Elevating Women’s Voices in Every Room
Across the world, women are redefining leadership in the pursuit of more equitable and representative systems.
This session spotlights individuals with lived experience who are confronting the structures that have historically excluded women’s voices, and who are building intersectional systems from the ground up. Join this conversation to hear from leaders who are ensuring that those directly affected by decisions are present in the rooms where those decisions are made.
Speakers
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Hauwa OjeifoExecutive DirectorHauwa Ojeifo
Executive Director
She Writes WomanHauwa Ojeifo publicly identifies as a person who lives with a mental health condition and psychosocial disability. She is the Executive Director at She Writes Woman (SWW), an award-winning movement that gives mental health a voice in Nigeria. Hauwa created Safe Place Nigeria - a digital community for mental health-conscious Nigerians to access tools, resources, professionals and a community of like-minded individuals. She has received various prestigious international awards and in February 2020, became the first person with a mental health condition to testify in that capacity before the Nigerian National Assembly on the rights of persons with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities. Her testimony ensured that the bill affecting about 40 to 60 million Nigerians was stepped down for reconsideration, and the subsequent passing of a more rights-respecting Mental Health Act. In 2024, Ojeifo was a recipient of a $20 million fund by Melinda French Gates to advance women’s health and well-being globally. Through She Writes Woman, Hauwa’s mission is to get people with mental health conditions and disabilities into decision-making rooms…ALL decision-making rooms.
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Yasmina BenslimaneFounder and President, Politics4Her
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Tolulope AinaHead Programs & VenturesTolulope Aina
Head Programs & Ventures
Innov8 HubTolulope’s expertise for leading programs, advising startups, and supporting innovation ecosystems across Africa, evolved from a deep desire to solve real problems and empower people to do the same. Today, Tolulope leads Programs & Ventures at Innov8 Hub, where she designs and manages initiatives that guide startups through venture creation, prototype development, and strategic growth, all with sustainability and relevance at the core. To date, she has run programs to guide over over 200 startups and researchers from ideation to prototype development and commercialisation. Previously, Tolulope led her own initiative, Agrolearnn, a team of experts in agribusiness, consulting, and brand development.