Event Highlights From The Women In Finance Breakfast Forum and Leadership By Inclusion Summit!
Hello there!
Last week at ‘LLA Land’, we brought extraordinary experiences to life! Two powerful gatherings where conversations weren’t just talk, but gateways to endless impact; The Women In Finance Breakfast Forum and the Leadership By Inclusion Summit.
These events weren't your typical corporate meetups. Everyone who stepped through the doors on both days came with one mindset: to move past conversations and create real, tangible change. And if there’s anything we know for sure after these back-to-back events, it’s this—the future of leadership, finance, and innovation is female-led, action-driven, and unstoppable.
On Thursday March 13th, 2025, as a follow-up to our LLA 100 Women In Finance List, we collaborated with Regal By Providus Bank to bring together women from across different financial sectors— banking, fintech, financial inclusion— to talk about female leadership, economic power, and AI at the Women In Finance Breakfast Forum.
To kick things off, Carlos Sentis of Improve X AI took an AI workshop that taught attendees how to leverage AI for personal and business growth.
The first panel session, “Women's Economic Power: Dismantling Gender Norms and Stereotypes,” moderated by Ifeoma Uddoh, CEO of Shecluded, examined the challenges and opportunities women face in the financial sector while exploring strategies to dismantle entrenched gender norms and stereotypes.
The panelists included Uche Uzoebo, MD/CEO of Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF), Oremeyi Adeola Akah, Chief Customer Experience Officer of Interswitch, and Chinasa Collins Ogbuo, Advocacy Lead of Enhancing Financial Inclusion & Advancement (EFInA) Nigeria.
You can catch some excerpts from their incredible conversation here.
The second panel session, "Women's Leadership and Career Development," focused on strategies for advancing women's careers in finance and fostering leadership skills. Speakers for the session were Rita Amene, Divisional Head of Commercial Banking at Providus Bank, Olufunke Amobi, Deputy Head of Operations at Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Henrietta Bankole-Olusina, Vice President of Africa Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Chinwe Bode-Akinwande, Head of Sponsorships, Partnerships, and Events at FirstBank of Nigeria. The session was moderated by our very own Francesca Uriri, the founder of Leading Ladies Africa.
Here are some eye-opening nuggets we took away from their panel session.
With an engaging networking session, the morning of power-packed conversations came to a close, leaving our guests and attendees inspired, connected, and ready to take action in the finance industry.
Two days later on March 15th, 2025, we gathered again at The WheatBaker Hotel, this time for the 5th Annual Leadership by Inclusion Summit. In partnership with WILAN, IE University, and Wrthy, this summit was about creating blueprints, solutions, and action.
From Gender-Inclusive Leadership to Financial and Product Inclusion to Responsible AI, the conversations were intense, but one theme echoed across the day: women are not just participants in leadership; we are architects of change.
The first panel brought together thought leaders who laid a solid foundation for financial and product inclusion such as Bode Abifarin, Founder & CEO of Strata; Folasade Femi-Lawal, Country Manager and Area Business Head, West Africa, Mastercard; Felicia Otolorin, Head of Financial Services Industry, West Africa, Google; and Lehlé Baldé-Cameron, an award-winning financial inclusion advocate and entrepreneur.
Exploring gender-inclusive leadership as a catalyst for change, the second powerful panel was moderated by our founder, Francesca Uriri, and featured Temi Dalley, Group Executive, Human Capital & Corporate Services, Sterling Financial Holdings Co; Ifeoma Chuks-Adizue, Managing Director for Africa at Global Citizen; Osayi Alile, CEO of ACT Foundation; and Adenike Macaulay, CEO of Wakanow. They shared dynamic insights on how they have created social and economic impact as leaders.
Turning the spotlight on technology and innovation, the discussion on Digital Innovation and Responsible Artificial Intelligence featured Onyekachi Eke, International Business Development Director at IE Business School; Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy, Anglophone West Africa, Meta; Lola Olukuewu, Co-founder and COO of Aivira Technologies; Ugochi Agoreyo, Partnerships Lead for Google Search in Sub-Saharan Africa; and Adetutu Laditan, Creative Director of Woof Studios.
To wrap up the impact-driven event, the final panel’s discussions centered on crafting actionable pathways to women’s economic empowerment. Diving deeper into transformative solutions, Nnenna Jacob-Ogogo, Group Head of SheVentures at First City Monument Bank Limited; Onyeka Koldsweat Akpaida, Founder and Chief Impact Officer; Folu Storms, a lawyer, broadcaster, and media executive; and Dewunmi Aisha Alugbin, Executive Director and Partner at Eden Venture Group, contributed their invaluable perspectives to the conversation.
The Summit also welcomed prominent figures such as Toyosi Etim-Effiong, a Media Entrepreneur; Adaora Lumina, Founder of Lumination Global Network; Tomike Adeoye, Media Executive and Co-founder of Maliaworld, Kelechi Anyikude, a dedicated male ally for women in leadership and Africa's leading sports blogger.
The energy from these two events isn’t fading. The conversations aren’t ending. The women in those rooms left with more than just business cards—they left with commitments, strategies, and the resolve to reshape leadership, finance, and innovation.
And you? You’re a part of this movement. Whether you were in the room, or keeping up on social media, or reading this from afar, your voice, your ambition, and your actions matter.
Let’s take this momentum and turn it into real, lasting change. Are you in?
PS: A very special thanks to all our partners, Regal By Providus Bank,WILAN, IE University, Wrthy The Wheatbaker, and Essenza, for collaborating with us to create pathways and opportunities for women to ascend leadership.
Keep Impacting,
Team LLA❤️