Category: Business Day

Reckitt, a global leader in health and hygiene, has appointed Ujunwa Chukwumah as its general manager, West Africa, effective September 15, 2026, the company said in a statement seen by BusinessDay.

Ujunwa brings more than 19 years of commercial and leadership experience across Africa, spanning commercial strategy, business transformation, market development and team leadership.

Her appointment also marks a leadership milestone, as she is the first Nigerian to assume the position, as well as the first female to do so in the region.

She joins Reckitt following senior leadership roles at global organisations including Diageo and Procter and Gamble. Most recently, she served as Commercial Director for West and Central Africa at Diageo, where she gained extensive experience leading businesses across diverse African markets.

Throughout her career, Ujunwa has built a strong track record in driving commercial performance, developing teams and building relationships with customers and partners. Her experience across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa has also given her a strong understanding of the region’s markets, consumers and evolving business landscape

In her new role, Ujunwa will lead Reckitt’s West Africa business, with responsibility for driving commercial performance and sustainable growth across the region.

She will also focus on building organisational capabilities, developing talent, and creating opportunities for Reckitt’s brands to meet consumers’ evolving needs.

Commenting on her appointment, Ujunwa said: ‘I am delighted to join Reckitt and lead its West Africa business. Having spent much of my career working across the region, I am excited about the opportunity to bring my experience to a business whose brands play an important role in the lives of consumers. I look forward to working with our teams, customers and partners to grow our brands, develop our people and deliver sustainable growth, while continuing to ensure we provide better health in more hands everyday across West Africa.’

Ujunwa’s appointment reinforces Reckitt’s commitment to strong leadership and its long-term ambitions in Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire and other West African markets.

Her combination of commercial expertise, transformational leadership, and extensive regional experience will support the company’s ambition to deepen its market presence, drive sustainable growth, and create greater value for consumers, and communities across the region.

African filmmakers have until October to put their next big story in front of MTN One TV as the platform searches for projects with the potential to reach audiences across the continent.

MTN One TV made the announcement on September 16, 2026, inviting established African producers and production companies to pitch film and television projects that are locally rooted but capable of connecting with audiences beyond their home markets.

The opportunity is open across Africa, with particular focus on audiences in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Zambia. The platform is targeting young people aged 18 to 34 as well as mass-market viewers.

This is not a call for completed movies to be sent in for immediate broadcast. Selected applicants will pitch projects directly to MTN One TV, creating a route for stories still in development to be considered for a potential commercial relationship.

Two pitch opportunities are available. The deadline for the Durban FilmMart pitch is September 28, while applications for the MIP Africa pitch at FAME Week Africa close on October 5.

MTN is looking for limited series, scripted and unscripted series, micro-dramas and feature films. Eligible genres include drama, comedy, reality, action, thriller, romance and animation.

The initiative follows MTN’s launch of One TV in June as part of its expansion into digital entertainment. The platform brings together local storytelling, live channels and international programming, with viewing models that can include free-to-view content, advertising-funded viewing, pay-as-you-watch access and subscriptions, depending on the market.

That makes the content search part of a wider commercial push. MTN wants stories that can attract viewers, work across markets and suit digitally connected and mobile-first audiences.

The requirements reflect that expectation. Applicants must operate through registered production companies, while lead producers must have at least seven years of professional industry experience and a relevant track record.

Submissions must include a pitch deck, synopsis, pilot or relevant episode script, production budget, schedule, financing status, target audience and rights information.

Nigeria is one of the four priority markets named in the pitch call, giving local production companies another potential route to audiences outside the country.

But the opportunity does not amount to guaranteed funding. MTN’s published terms state that submitting or pitching a project does not guarantee a commission, investment, licence, acquisition or development agreement. If MTN decides to pursue a project, the commercial terms will be negotiated separately.

Shortlisted projects will be pitched in person at the relevant industry event. Two complimentary Durban FilmMart accreditations are available for each shortlisted project, although travel, accommodation, visas and other attendance costs remain the responsibility of participants.

Nigeria’s central bank surprisingly delivered its biggest single interest-rate cut on record, slashing the benchmark by 350 basis points to 23 percent as money-market rates had already fallen well below the previous policy rate.

The decision follows a three-month continuous cooling of inflation to 15.39 percent in August, down from 15.43 percent the previous month. And a subsequent decline in food prices to 19.57 percent, the first slowdown in about six months.

