WIMCA 2026: IHS Nigeria, Coca-Cola, Airtel, Bag Corporate Honours As Ohworakpo, Otisi Igwe, Egbuonu, Others Win Awards For Marketing Excellence

IHS Nigeria and Coca-Cola emerged as the biggest corporate winners at the 2026 Women in Marketing Communications Conference and Awards (WIMCA), each taking home two honours, as the event recognised more than a dozen brands for gender inclusion and women empowerment. Omoefe Ohworakpo of FMN, Chioma Otisi Igwe of FrieslandCampina, and Jennifer Nwanneka Egbuonu of Cway were among marketing professionals honoured for outstanding performance.

The keynote address at the event was presented by Hon. Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade, and Investment. She urged senior women executives to keep learning, sponsor other women’s careers, and build lasting credibility. She closed with a challenge for attendees to help other women rise as they grow. That charge set the tone for the corporate awards segment, where IHS Nigeria won the Most Outstanding IT & Telecom Infrastructure Company in Women Empowerment and the Most Outstanding IT & Telecom Company in Gender Inclusion, while Coca-Cola claimed the Most Outstanding Beverage Company in Gender Inclusion and Women Empowerment awards.

Other corporate winners included Airtel (Most Outstanding IT and Telecom Company in Women Empowerment), Union Bank (Most Outstanding Bank in Gender Inclusion), First Bank (Most Outstanding Bank in Women Empowerment) and Stanbic IBTC (Most Outstanding Female Friendly Bank of the Year), while Mega Growth won Most Outstanding Hair Care Brand of the Year, Three Crowns took Most Outstanding Women Friendly Dairy Brand of the Year, Golden Penny Semovita was named Most Outstanding Ball Food Brand in Consumer Engagement, and Amstel Malta won Most Outstanding Women Friendly Malt Brand of the Year.

The list of Award winners continued with Maggi (Most Outstanding Seasoning Brand Supporting Women), Nigerian Breweries (Most Outstanding Brewing Company in Gender Inclusion) and Morning Fresh (Most Outstanding Dishwashing Brand of the Year), while FMN won Most Outstanding Food Manufacturing Company in Gender Inclusion, Interswitch was named Most Outstanding Fintech Company in Gender Inclusion, and Molped won Most Outstanding Sanitary Brand of the Year. Rubellite was honoured as Emerging Beauty Care Brand of the Year, Cway Peach Fruit Drink won Fast Growing Female Centric Soft Drink Brand of the Year, and TVC Communications was named Most Outstanding TV Station in Gender Inclusion.

Individual Award winners include Omoefe Ohworakpo, who bagged Media Manager of the Year, Food; Otisi Igwe who was awarded Marketing Professional of the Year, Dairy; and Jennifer Nwanneka Egbuonu who won the Marketing Professional of the Year, Beverage. Other winners are Abisoye Oruye of FrieslandCampina who won Media Manager of the Year (Dairy), while Racheal Memeh-Sadoh of Hayat was named Emerging Marketing Professional of the Year (FMCG).

The awards followed a full day of conference sessions exploring salient aspects of the conference’s core theme; “Grow, Give, Glow: Professional Resilience for Distinction.” Speakers included Solape Akinpelu, who addressed wealth and financial security in career journeys; Dr. Abiola Salami, who spoke on emotional intelligence for peak performance under the “Grow, Give, Glow” theme; and Dr. Nkiru Olumide-Ojo, who featured in a fireside chat on growing through pressure, purpose and possibility. Other sessions tackled disruption, burnout and bias in the workplace, the impact of artificial intelligence on marketing to women, and career excellence beyond briefs and targets.