. Shayo has 30 years of experience in finance, auditing & compliance, consultancy and advisory, and more recently business development and strategy. Her career has taken her through almost every industry in Nigeria, including marketing communication & media, manufacturing, oil and gas, financial services, hospitality, insurance, just to mention a few.

Shayo has worked at the Head Offices of two of Nigeria’s best conglomerates – The Honeywell Group and more recently, Troyka Holdings Limited where she worked in an executive capacity with oversight responsibilities of the 10 companies in the group providing support on strategy development, performance management and operational, financial and regulatory compliance. She has expertise in strategy development and execution planning, Business performance and process diagnostics, Growth strategy and re-positioning, New project development and business planning and Internal controls review and business process improvement.

Simbo Olatoregun is Product Marketing Manager on the Brand & Reputation team leading Diversity and Inclusion initiatives for Grow with Google in Sub Saharan Africa. She is the lead for Women Will, a Grow with Google program and is based in Lagos, Nigeria. Simbo is committed to increasing digital inclusion (skills & devices) for Africans as a whole and for the African girl and women in particular.

She is a Director at Slum2School Africa and was also a Startup Success Manager for the Google Launchpad Africa Accelerator Program. Simbo has substantial marketing experience that cuts across the Consumer Goods and Technology Industry, she is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing CIM (UK) and has worked on programs across various countries on the continent.

Prior to Google, Simbo was Market Development Manager for Intel Corporation in West Africa, responsible for co-marketing and managing OEM relationships across the region. Simbo is also the Gender & Inclusion team lead for the Lagos Hub of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community.

Titilola Igri-Offor is the Marketing Head at L’Oréal. A Senior Marketing Manager with 10+ years of experience, Titilola heads the Marketing Department at L’Oréal and is responsible for leading the day-to-day management and execution of Dark & Lovely Hair- Care and Maybelline New York Make-Up strategy, overseeing new products launch strategy in Nigeria (Induce trials and drive penetration), executing marketing plans and programs, adjusting plans to meet needs and/or optimize mix to deliver against objectives, developing strategic direction and opportunities to build a strong launch plan, validating consumer insights with the head office to deliver effective positioning, advertising, and packaging;  developing accurate forecasts, rooted in a category and competitive benchmark, targeting the hairdressers association in Nigeria to win their loyalty in the industry; driving efficient sell-out and list of D&L with hairdressers as the most preferred hair-care range, ensuring the smooth operational running of Salon Retailing, amongst other responsibilities.

Tolulope Tomori—Adedeji is the Marketing Director at ABInBev. Previously, Tolulope was the Associate Director, Brand & Commercial leader, Nigeria for Procter & Gamble. Tolu has over 14 years of building brands and profitable market share growth across Africa, specifically in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Ethiopia. Some of her key achievements within Procter and Gamble includes working on an award-winning campaign like the ‘Always 8 hours’ campaign which was exported globally, designed and launched In-store marketing models, driving sales, awareness and trial in the retail environment/ stores, new brand design and launch across Africa among others.

She commenced her professional journey with P&G in 2004 as a Cost Analyst, got elevated in 2006 to the Customer Business Development Finance manager position and then to the senior financial analyst- Gillette and Customer Business Development Finance, a year later. In 2008, she was made the Assistant Brand Manager for the Always brand, elevated to a Brand Manager in 2010. Tolulope would go on to manage such brands as Always, Vicks, and laundry and batteries brands. 

Tomi Somefun is the CEO of Unity Bank PLC. Tomi Somefun was appointed Executive Director on March 4, 2015, and later became MD/CEO in August 2015. She is a Member, Board Finance & General Purpose Committee, Board Risk Management Committee, Board Credit Committee, amongst others.

Tomi has over 25 years of cognate experience in the financial service industry and has proved her mettle in leading and developing highly effective teams as well as a demonstrable track record in leading complex change programs. She began her career with Arthur Andersen (now KPMG). She worked at different times with Ventures & Trusts Ltd, Credite Bank Ltd, UBA Trustee, UBA Plc, UBA Capital & Trustee Ltd and was the Founding Managing Director/ CEO UBA Pension Custodian Ltd. Somefun was also a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of UBA Foundations, UBA Trustees, UBA Nominees and UBA Registrars.

