…Celebrating Women’s Reciprocity

The third edition of the Guardian Woman Festival concluded in celebration of excellence, as outstanding women across key sectors were recognised for leadership, innovation, and sustained impact.

Being the maiden month-long women’s event, the festival held at the prestigious Federal Palace Hotel, this year’s festival, themed Reciprocity, echoes the United Nation’s Women call to “Give to Gain – Celebrating Her, Empowering the Future,” highlights the pivotal role of women in reshaping economies and societies through innovation, leadership, and enterprise.

Hosting the festival at Federal Palace Hotel is both intentional and strategic. It is the ideal venue, not only for networking, but where the progress of women can align with the symbolism of independence at the very seat where Nigeria’s Independence was declared in 1960.

At the festival’s closing ceremony held March 31st, it featured the awards segment known for spotlighting women who are not only excelling in their fields but also expanding pathways for others.

The Seven Wonder Women Awards, a series created by Investing In Women, to grow a network of like-minded people, companies and organisations to Press For Progress recognised excellence across key categories.

They include: Women in the Business of Boardroom Leadership, Women in the Business of Building and Construction, Women in the Business of Film and Television, Women in the Business of Legacy, Women in the Business of Digital Innovation, Women in the Business of Sustainability, and Women in the Business of Tourism and Hospitality.
Together, these categories reflect the breadth of women’s influence and the depth of their contributions across critical sectors.

The following profiles highlight the journeys, achievements, and impact of this year’s honourees who are not only defining success on their own terms, but are also embodying the spirit of reciprocity by creating opportunities for others to thrive.

Bukola Smith,
Winner, The Business of Boardroom Leadership

Bukola Smith is the CEO, FSDH Merchant Bank Ltd. An accomplished banking professional with a career spanning over 30 years, with expertise in strategy, innovation, and commercial leadership. Bukola has a track record of leadership, innovation, strategic planning, and excellent execution, making her a well-rounded banking leader with achievements in various sub-sectors.

Bukola Smith, before assuming her current position at FSDH Merchant Bank, served as the Executive Director of Business Development at First City Monument Bank Ltd (FCMB). She pioneered the FCMB Women in Business Desk (SheVentures), an initiative aimed at supporting female entrepreneurs, among other impactful projects. Her diverse experience also includes roles as the Divisional Head Treasury, Divisional Head Internal Audit and overseeing the Investment Banking and Registrar Subsidiaries of the Group.

Bukola is passionate about developing the female economy. At FSDH, she set up the WIBI
(Women in Business Initiative) to support female entrepreneurs with various financial and non-financial interventions. This initiative has expanded access to funding for more women with over $3.9 million disbursed to women entrepreneurs. 500+ women-led businesses trained and mentored through structured programs and for the past five years, WIBI Annual Summit commemorate Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, convening 1000+ women entrepreneurs, executives, and intrapreneurs under diverse themes every year.

A life-long learner, Bukola plans to pursue academia in the future. She has an MBA from the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK, and a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Lagos. She also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, further deepening her executive leadership expertise.

Bukola is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and she holds an Honorary Doctorate (PhD) from Babcock University, Nigeria.

Bukola has served the banking industry in various capacities. She is currently the
chairperson of the Bankers Committee Ethics & Professionalism sub-committee and has held several notable positions. Until recently, she chaired the Chartered Institute of Bankers’ (CIBN) Mentoring Committee, served as a member of the CIBN Disciplinary Tribunal, and was the immediate past Chairperson of the organising committee for the Annual Bankers Conference, among several other roles.

Arc. Mobolaji Adeniyi
Winner, The Business of Building and Construction

Arc. Mobolaji Adeniyi is the 30th President and immediate past president of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), is a Distinguished Fellow of the NIA and Project Management Institute of Nigeria. She is an Associate member of the American Institute of Architects and was recently elected as the first Commissioner of the Africa Union of Architects Commission for Women, (AUACW).

She is the Principal Partner at Mobolaji Adeniyi & Associates (MAA) and the Chief Executive Officer of Jumtum Nigeria Limited. Arc Mobolaji schooled at the prestigious Queens College Yaba Lagos and Queen Elizabeth School Ilorin and later obtained her Cambridge A-Level Certificate from the Kwara State College of Technology Ilorin. She graduated with BSc and MSc degrees in Architecture from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1980 and 1982 respectively.