The move by Governor Olayemi Cardoso and the Monetary Policy Committee on Tuesday marks a sharp recalibration of the CBN’s policy framework, bringing the Monetary Policy Rate closer to prevailing Treasury bill, OMO and interbank rates rather than signalling a broad shift toward cheap money.

The MPC also narrowed its asymmetric corridor to plus 50 basis points and minus 300 basis points, while cutting the Standing Deposit Facility to 20 percent and the Standing Lending Facility to 23.5 percent.

Analysts said the MPR ‘reset’ reflects the significant disconnect that had emerged between the 26.5 percent benchmark rate and prevailing market rates, particularly Treasury bills and Open Market Operations (OMO) yields, which had already traded below 20 percent.

Razia Khan, managing director and chief economist, Africa and Middle East Global Research at Standard Chartered Bank, said the 350-basis-point cut came as a surprise, although the changes to the corridor blunt its overall impact.

‘Against expectations, the Central Bank of Nigeria cut its policy rate by 350bps, to 23.0 percent, from 26.5 percent. Changes were also made to the asymmetric corridor around the policy rate, to +50bps/-300 bps, from a previous +50bps/-450bps,’ Khan said.

She noted that the new SLF rate is now 23.5 percent, compared with 27 percent previously, while the theoretical floor on interest rates, represented by the SDF, has fallen to 20 percent from 22 percent.

Khan said the CBN, while highlighting the downtrend in inflation as a consequence of earlier monetary tightening, was presenting the decision less as conventional monetary easing and more as a recalibration aimed at strengthening the transmission mechanism.

‘Policy will remain ‘restrictive’ going forward, and geopolitical risks could slow the ‘normalisation’ of policy,’ she said.

According to her, OMO yields were already around the level implied by the new floor on rates and had since moved lower, although modestly.

She added that some commentators had linked the move to the new memorandum of understanding establishing cooperation between the fiscal and monetary authorities, arguing that it could boost demand for longer-duration securities and ultimately lower Nigeria’s debt-service costs.

Others, she said, had raised concerns over Nigeria’s reliance on portfolio inflows and whether the CBN could ease meaningfully when the United States Federal Reserve is expected to tighten.

Khan said she believes the CBN can ease despite these external considerations, although petroleum product prices could put pressure on inflation beyond the harvest months.

She said there remains scope for further monetary easing next year after the elections.

Ayodele Ebo, chief executive officer of MDU Capital, said the governor’s description of the decision as a ‘recalibration’ suggests that the CBN is bringing the MPR closer to prevailing money-market and fixed-income rates.

He said the MPR had previously been significantly above market rates, creating a disconnect and reducing its effectiveness as a policy signal.

‘The immediate impact on fixed-income yields may be limited because market rates had already adjusted, but the decision should support lower borrowing costs over time and improve sentiment in the equities market,’ Ebo said.

He added that the adjustment was positive for the market but did not signal a return to cheap money.

Adebowale Funmi, head of Research at Parthian Securities, said the CBN governor’s description of the decision as a recalibration rather than conventional easing reflected the significant disconnect between the 26.5 percent MPR and prevailing market rates.

‘The CBN governor’s description of the decision as a recalibration, rather than conventional easing, reflects the significant disconnect between the 26.5 percent MPR and prevailing market rates, with Treasury bills and OMO yields trading below 20 percent,’ Funmi said.

She said the adjustment was therefore aimed at bringing the policy rate closer to actual market conditions and improving the transmission of monetary policy to the broader economy.

‘For the market, the recalibration should strengthen the signalling role of the MPR and provide greater alignment between the policy rate and funding conditions. It could also support credit growth and economic activity at the margin,’ she said.

However, Funmi said the adjustment should not be interpreted as the beginning of an aggressive easing cycle, as the CBN is likely to remain guided by the inflation trajectory, liquidity conditions and the extent to which market rates respond to the adjustment.

Ayodele Akinwunmi, chief economist at United Capital Plc, said the CBN was seeking to align the MPR with interbank rates and other market rates.

‘What the CBN governor is trying to communicate is that the decision to reduce the MPR to 23 percent with the asymmetric corridor of +0.5%/-3.0 percent around the MPR is to align the MPR to where the interbank rates and other market rates are,’ Akinwunmi said.

