Fade Ogunro, Aisha Yesufu, Tito Ovia, Damilola Oke, and others make Leading Ladies Africa’s 2021 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria
Leading Ladies Africa, a women-focused non-profit organization has taken the International Women’s Day Celebration to announce its 7th annual 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria, to celebrate and recognize the impacts and contributions made by several Nigerian women in various fields which include art, sports, politics, medicine, advocacy, media, fashion and lots more. Leading Ladies Africa continue to advocate and push for gender parity and equality, which they achieve through the lens of Diversity and Inclusion, especially as it concerns women in Africa.
In the 2021 list, Leading Ladies Africa has recognized and amplified a variety of phenomenal women and their contributions in Africa. These women are notably making impacts on their communities, changing the narrative in their space and are consistently pushing the frontiers of excellence. The honorees are celebrated below in no particular order.
Fade Ogunro
Fade Ogunro is an on-air-personality, radio and TV presenter, film producer and fashion designer. She is the founder and CEO of Bookings Africa, a Pan-African, on-demand digital marketplace that allows professionals and service providers from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa to sell their skills and services online.
Aisha Yesufu
Aisha Yesufu is a socio-political activist and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign. She was also a prominent participant in the #EndSars protest, which saw several Nigerians demanding greater accountability from the Nigeria Police Force, beginning with the disbarment of the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Titi Ovia
Tito Ovia is the co-founder of Helium Health, a Nigerian based health tech company building the technology infrastructure driving African healthcare. As Head, Public Sector Growth at Helium Health, Titi Ovia is fostering public-private partnerships that accelerate Africa’s transition to technology and the data-driven healthcare system.
Damilola Oke
Damilola Oke is Style and Brand Consultant, and Costume designer. She is the CEO of Fierce and Modish, where she provides artistic and styling services to over 200 clients, including celebrities, consumers, corporate brands and film production companies.
Adedoyin Odunfa
Adedoyin Odunfa is the CEO, Digital Jewels Limited. She is an IT professional with over 20 years’ experience, focused on enhancing the strategic value of IT in organizations. Adedoyin has led industry initiatives to strengthen and enhance IT Governance, Risk and Compliance processes, practices and skillsets.
Adeola Ogunmola Sowemimo
Adeola Ogunmola Sowemimo is the first Nigerian female pilot at Qatar Airways and the first Nigerian female pilot to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner across the Atlantic. She started her aviation career in the US-based Sunrise Aviation Academy, where she graduated in 2011.
Ade Samuel
Ade Samuel is a celebrity stylist, who started her career by assisting fashion editors at Teen Vogue and W magazines before going ahead to train with stylists Cher Coulter and Simone Harouche. She has styled popular celebrities like Michael B. Jordan, Yara Shahidi, and more.
Aisha Salaudeen
Aisha Salaudeen is a multimedia journalist and producer of editorial sponsorships currently based out of the CNN bureau in Lagos, Nigeria. She scripts and produces sponsored CNN TV shows such as African Voices Changemakers, Inside Africa and Market Place Africa. Her work has been published in The Financial Times, Al Jazeera English, Okay Africa and more.
Brenda McWilson-Okorogba
Brenda is the Founder of Moments with Bren, an organization that provides helpful academic opportunities, career development tools and free resources for individuals to connect with their communities, support a culture innovation and promote a vision for self-determined learning. Brenda purposefully creates opportunities for the growth of those around her.
Chief Temitope Ajayi
Chief Temitope Ajayi, popularly known as Mama Diaspora is the Chairman and CEO of Silicon Valley Nigerian Economic Development Inc. She is also the honourable chairman and co-founder of Global Connection for Women Foundation, a U.S. non-profit organization with a mission to create new opportunities for women and youths in communities around the world.
Chinedum Peace Babalola
Chinedum is a Pharmacist and Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry/Pharmacokinetics. She is the first female Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan and the incumbent Vice-Chancellor of Chrisland University, Nigeria.
Dame Elizabeth Anionwu
Dame is a British nurse, healthcare administrator, lecturer and Emeritus Professor of Nursing at the University of West London. In 1979, she became the United Kingdom’s first sickle-cell and thalassemia nurse specialist and contributed to the establishment of the Brent Sickle Cell and Thalassemia Counselling centre.
Diamond Okoh
Diamond Okoh is the CEO of HelloFounder, a platform created to help aspiring entrepreneurs to navigate launching and building new businesses, and also to achieve this goal with less risk of failure, setback and pain. View the complete list of honourees at www.leadingladiesafrica.org