By Vivian Onyebukwa
This year’s annual Women in Management, Business, and Public Service (WIMBIZ) conference, held at Eko Hotel Lagos, has ended with the call on women to sustain the tempo in whatever business they are engaged in.
The two-day hybrid event brought together dynamic women leaders, entrepreneurs, and public servants. Also, delegates from over nine different countries graced the conference. Some of the countries included United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Cameroon, amongst others.
With its theme, “Dream. Dare. Do,” the conference served as a platform for insightful discussions and meaningful networking, inspiring attendees to take bold steps toward impactful leadership and success.
For over two decades, WIMBIZ’s annual conference has advanced gender equality, fostered leadership, and inspired lasting change for women in Nigeria and beyond, empowering them to break barriers and thrive.
Speaking at the conference on the theme titled, “Dream, Dare, Do”, the immediate past Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, went further to say that it is not just enough to dream, dare, or do in any business, but one should be able to sustain the tempo.
Osinbajo who was the keynote speaker, while commending the founders of WIMBIZ, stated that they deserve to be proud as their dream has empowered countless women. “The reasoning, founding and continued drive of this particular organisation WIMBIZ, exemplifies the theme of the conference, Dream, Dare Do. Their dream has empowered countless women. We are here today because some people dreamt and sustained the dream. It is not the capacity to dream, it is the courage to deal with the nightmares and still continue day after day. So the bottom line is resilience, the ability to execute and to see the enterprise through.”
Osinbajo highlighted WIMBIZ’s influence on policy, noting that a society rises or falls by the strength of its elite. He stressed the need for continuous market research.
“Understand your market and keep researching, even when your business is thriving. Ignore the noise, collaborate, and focus on making an impact beyond profit,” Osinbajo advised.
In her welcome address, Bisi Adeyemi, Chairman of the WIMBIZ Board of Trustees, after observing a moment of silence in honour of the memories of deceased WIMBIZ members, expressed gratitude to the organisation’s founders, trustees, and planning committees. “The connections you make today could spark ideas that create meaningful change,” she said. She encouraged the participants to maximise the power of networking, and concluded with a call to action, saying “Let us dare to dream, dare to act together.”
WIMBIZ Executive Director, Omowunmi Akingbohungbe, also speaking on the theme of the conference, said: “We have researched and found out that so many successive people that you see today, a lot of these successes happened in their minds first before it became reality. So the conference today is charged with an agenda that is supposed to get women, and even men inspired to explore their dreams, inspired with the strategies that they can actually use to implement these dreams and of course excel in what they desire to do”.
Akingbohungbe, while thanking the event partners and sponsors, called for more women to be a part of WIMBIZ, most especially joining the advocacy drive for more women representation by at least 35 per cent at board level across all sectors. She noted: “The issue of inequality is not a women issue, it is fundamentally a human right issue. So, irrespective of your gender you cannot sit on the fence. I urge you all to choose to make this difference together/”
Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, Chairperson of the Conference, highlighted the legacy of WIMBIZ as a platform for dreaming, daring, and doing. “The WIMBIZ founders have not just dreamed; they’ve dared to pass that dream on to future generations,” she said. She encouraged attendees to defy stereotypes, aspire for greatness, and remain steadfast in pursuing their ambitions.
Emem Usoro, Deputy Governor of Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria, who was at the conference, addressed the challenges faced by northern women and highlighted CBN’s commitment to diversity and inclusion within financial services. She noted that the CBN stands firm in ensuring diversity within its own organisation and across the banking industry, and urged women to make impactful decisions for themselves and society.
The Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Abimbola Salu Hundeyin, who represented the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, shared her admiration for WIMBIZ’s work. She said: “For over two decades, WIMBIZ has empowered thousands of women, breaking barriers and reshaping norms”. She emphasised the value of theme, Dream. Dare. Do. as a reflection of Lagos State’s commitment to bold leadership.
During the two-day event, five plenary sessions, three workshops, and the highly anticipated debate were held. Each session provided practical strategies and insights for personal and professional growth. A board member of WIMBIZ and also Director External Affairs and Social Performance, Chioma Afe who moderated Plenary Session 1 titled, “Embracing a Limitless Mindset”, while speaking to journalists, stated that a limitless mindset is one way one would move the negativity.“It is about changing your psychological mindset and understanding that at times people fail”.
Referring to the theme of the conference, she said, “It is a call to action, but it is also to inspire you. Connect people around you, in your home, social network, family, connect with them, and let that collaboration push you to dare to do something different. But the most important thing you should take out of it is the action.”
WIMBIZ held its first-ever live pitch session at the Annual Conference, empowering entrepreneurs to present their ideas to industry leaders like Chevron’s Kate Brum and KPMG’s Ijeoma Emezie-Ezigbo. Damilare Kazeem of Ofada Hub won first place, receiving N5 million naira. Oluwabamike Abebayo of Anne Ruth Marie earned second place with N2 million, and Grace Oladipo of Glaw Natural took third with N1million. Fourth and fifth places went to Oluchi Anoruo of Smart Pharm and Atinuke Adeshokan of Travel Right, each receiving N500, 000.
Some of the delegates at the conference expressed delight at having been a part of an inspiring and empowering event and organisation which aims at empowering women to attain leadership positions in business, management and public service.
One of the delegates from Cameroon, Hulda Tawe confirmed that WIMBIZ has inspired her to dream, dare and do, and she and she looks forward to be more of an active member of WIMBIZ as she continues to drive and share the good news about WIMBIZ with more women in Cameroon.
Other members of the WIMBIZ Board of Trustees present included Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani, Ebisan Akisanya, Dr. Celestina Eke mni, Prof. George Nwangwu, Niyi Yusuf, Juliet Ehimuan, and Dr. Olubunmi Aboderin-Talabi. The conference also honoured female pioneers in technology and innovation, recognizing Funke Opeke and the late Florence Seriki for their groundbreaking contributions.
WIMBIZ (Women in Management, Business, and Public Service) is a Non-Profit organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting women in leadership roles. With a history spanning 23 years, the organisation has implemented various programmes that advocate greater representation of women in both the public and private sectors.
They have a global network of over 2,886 women who contribute to their initiatives in management, business, and public service. WIMBIZ collaborates with reputable domestic and international organisations to deliver impactful programmes, positively influencing over 330,493 women to excel in their careers and businesses