She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Nigeria and an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School and University of Columbia Business School, New York. Tomi is a member of various professional bodies amongst which are the Institute of Directors (IOD), Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN) and Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

Tosin Faniro Dada heads Startups (Lagos Innovates) at the Lagos Employment Trust Fund. She is responsible for developing and implementing Government-led programs that provide an enabling environment for tech startups to thrive in Lagos State and, sourcing for local and international partnerships to promote and increase funding for the programs. Tosin has over a decade of professional experience spanning several roles including Assurance, Investment Management, Project Management, Corporate Banking, Strategy and Partnerships.

Prior to Lagos Innovates, Tosin joined LSETF as the Head of Strategy & Partnerships. She also worked in the Corporate Banking division at Polaris Bank (formerly Skye bank) managing Oil & Gas upstream clients and leading exploratory transactions. Tosin started her career in PwC’s Boston office in 2007 where she audited mutual and private equity partnership funds. She moved to Nigeria in 2010 and worked as a Financial Analyst in ARM’s Hospitality and Retail Fund where she evaluated investment opportunities and managed the Funds existing assets and greenfield developments. Tosin has an MSc. in Accounting from Boston College and a BSc. from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Victoria Ndidiamaka Uwadoka is the Corporate Communications & Public Affairs Manager at Nestlé and is responsible for managing Nestlé’s corporate communications and key stakeholder relations in Nigeria. She’s a seasoned PR and Communications professional with a proven record of accomplishment in corporate communications, relationship management, communications and marketing.

She has had an eclectic career ranging from ICT to entertainment, and now food and beverages. Victoria was the Public Relations and Events Manager for Microsoft Nigeria before joining Microsoft West and Central Africa as Marketing Communications Manager working out of Abidjan until October 2016. A people leader experienced in managing through disruption and delivering results across markets, Victoria brings her wealth of skills towards helping organizations leverage communications and relationship management strategies to drive business and social impact.

Vivian Osayande is the Head of Legal for Asia-Pacific Middle East &Africa (APMA) operations at Novartis, and responsible for providing support to significant litigations, arbitrations and investigations as well as strategic legal support. She also sits on the company’s Go Africa Board and its global Diversity & Inclusion Council.

Prior to Novartis, Vivian was a commercial/transactional lawyer at Templars where she led several innovative and disruptive transactions. Her career started in dispute resolution at the law Firm, Chief Afe Babalola SAN & Co. With over 15 years of experience, Vivian is a recognized leader in the legal profession with several awards and mentions in ranking publications. She continues to actively speak for the International Bar and other associations on issues that affect cross-border businesses. She’s an expert risk assessor, deal-maker, and business partner; and currently serves on the Board of ILFA – a UK based organization focused on building excellence in legal services across Africa.

Yetunde Oni is the Country Head, Commercial Banking at Standard Chartered Bank. In her current role, Yetunde continues to lead the team in the execution of its strategic objectives of leveraging the Bank’s Trade, FX & Network capabilities to support the value chain of client businesses in key growth sectors. She was appointed as the Pioneer Head, Commercial Clients, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Ltd in September 2014 and reappointed Head Commercial Banking in 2017. 

Her career began with a stint with the Prime Merchant Bank Treasury & Money markets Group from where she joined Ecobank Nigeria for 10 years and contributed extensively to the development of the Bank’s franchise across a wide spectrum of sectors within the Commercial Banking and Institutional Banking Groups. With a career in the Banking and Financial Services Industry spanning 26 years, Yetunde joined Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria as a Senior Account Relationship Manager in the Local Corporate Segment in January 2005.

As a remote worker, it isn’t always easy to show that you’re productive and invested in your job. It’s not that your colleagues or manager are trying to assume the worst about you, but when they don’t see you every day, they just don’t have a ready image of you hard at work. (And if they’ve never worked remotely much themselves, it may be hard for them to picture what it looks like in practice.)

The truth is it’s up to you to show your boss how dedicated and effective you are—even if you’re sitting on your couch instead of in a cubicle nearby them. If you think your boss may be questioning how you spend your work-from-home hours, here are some strategies to prove your productivity.