She started her career as an Architect with Allied Architects, Ibadan and later worked with Egboramy Company, a group of Israeli Architects. She later joined the Polytechnic Ibadan as a Lecturer for 8 years, where she rose to the post of Ag H.O.D of the Department of Architecture. Arc Adeniyi founded her Architectural Firm – Mobolaji Adeniyi and Associates Ltd (MAA) in 1995 after leaving AAA Consortium where she was a partner in 1993.

She is an advocate for Green Architecture with attention to functional and sustainable designs which has earned her a lot of respect and a rich list of high-brow clientele all over the Country. She serves as a Consultant Architect for Bowen University, Osun State, Chrisland University, Ogun State, Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), University of Ibadan, Oyo State and the University College Hospital (UCH), Oyo State, among others.

Deborah Omowunmi Odutayo (Debbie)
Winner, The Business of Film and Television

Is an award-winning, veteran Television and Film Producer and Media Entrepreneur, respected for her enduring contributions to the Nigerian television industry. With a career spanning over three decades, she has built a reputation for excellence, creativity, and leadership in content creation and production.

Debbie’s professional journey began at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), and then Swift Studios, where she served as Manager, Production Services, and Minaj Television.

Since 1997, Debbie, alongside her husband Greg Odutayo, has co-led Royal Roots Communication Network, one of Nigeria’s foremost content creation and production companies. Under her leadership, the company has expanded into a media platform, birthing Royal Roots Television (R2TV) broadcasting on GOTV Channel 145 and FreeTV Channel 752, as well as two terrestrial radio stations R2 92.9FM Ibadan and R2 Radio 107.1FM Lagos.

A prolific producer, Debbie’s creative imprint is evident in numerous acclaimed television productions, including Edge of Paradise, Bella’s Place, My Mum & I, About to Wed, The Space Within, House A-Part, Tides of Fate, Soul Sistas, and Beyond Blood, among others. She has also produced over 100 television commercials and several high-profile documentaries for leading brands.

Her expertise extends to large-scale international formats. Debbie served as Line Producer on Deal or No Deal Nigeria and Let’s Dance Nigeria, both franchises of Endemol South Africa, and was the Producer of Nigeria’s pioneering cooking reality show, Knorr Taste Quest, successfully delivering five seasons. She also produced notable series such as Unscripted and Dividend for Africa Magic, as well as the widely celebrated Debbie’s Salon, which continues to enjoy strong audience engagement.

A respected industry leader, Debbie served as President of the Electronic Media Content Owners Association of Nigeria (EMCOAN) for two terms, making history as the first woman to hold the position in a predominantly male industry. She is also a member of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) and serves as a Board of Trustees member of the Television Content Owners Association.

Her influence extends to industry adjudication and standards. She was the first Nigerian female judge at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) in 2013, later serving as Head Judge in 2018, and continues to contribute as a judge of the prestigious awards till date. She is also a judge for The Nigerian Broadcasters Awards (TNBA), organised by the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON).

An alumnus of the Advanced Management Programme (AMP 26) of Lagos Business School, Debbie has received numerous accolades, including a Special Recognition Award at the Eko Star Films and Arts Awards in 2021 for her outstanding contributions to the television industry.

Jennifer Obayuwana
Winner, The Business of Legacy

A gemologist, watch specialist and collector of objet d’arts, Ms Obayuwana is responsible for the profitability, strategic leadership and daily operations of Polo Limited.

Jennifer is an alumnus of The American University of Paris, Franklin University, Switzerland and Harvard Business School.

She has taken several management courses at prestigious institutions such as Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD), Columbia Business School, IMD, Lagos Business School, The Wharton School of Business, Cranfield School of Management and the Gemological Institute of America.

She also holds a certification from the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Over the past two decades, she has worked in various capacities in the family business. With her vast experience in retail, she has grown the business across several verticals. In 2012, she co-founded Polo Avenue, a fashion retailer with significant footprint in Nigeria and Dubai.

She is the chairperson of Women Who Conquer, a non-profit female empowerment project which aims to improve the lives of rural women throughout Nigeria.

Bukky Babajide
Winner, The Business of Digital Innovation

Bukola Moyo Babajide, often referred to as Bukky, is a digital transformation leader, advisor, and infrastructure builder operating between the United Kingdom and Nigeria. She began her career in banking in Nigeria before building over three decades of enterprise experience in the UK delivering large-scale digital transformation, governance reform, and operational performance within regulated environments.

