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By Chinenye Anuforo
In a bid to prepare more women for leadership positions and ensure that professional experience is passed on to younger generations, the Managing Director of Arahas Global Oilfield Services, a Sahara Group company, Mrs Folake Soetan, has mobilised 19 women leaders to mentor 20 emerging female professionals under a new leadership development initiative.
The initiative, known as the Folake Soetan Golden Circle Initiative, was launched in Lagos on Sunday as part of activities marking Soetan’s 50th birthday, with a focus on structured mentorship, leadership development and educational support for young women.
At the centre of the initiative is the Folake Soetan Leadership Fellowship, also known as the Golden Circle, a 12-month programme designed to equip mid-level female professionals and emerging leaders with the guidance and experience needed to advance their careers while preparing them to support others.
The programme adopts a cascading mentorship model in which the first set of beneficiaries will, in turn, mentor younger women, extending the impact beyond the initial participants.
Under the first phase, which runs from months one to six, 20 female professionals and emerging leaders aged between 25 and 40, known as the Golden 20, will receive mentorship from the 19 founding mentors. The participants will also have monthly meetings with Soetan.
In the second phase, covering months seven to 12, the Golden 20 will mentor selected final-year students of the Department of Finance at the University of Lagos, Soetan’s alma mater.
The model is designed to ensure that the programme does not end with the development of the initial beneficiaries but creates a continuing network through which knowledge, professional experience and leadership values can be transferred to younger women.
Explaining the motivation behind the initiative, Soetan said her 50th birthday had provided an opportunity to reflect on the women who contributed to her professional journey and consider how their influence could be extended to others.
“At 50, I am reflecting on the women who lifted me — women who shared, who listened, who guided. I have been a beneficiary of mentorship, and privately, I have tried to do the same for younger women. The Golden Circle is my way of putting structure to that,” she said.
“We are 19 women pouring into 20, and those 20 will pour into the next generation from my alma mater. That is how we keep the chain moving.”
Beyond professional mentorship, the initiative has an educational support component known as Akoka to the World, which will provide educational grants to promising students in the university’s Finance Department.
The two pillars are intended to combine leadership development with access to educational opportunities, while building a platform that encourages women to contribute to the growth of others as they progress in their own careers.
The initiative’s vision is to develop ethical and transformative female leaders and invest in promising future talent, creating a lasting legacy of excellence, service and generational impact.
Former chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, Mrs Ibukun Awosika, who mentored Soetan, also emphasised the importance of sustaining the cycle of mentorship in a Legacy Voice message delivered at the launch.
“Mentorship allows us to benefit from people who have gone ahead. Pay it forward. Let’s keep the chain moving,” Awosika said.
Her message reinforced the central principle of the Golden Circle: that women who have benefited from the guidance of others can help create opportunities for those coming behind them.
The launch featured a symbolic Golden Pairing ceremony, themed “20 Women, 19 Mentors, One Bowl,” as well as a Golden Commitment segment highlighting the participants’ shared responsibility in advancing the initiative’s objectives.
The event was anchored by Oluwasola Obagbemi, communications leader and anchor of the initiative, while the closing toast was led by Tosin Adefeko, founder and chief executive officer of AT3 Resources.
Other personalities at the launch included Funmi Sam-Epelle, managing director of Trunbox Fabrics, and Bisi Soji-Oyawoye, lead consultant and chief executive officer of Be Causative Ltd.
The launch marks the beginning of activities lined up to celebrate Soetan’s 50th birthday on 5 November.
Through the Golden Circle and Akoka to the World, the initiative seeks to establish a sustained pathway through which experienced women can guide emerging professionals, support young talent and help prepare a new generation of female leaders.
