Financial services group Leadway has unveiled a special community, Hersurred, to empower women.
At the launch in Lagos on Friday, it was revealed that the community is a vibrant one and designed to empower women to thrive in business, life and everything else in between.
The Chief People Experience Officer at Leadway Group, Kunbi Adeoti, in her comments at the event, said that society needs to do more to empower women.
She said, “What we are saying today by creating a community that is beyond the dynamics of Leadway to the society is that we want to empower women who can financially stand, build businesses, and build careers, and as we do so, within Leadway are products that encourage all of these. More and more, we are going to be creating products that are specifically for women to enable their journey.”
The Secretary to the Lagos State Government, ‘Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, who was represented by Anthonia Oredipe, called on the private sector to strengthen government initiatives targeted at women.
“Lagos is here for her, but let us remember that government action alone is not enough. Real change happens when the private sector, communities, and individuals step up to create environments where women are not just included but thriving. This is why I applaud Leadway for establishing Hersurred.
“This is more than just a gathering; it is a movement that reassures every woman, regardless of her background, that she has the support she needs to succeed.”
Speaking during a panel session at the event, the founder of MoneyAfrica and Ladder, Tosin Olaseinde, hammered on the need for women to transition to making investment decisions from merely saving their money.
Olaseinde said women are fantastic savers, but they are risk averse, saying, “Saving is great, but if you really want to build wealth, you have to take risks to invest. Flipping them from the savings to the investment side is where the hard work is, but when they get there, they are fantastic investors. The biggest risk in investment is that they take too much risk and lose everything. However, women are fantastic risk managers, so we just need them to make the move.”
The managing director of Gas Ventures, Neconde Energy Limited, Engineer Chichi Emenike, aligned with the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day celebration, ‘Accelerate Action’, and challenged women to rise to the occasion wherever they find themselves.
“Whatever industry you find yourself in, please understand, business is business; it is not a gender conversation. Delivering on your KPOs is important. There has to be continuous development,” she said.
