Stakeholders at the 2025 Africa Female CEO Conference (AFCC) in Lagos have urged women business leaders to run companies that balance profitability with long-term societal impact, insisting that inclusion and legacy must be at the heart of African enterprises.
The Africa Female CEO Conference (AFCC) is a pioneering leadership summit designed to spotlight, support, and scale the work of Africa’s most dynamic women entrepreneurs, executives, and changemakers.
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The conference “Building Sustainable Businesses” was held in Lagos on Thursday. It brought together high-impact female leaders to engage in bold dialogue on the capital, policies, technologies, and entrepreneurial models women need to build sustainable, future-ready businesses across Africa.
From seasoned CEOs to emerging founders, the AFCC convener, Ishioma Imokhai-Bello, said the AFCC creates a high-impact platform for bold conversations and strategic alignment to drive actionable outcomes.
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“This is more than a conference. It is a platform shaping the future of inclusive leadership across the continent and beyond,” she said
True sustainability
Delivering the keynote, businesswoman and philanthropist Elizabeth Jack-Rich challenged female executives to reject the notion that success is measured only in financial terms.
She said: ‘‘True sustainability is about people, purpose, and long-term value, and women in leadership have a unique capacity to build businesses that strengthen families and communities. Too often, sustainability is reduced to numbers on a balance sheet. True sustainability is broader: people, purpose, and long-term value.
‘‘Each time a woman CEO overcomes barriers, she paves the way for many others. Our leadership is not only a personal victory but a societal transformation.
Together, we can create ecosystems that nurture female founders, open doors to capital, and amplify our collective voice on the global stage. When we join forces, our businesses become movements”, Mrs Jack-Rich noted.
The President of the Elizabeth Jack-Rich Aid Foundation Limited also urged African women in leadership to embrace business strategies that combine profitability with integrity, social responsibility, and long-term impact.
Collaboration
Olori Boye-Ajayi, CEO of Borderless Trade and Investments, encouraged women to redefine their ambitions.
She urged them to embrace the “3Cs framework”, Committee, Customers, and Connections, as a strategy to unlock greater opportunities.
Encouraging the women, she noted, “Go for more. The ‘more’ often lies in the things you think don’t sell. Recalibrate what you offer and ask yourself: Can what you sell fill a truck?”
While quoting former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Ms Jack-Rich said, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women. There is a special place in history for women who lift other women up, and that is what we are doing here today.
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“Each time a woman CEO overcomes barriers, she paves the way for many others. Our leadership is not only a personal victory but a societal transformation. We are not merely participants in global markets — we are architects of new, sustainable business models rooted in resilience, inclusivity, and a distinctly African vision of growth.
“Together, we can create ecosystems that nurture female founders, open doors to capital, and amplify our collective voice on the global stage. When we join forces, our businesses become movements. When women build, nations rise. When women lead, generations thrive.”
The conference highlights included panel discussions, fireside chats, and networking opportunities with leading female CEOs, founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders.
Delegates also received a comprehensive conference pack with branded materials, enjoyed an entrepreneurs’ showcase of products, and gained access to post-event resources and community updates.
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