International womens day is set aside to honour women and their massive impact on the world at large. The theme for this year is #Inspireinclusion.

IWD is celebrated almost everywhere in the world, the inaugural National Women’s Day, was organised by the Socialist movement in the United States, and it took place on February 28, 1909.

Previous themes have also included; “Choose to Challenge,” “Press for Progress,” and “Equality for Women is Progress for All.”

Here to celebrate Nigerian women silently doing great things, we have selected  six women rising to the occasion amidst the current situation of the country. These women deserve the recognition they have been able to gather.
Jumoke Adenowo
Olajumoke Adenowo is a Nigerian architect, speaker, and author known for her significant contributions to the field of architecture in Africa. As the founder of AD Consulting, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the built environment and has received numerous accolades for her innovative designs. Adenowo is also recognized for her advocacy for women’s empowerment and leadership in the construction industry.

Debola Deji Kurunmi
Debola Deji-Kurunmi is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, ministry gift, public policy advisor, and transformational coach for visionary leaders.

Founder of IMMERSE Coaching Company, Executive Director at Ideation Hub Africa, and President at Kingdom Leaders Global Alliance, she has received recognition for her outstanding leadership impact and has been featured on TV, international news, and media.

DDK leads a global community, runs a social profit accelerator, and oversees a non-denominational Christian ministry. She has received multiple awards for her transformative work and is the curator of the Future-Forward Female Movement. Connect with her via phone, email, or visit her address in Lagos. Explore her extensive collection of 21 books available in the e-Book Store.

Ireoluwa Anne Soetan
Ireoluwa Soetan is a social entrepreneur with a core drive to spearhead continuous economic improvement and develop individual potential for higher productivity.

She stands at the forefront of societal advancement, wielding her passion and expertise to catalyze positive change. With a diverse background spanning consultancy, business management, fashion design, and entrepreneurship, she has carved a remarkable legacy as a visionary leader and advocate for human capacity development.

Ireoluwa is the founder of A+ Agency, A+ Agency is a technical and vocational education and training (TVET), research and development organization that creates and implements capacity-building programs to help African creatives build and run profitable businesses globally. We are passionate about tackling unemployment and unemployability problems by preparing women & youths for the future of work and access to alternative career pathways.

Since 2018, we have assisted hundreds of women & youth in discovering their skills, establish sustainable businesses, and achieve success in the creative, and Digital sectors.

The Agency believes in the transformative power of the creative & Digital industries as a vehicle to drive job creation, self-expression, cultural exchange, and sustainability, A+ has reach over 5000 women and youths since inception.

She has served as a consultant for the Department for International Development, where she channelled her expertise towards creating viable alternatives to irregular migration, particularly in regions like the south-south. Her dedication to addressing societal challenges earned her accolades and recognition for her impactful contributions.

As a seasoned fashion designer and proprietor of a renowned fashion house, Ireoluwa has left an indelible mark on the industry. Her distinctive style has graced high-profile individuals across various sectors, while her collaborations with esteemed brands like Sterling Bank(Fashion Clustering) and FCMB(SheVentures) have showcased her prowess in leveraging fashion as a tool for empowerment and economic growth.

Tara Fela Durotoye
Tara Fela-Durotoye is a Beauty Entrepreneur who pioneered the professional make up industry in Nigeria in the late 90’s. She is the founder and current C.E.O of House of Tara International.

She is considered a major force in the Nigerian female entrepreneurship community having created an impact business that has empowered tens of thousands of beauty entrepreneurs through the “Tara Beauty Entrepreneur” initiative.

She continues to be a thought leader and major influencer through several classroom and online courses that focus on sharing her 20+ year experience with other budding entrepreneurs.

As a game changer in Nigerian business, Tara has served as a powerful role model for women in business, and worked as an advocate for creating awareness of the importance of building businesses that positively impact society. She’s a huge advocate of impact entrepreneurship and is considered the poster girl for female entrepreneurship in West Africa.

