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Ascent Club Unveils 2025 Top 100 Career Women in Africa, Celebrating Trailblazing Leadership

Lagos, Nigeria – March 31, 2025

Following a grand celebratory event, Ascent Club proudly announces the release of its prestigious Top 100 Career Women in Africa list. This year’s honorees, unveiled at a gala event on Sunday, March 30th, 2025, at Alliance Française in Lagos, represent a powerful moment to close out Women’s History Month, showcasing the remarkable achievements of women across the continent.

The 5th edition of this highly anticipated list recognizes exceptional female professionals who are shaping Africa’s future across diverse sectors. Ascent Club, a leading platform for women’s advancement, celebrates these trailblazers for their significant impact in the corporate world.

This year’s Top 100 Career Women in Africa features a diverse group of leaders, including:

  • Aminata Kane: CEO, Orange Money Group (Morocco)
  • Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa: Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission (Ethiopia)
  • Patricia Obo-Nai: CEO, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (Ghana)
  • Olayinka David-West: Dean, Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University (Nigeria)
  • Yvonne Manzi Makolo: CEO, RwandAir (Rwanda)

These women, along with other remarkable honorees, have been carefully selected by a distinguished panel of judges. The selection process was based on rigorous criteria, ensuring that the list truly reflects the most impactful and inspiring women leaders in Africa. The judges, icons of leadership and excellence, brought their expertise, passion, and influence to the selection process.

This distinguished panel included Dr. Naike Moshi, Founder, Women in Management Africa (WIMA) and Gender Specialist from Tanzania; Funke Amobi, Regional Head, People & Culture, Stanbic IBTC Holdings in Nigeria; Osayi Alile, CEO, Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation (ACT Foundation) in Nigeria; Dr. Tewa Onasanya, Founder, Exquisite Magazine & ELOY Awards in Nigeria; Dr. Saad Uakkas, Executive Chair, African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) in Morocco; and Hassna Benseddik, Head of Events, IC Publications Group in Morocco.

The 2025 Top 100 Career Women in Africa list includes honorees from across the continent, with representation from:

  • Northern Africa: Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia
  • Western Africa: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
  • Eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi
  • Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa

“As we mark the 5th edition of the Top 100 Career Women in Africa, I am honored to introduce the latest cohort of trailblazing leaders,” says Dr. Glory Edozien, Founder of Ascent Club and Global Visibility and Thought Leadership Expert. “This platform is more than a list—it is a movement dedicated to ensuring that the incredible women driving corporate and industry success across Africa receive the recognition and visibility they deserve.”

Here is the full list of the 2025 Top 100 Career Women in Africa:

See all Top 100 list

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Ascent Executive

Colleen Larsen

Chief Executive-Business Engage

Colleen Larsen is the Chief Executive of Business Engage, with a career spanning 28 years in the financial services market. She is widely recognized for her pioneering work in gender mainstreaming and is considered one of the leading voices for the sustainable advancement of women in the corporate and entrepreneurial sectors in South Africa. She advocates for using the business case as a foundation for transformation. One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because

Dr. Naike Moshi

Founder – CVPeople Tanzania

Dr. Naike’s journey, with over 15 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur, businesswoman, and gender consultant, is one of resilience, vision, and dedication to empowering others. Her career has focused on advancing business growth, leadership, and gender diversity across Africa. As the founder of CVPeople Tanzania, she established a trusted HR consulting firm that prioritizes people-centered solutions. Her dedication to addressing gender gaps led her to create Women in Management Africa (WIMA), a platform to elevate African women into C-suite roles. WIMA provides mentorship, career development resources, and networking opportunities that empower women across the continent to break barriers and reach new heights.

Nkiru Olumide – Ojo

Africa Regions Executive Head, Marketing Corporate Communications & CSI- Standard Bank Group.

Nkiru is currently the Africa Regions Executive Head, Marketing Corporate Communications & CSI at Standard Bank Group. She leads a diverse team across African countries to deliver business objectives through Brand Marketing, Corporate Communications, and Corporate Social Investment. Over the course of her 20 years across career, she has gotten several recognitions such as Leading Woman in Marketing and Communications 2016, Marketing Personality of the year among others. She is also a published author of the ‘Pressure Cooker-Lessons from a woman at work’ and is a female enthusiast.

Osayi Alile

CEO of Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation

Osayi is the CEO of Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation and has over 25 years of experience across different sectors. She is an experienced Council Member with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organisation management industry. She has also been named one of the African Women of the Year in 2015.

Yemi Faseun

Chief Talent Officer at YT Talent

Yemi is a business leader with over 30 years of multi-sector, multi-function experience. He is currently the Chief Talent Officer at YT Talent Officer and was a two-term elected council member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM). He has received a number of global recognitions such as Top 8 HR Thought Leader in Africa, Top 50 Personality on LinkedIn, 2022 Top 200 Global Thought Leader among others.

Tewa Onasanya

Founder/CEO of Exquisite Magazine Services Ltd

Tewa Onasanya is a British-Nigerian publisher, philanthropist, Author and Mindset Stylist. She is the Founder/CEO of Exquisite Magazine Services Ltd, the publishers of Exquisite Magazine and the organizers of EMAC Walk and ELOY Awards. Tewa has been featured in numerous international and Nigerian media which include the CNN, BBC, New York Times, Wikipedia, Punch, Guardian, Thisday, Vanguard and more newspapers, Television and Radio station