This year’s Africa CEO Forum held in March in Abidjan and featured top CEOs from around the continent. Some of the conversations at the forum featured the impact of having women in business on the continent, while also birthing the Women in Business Initiative. 5 percent of CEOs in Africa’s largest establishments are women, meaning there is a need for more women to be at top levels in African businesses. There is data to back up this truth: the companies with most women holding top positions have a 20 percent higher profit margin than the average for their industry.

The Africa CEO Forum decided to take the conversation further. Between the 2nd and 3rd of July 2018, the forum will be hosting the first Women in Business Annual Leadership Meeting in Paris, France. The conference aims to strengthen women leadership in Africa, and also build and maintain networks.

The conference is organized in conjunction with ESSEC Business School and the International Organisation of La Francophonie. The board of the “Women in Business” include: Snowy Khoza, Executive Chairperson, BIGEN (South Africa), Elisabeth Medou Badang, Senior VP and spokesperson, Orange MEA (Cameroon), Cathia Lawson-Hall, Head of Financial Institutions for Africa, Société Générale (France), Lucy Quist, Co-Founder, Women Network, (Ghana), Toyin Sanni, CEO, United Capital, (Nigeria), Anta Babacar Ngom, Managing Director, SEDIMA, (Senegal), Carole Kariuki, CEO, KEPSA, (Kenya) and Nadia Fettah, Managing Director, Saham Finances, (Morocco).

These eight women embody the big roles African women are playing in the continent’s success, and they will moderate discussions on topics like successfully growing a business internationally in lieu of the African Continental Free Trade Area, how to manage your image and assert leadership in an era marked by social networks e.t.c at the meeting.

Other business leaders to be at the meeting include Nigerian women business leaders such as Toyin Sanni, CEO, United Capital; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank; Adebola Okunsanya, Country Manager, Mercuria Energy; Helen Majemite, CEO, Oeetrot Concept; Aisha Babangida, Founder, Africa 500 or Patricia Obozuwa, Director Communications & Public Affairs, GE Africa.

The meeting will also offer a unique platform for facilitating thought-provoking and forward-thinking discussions, as well as unique opportunities for business development, strategy refinement and improving the overall competitiveness of African businesses.

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