1. Be Reliable and Responsive

In an office, your boss can see, plain and clear, that you’re working away at your desk all day. When you’re at home, you can send the same message by being responsive and available online.

This means that you should be attentive to your phone, email, and instant messages throughout the day and that when you receive a request from your boss you respond as soon as possible. You don’t have to drop everything and tackle their request right away, but do respond quickly with a realistic timeframe of when that task will be complete. Many times a simple response—“I’ve received your email and this will be complete within the hour”—works great. Then make sure you follow through on that deadline.

2. Keep Updates to a Minimum

That said, don’t go overboard on the communication front. While you may think constantly updating your boss on what you’re doing and how projects are coming along is a great way to show you’re working, don’t do this. After all, your manager hired you to make decisions and get your work done, and if you’ve been given the green light to work remotely, you’re being trusted to manage your own time. Sending your boss hourly emails is unnecessary—and may even cause them to lose confidence in your ability to get the job done on your own.

Instead, meet with your boss periodically to ensure you’ve set clear expectations for your work, with hard deliverables and deadlines, and then follow through on them. Sure, occasional updates are necessary, but in general, let the real work speak for itself.

3. Be Present When You Get Face Time

One of the easiest ways to impress your boss and coworkers is to be extra engaged when you do get a chance to interact with them—namely, on the phone or during video chat meetings.

While it’s tempting to multitask (by checking your email or responding to that IM), you’re better off focusing only on the meeting at hand. If you’re paying attention, you’ll be able to ask questions, contribute ideas, and pick up on important bits of information—all things that help show you’re an engaged member of the team.

Also, try to “arrive” at meetings a few minutes early, as it’ll give you the chance to participate in the organic conversations that typically take place in person. This is your chance to ask what your colleagues are working on and share updates on all the work you’re doing, too. Plus, if you work remotely full time, the more your team gets to know you as a real person on the other end of that call or video chat, the more likely they are to give you the benefit of the doubt.

4. Don’t Pick Up Extra Tasks Just to Create Visibility

Offering to help with extra projects might seem like a great idea—you’re so productive that you have time to take on tons of extra work! But putting unnecessary tasks between you and your key goals may take away from your success. Best-case scenario, you may get everything done, but it may not be your best work. Worst-case scenario, you won’t be able to finish everything and your boss will begin to question your ability to see projects through.

Again, you’re being trusted to manage your time wisely, so be very selective about extra tasks and responsibilities you take on. If you really want to get involved with a project that’s outside the realm of your job, go for it, but talk to your boss about how you might adjust your workload to make room for it.

Proving your productivity when your boss can’t see you isn’t easy. But if you focus on deliverables, make yourself available and present, and work to build a relationship with your boss and coworkers, no one will question your productivity or commitment to getting the job done.

Culled from: The Muse

With more businesses relying on remote talent, and more workers working completely remotely, businesses have to rethink traditional tactics of employee motivation and apply them to a remote work environment. It’s not just about the employee’s perception of their work — your remote employees’ motivation goes a long way toward the value that their work provides your company, directly impacting your bottom line. Following these tips should put you on the right path.

1. Trust Them

Nothing kills motivation faster than micromanaging. Unfortunately, the people least able to perceive micromanagement are micromanagers themselves (read here for telltale signs). It’s ideal for your remote employees have clear task descriptions and the liberty to get things done, with occasional check-ins if they have questions or reach a bottleneck. If you require multiple check-ins a day and routinely find yourself swamped with the details of how your employees are working, it might be time to ask yourself some hard questions about your management style before you kill your remote team’s motivation.

2. Track Billable Activity

Tracking time doesn’t just make sense for your bottom line. Tracking billable activity will also help employees give their focused and undivided attention to their tasks while they work. This means that when they take breaks (which they should), they can do so consciously, and really unplug and enjoy themselves. When the time they spend browsing the Internet or taking a walk is off the clock, it’s truly free time, not borrowed time that they might feel nervous about because they “should” be working.

3. Always Pay On Time

The importance of paying your employees on time in business cannot be understated, but it becomes vital when dealing with remote workers. These people have never met you, and if they’re located abroad they might have no legal recourse against shady employers. If you delay their pay, it erodes their trust in you and gives them a reason to start looking elsewhere for work. Consider what you would do if a client consistently fails to pay you on time: the client would become a lower priority and you might even consider ending the business relationship. Be fair with your workers’ pay; If paying on time is a logistical hurdle for you, there are a number of tools that automate paying your employees’ invoices.

