Don’t be afraid to start small, and don’t compare your journey with someone else’s.

After three successful editions, the Guardian Woman Festival is gearing up for its fourth edition, bringing together women leaders, policymakers, business executives, entrepreneurs, creatives, development practitioners, media professionals and other stakeholders committed to advancing opportunities for women and girls.

The 2027 edition, hosted by Federal Palace Resort, will hold under the theme “Women as Wealth Creators,” spotlighting women’s economic power, financial independence, entrepreneurship and their role in driving sustainable growth. In a buildup, Mercy Agbeti, a personal finance, investment coach, family-life practitioner and entrepreneur speaks on how she is creating wealth.

Career path
My career journey has taken me through different seasons and experiences. I studied Chemical Engineering at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology and later earned a Master’s degree in Project Management Technology.

I started my entrepreneurial journey with Delight Couture, my fashion business, which I founded in 2011 and still run today. My interest in personal finance, entrepreneurship and helping women make better financial decisions also grew over the years. I began sharing what I was learning and eventually became known as the Christian Money Woman. Today, through Christian Money Woman and FinancHER, my work focuses on helping women understand money, build wealth and pursue financial independence while being intentional about their families and values. I want to see more women become wealth creators, not just income earners.

Women creating wealth
To me, women creating wealth means women moving from simply earning money to intentionally building wealth that gives them security, choices and the ability to create impact.

It is about understanding that your income is only the beginning. You have to learn how to manage your money, invest it, build assets and create businesses and opportunities that can grow beyond your active income.

This is also a big part of what I want to achieve through Women at the Wealthy Place. I want women to understand that wealth is not just about having money; it is about becoming financially knowledgeable, making wise decisions and building a financial foundation that can support the life you want to live.

For me, a woman creating wealth is a woman who understands money, knows how to create it, knows how to grow it and understands how to use it purposefully.

Sustainable wealth
For me, sustainable wealth is about making sure that my money is not just sitting somewhere, but that it is constantly being put to work. I have always been a very strong saver. In fact, I used to joke that I was a hoarder because saving came very naturally to me. But becoming a mother changed the way I looked at wealth.

When I became pregnant, I had savings, but I couldn’t work because I was very sick. Suddenly, my income stopped, and I realised that I had saved money but didn’t have enough investments generating income for me. That experience was a major turning point for me. It made me realise that saving is important, but you also have to learn how to invest and build assets.

Since then, I have become much more intentional about investing. I invest in stocks, and I also think about property and land as part of long-term wealth creation. I have already started investing for my children as well.
For me, sustainable wealth is about putting your money to work, building assets and thinking beyond your immediate needs to the kind of financial foundation you want to create for yourself and the next generation.

On living purposefully
My charge to women is to be intentional about the life they are building. Take time to understand who you are, discover what matters to you and define what success means for you. Invest in yourself. Learn. Build valuable skills. Build meaningful relationships. Don’t be afraid to start small, and don’t compare your journey with someone else’s. And most importantly, don’t feel that you have to choose between purpose, family, faith, business or financial success. You can build a meaningful life across all these areas. The key is being intentional about your choices and recognising the season you are in.