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Summary
The article highlights four remarkable Nigerian women who, though not always in the spotlight, have made significant contributions to healthcare, media, broadcasting, and fintech through the successful brands they founded or co-founded.
Successful women are not alien to the Nigerian society. From politics to entertainment to health and fashion, various women have carved a niche for themselves and become household names.
There are a few of them, though, who are recurring sensations. They need no introduction.
The likes of Folorunsho Alakija, a businesswoman (and Africa’s second richest woman); Oby Ezekwesili, an elder statesperson; Funke Akindele, an award-winning actress, and Linda Ikeji, an acclaimed blogger.
Others are not in the spotlight as much as the above-listed for public relations or personal reasons. Yet they have contributed immensely to the lives of Nigerians with their brainchildren.
This article aims to highlight and appreciate four of such women.
- Â Stella Chinyelu Okoli
Have you ever had a headache? Been in pain or fallen sick? Chances are that a paracetamol is your go-to drug. If that doesn’t work, you go for a test and have drugs prescribed to you or get admitted—in the worst-case scenario.
When you’re being administered treatment, does any particular pharmaceutical brand jump out at you?
That’s right.
Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited.
Stella Chinyelu Okoli is the founder and current CEO of the Nigerian-owned big pharm company Emzor, which has branches in Liberia and Sierra Leone. She started the company as a retail business in 1977 after graduating with a Master’s in biopharmaceutics from the University of London, Chelsea College (1971).
She has numerous awards as feathers to her cap, such as the International Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Award, the CePATHonors Lifetime Achievement Award (2014), and the Ernst and Young Lifetime Achievement Award (2016).
She is also a philanthropist.
- Â Olusola Momoh
There are a few media houses in the nation that stood out in the last electoral season, and Channels Television was one of them.
The station is a part of the Channels Media Group conglomerate and sits atop its chain of command alongside her husband and co-founder, Olusola Momoh.
Momoh holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication (with a specialisation in print journalism) from the University of Lagos and a diploma in broadcast journalism from the same school. Having worked in the banking sector for seven years, she brings immeasurable commercial value to the Channels team.
She also established the Channels Women Network, a platform for mentoring young female staff and ensuring their promotion and well-being within the organisation.
She was a director at the Convention on Business Integrity, a participant in the Women Leadership Forum programme hosted by Harvard Business School, and a recipient of an honorary doctorate in Business Administration from Achievers University.
- Â Toun Okewale-Sonaiya
Toun Okewale Sonaiya is the personality behind the establishment of the first female-centred radio station in Nigeria: WFM. This amazing feat should come as no surprise, given that the station is affiliated with the St. Ives brand in Nigeria.
The St. Ives brand is notably pro-women:
St. Ives Specialist Hospital is owned by Babatunde Wale Okewale, an obstetrics and gynaecology consultant, fertility specialist, and broadcaster who chairs St. Ives Communications. WFM is a subsidiary of St. Ives Communications, where Toun Okewale-Sonaiya is a director.
Okewale-Sonaiya grew up in Ogun State, where her love for broadcasting was nurtured at 7. She has since been a part of prominent media companies like Capital Extra (London), AIT and BBC, as a presenter, producer and voice-over artist.
- Â Odunayo Eweniyi
If you’ve ever dealt with online banking, chances are that you’ve come across PiggyVest, a saving and investment app that is the first of its kind in West Africa.
The creation of PiggyVest in 2016 (formerly Piggybank) was an idea borne out of the traditional practice of saving money in a wooden box (kolo) but in a digitalised way. The fintech creation was rebranded in 2019 to offer investment offers.
Odunayo Eweniyi and the duo of Somto Ifezue and Joshua Chibueze, all graduates of Covenant University, Ogun State, Nigeria, are the brains behind the company.
Eweniyi is also the company’s chief operations officer. She hails from Oyo State, Nigeria, and has a first-class degree in computer engineering.
Odunayo Eweniyi has co-founded other start-ups and organisations, such as PushCV, Wine & Whine, and Feminist Coalition.
She has also been listed in notable lists like the Quartz Africa Innovators (2019), Forbes Africa New Wealth Creators (2019), Bloomberg 50 (2020), and TIME100 NEXT (2021).
In 2018, she won the Future Awards Africa prize in Technology and the Forbes Woman Africa Technology and Innovation Award in 2022.
These remarkable women (in true Nigerian spirit) have forged—with passion, grit, and vision—a pathway to success in their chosen careers. They have done excellently well for themselves and influenced our everyday lives in ways we’re better for.
