The W Initiative, an International Women’s Day Conference, organized by Access Bank at Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos Nigeria was a platform for women in business to leverage on financial options in order to grow and expand their businesses. The event was tagged “Think W, Build Smart and Innovate”. On arrival, the women have to join a long queue of ladies waiting to confirm registration and collect their tags before securing seats in the Convention Center.
The event started with an opening prayer by Njideka Esomeju, Group Head of Personal Banking, Access Bank; followed by an opening remark by Ayona Aguele the Coordinator of Women Banking. Shortly after, Herbert Wigwe, the GMD of Access Bank Plc gave a keynote address. The British Deputy High Commission of Nigeria, Laure Beaufils then gave a goodwill message addressing the need for women to resist, insist, persist and enlist to be more recognized in the society.
Thereafter, the first panel session themed “Levers for Business Growth”, informed women on the need to position their businesses for capacity building, sustainable growth, and to effectively optimize growth opportunities by accessing loans from the bank.
See also: Visa Launches Global Competition for Women Entrepreneurs
Panelists present were Omilola Oshikoya, (Founder of Tech World Finance), Titi Osuntoki (ED, Business Banking Access Bank), Adebola Adefila (COO, Banrut Rolls Nigeria), Oluwatoyin Onigbanjo (CEO Augustsecrets), and Chukwuka Monye (Managing Partner, Ciuci COnsulting).
Shortly after, Audrey Mothupi— the CEO of Systemic Logic Group introduced the second session with a prep talk on “The Future is Female’, speaking on the need for women to be involved in the tech space.
The second panel session, “Women and Innovation”, was a discussion on how women can build smart businesses through innovations. Didi Akinyelure, an award winning journalist facilitated the session involving speakers like Patricia Nzolantima (Chairwoman, Bizzoly), Kofo Akinkugbe (MD/CEO Secure ID), Temie Giwa (CEO Lifebank), and Tosin Durotoye (Founder, Bloom Africa). The panelists told their business stories, shared their experiences and answered questions.
Another interesting highlight of the event include an inspiring performance by the “Hear Word” drama group. Before the networking session, a video was played to introduce the W initiative, a program that provides women with banking solutions that meet their diverse career and lifestyle needs. To find out more, click here. In the evening, the event came to an end with an after party to celebrate women all over the world.
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