He, however, noted that the adjustment still represented a form of policy easing because banks would now place excess funds with the CBN at 20 percent, compared with 22 percent previously, while borrowing from the central bank as lender of last resort would cost 23.5 percent, compared with 27 percent previously.

The CBN retained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 45 percent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 percent for Merchant Banks and 75 percent on non-Treasury Single Account public-sector deposits.

The unchanged reserve requirements indicate that while the CBN has adjusted the price of money and narrowed the policy corridor, it has not simultaneously relaxed the existing liquidity controls on banks.

Ubah Jeremiah, chief investment officer of VNL Capital Asset Management, described the 350-basis-point reduction as a significant surprise, saying the scale of the move indicated that the CBN was responding to changes in inflation, naira stability and external reserves.

He said the stronger naira and healthier external reserves had provided the CBN with room to reduce the cost of credit without necessarily loosening liquidity conditions indiscriminately.

For the real economy, Jeremiah said a lower MPR should begin to filter through to lending rates, potentially reducing working-capital costs, improving access to consumer credit and easing debt-servicing costs.

He said the magnitude of the reduction suggested that the CBN was seeking to move the benchmark rate closer to the prevailing economic and market conditions rather than adjusting it incrementally.

The next MPC meeting is scheduled for November 24, 2026.

Despite growing doubts over the conduct of elections in Rivers State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured opposition political parties in the state of free, fair and credible polls in 2027.

Opposition parties in the State, under the aegis of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), had expressed fears over possible electoral violence, alleged political intimidation and INEC’s impartial conduct of the 2027 general elections.

INEC held a strategic engagement with IPAC on Monday in a bid to address these issues, and as part of efforts to promote a peaceful, transparent and credible electoral process ahead of the 2027 elections.

The meeting brought together INEC officials and leaders of various political parties in the State and focused on the conduct of the elections and the need for greater collaboration among stakeholders.

Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Rivers State, assured the parties that the Commission would conduct elections that are free and fair.

He was responding to concerns raised by political parties, particularly over the use of Local Government Area headquarters, as colation centres during elections.

He said, ‘In all election circles, we expect a better one. Not only in Nigeria, even in other climes of the world. Even we as election managers, we are expecting better elections.

‘All the times it has been free and fair. But it depends on the operators and the people in the field. I always say it: those people in the field, once they play by the rules, we don’t have anything to worry about. For us, we assure you that the commission, from headquarters to the state and to the local government will be free to all political parties,’ he said.

Sinikiem explained that Council headquarters are secured and established places, adding that ‘during colation, we need appropriate places for both accommodation and the security of men and materials and the officers that are doing colation’.

Meanwhile, the State chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council has raised concern over what it described as a series of negative political developments in the State.

Ben Ogbobula, IPAC State Secretary and Chairman of the Zenith Labour Party, advised INEC to carefully consider concerns raised by political parties and maintain neutrality in the discharge of its responsibilities.

He said, ‘IPAC is ready for elections. We also told them to be mindful of the colation centres, that other political parties are not happy with what the ruling party is doing. So we urged INEC, to be observant and not to be partial, but to ensure that what is meant for Mr A is also good for Mr B. So that they play a neutral ground in these forthcoming elections.

‘Especially now that a lot of political parties like the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Some days ago, some of its members were arrested for unlawful gathering, though this is election period. People are supposed to gather,’ he said.

Ogbobula alleged that the ruling party in the State has been sending people to burn the offices of opposition political parties, to disorganise their meetings and warned that no political party should be intimidated.

‘So, they should allow people to campaign and sell their manifestos to the people’ he urged.

Nigerian singer and songwriter Patoranking is set to mark a decade in music with a headline performance at Trace Live on September 25 at Terra Kulture Arena, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The concert, organised by Trace in partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions, will celebrate 10 years of Patoranking’s career under the theme, ‘God Over Everything.’

The event will open its doors at 7pm, with the performance scheduled to begin at 8pm.

Patoranking, whose real name is Patrick Okorie, began gaining national attention with the release of ‘Alubarika’ in 2013. He followed with songs including ‘Girlie O,’ ‘My Woman, My Everything’ and ‘No Kissing Baby,’ establishing himself in Nigeria’s dancehall and reggae music scene.

