By Josephine Agbonkhese


Leading Ladies Africa, a women-focused nonprofit and media organisation, held its Leadership by Inclusion Summit weekend in Lagos, bringing together influential leaders, policymakers and advocates.

The summit organised in partnership with the IE University; Women In Leadership Advancement Network, WILAN; and WRTHY, aimed to champion the cause of gender-inclusive leadership across various sectors.

Speaking at the event, Founder/Convener, Leading Ladies Africa, Francesca Uriri, emphasised the importance of advancing gender-inclusive leadership, as well as efforts by her organisation to support the cause.

According to her, achieving gender-balanced leadership calls for intentional efforts, structured frameworks, and actionable policies.

“In the Nigerian Senate for example, we have only four female senators out of over 300,” Francesca decried, expressing the need for equitable representation.

She, therefore, urged government to institutionalise gender-inclusive policies, ensuring a mandatory quota for women in political offices, executive roles, and corporate boards.

“At Leading Ladies Africa, we use every tool available to us to champion gender equity in leadership, from the Girls in Leadership Program to the Career Advancement and Mentorship Program, and the Enterprise and Leadership Program.

“Through advocacy campaigns, impactful content, and events like this, we bring together policymakers, private sector leaders, and civil society to foster meaningful change,” she added.

The summit featured four high-impact panel sessions. The first panel comprising 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, laid a solid foundation for issues on financial and product inclusion.

Bringing expertise to the forefront, prominent figures including Folu Storms, a lawyer, broadcaster, and media executive; Tomike Adeoye, Media Executive and Co-founder of Maliaworld, Kelechi Anyikude, a dedicated male ally for women in leadership, Africa’s leading sports blogger and a PhD holder in Environmental Engineering, shared valuable insights on actionable pathways to women’s economic empowerment.




https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/leading-ladies-africa-champions-gender-inclusive-leadership-at-leadership-summit/