Beyond Borders, Beyond Industries: Business Women in Africa Lunch Forges New Alliances!

More than 90 prominent women leaders, representing both Francophone and Anglophone Africa, converged for the first-ever Business Women in Africa Lunch. The event, held on February 28, 2024, at the Art Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria, fostered connections and empowered women across linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Organized by the Francophone Africa Business Summit (FABS), the purpose of this side event was to network, with women industry leaders and business owners representing Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Mauritania, and Nigeria respectively.

These business leaders assembled to forge bonds across common borders. More than a gathering, the event was a watershed moment, giving rise to meaningful partnerships, business synergies, and lasting relations – the foundation driving pan-African prosperity.

In her opening speech, Managing Partner at Epena Law, Johanna Monthé, said

I really want you to leave this place having met at least 10 people. For those who haven’t met the francophone crowd, we have an amazing group of strong women coming from the DRC.

During her speech, the Managing Director of BGR Consulting, Habibah Waziri, noted that the lunch program is a welcome idea as it would help African women forge bonds across common borders.

She urged women to embrace their similarities, saying,

I understand the importance of one Africa even though we haven’t gotten there yet. There is a different perspective in this room; we have Francophone and Anglophone speakers, and if you break it down, we have at least ten to fifteen countries represented here.

It is important that we see more of our similarities than our differences, but one conversation will help you whether it’s agro, consulting, finance, mining, oil and gas, or whatever the case is, these are the kind of rooms that we all have to start with.

Fired up by the event, the women carried a torch of renewed commitment – to collaborate across borders and industries for a greater impact.

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