Zoho Nigeria has stressed the importance of women’s digital empowerment in building a working economy.

Zoho stated this during a partnership event with The Guardian Newspapers, tagged: The Guardian Woman Festival, a month-long initiative celebrating women’s contributions to business, governance, and social development while promoting digital empowerment for female entrepreneurs.

Held at the Federal Palace Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, the festival focused on the theme: “Reciprocity,” encouraging the exchange of value, networks, and digital innovation to strengthen women-led businesses and foster collaboration.

The Country Head of Zoho Nigeria, Kehinde Ogundare, in his keynote address, titled: “Give Value, Gain Growth: Women Driving Reciprocal Innovation in the Digital Economy”.

In his remarks, he highlighted the urgent need to bridge the digital gap for female entrepreneurs.

While Nigeria has the highest concentration of women-owned businesses in Africa, fewer than 30 per cent currently use digital tools to manage or grow their operations. Ogundare noted that technology would not replace women’s strengths in business, such as relationship building and community engagement; instead, it would amplify them, enabling entrepreneurs to reach wider audiences and scale more efficiently.

Sales Manager at Zoho Nigeria, Zubaidu Aliyu, also brought her expertise to the festival’s panel session on ‘Women in the Business of Digital Innovation’. She highlighted how women were uniquely positioned to create shared value in digital spaces by building platforms that encourage knowledge sharing, mentorship, and collaboration.

Aliyu, in a statement yesterday, also challenged organisations that continue to view women’s digital inclusion primarily as corporate social responsibility rather than a strategic business priority.

Through its participation in The Guardian Woman Festival, Zoho reaffirmed its commitment to providing affordable and accessible enterprise-grade technology to businesses of all sizes. By helping women transition from manual effort to digital efficiency, Zoho aims to support entrepreneurs in building scalable enterprises and ensure their sustained success in Africa’s digital economy.