4. Congratulate and Appreciate

Employee recognition is the key to motivation. Everyone wants to feel as though their work counts and has meaning. Let your remote workers know this virtually. Sending an online gift certificate is a great option if your employees are in another city or country. If you’re bootstrapped or cash is short at the moment, giving an independent contractor a glowing recommendation via LinkedIn or featuring them on your blog’s employee showcase is a great way to recognize their contributions.

5. Cultivate Their Talents

Quality remote workers are smart, savvy and career-oriented, and they’re constantly looking for ways to learn and improve their skill sets to attract better clients and more jobs. If you can create the framework for that professional development within your own company, you’ll increase their loyalty, building a real professional relationship where they feel invested in staying. Offer to coach or mentor them on Skype, create advanced training materials for them or reimburse a set amount of online classes per month.

6. Promote the Rock Stars

Would you care about a job where you have no chance of advancement from your current role? Maybe not at first, especially if you need the cash. But the prospect of forever being an “Account Associate” would make anyone except the truly ambitionless want to look for a better opportunity. Remote workers are traditionally at a disadvantage for promotions because of a lack of visibility compared to office workers. But if your company is different, they’ll have greater reason to work hard and stay long term. If you’re really interested in building a team, make it clear that future promotions are a possibility, and follow through when their performance justifies it.

7. Incorporate Laughter

A little humour can go a long way in establishing goodwill on your team and keeping the lines of communication open. Quality remote workers often stress about making a good impression on their employers, who are far away and whose mood is not so easy to read online. A little laughter here and there will help them let go of these worries and focus better on their jobs. A couple of caveats: if you’re joking around in writing, be careful, as tone of voice and body language will be lost on the other end of the line. And of course, make sure your humour is workplace appropriate.

It all started with “Project Fame,” and since then Niniola‘s been consistently killing it.

Although not many people are aware of this fact, Niniola was one of the composers in the Grammy-winning album “The Lion King: The Gift” by Beyoncé.

Image credit: Niniola (IG: @OFFICIALNINIOLA)

An excited Niniola took to her Instagram to share a copy of the certificate of recognition from the Recording Academy for her work as a composer on the album, thanking God and everyone who has shown her support. She wrote:

And The GRAMMY Certificate @recordingacademy just came in the mail today…Thank You God and Thank you to everyone that has been supporting. Love U All

Image credit: Niniola (IG: @OFFICIALNINIOLA)

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has upended family life around the world. School closures, working remote, physical distancing — it’s a lot to navigate for anyone, but especially for parents. Below are tips to help work-from-home mums with parenting during the theCovid-19 outbreak.

1. Create a One-on-one time

Can’t go to work? Schools closed? Worried about money? It is normal to feel stressed and overwhelmed. School shutdown is also a chance to make better relationships with our children and teenagers. One-on-One time is free and fun. It makes children feel loved and secure and shows them that they are important.  Set aside time to spend with each child

It can be for just 20 minutes, or longer – it’s up to us. It can be at the same time each day so children or teenagers can look forward to it. Ask your child what they would like to do

Choosing builds their self-confidence. If they want to do something that isn’t OK with physical distancing, then this is a chance to talk with them about this.

Ideas with your baby/toddler

• Copy their facial expression and sounds.
• Sing songs, make music with pots and spoons.
• Stack cups or blocks.
• Tell a story, read a book or share pictures.

Ideas with your young child

• Read a book or look at pictures.
• Make drawings with crayons or pencils.
• Dance to music or sing songs!
• Do chores together – make cleaning and cooking a game
• Help with school work.

Ideas with your teenager

• Talk about something they like: sports, music, celebrities, friends.
• Cook a favourite meal together.
• Exercise together to their favourite music.

Listen to them, look at them. Give them your full attention. Have fun!

2. Keeping it positive

It‘s hard to feel positive when our kids or teenagers are driving us crazy. We often end up saying “Stop doing that!” But children are much more likely to do what we ask if we give them positive instructions and lots of praise for what they do right. Say the behaviour you want to see.

