…To advance women’s innovation across Africa
The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) has appointed an Advisory Board aimed at strengthening the organisation’s leadership architecture towards its mission to advance women’s entrepreneurship and innovation across Africa.
The newly constituted Board brings together accomplished global leaders whose careers span business, policy, development, media and innovation, with a shared track record of advancing gender equity and inclusive growth. The Advisory Board is expected to provide high-level strategic counsel as AWIEF enters its next phase of growth, supporting the organisation’s medium- to long-term priorities around sustainable revenue generation, institutional strengthening, governance and the expansion of women-focused programmes across the continent.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AWIEF, Irene Ochem, described the development as a defining moment in the organisation’s evolution. She noted that the depth of experience and leadership represented on the Advisory Board will play a critical role in consolidating AWIEF’s institutional foundations and scaling its impact within Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, particularly for women innovators and business leaders.
The Advisory Board includes Fatma Samoura, former Secretary-General of FIFA and a globally recognised advocate for gender equity and youth empowerment; Dalia Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer of Nahdet Misr Publishing House and CEO of EdVentures, whose work has been central to education reform, innovation and the growth of Africa’s creative economy; Awa Ndiaye-Seck, former Special Representative of UN Women to the African Union Commission and President of ADES-USA, with extensive expertise in gender policy, economic inclusion and sustainable development; and Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and Chairman of APO Group.
The Advisory Board has been established to support AWIEF’s growth beyond its flagship annual convenings, with an emphasis on building strategic programmes, strengthening partnerships, advancing research, influencing policy and nurturing a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem for women across Africa. Board members were selected for their cross-sector expertise, global reach and demonstrated commitment to women’s economic empowerment.
With this appointment, AWIEF reinforces its position as a leading platform shaping opportunities for African women entrepreneurs and innovators, while laying the groundwork for sustained impact and institutional resilience in the years ahead.
