Nigerias Most Successful Female Entrepreneurs

Women in Nigeria, for centuries, have been in charge of commerce within their communities, and they are to be found in all professions, successfully making their mark, both locally and globally – so to list a few as ‘the most successful’ is a difficult task. However, here is a shortlist of seven women innovators in the arts, commerce and tech, who have been able to push boundaries in their respective entrepreneurial fields.

Achenyo Idachaba

Although quite a beautiful sight to behold, water hyacinths are quite dangerous – these fast-growing pests clog waterways, deplete nutrients from the water (reducing fish population) and cause a lot of trouble for fishermen. Always interested in the environment, Achenyo Idachaba was able to look at these invasive aquatic nuisances as an investment opportunity. She began to harvest water hyacinths and turn them into intricately woven everyday-use items. Since 2009, when she opened Mitimeth in Ibadan, Achenyo has gone on to consult on different environmental projects relating to waste recovery around the globe. She also works with communities in the Niger-Delta, offering training and consultations on how to make a profit from a seeming nuisance.

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf

Mo Abudu

Described by Forbes as Africa’s most successful woman, Mo Abudu, who started her career as a recruitment consultant in the UK, established Vic Lawrence and Associates, a specialist human resources development company, in 2000. In July 2013, Abudu established Ebony Life Television, ‘a multi-platform broadcaster, set to reach Africa’s most important target demographic,’ making Abudu the ‘first woman to own a pan-African television channel.’

Nkemdilim Begho

Nkemdilim Begho is a techpreneur and managing director of Future Software Resources, a leading provider of information technology services, such as e-learning, security, webhosting and more. In a male-dominated world, she has been able to make her mark as an IT solutions expert, taking a local brand global. Alongside Ashim Egunjobi and Ijeome Nwoke, Begho also set up Always Me by Anne Li, a design label that creates handmade baby and maternity products. With a background as an application developer at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatrist Research – where she developed software tools to aid genetic research and plugins for micro-army databases – she also volunteers as a mentor to young girls looking to go into tech.

Temie Giwa-Tubosun

Temie Giwa-Tubosun is the founder of LifeBank, a business organization using technology to bridge the shortfall between blood donors and patients. In 2012, Giwa-Tubosun founded the One Percent Project, a non-governmental, non-profit organization aimed at educating Nigerians about the importance of blood donations, and built an effective network between donors, blood banks and patients, delivering it to those in need. By January 2016, the One Percent Project had morphed into LifeBank, a social enterprise aimed at tackling this perpetual problem head-on, through the use of technology and data gathering, with the primary target being pre- and post-natal patients (mothers and babies).

Funmi Iyanda

Talk-show host, broadcaster and journalist, Funmi Iyanda, hosted one of the longest-running and most successful talk shows on Nigerian television, New Dawn, for eight years. During this period, she established the Change-A-Life project, which is aimed at empowering vulnerable members of society. Since then, she has established Ooya Media, a content production, communications management, and visual advisory firm operating in Africa, America, Europe and the Middle East.

Nkem Okocha

With a passion for empowering disadvantaged women, Nkem Okocha started her company, Mamamoni, in 2013, first as a vocational training enterprise. By 2014 however, Okocha realized that women, even with acquired skills, will find it hard to start off a business without financial empowerment. So she started offering floating loans to the women who go through the training; loans they couldn’t otherwise access due to barriers like collateral and high interest rates.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.