Use positive words when telling your child what to do; like “Please put your clothes away” (instead of “Don’t make a mess”).

It’s all in the delivery

Shouting at your child will just make you and them more stressed and angrier. Get your child’s attention by using their name. Speak in a calm voice.

Praise your child when they are behaving well

Try praising your child or teenager for something they have done well. They may not show it, but you’ll see them doing that good thing again. It will also reassure them that you notice and care.

Get real

Can your child actually do what you are asking them? It is very hard for a child to keep quiet inside for a whole day but maybe they can keep quiet for 15 minutes while you are on a call.

Help your teen stay connected

Teens especially need to be able to communicate with their friends. Help your teen connect through social media and other safe distancing ways. This is something you can do together, too!

3. Get structured

COVID-19 has taken away our daily work, home and school routines. This is hard for children, teenagers and for you. Making new routines can help.

Create a flexible but consistent daily routine

• Make a schedule for you and your children that have time for structured activities as well as free time. This can help children feel more secure and better behaved.
• Children or teenagers can help plan the routine for the day – like making a school timetable. Children will follow this better if they help to make it.
• Include exercise in each day – this helps with stress and kids with lots of energy at home.

Teach your child about keeping safe distances.

• If it is okay in your country, get children outside.
• You can also write letters and draw pictures to share with people. Put them up outside your home for others to see! You can reassure your child by talking about how you are keeping safe.
• Listen to their suggestions and take them seriously.

Make handwashing and hygiene fun

• Make a 20-second song for washing hands. Add actions!
• Give children points and praise for regular hand washing.
• Make a game to see how few times we can touch our faces with a reward for the least number of touches (you can count for each other).

You are a model for your child’s behaviour

• If you practice keeping safe distances and hygiene yourself and treat others with compassion, especially those who are sick or vulnerable – your children and teenagers will learn from you.
• At the end of each day, take a minute to think about the day. Tell your child about one positive or fun thing they did. Praise yourself for what you did well today. You are a star!

4. Bad behaviour

All children misbehave. It is normal when children are tired, hungry, afraid, or learning independence. And they can drive us crazy when stuck at home.

Redirect

• Catch bad behaviour early and redirect your kids’ attention from a bad to good behaviour.
• Stop it before it starts! When they start to get restless, you can distract with something interesting or fun: “Come, let’s play a game together!”

Take a pause

Feel like screaming? Give yourself a 10-second pause. Breathe in and out slowly five times. Then try to respond in a calmer way. Millions of parents say this helps – A LOT!

Use consequences

Consequences help teach our children responsibility for what they do. They also allow discipline that is controlled. This is more effective than hitting or shouting.

• Give your child a choice to follow your instruction before giving them the consequence.
• Try to stay calm when giving the consequence.
• Make sure you can follow through with the consequence. For example, taking away a teenager’s phone for a week is hard to enforce. Taking it away for one hour is more realistic.
• Once the consequence is over, give your child a chance to do something good, and praise them for it.

One-on-One time, praise for being good, and consistent routines will reduce bad behaviour. Give your children and teens simple jobs with responsibilities. Just make sure it is something they are able to do. And praise them when they do it!

5. Keep calm and manage stress

This is a stressful time. Take care of yourself, so you can support your children.

You are not alone

Millions of people have the same fears as us. Find someone who you can talk to about how you are feeling. Listen to them. Avoid social media that makes you feel panicked.

Take a break

We all need a break sometimes. When your children are asleep, do something fun or relaxing for yourself. Make a list of healthy activities that YOU like to do. You deserve it!

Listen to your kids

Be open and listen to your children. Your children will look to you for support and reassurance. Listen to your children when they share how they are feeling. Accept how they feel and give them comfort.

Take a pause

Here’s a one-minute relaxation activity that you can do whenever you are feeling stressed or worried.

Step 1: Set up

• Find a comfortable sitting position, your feet flat on the floor, your hands resting in your lap.
• Close your eyes if you feel comfortable.

Step 2: Think, feel, body

• Ask yourself, “What am I thinking now?”
• Notice your thoughts. Notice if they are negative or positive.
• Notice how you feel emotionally. Notice if your feelings are happy or not.
• Notice how your body feels. Notice anything that hurts or is tense.

