BY YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE
In continuation of this year’s International Women’s Day Celebration, Meta in partnership with She Leads Africa, FATE Foundation and Afrigrants hosted 50 women-business owners to an exclusive dinner on Friday, 11th March 2022 at the EbonyLife Place in Lagos, to celebrate their remarkable achievements.
The theme for Meta’s IWD celebration this year, #Beyond, applauds the resilience and impact of women-owned businesses by spotlighting their role in bridging access to essential services and products during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event featured panel discussions with female business leaders who spoke on the theme by highlighting a future beyond resilience alongside inspirational stories and advice.
Commenting during the event, Adaora Ikenze, Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa, said, “at Meta,
we are dedicated to empowering women and women-owned businesses navigate through uncharted paths. We recognise the resilience of women entrepreneurs and we are happy to celebrate them on this International Women’s Day. We are delighted to have partnered with She Leads Africa, FATE Foundation and Afrigrants to honour these women who have remained resilient and innovative during and post the Pandemic period.
In her keynote address, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, Chairwoman NACCIMA Business Women Group and former Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, encouraged women not to underestimate their value, to break the bias and keep pushing beyond the boundaries.
The event also celebrated the collaboration between Meta and its local partners who have succeeded in championing initiatives that support women business owners in Nigeria like the #SheMeansBusiness, program aimed at equipping women-business owners with digital marketing skills to achieve their business goals and the program has directly trained over 20,000 female entrepreneurs in Nigeria and will reach more this year
Also, the Enterprise, Growth, and Opportunities (EGO) Foundation has honoured 50 women leading change in their current industries, in commemoration of the 2023 International Women’s Day.
EGO, a development organisation with the goal of being the voice for women and girls in underserved communities in Africa released a list honoring 50 women leading change in the society.
Executive Director of EGO Foundation, Toluwase Olaniyan said that the International Women’s Day was a time to recognise great women and shine the light on their efforts towards leading positive change in their immediate environments.
“In line with the theme for the 2023 celebration of the International Women’s Day – DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality, the women listed this year have taken countless steps towards levelling the playing field for women within their various industries.
“In creating this list, the foundation’s goal was to specially recognize the efforts these Women put into Talent Development in Nigeria and to applaud them for the remarkable contribution they have made to change within the society.
“The 50 Women Leading Change in Africa list comprised of women from different industries – finance, oil and gas, infrastructure, government and healthcare amongst others,” she said.
Some of the women are Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan of Access Corporation, Prof Sade Ogunsola of University of Lagos, Confidence Staveley of Cybersafe Foundation, Elizabeth Talatu of SID Initiative, Funke Treasure of Sanitary Pad Media Campaign and many more amazing women.
“There is no better time to re-confirm our commitment to supporting an equal future for women in Africa than International Women’s Day. These women have continued to raise the bar and have fast become change leaders in their respective industries and we are glad we get to celebrate them in this special month,” Toluwase said
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