In 2016, he released his debut studio album, God Over Everything, which included collaborations with artistes such as Wizkid, Phyno and Sarkodie.

The upcoming Trace Live concert takes its theme from the album and is expected to feature performances from across Patoranking’s catalogue, spanning his 10-year career.

The singer has released several projects since his debut album, including Wilmer in 2019, Three in 2020 and World Best in 2023.

The Trace Live platform has hosted live performances by Nigerian and African artistes as part of Trace’s efforts to promote music and live entertainment across the continent.

The September 25 event will be supported by Lord’s London Dry Gin, Legend Extra Stout and Coca-Cola.

The concert will take place at Terra Kulture Arena, a cultural and entertainment venue in Victoria Island, Lagos, with guests expected to arrive from 7pm ahead of the 8pm performance.

The Federal Ministry of Education (FME) has severed ties with the national parent-teacher associations of Federal Unity Colleges, rejecting their authority to represent parents and guardians in the nation’s unity school system.

Boriowo Folasade, director of press and public relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, in a statement explained that the ministry has clarified that the association operating under the name National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the Federal Unity Colleges is not recognised or authorised by the ministry and does not represent the individual PTAs in the 118 Federal Unity Colleges nationwide.

The ministry stated that the association has no mandate to speak on behalf of the colleges, their PTAs, parents or guardians. Consequently, any statement, directive, appeal or communication issued by the association has no official standing and should be disregarded by the public.

The ministry advised parents and guardians to rely exclusively on official communications from the Federal Ministry of Education and the management of their respective Federal Unity Colleges on matters concerning schools, students and academic activities.

According to the statement, Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, urged parents and guardians to ensure that their children and wards are in their respective Federal Unity Colleges, as the 2026/2027 academic session has commenced nationwide.

The minister reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to the effective administration of the Federal Unity Colleges and to providing students with a safe, conducive and supportive environment for learning and overall development throughout the academic session.

Recall that the Federal Unity Colleges’ PTAs and education ministry workers have been in a loggerhead over the concession of King’s College, Lagos, and other welfare-related issues.

BusinessDay earlier reported that the controversy surrounding the concession of King’s College, Lagos, took a fresh turn on last week as the Federal Ministry of Education workers blocked Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, from entering his office.

The workers were seen carrying placards blocking the entrance to the ministry’s headquarters, and also prevented Folake Olatunji-David, the acting permanent secretary, from entering her office.

A video circulated on X showed workers gathering at the entrance as a motorcade reportedly conveying the minister arrived at the premises.

The protesters were heard chanting, ‘Alausa must go,’ while blocking access to the ministry’s premises.

The unions have previously demanded the removal of the minister and expressed opposition to the reported 35-year concession of the college to its old boys’ association.

The workers have also raised concerns over staff welfare and other administrative issues within the ministry.

Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) has expanded access to its NGX Invest platform with the launch of a WhatsApp subscription channel, providing investors with an additional, convenient way to participate in public offers.

Investors can begin the subscription process by sending ‘Invest’ to NGX Invest on WhatsApp at +234 812 731 9521. They can then follow the prompts to view eligible offers and complete the required subscription steps without downloading a separate application. As part of the process, investors will select a stockbroker through whom their application will be processed, ensuring that brokers remain an integral part of the investment journey.

The new channel extends NGX Invest’s growing distribution ecosystem, which connects issuers to investors through more than 100 distribution channels, including stockbrokers, banks, fintechs, mobile operators and other financial institutions via API connectivity.

By integrating WhatsApp into NGX Invest, NGX Group is reducing friction in the investment process and bringing primary-market opportunities closer to investors through a platform they already use every day. For issuers, the integration provides an additional route to reach a broader pool of potential investors and support more efficient capital raising.

The development forms part of NGX Group’s broader strategy to use technology, partnerships and open distribution infrastructure to widen participation in Nigeria’s capital market.

Security remains central to the design of the investor journey. While WhatsApp provides the interface through which investors can access the service, subscriptions are processed through NGX Invest’s secure, regulated infrastructure. Investors are encouraged to interact only with the official NGX Invest WhatsApp number and should never share passwords, PINs, OTPs or other sensitive credentials with third parties.

As digital participation in Nigeria’s capital market grows, NGX Group remains focused on ensuring that increased access is supported by secure, transparent and regulated market infrastructure. The addition of WhatsApp combines the convenience of a familiar consumer channel with the safeguards required for participation in regulated public offers.