Step 3: Focus on your breath

• Listen to your breath as it goes in and out.
• You can put a hand on your stomach and feel it rise and fall with each breath.
• You may want to say to yourself “It’s okay. Whatever it is, I am okay.”
• Then just listen to your breath for a while.

Step 4: Coming back

• Notice how your whole body feels.
• Listen to the sounds in the room.

Step 5: Reflecting

• Think ‘do I feel different at all?’
• When you are ready, open your eyes. Be open and listen to your children. Your children will look to you for support and reassurance. Listen to your children when they share how they are feeling. Accept how they feel and give them comfort.

Taking a pause can also be helpful when you find your child is irritating you or has done something wrong. It gives you a chance to be calmer. Even a few deep breaths or connecting with the feeling of the floor beneath can make a difference. You can also take a pause with your children!

6. Talking about COVID-19

Be willing to talk. They will already have heard something. Silence and secrets do not protect our children. Honesty and openness do. Think about how much they will understand. You know them best.

Be open and listen

Allow your child to talk freely. Ask them open questions and find out how much they already know.

Be honest

Always answer their questions truthfully. Think about how old your child is and how much they can understand.

Be supportive

Your child may be scared or confused. Give them space to share how they are feeling and let them know you are there for them.

It is okay not to know the answers

It is fine to say “We don’t know, but we are working on it, or we don’t know, but we think.” Use this as an opportunity to learn something new with your child!

Heroes not bullies

Explain that COVID-19 has nothing to do with the way someone looks, where they are from, or what language they speak. Tell your child that we can be compassionate to people who are sick and those who are caring for them. Look for stories of people who are working to stop the outbreak and are caring for sick people.

There are a lot of stories going around

Some may not be true. Use trustworthy sites like UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

Conclusion:

Check to see if your child is okay. Remind them that you care and that they can talk to you anytime. Then, do something fun together!

Source: Unicef.org

Say HELLO to the latest founders of hair wash salon- Wash and Go. Before we dive into the beauty that Zainab Balogun-Nwachukwu  and Bolanle Olukanni just created, let’s put the spotlight on this 1950’s themed decor for a minute.

Commenting on what prospective clients can expect, Zaniab says ‘’WASH & GO is a new wash and weave, focused service salon. After months of research we created a hair experience that offers healthy hair care in a timely manner. A 2-hour salon trip flat! That’s our promise. Clients can book an all-inclusive steam-treatment wash and choose one of seven stylish weaving options all at a happy price.’’

Speaking further, Bolanle says ‘’Our clients are offered an all-inclusive steam-treatment wash and can choose one of seven stylish weaving options. We love all hair types – permed, natural, texlaxed, etc and are ready to take care of you. We worked with the best artisans and consultants while training our hair technicians to ensure the best service for every single client.’’

Wash and Go opened  for business on Monday, September 30. Follow their IG page for details on location and opening hours! 

You know her, everyone knows her, every small/medium scale entrepreneur interested in growing their business knows the Lolo One of Instagram, Nelly Agbogu. Asides running healthy food and snack company, Nelliesng, Nelly runs Naija Brand Chick, an online resource platform that connects MSME’s with resources and tools to grow their business online, make sales and retain customers.

 As an offshoot of NaijaBrandChick, Nelly created the NBC trade fair which has been dubbed as the largest SME sales fair in Africa.

If you were at this year’s fair, then you will most likely agree Nelly does justice to the word GROWTH! Dang! We absolutely love how Nelly has redefined trade fairs in Nigeria and how she continues to leverage technology in building and growing a business. Nelly is SOLID Lady Boss goals and here are 4 things she has taught us about doing business in Nigeria.

1.       Integrity: Can your brand be trusted? Can customers get value for what they are paying for? You might have your marketing channels on lock down, certifications on point but if your customers cannot trust that they will get value for their money, you might as well want to revisit why you are in business.

