Ideation Hub Africa held the 3rd edition of the Women in Development (WID) Summit as a hybrid event in Lagos on Saturday, July 20, 2024. The summit brought together women in the development sector, non-profits, social enterprises, civil society organisations, international development agencies, advocacy groups, or CSR divisions of corporate institutions and multinationals under the theme “Visionaries of Impact: Women Redefining Global Development.”

The convener of the summit, Debola Deji-Kurunmi, Executive Director of Ideation Hub Africa in her Keynote Address, emphasised women’s pioneering role in global development. She highlighted the transformative power of female leadership and urged women to focus on their goals, leverage technology, and strengthen internal teams for better outcomes in Nigeria and Africa.

Odunayo Sanya, Executive Director, MTN Foundation, delivered a keynote speech on “Disrupting Development: Female Visionaries of Impact Leading the Sustainability Revolution.” She highlighted female leadership in development, stressing the importance of vision, purpose, skill-building, self-investment, collaboration, and embracing technology. Sanya emphasized the need for more women in the development sector.

A panel discussion on Innovative Approaches to Social Impact: Powerful Strategies for Driving Sustainable Change” was held, sharing strategies and innovations for sustainable change in finding valuable relationships and one’s niche. The high-impact panel had Abosede George-Ogan, founder of the Women in Leadership Advancement Network (WILAN); Kehinde Ayeni, Executive Director of LEAP Africa; Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO of Sterling One Foundation; Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru, founder of Women At Risk Foundation (WARIF) and moderated by Debola Deji-Kurunmi, the Executive Director, Ideation Hub Africa (IHA).

A second panel discussion on “Advancing Tech and Entrepreneurship: Women Driving Future Economic Empowerment” had Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi, Executive Director of the Women’s Technology Empowerment Center (W.TEC); Confidence Staveley, Executive Director of CyberSafe Foundation; Solape Akinpelu, CEO and Co-founder of HerVest; Amaka Nwaokolo, Director and Head of The Fate Institute, and moderated by Oluwatoyin Banjo, Program Director, Ideation Hub Africa (IHA). The high-impact panel highlighted the contributions of female leaders in tech and entrepreneurship in driving economic empowerment. They encouraged women to share their stories, impact younger women and seek support from other women.

In rounding off the transformational Summit, 7 strategic Policy RoundTable Sessions were held onsite and virtually. The goal of the Policy RoundTable was to create a collaborative platform where stakeholders from various sectors can engage in in-depth discussions on critical policy issues affecting Africa and the world. By bringing together policymakers, industry experts, academics and community leaders to develop innovative ideas to solve these pressing issues.