By Josephine Agbonkhese

The 16th Global ELOY Conference and Awards held last week in Lagos, bringing together international thought leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and change-makers for high-level discussions on global trade, women in policy governance, sustainability, entrepreneurship, investment, and access to finance.

Themed ‘The Year of the Unstoppable Woman’, the week-long event organised by the ELOY Awards Foundation in collaboration with the International Trade and Empowerment Mission, aimed to equipped attendees with the tools and knowledge needed to take control of their lives and businesses in 2025.
It featured series of keynote speeches by Moji Wusu, Founder, Woodhall Capital Limited; Dr. Tewa Onasanya, Founder and Convener, ELOY Awards Foundation; Maureen Ogbonna, CEO, Vallore; Dr Abiola Salami, World Class Performance Strategist; Dr Ayodeji Ebo, MD Optimus by Afrinvest; and Ochanya Dan Ugo, Group Chief Risk Officer, Unified Payments.
Other highlights were panel discussions with seasoned panellists including Tayo Afolabi, World PR Limited; Efe Usin, Women in Export, Trade and Investment; Tale Alimi, CEO, Rouzo; Isimeme Whyte of Genius HUB, Caroline Moore of Ideas Lab; Hajiya Ijioma, Business Strategist; and Grace Ofure of Lifecard Limited.
The event also featured networking sessions which provided participants with the opportunity to learn from and connect with like-minded individuals.

“We are thrilled with the success of this year’s conference and awards. Our goal is to empower women and girls around the world, and we believe that this event has made a significant contribution to achieving that goal,” said Dr Onasanya.

The event also featured a business pitch session in partnership with Rainoil, where one of the businesses in the sustainability and renewable waste sector won a N1,000,000 grant for her business.

It ended with the graduation ceremony of the women on the ELOY Foundation Sustainable Empowerment program in partnership with FirstBank.

The week-long event culminated in the ELOY Awards, which recognised the achievements of twenty outstanding individuals, including two global recognition for women in the UK and Senegal.

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was also honoured with the HE4SHE Recognition Award.

Among other winners were Bimbo Ademoye who won in the Creative Arts and Entertainment category for Acting/Film; Adebimpe Adebambo, winner, ELOY Award for Creative Arts and Entertainment, Fashion/Arts category; and Ada Nduka Oyom, She Code Africa, winner, ELOY Award for STEM.

Meanwhile, the ELOY Award for Health and Wellness in association with Mamador went to Chiamaka Elujoba of Green Essence Healthy lifestyle; ELOY Award for Education and Mentorship went to Tolulope Tunde-Ajiboye of The Blooming Amazons; the ELOY Award for Fashion Influencer was conferred on Priscila Ojo while Morayo Afolabi-Brown of TVC went home with the ELOY Award for Media and Communication in association with GAC Motors.

The ELOY Iconic Recognition Award went to media mogul, Mo Abudu, while the ELOY Recognition Award in the International Category went to Dr Yvonne Thompson (UK).