Inspirational Nigerian women of 2021

Daily Trust on Sunday recognises few Nigerian women who have done exceptionally well in the fields of health, entertainment, technology, advocacy and business in the outgone year, 2021. Seun Runsewe Seun Runsewe is the vice president of Growth at Softcom. The main focus of her enterprises is delivering growth to Nigerian entrepreneurs through the help […]

Daily Trust on Sunday recognises few Nigerian women who have done exceptionally well in the fields of health, entertainment, technology, advocacy and business in the outgone year, 2021.

Seun Runsewe

Seun Runsewe is the vice president of Growth at Softcom. The main focus of her enterprises is delivering growth to Nigerian entrepreneurs through the help of their digital banking platform, Eyowo. Before Softcom, Seun was the director of product at Opera-backed payments startupOPay. It was reported that the company had raised over UDS 170m in funding previously and has a workforce of over 300,000 in Nigeria, making it the largest agency network in the country.

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She also built and launched Switch by Sterling Bank, a multi-currency digital banking platform that provides interest savings, health insurance products for middle-class Nigerians and gave Nigerians in the Diaspora a platform to sort out multiple financial issues in one place. She was an early member and the business leader at Paystack, a fintech company which got acquired by stripe at $200m. 

Seun holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Covenant University and a professional certificate in Digital Marketing, Enterprise Resource Planning and Technology Project Management. In 2019, her works were recognised by The Future Project and made as an honoree of #YTech100 for one of the best Nigerian technocrats. 

Odunayo Eweniyi

Eweniyi is the co-founder of PiggyVest and the Feminist Coalition, a financial technology company that allows Nigerians to save their money as earned interest. It also provides investment opportunities. 

It was reported that the young entrepreneur was inspired to start the enterprise as the tweet of a woman saved a N1000 every day for a year in a wooden box. Founded in 2016, PiggyVest now harbours over 2 million Nigerians on its platforms.

In an interview with the CNN, Odun explained, “We are targeting people that have smart-phones and already have bank accounts. The ideal user of our platform would be young adults, mid-level professionals not earning too much, not too little.”

She also stated that the platform had helped its users save over $250 million. 

For her efforts, Odun was nominated for the Future Awards Africa Prize for Young Person of the Year in 2020. She was also listed amongst Time 100 Next 2021 for her contributions during the EndSARS protests of October 2020. 

Chika Maduko

Chika Maduko is the chief executive officer of Greymate Care, a health care technology company that delivers on-demand care for vulnerable patients. The company was launched in 2016 after a member of her family fell ill.

Greymate is a health online platform where patients who are in need of care can pick the type of services they need and will be matched with suitable caregivers. 

In an interview with the CNN, Chika Maduko said, “Greymate Care was born out of personal pain, which was finding a caregiver for my grandmother when she was sick. It was pretty gruesome in my family then because my mom and sister would try to balance their own lives trying to move her between both houses, trying to find a caregiver.”

She also stated that Greymate Care oversaw over 1,000 caregivers who have all been trained in emergency first aid, principal car, food hygiene, principal care, health and safety. 

Vivian Nwakah

Vivian Nwakah is the founder of MEDSAF, an online pharmacy that delivers individual and healthcare enterprises such as hospitals and pharmacies, easy and cost-effective medications through its advanced technology platform.

Nwakah was motivated to work with the healthcare sector after a friend passed on after ingesting fake malaria drugs. The unfortunate incident led to the birth of MEDSAF in 2016.  Vivian works with a vision to build a better and safer healthcare system in Nigeria and across other West African countries.

Her entrepreneurial efforts have been recognised by many reputable organisations, such as Forbes, Seedstars, Women in Africa and the British Royal Family. Before venturing into the healthcare sector, Vivian also started up a renewable energy company which focused on hybrid diesel solar installations. 

Fade Ogunro

She is a techpreneur, television personality, film producer, radio personality and fashion designer. She has worked with PM News, The Guardian newspaper, 234 Next and Beat 99.9 FM. She is also the founder of Bookings Africa, an online talent company in Africa. 

Bookings Africa is a platform that allows members to search for individuals with different talents, gives the means to communicate with them, obtain prices for their services and compare them with other service providers. The application has over 14 talent companies and is available in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. 

She is also the co-owner and head of production of a video production company, Film Factory NG. She manages her own fashion show titled Fashion Friday with Fade.

Fade is the first African woman to be part of the Global Campaign Board of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, a foundation that supports women in business through training, mentoring, networking and technology. The foundation also sets up opportunities for market, finance and contacts leaving the women empowered efficiently to build better futures for themselves, their families and the community in general. 

Ogunro is also a former ballerina and is currently sponsoring Anthony Mmesoma Madu, an 11-year-old ballerina, whose video went viral in 2020.

Rinu Oduala

Rinu is a human rights advocate whose focus is primarily on justice, equity and community development. She has been at the forefront of advocacy issues related to youth, children, women etc. She is the chief executive officer of The Savvy Reach, also one of the leading voices during the 2020 #EndSARS movement.

Rinu has worked to assemble groups and link individuals with knowledge and the necessary tools to policymakers to ensure the creation of policies that ensure equity.

She has been acknowledged by reputable brands for her efforts in community development. As a brand strategist, she continues to provide room to activists and organisers to influence and make an impact. 

Rinu was listed among the 31 women creating positive impact in Africa by the NBC.

 

Temilade Openiyi

Popularly known as TEMS, Temilade is a Nigerian Afrobeat and R&B singer. She surfaced in the music industry in 2016 with the hit track, “Mr Rebel.” TEMS rose to prominence after her hit single, “Try me” was released in 2020. 

In 2020, TEMS dropped her debut EP “For Broken Ears,” which featured “Damages” a follow-up hit to “Try me,” Her collaboration with Wizkid on the song, “Essence” secured her a number one spot on BBC 1Xtra airplay chart and her first entry into the Billboard Hot 100.  She was also listed among the Future Awards Africa Class of 2020.

In 2021, it was revealed that TEMS was set to feature on American rapper Drake’s Certified Lover Boy album. Her collaboration with Drake on “Fountains2 secured her a second Billboard Hot 100 entry with the song debuting at number 26.

In 2021, she released her second EP titled, If Orange Was a Place, which featured a hit track, “Crazy Tings.” The song peaked at number 3 on the UK Afrobeat charts. It premiered at number seven on the Billboard World Albums chart and number nine on the Heatseekers album chart. 

Within the year, TEMS has been pictured with many foreign celebrities, such as Adele, Rihanna, Brent Faiyaz etc.