By Toyosi Olajide
Meta has partnered with She Leads Africa, FATE Foundation and Afrigrants to host 50 women-business owners to an exclusive dinner in Nigeria.
The event held at EbonyLife Place in Lagos recently was organised to celebrate the women’s remarkable achievements in commemoration of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration.
The theme for this year’s Meta’s IWD celebration is #Beyond and it 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.
Speaking at 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 honor 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. In addition, a panel session was led by the Weekend Editor of BusinessDay Newspaper, Lehle Balde, with panelists including Adenike Adeyemi, CEO, FATE Foundation; Abosede Alimi (George-Ogan), Founder, WILAN Global & ElectHER; Thelma Ekiyor, Founder Afrigrants; and Kofo Adebiyi, CEO, She Leads Africa.
A fireside chat was also moderated by Oluwasola Obagbemi, Corporate Communications Manager, Anglophone West Africa at Meta. On the panel were, Dami Olokesusi, Founder of Shuttlers.NG; Jumoke Dada, Founder of Taeillo; and Tosin Olaseinde, Founder, Money Africa & Ladda NG who stressed on the need to make intentional and deliberate change that would give women the opportunity they deserve.
The event also celebrated the collaboration between Meta and it’s local partners who have succeeded in championing initiatives that support women-business owners in Nigeria. One such initiative is the #SheMeansBusiness, a program aimed at equipping women-business owners with digital marketing skills to achieve their business goals. So far, the program has directly trained over 20,000 female entrepreneurs in Nigeria, and will reach more this year.