Female founders have been encouraged to be innovative in their approach to running their
initiatives. They have also been admonished to embrace the right mentorship, resources and tools needed to excel as game changers in their respective fields.

This was the thrust of the discourse at the second edition of the Female Founders Lounge
organised by Female Techpreneur in Lagos.

With the theme, ‘Navigating the Evolving Ecosystem to Thrive’, the event is aimed at
discussing ways to leverage the transformative influence of technology to upscale productivity
through panel discussions as well as offering key networking opportunities.

Speaking at the event, founder, Female Techpreneur and convener Female Founders lounge,
BukkyBabajide, emphasised that the increasing importance of technology to having a successful
business cannot be overlooked.

“In this day and time, there’s barely anything you can do without technology. We express tech in every area of our lives – health, education, finance and so on.  If you have got a business that you are looking to scale, you need technology to do that,” she said.

Babajide, who is on a mission to guide women through the entrepreneurial world while raising
female techpreneurs, aims to connect female founders and aspiring entrepreneurs with resources, funding experts and networking opportunities.

“We are here to inspire, to empower and to innovate. I want female founders to know they have a home, a community, access to resources and experts; if you are a solo founder, it’s really hard, especially if you are a woman juggling many balls. We are here to lighten the burden,” she added.

Managing Director and Executive Officer of FITC, Chizor Malize, stated that female
entrepreneurs can consistently stay ahead in the competitive market by clearly conceptualising
their goals and objectives, and finding innovative ways to raise the standards of their businesses.

“The starting point is the vision. You must see the end and know where you are going. Have a
goal, a destination in mind. Don’t be everywhere. Define your target audience and impact them.

“Innovation is another key factor. No matter what your space is, drive innovations. Do
something new, something different,” she said.
Malize added that growing a healthy personal and product brand requires lots of intentionality
and commitment.

“Your personal brand and your business brand are the most powerful assets you have. A strong
personal brand ensures people know what you bring to the table, while a strong product brand
makes people recognise it, buy it, use it, own it and love it. Where you are today should not be where you are tomorrow. Drive skill and ensure that you go big,” she advised.

A participant at the event, who is the founder of Rising Tide Africa and Heckerbella Limited,
Yemi Keri, called for deliberate measures towards increasing the amount of funding available to female-led businesses.

“Everybody knows that we get a very little percentage of the funding that goes out globally and even locally in Nigeria. We must begin to deliberately do things; take actions that are going to close the gender funding gap,” she noted.

Other speakers at the event included Managing Partner, AfriGloCal Venture Capital, Mope
Abudu; CEO, Gtext Suite, Mrs. Bisi Akintayo; CEO, Centrestage Company, Dr. Naomi
Osemedua; General Partner, Norrsken22, Lexi Novitske and Chief Operating Officer, Fintech
NG, Babatunde Obrimah.