Ifeoma Uddoh, a Halcyon and Echoing Green Fellow, is a pioneering social entrepreneur committed to unlocking economic prosperity for African women through financial inclusion and Education. As the founder and CEO of Shecluded, she has transformed the landscape of financial inclusion, directly impacting over 40,000 women entrepreneurs across Africa. Uddoh holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Mathematics and an M.Sc. in Operations Research and Management from Lancaster University UK. In this interview, she speaks on her drive to inspire global action for gender equality and economic inclusion, cementing her legacy as a transformative force for African women.
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You have an illustrious career; share with us your journey into the world of fintech.
I started my career as a consultant, advising businesses on strategic growth, finance, and operations. My first experience was at Scopus, where I developed a deep understanding of business strategy and market dynamics. I then spent nearly four years in Preston House before earning a scholarship to study Operations Research and Management Science at Lancaster University in the UK.nAfter my master’s, I returned to Nigeria and joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a defining phase in my career that exposed me to market entry strategy, feasibility studies, and performance improvement for businesses. However, the pivotal moment came when I joined Iroko Partners, one of Africa’s pioneering technology-driven media companies. There, I saw first-hand how data and analytics could drive business growth, and I played a key role in strategy development, which contributed to raising over $13M in investment.

From Iroko, I moved to SlimTrader Inc., a U.S.-based travel and e-commerce technology company entering Nigeria. I helped raise $1.5M in seed funding and drove key strategic initiatives. Then, at Sasware, a family office fund for tech startups, I developed a gender-lens investment approach that led to over 30 investments in Nigerian tech startups. I also facilitated government-led tech conversations with NITDA at GITEX Dubai and worked on innovative projects that resulted in the development of tech solutions for commercial banks. It was at a seed funding company that I recognised a glaring gap—women were largely missing from the funding equation. Despite making up 50 percent of the population, women entrepreneurs struggle to access capital across all financial instruments—from equity to debt to insurance. That realisation led me to found Shecluded in 2019, the first female-focused fintech and bank challenger in Nigeria.

Today, Shecluded has directly impacted over 40,000 women entrepreneurs across Africa, facilitating over $4.4 million in funding and pioneering a gender-lens credit algorithm to assess the creditworthiness of female entrepreneurs. We are not just giving women access to funding—we are creating an ecosystem that includes financial literacy, business education, and growth acceleration.
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You are quite versatile, with expertise spanning strategy consulting, fintech, and operations. How have you honed your skills?
My foundation in consulting at PwC gave me exposure to high-level problem-solving, market research, and strategic execution across multiple industries. I learned to analyze complex business problems, identify opportunities, and design scalable solutions. At Iroko, I applied my analytical skills to data-driven decision-making, helping optimise operations and reduce costs. Then, at SlimTrader, I expanded into venture investments and market expansion strategies, helping the company scale and attract funding. Working at Sasware refined my ability to identify high-potential startups, leading to the investment in over 30 tech companies and the development of evaluation criteria for assessing technology companies. Above all, I have remained intellectually curious and adaptable. Every role I’ve taken has been a stepping stone, allowing me to stay at the cutting edge of technology, finance, and business innovation.

Share with us your vision for Shecluded. What inspired this initiative?
My vision for Shecluded is to unlock financial opportunities for women entrepreneurs by removing systemic barriers to funding, education, and market access. We started with credit, but we quickly realised that access to funding alone isn’t enough. Many women lack business education, mentorship, and a strong network to scale effectively. That’s why we have expanded our ecosystem to include financial education programmes (in partnership with GIZ, CFYE, and others). A co-working space designed for female entrepreneurs to thrive. Accelerator Programmes for women entrepreneurs, customised business growth strategies. We want Shecluded to be the first name that comes to mind when women think about scaling their businesses. Our goal is not just to fund businesses but to help them achieve long-term success and sustainability.

What is your take on women’s financial literacy awareness?
Financial literacy has improved, but many women still don’t see it as a critical component of success. We need to reframe financial education as a growth strategy, not just a necessity. At Shecluded, we integrate practical, hands-on financial training with real-life business scenarios, ensuring women understand not just how to manage money, but how to leverage it for wealth creation.

You are passionate about women’s financial freedom. How have you been empowering female entrepreneurs?
I am deeply passionate about women’s financial mobility and wealth creation. Through Shecluded, we focus on access to finance; facilitating debt and equity funding for women-led businesses. Access to Information; providing high-impact business education and mentorship. Access to Networks and Markets; connecting women to strategic partnerships, government programmes, and investment opportunities. With over $4.4 million in capital deployed and thousands of women trained, we are changing the narrative of women’s economic inclusion.

Are you satisfied with the number of start-ups and SMEs women own in Nigeria today?
While many women are starting businesses, the real challenge is scaling. Too many women-led businesses remain nano or micro enterprises due to lack of funding, mentorship, and market access. We need to shift from celebrating startups to fostering scale-ups—businesses that grow, create jobs, and attract investment.
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Do you think more entrepreneurs are leveraging the digital space to drive their businesses?
More and more, technology has provided new markets to entrepreneurs across different parts of Nigeria. Digital technology has transformed access to markets, but many women entrepreneurs still struggle with digital adoption due to limited internet access and digital literacy gaps. For us at Shecluded, I know that just being in Lagos, we’ve been able to reach people in places that I’ve never dreamt of. I know that more work needs to be done, and more knowledge on how to leverage it for more. It has also provided a cheap way for more businesses to be known, rather than the conventional way of advertising. For national deployment of technology, I believe that one of the ways a nation can thrive is having more access to devices. We know that access to technology is still one of the barriers for people in rural and pre-urban states, where many people don’t have devices to even get on the internet. So, I think deploying technology to even public schools making more schools have access to technology is a key way to drive that. Another key way is just making technology affordable. With the affordability of technology, it now becomes something that everybody can drive. For women, I believe that a lot of work has been done in financial inclusion with technology and just creating more enabling policies to make more companies play in that space. We need to expand affordable internet access, provide more digital training, and create policies that make technology more accessible to women in underserved areas.

How do you balance work, family, and staying at your best?
I don’t believe in a strict work-life balance—I believe in work-life integration. I prioritise what needs attention at any given moment and give myself grace when things don’t go perfectly. My passion for my work keeps me going. Even if no one was paying attention to the fintech space for women, I would still be building solutions.

What do you hope to see for Nigerian women in the future?
I envision a future where women live life on their terms—not defined by societal expectations or financial limitations. A future where women are economically independent, building wealth, and scaling businesses with global impact.

What is your life mantra?
Die Empty. I want to give everything I have—my ideas, my knowledge, and my passion—to empower others and create lasting impact.
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