In 2020, she founded Female Techpreneur in the UK to strengthen execution capability, capital readiness, and institutional alignment within the technology sector. She serves as an accelerator architect, mentor, and ecosystem advisor, with strategic partnerships including programme design and delivery alongside NatWest Business, collaboration with Cranfield University, and partnership with Milton Keynes City Council in designing and delivering structured incubation and accelerator programmes.

Since 2017, Bukky has convened business and career forums in Lagos. In 2024, she launched the Female Techpreneur Founders Lounge and expanded the organisation’s presence into Lagos building a deliberate bridge between UK institutional standards and Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem.

Beyond ecosystem leadership, she builds infrastructure. Through her company Crystal Options, Bukky leads cross-country technology teams in the UK and Lagos to deliver 9jadelivery, a digital commerce ecosystem integrating order fulfilment, marketplace trade, food services, lending, and distribution enabling businesses to live in Lagos and sell in the UK, and vice versa.

She is also developing a structured community savings platform designed to strengthen financial participation for women.

Recognised with the 2025 Multicultural Award at the House of Lords and named a 2024 Milton Keynes Black Pioneer, Bukky currently leads the State of Black Women in Tech (SBWiT) research initiative and advances a National Female Digital Participation Framework focused on infrastructure, capital discipline, execution governance, and leadership progression.

Her work centres on converting female participation in technology into measurable economic power and she actively collaborates with government, financial institutions, corporates, and ecosystem leaders to scale sustainable, performance-led participation across markets.

Nana Maidugu
Winner, The Business of Sustainability

Mrs. Nana Maidugu is the Head of Sustainability and ESG at the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, where she is responsible for developing and driving NSIA’s sustainability strategy & climate initiatives, as well as implementation of NSIA’s ESG framework across the Authority, its investment portfolio and its partnerships.

Nana has extensive experience in infrastructure investment, particularly in originating, executing, and managing strategic and impactful investments including several climate-focused projects. Her expertise spans various areas, including climate finance, strategy and policy development, programme design and project management for both private and public
sector entities.

Nana has been involved in the delivery and implementation of key national initiatives and development of national policies. She serves on several national committees including the Presidential Committee on Project Evergreen, Intergovernmental Committee on Carbon Market Activation and the Nigeria Climate Change Fund Steering Committee, where she plays a key role in the development and implementation of important national climate policies and programs.

She also sits on the advisory group of several global organisations and initiatives such as the Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC) Advisory Group and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Infrastructure Advisory Committee and is a fellow at the New York University (Abu Dhabi) Investment Transition Lab.

She has authored several articles for prominent sustainability institutes and journals, contributing thought leadership on climate resilience, capital mobilisation, sustainable finance, and ESG practices.

Nana has antecedent at KPMG, a professional services firm, where she worked in Management Consulting. She holds a First-Class Bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Kent and a Master’s degree in Oil and Gas Management from the University of Dundee.

Adenike Macaulay
Winner, The Business of Tourism and Hospitality

Adenike Macaulay is a transformational business leader shaping the future of travel, tourism,
and enterprise across Africa. As CEO of Wakanow Nigeria Group, she leads one of the
continent’s most dynamic travel technology companies, connecting millions of Africans to the
world through innovation, accessibility, and customer-focused solutions.

With a career that spans over 17 years across global aviation and travel distribution, Adenike has built a reputation for delivering growth in complex environments while redefining what leadership looks like for African women at the highest levels of business.

She previously made history at Lufthansa Group as the first Nigerian and first female General
Manager for Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, where she oversaw commercial strategy and market
expansion across the region.

At Wakanow, she has driven sustained growth, expanded international partnerships, and
championed digital transformation in an industry undergoing rapid change. Her leadership
continues to position the company as a key player in shaping Africa’s tourism narrative on the
global stage.

Beyond business, Adenike is deeply committed to advancing women’s economic empowerment.
Through her work, investments, and influence, she actively supports initiatives that enable
women to build, lead, and thrive.

She is also the co-founder of Niya Madi, a luxury fashion brand designed for women who no
longer seek validation, but choose to express power through presence, style, and intention.
Adenike represents a new generation of African leadership bold, visionary, and committed to
building institutions that outlast them.