Business
FirstBank’s Ibukun Awosika Becomes President of IWEC Foundation’s Board of Directors
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The International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation (IWEC) has announced the appointment of Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika as the new President of their Board of Directors. FirstBank is Nigeria’s Premier and Leading financial services provider.
Mrs. Awosika was elected to replace Miguel Valls, former President of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and president of the IWEC Foundation, who passed away last month. “The Foundation is very excited to announce the appointment of our new president,” stated Ruth A. Davis, IWEC Chairwoman and distinguished former U.S. Ambassador. “Ibukun Awosika has been a solid, steady presence at IWEC since its inception, and she is also a past IWEC awardee. Ibukun has not missed one IWEC Conference since 2008 and has lent her voice and experience not only to our conferences, but to our meetings after joining our Board in 2017. We are delighted that our Board of Directors voted on her appointment, and we’ll introduce her as our president at our upcoming 12th Annual IWEC Foundation Conference in New Delhi, on November 10th.”
The Foundation’s 2019 Conference will focus on “Connecting Women Businesses Globally: Leading the Way to Innovation and Integration”. The event would be hosted locally by the FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), which represents over 5000 women entrepreneurs and professionals across India. This year, IWEC welcomes 39 awardees from 18 countries, with a combined revenue of over US$5.7 billion among all awardees to date.
IWEC Foundation Vice Chair, Carmen Castillo, CEO of SDI International, adds: “Ibukun has demonstrated a significant commitment to IWEC over the years. Her breadth of knowledge extends from being an entrepreneur running SOKOA Chair Centre Limited, to overseeing the board of directors for the renowned First Bank of Nigeria Limited. We are looking forward to her wise counsel and to continuously drive IWEC globally as a source of support, connection and impact for women business owners all over the world.”
Ibukun Awosika heads Nigeria’s premier bank, and she is also the founder and CEO of the Chair Centre Group, an association of large companies in the manufacturing, retail, and financial security services. Mrs. Awosika further holds seats in the corporate boards of Cadbury Nigeria, Digital Jewel Limited and the Convention on Business Integrity, and she is a former chair of several other enterprise boards.
Ibukun is a graduate of Chemistry from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria, an alumna of the Chief Executive Program of Lagos Business School, the Global Executive MBA of IESE Business School, Wharton’s Global CEO Program, and the IESE and China European International Business School (CEIBS). Ibukun is a multiple award-winning entrepreneur and the first Nigerian recipient of the prestigious International Women Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Award as a nominee of the US Department of State in 2008. Ibukun is also a best-selling author and motivational speaker.
Ibukun was just honoured last month with the International Friendship Award presented at the IESE Business School by the Queen of Spain.
About the IWEC Foundation
IWEC is a New York-based international economic empowerment organization exclusively for women business owners, formed in 2007 with the assistance of the U.S. Department of State. In addition to the State Department, its founders include the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC), FICCI/FLO Chamber in New Delhi. IWEC’s mission is to develop a global business network for successful women entrepreneurs, helping them gain and expand access to international markets by presenting a platform to exchange knowledge, experience and connections, and to promote dialogue among women entrepreneurs and business leaders throughout the world.
Fidelity Bank Plc, a leading financial institution, has reinforced its commitment to Africa’s growing creative economy as an Official Trade Partner at CANEX WKND 2026, held from 5 to 8 November 2026 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, Lagos.
The four-day event brought together creative entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders and other stakeholders to explore opportunities across Africa’s rapidly evolving creative industries.
The bank’s participation demonstrated the importance of connecting creative talent with finance, business infrastructure, digital solutions and access to local and international markets.
Speaking to journalists at the event, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, said the bank’s participation underscored its commitment to building sustainable creative enterprises.
“Fidelity Bank is pleased to be here, as our participation reflects our commitment to growing Africa’s creative economy. Africa is blessed with extraordinary creative talent, but talent alone does not automatically translate into successful businesses. Creative entrepreneurs certainly need financial capital and the right funding to help viable businesses grow and unlock the full economic potential of our creative industries, we must think about capital more broadly.
“This means investing in human capital by developing skills and entrepreneurial capabilities; deploying productive capital by providing access to tools, equipment and infrastructure; and building social and market capital by connecting creatives to networks, customers and commercial opportunities. Finally, we must strengthen institutional capital – the business structures, financial identity and discipline required for sustainable enterprise.”
At the Fidelity CreatiVerse Pavilion at the event, visitors experienced a vibrant showcase of Nigerian creativity featuring fashion brands OHIOLE LAGOS and SuperDiva by Valerie, as well as works by visual artistes, Emmanuel Anaiye Ifebunmi and Donald Onuoha.
Beyond showcasing creative talent, the pavilion served as a platform for business engagement, with seasoned financial experts from the bank teams providing information on SME financing, digital payments, cards, trade and export solutions, as well as account opening and other customer onboarding services.
A major highlight of the Bank’s participation was the SME Banking-led masterclass themed, “Beyond Funding: Building the Infrastructure for Africa’s Creative Economy,” which attracted over 120 participants.
The session brought together creative industry practitioners and banking professionals to examine some of the key challenges facing creative enterprises, including access to finance, production infrastructure, skills development, market access and long-term business sustainability.
Central to the discussion was CreatiVerse at the Fidelity SME Hub in Gbagada, Lagos, the bank’s proposition designed to provide creative entrepreneurs with access to production facilities, learning opportunities and collaborative spaces.
Featuring music, photography, podcast and content production studios, alongside training and business development opportunities, CreatiVerse reflects Fidelity Bank’s ecosystemic approach to supporting creative entrepreneurs with resources that extend beyond conventional financial services.
The Bank is also expanding opportunities for Nigerian businesses seeking access to international markets through its trade and export banking services and initiatives such as the Fidelity Nigeria International Trade and Creative Connect (FNITCC), which connects Nigerian enterprises with international buyers, investors and strategic partners.
Through this combination of financial solutions, capacity development, business infrastructure and market access, Fidelity Bank continues to support the development of stronger and more commercially sustainable creative businesses. The Bank’s participation at CANEX WKND 2026 further reinforces its commitment to empowering entrepreneurs and creating opportunities for Nigerian businesses to grow, thrive and prosper.
Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 14 million customers through digital banking channels, its 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
The Bank is a recipient of multiple local and international awards, including the 2025 Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Innovation Award for MSME support; Best Retail and SME Bank Award from Independent Newspapers; Best Bank for Export & Trade Finance and Most Innovative Bank of the Year at the 2025 BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; and Nigeria’s Best Private Bank at the 2025 Euromoney Awards. The Bank also received the inaugural Most Improved Commercial Bank of the Year award by Nairametrics, the SME Bank of the Year award by NewsDirect, and the Straight-Through Processing (STP) Excellence Award by Citi Group, in addition to recognition by Global Brands Magazine for Excellence in Community Empowerment.
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