2.      Consistency: Chances are 2-5 people are in the same line of business you are in. Like you, they want to make profit, build a brand, a digital following while at it and very possibly want to be a household name in Nigeria. Question is what are you willing to do to set yourself apart from the rest? From Nelly, we have learnt that no market is saturated, and consistency is what sets you apart from your competitors. Instead of focusing on what other brands out there are doing and not doing, focus on doing what has given you the ‘little’ results you have now repeatedly. Consistency is KEY when it comes to building a business and no one else models it perfectly like Nelly.

3.      Passion and creativity: Have you watched her dance videos? What about the spontaneous skits she churns out on her page? To do business in Nigeria and sustainably too, finding new ways to introduce what you do to your community is important. Creativity is your ability to reinvent yourself and your brand repeatedly. E.g customer engagement, content strategy, marketing strategy should be reviewed periodically. Passion on the other hand fuels your creativity. Passion is what gets you up at odd hours of the day brainstorming and strategizing on how you can do things differently. Nelly has found ways to introduce her business in different ways to her community and we LOVE it!

4.      Networking: Many at times, we think networking should be with people that are ahead, but networking can also be with peers. The goal of networking is to connect and engage with people. Networking also helps with visibility especially as a business owner. Don’t be afraid to put your business out there and connect with people. Remember networking is not just vertical, it is also horizontal.

“It wasn’t until I was twenty-three, and stumbled into a queer bar in Kampala, that I began to find a community of people who were like me. I felt liberated.

“I could lean on someone; tell them what I was going through. We didn’t have all the answers, sure, but it helped us start to navigate what it means to be trans in Africa today. What I loved was how the community we formed back then was trying so hard to change the lives of people who identify as queer in our country. For those short, blissful moments, we would forget our lonely lives.”

For Cleopatra Kambugu Kentaro, being trans and unapologetic in Uganda is a huge feat. Baring her life in a riveting documentary, “The Pearl of Africa” she discusses the power of storytelling, the effects of living as a trans woman and why LGBTQ is a conversation that should be embraced in Africa.

On the cultural power of storytelling as a tool for the African LGBTQ community, she says:

”I think it is important when approaching the conversation around sexual education in Africa to use things that we have used to communicate as Africans. One of the ways we’ve been taught to communicate is through storytelling. My activism revolves around the use of film and art—using film as a tool to be able to tell stories. In my tribe in Western Uganda, we use stories and riddles, and that’s how our culture has been passed on, through the telling of stories.

I feel that it is important for African queer people to start and continue owning and telling their own narratives, so that they become part of the narratives of this generation to be consumed later by the people in the future, and so that there are known plots of the struggle that is happening right now.”

Speaking on the ill reception that trans people face, Kentaro says:

”My understanding is that Africa is still grappling with issues of sexuality and gender. Sexuality and gender represent two tools that the patriarchy uses to control people, and once that tool is let go of, then people can literally be anything they would like to be. I feel like the combination of sexuality and gender have been relegated to controversy and as issues to discuss for later, so it’s difficult to have that conversation right now. Simply because [it] means that [LGBTQ] people could realize that they do have autonomy over their bodies. So, as it is now, it all feels like a matter of control.”

Speaking on the ripple effect of being unapologetically trans, she says:

”The tran-phobia I’ve felt, a huge part of it hasn’t been physical violence towards me. It has been humiliation that has been verbal, that’s been psychological. But I say that while respecting trans people who have dealt with physical abuse.

I grew up among very Christian friends and folk and I used to go Pentecostal church and I asked my girlfriends “how come you never minded me?” I used to sing praise and worship, I used to be a part of a youth group and in spite of doing all these things, I never turned down my queerness. I was very heavily queer. While going through these things it always baffled me. I wondered “How come people don’t mind me.” It was a pathological thought that if people minded, I would feel like a confirmed queer person.

So I asked them “why?” And that friend of mine told me that it’s because “you walk in this world with your head held up so high. And with such a confidence that it makes the people who doubt you and think you’re wrong think that it’s them who are wrong to doubt that you should exist in this world as you are.”

And that was the most powerful thing. And that is really my message to other youth who are struggling with existing in their authenticity and expressing themselves. Once you shrink and allow people to doubt who you are and to think that you are wrong. Once people see their wrongness, they will feel empowered to actually express their phobias.

And I think this is my message to trans people to be able to walk with that pride, and confidence and fullness of themselves in that habitation.”

Source: Hunk, Okay Africa