Under her leadership, House of Tara emerged one of jobberman’s best 100 companies to work for in Nigeria 2017 and continues to be considered the number one indigenous makeup brand for Nigerian women.

She has received several national and international Awards for her contribution to the industry and active role in Entrepreneurship and Empowerment; the Most Outstanding Business Woman of the Year 2018 by the African Economy Builders Awards Abidjan.

Also in 2018, Tara received the African Makeup Icon by Ghana Makeup Awards as well as the Leadership Award for Entrepreneurship by Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria, and the most recent in 2019 the award of excellence for Social Impact and Job Creation, a National Recognition by the Vice President of Nigeria.

In 2013 she was on Forbes list of 20 young power women in Africa and more recently in 2020 top 50 Africa most powerful women alongside the President of Ethiopia, Sahle- Work Zewde, Chairman of First Bank, Mrs Ibukun Awosika, Ngozi Okonjo Eweala, Chimamanda Adichie, Lupita Nyongo,Obi Ezekwesili amongst others.

Mo Abudu
Mosunmola Abudu, ‘Mo Abudu’, was born in Hammersmith, West London. Her father died in 1975 when Mo was just 11 years old. Her mother, whom Mo cherishes as one of her greatest pillars of support and inspiration, recently celebrated her 80th birthday.

Mo’s family roots are in Ondo Town, in the south-west of Nigeria. She is the eldest amongst three sisters. Mo moved to Nigeria at the age of seven to live with her grandparents and returned to England at age 11. Mo is the mother of two, a daughter – Temidayo, a son – Adekoyejo and grandmother to TJ and Ireoluwa.

Mo Abudu began her career in Human Resources in 1987 at The Atlas Recruitment Consultancy Firm in the UK. In 1993, she returned to Nigeria where she was headhunted to ExxonMobil to manage the HR and Administration division of the company.

By 2000 Mo recognised the need for a highly talented pool of professionals in Nigeria and started her own Human Resource firm – Vic Lawrence & Associates (VLA), the name being a moniker of her parents’ names. While involving herself in a number of business activities, Mo conceptualized and developed the Protea Hotel, Oakwood Park, as the first new-build hotel of its type ever in Nigeria.

Mo Abudu launched her media career with Inspire Africa, an edutainment company designed to inspire, educate, motivate and entertain. The company’s anchor project was Africa’s first syndicated talk show, Moments with Mo, presented and produced by Mo. The show started airing in 2006 and later evolved to include a number of syndicated offshoot series, Moments Z and Moments in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.

Adenike Ogunlesi
Adenike Ogunlesi, Africa’s foremost fashion entrepreneur who is redefining and blazing the trail in the children’s fashion industry with over 35 years of experience in the Fashion and Retail Business, is the founder and Creative Director of Africa’s leading Premium children’s clothing brand- Ruff ‘n’ Tumble; sharing happiness to over a million children and families across the globe, because she dared to dream and pursue her vision fearlessly.

An entrepreneur passionate about quality, excellence and service; she started the Ruff ‘n’ Tumble brand from the boot of her car in 1998, with a man-power of less than 20 people.

Today she has built a reputable Pan-African brand, operating to international standards with over 300 employees, 17 retail outlets, an online presence and expansion plans across the African continent and the international community.

A dynamic and phenomenal woman, her quest for innovation and redefining what’s possible on her own terms gave birth to the creation of Gatimo Apparel manufacturing, a state of the art garment manufacturing facility with the capacity to contract and manufacture high quality garments to global standards.

A passionate speaker and an advocate for a more equitable society; Adenike advocates women owning their greatness by believing in the truest expression of themselves and being financially independent.

The world has gone beyond physical strength when the strongest is allow to lead, it’s an age of knowledge and discovery. This is the time we get fully inclusive with the Nigerian women. Happy International Womens Day.