Photograph — Africa CEO Forum

Ahead of the Africa CEO Forum happening in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire later this month, the organizers plan to bring women leadership in Africa into focus. The Africa CEO Forum is Africa’s foremost annual meeting of the private sector with public-decision makers, business leaders and investors from around the world.

Organized by Jeune Afrique Media Group, The Africa Report, and Rainbow Unlimited, this year’s edition will be the 6th edition, and is co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank.

There will be three events during the forum dedicated to women business leaders across the continent. There is the Women on Board event, where African women CEOs on the continent are connected with one another. The Women on Board event is recruiting the women CEOs for companies across Africa who are looking to “feminize” their board of directors. This project has been ongoing for 4 months, and is going to be one of the highlights of the Africa CEO Forum. The Women On Board event will take two stages; firstly, identifying the African women leaders qualified to join boards of directors and the companies that want to “feminise” their board of directors; and secondly, to foster networking during and after the forum.

The second event for women leaders around Africa is a panel discussion of Africa’s top CEOs. The panel will be headed by Mrs Folorunso Alakija, Africa’s second richest woman, and the vice-chairman of Famfa Oil limited. The goal of the second event is to inspire female leaders on the continent. Mrs Alakija will explain the keys to her success and her recommendations for promoting women’s leadership in Africa.

The third event is a workshop for 80 women, to be led by management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company. This workshop will be committed to a first-class personal development of the attendees.

This year’s edition of the Africa CEO Forum makes it the third edition that is dedicated to advocate for more women leadership on the continent. The Forum’s Women Initiative started in 2016 in partnership with the NSIA Group and it’s hoping to drive the conversation for more women inclusion in every tier of business influence.

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