With WhatsApp now part of its distribution ecosystem, NGX Invest is further expanding the infrastructure through which investors can discover and participate in primary-market opportunities, while enabling issuers to reach a wider investing public.

NGX Invest is NGX Group’s SEC-approved e-offering platform for accessing Public Offers, Rights Issues and Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).

Since its launch in 2024, the platform has facilitated more than 23 primary-market transactions and supported over N3 trillion in capital raising.

Through API connectivity, NGX Invest is connected to more than 100 distribution channels spanning stockbrokers, banks, fintech platforms, mobile operators and other financial institutions. This open distribution network connects issuers with a broader pool of investors, simplifies participation in public offers and supports more efficient capital formation in Nigeria’s capital market.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) says 32 million people risk being displaced from their communities due to the ravaging effects of climate change currently confronting the sub-region.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Gen. Birame Diop, disclosed this at the Second 2026 Parliamentary Seminar of the ECOWAS Parliament on Tuesday in Accra, Ghana.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the week-long event has ‘Climate Change as A Driver of Environmental Degradation, Population Displacement and Rising Insecurity’ as its theme.

The seminar is aimed at enabling regional parliamentarians, experts and other stakeholders to interrogate the link between climate change, population displacement and rising insecurity in West Africa.

Diop warned that the combined effects of climate change, environmental degradation and insecurity could push the number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the sub-region to about 32 million by 2050.

Citing World Bank projections, the commission’s president said women and children accounted for about 80 per cent of the figure.

Represented by Prof. Nassirou Bako-Arifari, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Diop identified climate financing as a major challenge confronting the sub-region, adding that ‘West Africa requires about 294 billion dollars to tackle the crisis of climate change.’

The president said since 2024, ECOWAS had been working towards establishing a regional carbon market platform under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to help mobilise investment for climate action.

He recalled that in 2024 alone, about two million West Africans were displaced by climate-related natural disasters.

He said more than seven million people were affected by flooding alone during the same period, resulting in the destruction of homes, roads, schools, health facilities, farms and other critical infrastructure.

Diop also disclosed that between 2025 and 2026, more than 12 million people were displaced internally across West and Central Africa due to the combined effects of climate change, insecurity and other vulnerabilities.

He, therefore, appealed to member states to adopt a comprehensive regional approach to climate resilience and human security, instead of fragmented responses.

He added that ‘climate change is not simply an environmental issue. It is a development issue, a humanitarian issue, a peace and security issue, and ultimately an issue of human survival and regional stability.

‘We must be proactive and invest in resilience before crises occur. We must protect ecosystems, create livelihoods and address grievances before they escalate into conflict.’

He also appealed to the regional parliamentarians to strengthen climate-responsive legislation and oversight.

Diop urged them to prioritise climate financing, improve early-warning and early-action systems, and promote sustainable management of land, water, forests and fisheries.

He further appealed to the governments of Member States to prioritise women and youths in their climate-resilience efforts, describing them as innovators, entrepreneurs, community leaders and agents of resilience.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has proposed a new regulatory framework targeting anti-competitive behaviours and market abuse, in a decisive move to protect investors and foster fair competition across the country’s petroleum value chain.

Speaking during the stakeholders consultative forum in Abuja on Tuesday, Rabiu Umar, the Authority Chief Executive of NMDPRA said that the regulation titled: ‘Prevention of Anti- Competitive Practices and Behaviour Regulations 2026’, is in pursuant to section 216 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

According to Umar, the proposed regulations are intended to strengthen the midstream and downstream petroleum sector by preventing anti-competitive practices, addressing abuse of dominance, promoting fair and non-discriminatory access to essential infrastructure, and also enhancing transparency and market efficiency.

‘The proposed regulations are intended to strengthen the midstream and downstream petroleum sector by preventing anti-competitive practices, addressing abuse of dominance, promoting fair and non-discriminatory access to essential infrastructure, and also enhancing transparency and market efficiency. I

‘In furtherance to this, the Authority has received several submissions from its stakeholders regarding the proposed regulations which will be reviewed.

‘The Authority recognizes that effective regulation must provide regulatory certainty, support investment and innovation, promote efficient markets, and protect the integrity of the petroleum sector. This is therefore a consultation in the true sense of the word. We are here to listen, to learn, and improve the draft where necessary,’ he said.

Speaking further, Umar explained that the Authority had recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Competition and Consumer Preotection Commission (FCCPC) to protect the market against price fixing, cartel behaviour, product withholding, under-dispensing and other practices that distort competition.

The partnership, formalised through a collaborative agreement between the two agencies, is expected to strengthen market surveillance, information sharing, investigations and enforcement across Nigeria’s deregulated petroleum market.

Joseph Tolunrunse, Authority’s secretary and legal adviser, who gave an overview of the draft, said that the document wnich contains 138 regulations, covers pricing conduct, infrastructural assets, dominance and vertical integration, mergers and changes of control, digital markets and data (including AI-related issues), enforcement, compliance and inter-agency coordination.

‘The central purpose of the regulation is to translate the competition provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 into detailed, enforceable rules for the midstream and downstream petroleum industry,’ Tolunrunse said.

According to him, the regulation seeks to creat a level playing field in the sector, prevent monopoly and abuse of dominant positions; protect consumers from market manipulation and anti-competitive behaviour and guarantee open, non-discriminatory access to essential infrastructure (pipelines, depots, terminals, storage).

The regulation also seeks to improving transparency of prices, capacity and market information, atract investment by providing regulatory certainty while aligning Nigeria’s petroleum competition regime with international best practice.

He said the rules would apply to licensees, their affiliates and other persons engaged in commercial activities in the sector, including industry associations where their activities could affect competition.

Tolunrunse described the draft as a shift in NMDPRA’s approach, from mainly licensing and technical oversight to actively regulating how market power is exercised in the sector.

‘This regulation, therefore, attempts to address the economic architecture of the market: who gets assets, on what terms, at what price, with what information, and subject to what competitive safeguards,’ he added.

Women and young professionals will converge in Lagos on October 24 for the third annual SpeakHER Conference, with this year’s event focusing on communication, negotiation, advocacy and leadership.

The conference, themed ‘S.A.Y. – Speak. Amplify. You.’, will hold at The Dome, This Present House, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

Organised by SpeakHER, the conference is expected to feature practical learning sessions, panel conversations, networking opportunities and the Speakathon, a platform that gives women and girls the opportunity to speak publicly on issues they consider important.

According to the organisers, the 2026 edition is designed to address some of the challenges women face in communicating their ideas and advocating for themselves in professional, business, community and public spaces.

The conference will feature two major practical sessions: ‘Room Ready: The Negotiation Edge’ and ‘The Signature Speaker.’

The negotiation session will examine self-advocacy, persuasion and negotiation, with emphasis on helping participants navigate spaces where important decisions are made.

The Signature Speaker session, meanwhile, will focus on effective communication and public speaking, including how participants can communicate with greater clarity and confidence in meetings, interviews, panels, on stage and in front of cameras.

The Speakathon will be another major feature of the conference. Emerging speakers are expected to address issues across four areas: Leadership and Governance; Women’s Health and Wellness; Advocacy; and AI and Digital Transformation.

Speaking ahead of the conference, SpeakHER Co-founder, Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani, said the initiative was established to help address the gap between having ideas and being able to communicate them effectively.

‘Women have ideas, ambition, and the capacity to lead. What can sometimes be missing is the confidence, skill, or opportunity to communicate those ideas when it matters most,’ Akinkugbe-Filani said.

She said the S.A.Y. theme was intended to encourage women to speak with confidence, amplify issues that matter to them and participate actively in spaces where their voices can influence outcomes.

Also speaking, Co-founder Ayo Mairo-Ese said the conference would go beyond encouraging women to speak by helping them develop the skills to use their voices effectively.

‘Speaking up is only the beginning. We want women to recognise the value of their voices, develop the skills to use them effectively, and understand that their perspectives can shape the spaces they occupy,’ Mairo-Ese said.

She added that the 2026 conference would create opportunities for women to step forward, be heard and translate their voices into meaningful action.

The organisers said the conference is targeted at professional women, entrepreneurs, advocates, emerging leaders and young professionals interested in developing their communication, negotiation and leadership skills.

SpeakHER, whose mission is ‘Shaping Narratives. Inspiring Change,’ runs initiatives aimed at creating opportunities for women and girls to communicate, advocate and participate in conversations affecting their workplaces, communities and futures.